Reuters US Domestic News Summary

"We are so proud of the kids across this country who have organized protests and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying," Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, said at the White House podium on Thursday. Robert Kennedy Jr to make 2024 Democratic presidential bid Robert F.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US GAO denies Lockheed protest of Textron $7 billion Army helicopter deal

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Thursday denied Lockheed Martin Corp's protest of the Army contract for the Future Long Range-Assault Aircraft worth as much as a $7.1 billion, awarded to Textron Inc's Bell helicopter unit over Lockheed's Sikorsky unit. The U.S. Army "reasonably evaluated Sikorsky's proposal as technically unacceptable because Sikorsky failed to provide the level of architectural detail required by the" request for proposal, the GAO said in a statement.

Millennial and Gen Z travelers have bigger budgets but seek deals, Hopper app says

Most Millennial and Generation Z travelers are planning bigger 2023 travel budgets but also growing more cost-conscious when booking flights and hotel accommodations, according to travel booking app Hopper. Early this year, U.S. travel companies told investors they saw no signs of slowing demand despite rising costs, but now, Hopper said, more customers are booking travel only when the price is right.

Republican-controlled Tennessee state house expels Democrat after gun control protest

Republicans who control the Tennessee House of Representatives voted on Thursday to expel Representative Justin Jones, the first of three Democratic members facing expulsion for their role in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week. But they failed by one vote in a subsequent attempt to remove another representative, Gloria Johnson, who had stood with her colleagues during a demonstration but had not led chanting.

Ex-DOJ lawyer tells jury he met with Chinese to further illegal lobbying campaign

A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney told a jury on Thursday that he simultaneously worked on behalf of hip-hop artist Pras Michel, as part of an illegal foreign influence campaign to persuade the Trump administration to return a dissident to China. George Higginbotham testified that he made money on the side while working at the Justice Department by offering legal advice to Michel, a long-time friend. His duties included facilitating some of Michel's dealings with Jho Low, a businessman whom prosecutors say embezzled billions of dollars from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Jes Staley attacks JPMorgan, demands separate trial over Jeffrey Epstein

Jes Staley, the former JPMorgan Chase & Co private banking chief and Barclays Plc chief executive, accused JPMorgan of "slanderous" attacks as he seeks to delay a trial in the bank's lawsuit accusing him of concealing what he knew about Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter filed on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, Staley asked a judge to sever the case from two lawsuits against the largest U.S. bank over its work for the late financier and sex offender, a client from 2000 to 2013.

'You are loved,' White House press secretary tells LGBTQ youth

A flurry of recent state bills targeting LGBTQ kids and gender affirming care for youth sets a dangerous precedent, the White House said Thursday, while encouraging protests. "We are so proud of the kids across this country who have organized protests and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying," Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, said at the White House podium on Thursday.

Robert Kennedy Jr to make 2024 Democratic presidential bid

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and vaccine skeptic, will make a bid for the White House in 2024, becoming the second long-shot Democratic candidate to challenge President Joe Biden in his expected run for re-election. Kennedy, 69, the son of assassinated 1968 presidential candidate U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

Senators seek probes into report on undisclosed luxury trips by Supreme Court's Thomas

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has for decades accepted luxury trips from a Dallas businessman without publicly disclosing them despite a federal law requiring disclosure of most gifts, a media report said on Thursday, prompting Senate Democrats to call for an investigation. The report by ProPublica found that Thomas has repeatedly vacationed with real estate magnate and Republican donor Harlan Crow, including on his private jet and superyacht in the United States and around the globe. The news outlet said the frequency of the gifts have "no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court."

Rapper Coolio died from fentanyl overdose, manager says

Grammy-winning rapper Coolio died from a fentanyl overdose, his manager said on Thursday, six months after the musician was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles at age 59. Born Artis Leon Ivey Jr., Coolio was best known for his 1995 single "Gangsta's Paradise," from an album of the same name.

Americans divided over criminal charges against Trump - Reuters/Ipsos poll

The prosecution of former President Donald Trump has evenly divided Americans but appears to have boosted his chances of winning the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday. The poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, following Tuesday's indictment of Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records by prosecutors in New York City.

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