US Domestic News Roundup: Montana governor seeks to broaden bill that would ban TikTok to cover other social media platforms - WSJ; Trump rape accuser's case not a 'he said, she said,' lawyer says as trial starts and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Montana governor seeks to broaden bill that would ban TikTok to cover other social media platforms - WSJ

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte is seeking to broaden a bill that will ban not just TikTok, but other social media applications that provide certain data to foreign adversaries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Montana lawmakers passed a bill, known as SB 419, to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, from operating in the state.

Trump rape accuser's case not a 'he said, she said,' lawyer says as trial starts

E. Jean Carroll's accusation that Donald Trump raped her was not a "he said, she said" dispute, a lawyer representing the writer told jurors on Tuesday as a civil trial over the former U.S. president's conduct nearly three decades ago got under way.

Shawn Crowley, who represents the former Elle magazine advice columnist, said in her opening statement that Trump "slammed Ms. Carroll against the wall" and "pressed his lips to hers," an account other witnesses were prepared to verify.

Exclusive-Peter Thiel, Republican megadonor, won’t fund candidates in 2024 - sources

Tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, an early backer of former President Donald Trump who later broke with him, has told associates he is not planning to donate to any political candidates in 2024, according to two people close to the businessman. Thiel is unhappy with the Republican Party's focus on hot-button U.S. cultural issues, said one of the sources, a business associate, citing abortion and restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use in schools as two examples.

Testimony in Trump rape accuser's trial gets underway

The civil trial of a nearly 30-year-old rape claim against Donald Trump is expected to resume on Wednesday, including the start of testimony expected to feature the woman accusing the former U.S. president of raping her and then lying about it. E. Jean Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist, has said Trump maneuvered her into a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in late 1995 or early 1996, after seeking her help in buying lingerie for another woman.

US Senators to introduce bill on Supreme Court conduct - WSJ

Two U.S. senators will introduce a bipartisan bill on Wednesday requiring the Supreme Court to create a code of conduct for its justices following recent media questions concerning the full disclosure of some financial activities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The bill being introduced by Angus King and Lisa Murkowski, called the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act, would require the court to name an official in charge of reviewing any possible violations of the code or federal laws by Supreme Court justices, the newspaper said.

U.S. preps for increase in migrant crossings as border restrictions set to end

The Biden administration is devising a strategy for the possible arrival of tens of thousands more migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border after the anticipated end of COVID-19 restrictions next month, scrambling to find potential holding centers, speed up deportations and increase processing of refugees abroad. The administration is expected to announce a package of new measures as soon as this week that would include stepping up the currently small number of Latin Americans admitted through the U.S. refugee settlement program, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

McCarthy's debt-ceiling bill tests unity of U.S. House Republicans

The U.S. House of Representatives could as early as Wednesday vote on a bill to sharply cut spending for a decade in exchange for a short-term hike in the debt ceiling, though it was unclear if it had enough support in the Republican majority to pass. In the early morning hours on Wednesday, the House Rules Committee approved terms of debate for the bill on a partisan vote, a last step before sending it to the full House chamber, which could debate it either later in the day or later this week.

DeSantis could win Republican votes with Disney clash -Reuters/Ipsos poll

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' battles with Walt Disney Co over a state law banning public school lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity could boost his support among U.S. Republican voters as he mulls a possible White House bid, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. DeSantis has been tussling with Disney for over a year since the company's former chief executive spoke out against a bill that Florida Republicans named the Parental Rights in Education bill, which critics labeled the "Don't Say Gay" law.

Biden, 80, makes 2024 presidential run official as Trump fight looms

President Joe Biden launched his re-election bid on Tuesday with a promise to protect American liberties from "extremists" linked to former President Donald Trump, who he beat in 2020 and might face again in 2024. Biden made his announcement in a video released by his new campaign team that opens with imagery from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump's supporters.

US Supreme Court mulls legality of a state's property tax 'windfall'

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear a 94-year-old woman's battle with a Minnesota county government that seized and sold her condominium to cover her unpaid property taxes and kept the proceeds beyond the amount she owed in a case testing constitutional checks on excessive fines and property seizure. The justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments in an appeal by Geraldine Tyler of a lower court's ruling that threw out her proposed class action lawsuit accusing Hennepin County, which contains Minnesota's most-populous city Minneapolis, of violating her rights under the U.S. Constitution.