Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Donald Trump faces skeptical court in New York fraud appeal

A New York appeals court on Tuesday signaled it was unlikely to grant Donald Trump's request to dismiss state Attorney General Letitia James' civil lawsuit accusing him, his family business and three of his children of a "staggering" fraud. The Appellate Division in Manhattan was considering Trump's appeal from a January lower court ruling allowing James to sue.

Trump backer-turned-critic Chris Christie launches 2024 campaign

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday announced his 2024 presidential campaign, presenting himself as the only candidate in the growing Republican field willing to go toe-to-toe with the front-runner, former President Donald Trump.

Christie, who served as an adviser to Trump's successful 2016 campaign but has since become a vocal critic over his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged, launched his White House bid at a town hall-style event at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.

White House says it will win Merck lawsuit, defends Medicare drug negotiations

The Biden administration is confident it will succeed in the courts against Merck & Co's lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the White House said, defending the Medicare health insurance program's authority to seek deals on medicine prices. "We are confident we will succeed in the courts: there is nothing in the Constitution that prevents Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

US founder of 'orgasmic meditation' company charged with forced labor conspiracy

The founder of OneTaste, a sexual wellness company that claims to teach "orgasmic meditation", has been charged with forced labor conspiracy, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday. OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone, who also served as chief executive until 2017, and former head of sales Rachel Cherwitz were accused of inducing volunteers, contractors and employees to incur debt to take courses that they claimed could heal sexual trauma and dysfunction.

Planned Parenthood sues Kansas over abortion reversal claims

Planned Parenthood on Tuesday sued to block a new Kansas law requiring healthcare providers to tell patients that medication abortion can be reversed, a potentially dangerous claim not supported by evidence. The lawsuit in the District Court of Johnson County, filed against state and local authorities on behalf of a group of doctors, also challenges older mandates requiring providers to warn patients that abortion is linked to breast cancer, and to wait at last 30 minutes after meeting with a patient to perform an abortion.

US cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from owning guns-appeals court

The U.S. government cannot ban people convicted of non-violent crimes from possessing guns, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 11-4 ruling from the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest defeat for gun control laws in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year expanding gun rights nationwide.

US House conservatives revolt against leadership, block gas stove bill

A group of about a dozen Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday staged a revolt against their leadership by blocking consideration of a bill related to the regulation of gas-fueled stoves. The move was in retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy's deal with Democratic President Joe Biden on raising the U.S. debt limit, according to some Republican lawmakers.

Human Rights Campaign declares LGBTQ state of emergency in US

The largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the United States on Tuesday declared its first national state of emergency, citing the proliferation of legislation in statehouses across the country aimed at regulating the lives of queer people. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said over 70 bills it considers anti-LGBTQ were passed in statehouses this legislative session, double last year's previous record. Some 525 bills were introduced, virtually all by Republicans, including more than 220 affecting transgender people, HRC said.

US judge in Florida blocks enforcement of state ban on gender-affirming care

A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday partially blocked the state from enforcing its recent ban on people under 18 receiving gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, allowing three transgender children to continue with their treatment while he hears a lawsuit challenging the law. The preliminary order, from U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee, applies only to three transgender children in the lawsuit and their health care providers. It will remain in effect while the judge considers a lawsuit by seven families. The other four families did not join an emergency bid to block the law because they do not expect to need gender-affirming care in the immediate future.

Ex-White House Chief of Staff Meadows testified in Trump probe -NY Times

Donald Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has testified to a federal grand jury in a special counsel's investigations of the former president, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the matter. Special Counsel Jack Smith is overseeing Justice Department investigations of whether Trump, who was president from 2017 to January of 2021, mishandled classified documents after leaving office, and whether he unlawfully tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

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