Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The city's Conflicts of Interest Board said de Blasio had required the city to pay travel expenses for a New York Police Department security detail for him and his wife while mounting a failed run for the Democratic nomination for president between May and September 2019, while still mayor of New York. Brutal heat wave to scorch US South through holiday weekend An oppressive heat wave settled over a wide swath of the U.S. South on Thursday, bringing record-breaking temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in many spots and creating dangerously hot conditions from Texas to Florida.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ex-New York Mayor de Blasio ordered to pay nearly $500,000 for campaign security

A New York ethics board on Thursday ordered former Mayor Bill de Blasio to pay a record $474,794 for using city funds for a security detail during his long-shot 2019 presidential campaign, finding that he violated conflict of interest laws. The city's Conflicts of Interest Board said de Blasio had required the city to pay travel expenses for a New York Police Department security detail for him and his wife while mounting a failed run for the Democratic nomination for president between May and September 2019, while still mayor of New York.

Brutal heat wave to scorch US South through holiday weekend

An oppressive heat wave settled over a wide swath of the U.S. South on Thursday, bringing record-breaking temperatures that topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in many spots and creating dangerously hot conditions from Texas to Florida. At midday, more than 35 million people in southern Texas, Louisiana and Florida were under excessive heat warnings, watches and advisories extending through the three-day Juneteenth weekend, the National Weather Service said.

US senators urge regulator to change guidance on Massachusetts auto law

Two U.S. senators on Thursday urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider its decision to tell automakers not to comply with a recently effective Massachusetts state "right to repair" law designed to allow customers access to vehicle data. Massachusetts voters approved a 2020 ballot initiative to allow independent repair shops to access diagnostic data that newer cars can send directly to dealers and manufacturers to allow consumers to seek repairs outside dealerships.

Texas governor signs law shutting diversity offices at public universities

All state-funded colleges and universities in Texas will have to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices under a measure signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The law, which one of its sponsors in the Texas state Senate called the most significant ban on diversity offices in higher education in the country, comes as the U.S. Supreme Court later this month is widely expected to ban colleges and universities from considering race as a factor in their admissions decisions.

E. Jean Carroll defamation trial against Donald Trump set for January 2024

A federal judge on Thursday scheduled the writer E. Jean Carroll's second defamation trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump for next January. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said the civil trial, where the former Elle magazine columnist is seeking at least $10 million in damages, will began on Jan. 15, 2024, "unless this case has previously been entirely disposed of."

US grand jury indicts Pentagon leak suspect Teixeira, Justice Department says

A federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online, the Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday. Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense, the statement said.

US government agencies hit in global hacking spree

Several U.S. federal government agencies have been hit in a global hacking campaign that exploited a vulnerability in widely used file-transfer software, the nation's cyber watchdog agency said on Thursday. The statement by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added to a growing list of entities in the U.S., UK and other countries whose systems were infiltrated through the MOVEit Transfer software. The hackers took advantage of a security flaw that its maker, Progress Software, discovered late last month.

JPMorgan says one deposition of Jamie Dimon in Epstein case is enough

JPMorgan Chase urged a federal judge to reject the U.S. Virgin Islands' demand that Chief Executive Jamie Dimon sit for a second deposition for its lawsuit about the bank's long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter made public on Thursday, the largest U.S. bank said Dimon made "crystal clear" in his May 26 deposition that he knew nothing about Epstein's sexual abuse of young women and teenage girls when the disgraced financier was a client.

Miami Mayor Suarez announces 2024 Republican presidential bid

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced on Thursday he is running for president, joining a host of Republican candidates vying for the 2024 nomination days after front-runner Donald Trump faced federal charges in his city. Suarez, 45, released a campaign video titled "I'm Running," which showed him jogging around the south Florida city. He described his vision for a youthful, upbeat and cross-cultural campaign in an interview with Reuters.

U.S. Senate confirms Nusrat Choudhury as first Muslim female federal judge

The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed civil rights lawyer Nusrat Choudhury to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, making her the first Bangladeshi-American and female Muslim federal judge in the United States. Choudhury, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, was confirmed on a 50-49 vote. She will also be the first Bangladeshi-American federal judge.

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