US Domestic News Roundup: White House hopeful Nikki Haley takes a calculated risk on abortion; Ed Sheeran did not violate 'Let's Get It On' copyright, US jury finds and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

White House hopeful Nikki Haley takes a calculated risk on abortion

While other Republicans running for president assiduously avoid discussing abortion, Nikki Haley, a former U.N. ambassador with 20 years in American politics, is trying a novel approach: talking about it. Days ago, Haley, the only woman in the 2024 White House race, gave a lengthy speech stating she opposed abortion personally but, breaking with her party's right flank, she called for a national consensus. In a Tuesday television interview, she asserted a need for a broad middle ground.

Ed Sheeran did not violate 'Let's Get It On' copyright, US jury finds

Ed Sheeran's 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not unlawfully copy from Marvin Gaye's classic 1973 song "Let's Get It On," a jury decided on Thursday in a closely watched copyright lawsuit - a verdict that the British pop star said would help protect the creative process for song writers in the U.S. and globally. The jury in Manhattan federal court determined that heirs of "Let's Get It On" songwriter Ed Townsend had not proven that Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing had infringed their copyright interest in the Gaye song. Sheeran hugged his attorneys in the courtroom after the verdict was read.

North Carolina's Republican-led legislature passes 12-week abortion ban

North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature passed a bill on Thursday that limits the window for most abortions to 12 weeks, down from 20, which could sharply reduce access to the procedure for millions of women across the U.S. south. The measure now heads to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who has vowed to veto it, follwing the Senate's 29-20 approval along party lines, a day after the state House of Representatives passed it in a similar party-line vote.

Atlanta judge denies bail for suspect in medical building shooting

A former U.S. Coast Guardsman accused of killing a woman and wounding four others in a shooting in an Atlanta medical building was denied bail on Thursday. The suspected gunman, identified as 24-year-old Deion Patterson, had waived his right to appear at the court hearing during which Fulton County Magistrate Judge Holly Hughes denied bail and ordered him held on one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault, her clerk said.

Jurors at rape trial hear Trump defend lewd 'Grab 'em' remarks in new video

Jurors in Donald Trump's civil rape trial on Thursday saw a video deposition in which the former U.S. president defended private comments he made in 2005 about grabbing women sexually without asking. Trump was asked by a lawyer for his accuser, the writer E. Jean Carroll, about the 2005 "Access Hollywood" tape, where he said on a hot microphone that "when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything... Grab 'em by the pussy."

Epstein accuser suing JPMorgan seeks to disqualify bank's law firm

A Jeffrey Epstein accuser suing JPMorgan Chase & Co for allegedly aiding the late financier's sex trafficking of girls and women asked a judge to disqualify the bank's law firm on Thursday, arguing it has a conflict of interest. Lawyers for the woman, who claims she was a victim of Epstein and is not named in court papers, said the judge should bar law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr from representing JPMorgan because it previously represented an anti-sex trafficking organization that supported a different Epstein accuser.

Hollywood studios push back against striking writers' claim of 'gig' workforce

The group representing Hollywood studios fired back on Thursday at claims from striking film and television workers that they have been forced into the "gig economy" because of changes brought by the streaming TV era. Roughly 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike on Tuesday, saying that studios had "created a gig economy inside a union workforce."

Florida legislature approves bill allowing board to cancel Disney deals

Florida's Senate on Thursday passed a bill that will allow a tourism board appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to cancel development agreements its predecessor body signed, the latest salvo against the Walt Disney Co from the conservative leader. Under the bill, which now goes to DeSantis for signing into law, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board, appointed by DeSantis to oversee development in and around Disney's theme parks, can cancel agreements that were signed up to three months before the board's creation.

Jury convicts Proud Boys members of seditious conspiracy in US Capitol attack

A jury on Thursday convicted four members of the far-right Proud Boys militia group including its former leader Enrique Tarrio of seditious conspiracy, finding they plotted to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory. The verdicts after a trial lasting nearly four months in federal court in Washington handed another victory to the U.S. Justice Department, which Attorney General Merrick Garland said has secured the convictions of more than 600 people related to the Capitol rampage by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Members of the Oath Keepers, another far-right militia, including founder Stewart Rhodes were previously convicted.

Trump asks federal court to take over NY hush money criminal case

Lawyers for Donald Trump on Thursday asked the federal court in Manhattan to take over a state criminal case charging him with falsifying business records over a hush money payment to a porn star before his victory in the 2016 presidential election. His lawyers argued that the federal court had jurisdiction because the charges had to do with conduct that took place while he was president. Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Democratic President Joe Biden, is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to the presidency in 2024.