US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. proposes to formalize deep fee reductions for wind and solar on federal land; Biden gets backing of leading environmental groups for re-election and more

Penny, 24, was captured in videos recorded by bystanders putting Neely in a chokehold on May 1 while they rode on an F train in Manhattan. Texas governor buses first group of migrants to Los Angeles Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday said the first group of migrants bused from his state to Los Angeles had arrived in the California city, the latest move by Republicans opposed to Democratic President Joe Biden's immigration policies.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. proposes to formalize deep fee reductions for wind and solar on federal land

A new regulation will formalize a roughly 80% cut in project fees for wind and solar energy developments on federal lands under a proposal by the Biden administration on Thursday as part of a strategy to boost renewable energy to fight climate change. The Interior Department's U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last year had lowered rent fees and lease rates for solar and wind by about 50%, using departmental authority, after developers complained they were too high to draw investment.

Biden gets backing of leading environmental groups for re-election

A collection of the nation's leading and biggest spending environmental groups endorsed President Joe Biden's re-election bid on Wednesday, an early sign that he has consolidated their support despite some recent policy moves that angered climate activists. The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund, billionaire Tom Steyer's NextGen PAC, NRDC Action Fund and the Sierra Club endorsed Biden during an LCV dinner in Washington. This is the first time the four groups have ever jointly announced a presidential endorsement, according to the Biden campaign.

Trump raises $7 million for 2024 campaign since federal indictment

Former President Donald Trump's 2024 White House campaign said on Wednesday he had raised $7 million since being indicted on federal charges last week, as his message of political persecution continues to resonate with die-hard supporters. "President Trump Raises Over $6.6 Million and Counting Since Deranged Jack Smith Announced Political Prosecution," Trump's campaign wrote in an email to supporters on Wednesday, referring to the U.S. special counsel investigating him.

Ex-Harvard morgue manager indicted for trafficking body parts -US prosecutors

The former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School was among five people indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday over allegations they stole and sold body parts from cadavers donated to the school, federal prosecutors said. Cedric Lodge, 55, who was fired from his job on May 6, and the other defendants were accused of carrying out a black market body parts scheme from roughly 2018 to 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said in a statement. One of the defendants lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Alex Jones could face two more defamation trials over school shooting lies

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could face two more defamation trials in 2023, under an agreement meant to put a price on lies that Jones told about school shootings in the U.S. Jones' attorneys previewed the agreement at a Wednesday court hearing in Houston, telling U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez that it allows Jones to avoid further trials if he completes a bankruptcy settlement by Aug. 31.

'Rust' armorer may have brought live rounds on set -prosecutors

Prosecutors say they have evidence pointing to the possibility the armorer for the movie "Rust" introduced live rounds onto the set where a gun that actor Alec Baldwin was holding fired a bullet, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. Prosecutors had previously said it might never be clear how live rounds, which are not allowed on movie sets, got to the "Rust" set in New Mexico. Charging documents had held Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was working as chief weapons handler on her second film, was responsible for "allowing live ammunition on the set," but not for bringing in the live rounds.

Senate confirms ACLU lawyer to NY federal court after GOP backlash

A voting rights lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday overcame fierce Republican opposition to secure U.S. Senate confirmation as a judge on the Manhattan federal district court. Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, was confirmed on a nearly party-line 50-49 vote. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the lone Democrat who voted against the nomination, citing "prior inflammatory statements" by Ho.

New York grand jury indicts former Marine in killing of Jordan Neely

A New York grand jury voted on Wednesday to indict Daniel Penny, a former U.S. Marine sergeant, in last month's killing of Jordan Neely, a homeless man, with a chokehold on a Manhattan subway car, a person familiar with the case said. Penny, 24, was captured in videos recorded by bystanders putting Neely in a chokehold on May 1 while they rode on an F train in Manhattan.

Texas governor buses first group of migrants to Los Angeles

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday said the first group of migrants bused from his state to Los Angeles had arrived in the California city, the latest move by Republicans opposed to Democratic President Joe Biden's immigration policies. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, said more than 40 migrants had arrived in the city and called the bus trip "a despicable stunt that Republican Governors have grown so fond of."

News junkies turn to TikTok to chart new paths in media

To make sense of the unprecedented events of Jan. 6, 2021, Vitus "V" Spehar did what no traditional journalist would do - crawl under a desk and begin recording a video for TikTok. Like others who watched on TV as the storming of the U.S. Capitol unfolded, Spehar, who uses the pronoun they, felt the need to talk about it. However, "I didn't want to make people think that I was an expert," said Spehar, who filmed the TikTok video from their home in Rochester, New York. "So I thought, where's a safe place to have a conversation?"