Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, previously found that the PrEP mandate violated a federal religious freedom law and that other no-cost preventive care mandates were based on recommendations by an illegally appointed task force. Trump criminally charged in New York, a first for a US ex-president Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump seeks to make criminal allegations pay with 2024 fundraising drive

Less than two hours after news of his indictment broke, former President Donald Trump appealed to supporters to help with his legal defense, hoping their outrage will boost his coffers as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"Please make a contribution – of truly any amount – to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024," said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.

Trump's alleged hush money payments and the path to criminal charges

Donald Trump was indicted by the Manhattan District Attorney's office following an investigation related to hush money payments to a porn star who has said she had a sexual relationship with him, a law enforcement source said, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges. Below is a timeline of events leading up to the charges:

Nine killed in crash of two US Army helicopters in Kentucky

Nine soldiers were killed in a crash of two medical evacuation Black Hawk helicopters during a routine nighttime training mission over Kentucky, the U.S. Army said on Thursday, in one of the military's deadliest training accidents in recent years. Crew members using night-vision goggles were flying two HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, operated by the Army's 101st Airborne Division, when the aircraft crashed in a field late on Wednesday over Kentucky's Trigg County.

Exclusive-Biden would veto Republican bill blocking Washington, D.C., police reform -official

U.S. President Joe Biden will veto a Republican-backed bill to overturn police reforms in Washington, D.C., if it passes in Congress, a White House official said on Thursday. "Congress should respect D.C.'s right to pass to pass measures that improve public safety and public trust," said the official, who was not authorized to be named.

Senior Republicans rally behind Trump after criminal indictment

Senior Republicans in Congress rallied behind former President Donald Trump after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments to a porn star, calling the charges a weaponization of the justice system by Democrats. Republicans' ferocious response to the indictment on Thursday reflected the grip Trump still holds on the party and many of its voters as he seeks a return to the White House in the 2024 election.

U.S. judge blocks Obamacare coverage mandate for some cancer screenings, PrEP

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked Obamacare's mandate that health insurance plans cover preventive care, including screenings for certain cancers and pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP), at no cost to patients. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, previously found that the PrEP mandate violated a federal religious freedom law and that other no-cost preventive care mandates were based on recommendations by an illegally appointed task force.

Trump criminally charged in New York, a first for a US ex-president

Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House. The charges, arising from an investigation led by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, could reshape the 2024 presidential race. Trump previously said he would continue campaigning for the Republican Party's nomination if charged with a crime.

Over 1,000 migrants, angered by asylum policies, rush to U.S.-Mexico border

More than a thousand migrants in northern Mexico surrendered to U.S. border authorities, frustrated by recent asylum policies, and shaken by a fire at a nearby migrant detention center that killed dozens this week. A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said the agency was processing over a thousand migrants who turned themselves in on Wednesday in El Paso, Texas, reachable on foot from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Jury sides with Gwyneth Paltrow in Utah ski crash trial

A jury in Utah ruled on Thursday that Oscar-winning actor Gwyneth Paltrow was not responsible for injuries sustained by a man during a ski slope collision at an upscale Park City resort in 2016. Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, suffered a concussion and four broken ribs in the incident. He said the injuries led to a traumatic brain injury and had sought more than $300,000 in damages from Paltrow at a civil trial.

Trump charges bring New York 'zombie case' back to life

Manhattan has started and stopped its investigation into Donald Trump's hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels so many times that it has come to be known as a "zombie case" like the mythical character who returns from the dead. A grand jury of New Yorkers has brought charges against the former president, Trump's lawyer Susan Necheles said on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)