US Domestic News Roundup: Relentless heat wave scorches US South, air quality deteriorates over Midwest; Trump sues E. Jean Carroll for defamation after jury finds he sexually abused her and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Relentless heat wave scorches US South, air quality deteriorates over Midwest

A prolonged heat wave kept its grip on the U.S. South on Tuesday as dangerously high temperatures rising well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) and oppressive humidity were on tap across a wide swath of the region through the holiday weekend. Meanwhile, in Chicago, children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases were being cautioned to stay indoors for a wholly different reason: polluted air.

Trump sues E. Jean Carroll for defamation after jury finds he sexually abused her

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday sued E. Jean Carroll for defamation, alleging she falsely accused him of rape after a jury in a civil trial found that he sexually abused her. Trump's counterclaim against Carroll in Manhattan federal court comes after a jury's unusual finding in May that he sexually abused and defamed but did not rape Carroll, a former Elle magazine advice columnist.

Over half of Americans have faced online hate, survey finds

Over half of Americans surveyed in the last year reported facing online harassment and hate during their lifetime, including more than 75% of transgender responders, advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said on Wednesday. ADL's fifth such annual survey showed that reports of online hate and harassment over the last 12 months increased within almost every demographic group.

U.S. to announce action in $2.6 billion health care fraud -statement

The U.S. Justice Department will on Wednesday announce results of a nationwide health care fraud and opioid enforcement action against 87 people in 14 districts involving more than $2.6 billion in fraud, the department said in a statement. The announcement will take place at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) at department headquarters, it said. The case involved law enforcement officials from the Justice Department's fraud division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Former Marine due in New York court for indictment in Jordan Neely killing

The former U.S. Marine sergeant accused of fatally strangling Jordan Neely, a homeless man, in a chokehold in a New York City subway car last month is due in court on Wednesday to enter a plea to a grand jury indictment charging him in the killing. Daniel Penny, 24, was captured in videos recorded by bystanders putting Neely in a chokehold from behind for several minutes on May 1 while they rode on an F train in Manhattan. The killing drew national attention and sparked protests in May by those angered by the police's delay of more than a week in arresting Penny, who is white, with killing Neely, a Black man.

Most Americans support US arming Ukraine -Reuters/Ipsos

Solid majorities of Americans support providing weaponry to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and believe that such aid demonstrates to China and other U.S. rivals a will to protect U.S. interests and allies, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey. The two-day poll that was concluded on Tuesday charted a sharp rise in backing for arming Ukraine, with 65% of the respondents approving of the shipments compared with 46% in a May poll.

US Supreme Court rejects bid to give lawmakers unchecked power over elections

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuffed a legal theory favored by many conservatives that could hand sweeping power to state legislatures to establish rules for presidential and congressional elections and draft electoral maps giving huge advantages to the party already in control. The justices, in a 6-3 decision authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled against Republican state legislators in a case arising from a legal fight over their map of North Carolina's 14 U.S. House of Representatives districts. The state's top court last year blocked the map as unlawfully biased against Democratic voters.

Biden tries to flip skeptical Americans on his economic plan

U.S. President Joe Biden will use what aides are billing as a major speech on Wednesday to lift Americans' dour mood about the economy, hoping to shore up his key political weakness as he seeks re-election. Biden, whose two-year term as president has witnessed a sharp rebound from the COVID-19 induced recession, has nonetheless watched his public approval ratings sag under the weight of voter anxieties about inflation and the knock-on effects of spiking interest rates on the direction of the economy.

Court says Trump must face New York civil fraud claims, tosses case against Ivanka

A New York appeals court on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump's bid to end the state attorney general's lawsuit accusing him and his family business of "staggering" fraud, but dismissed all claims against his daughter Ivanka Trump and said the remaining case may be limited further. Attorney General Letitia James' civil case filed last September accused Trump of lying from 2011 to 2021 about asset values, including for his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and Trump Tower penthouse in Manhattan, as well as his own net worth, to obtain better terms from lenders and insurers.

Over $200 billion potentially stolen from U.S. COVID relief programs, watchdog says

Over $200 billion from the U.S. government's COVID-19 relief programs were potentially stolen, a federal watchdog said on Tuesday, adding that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had weakened its controls in a rush to disburse the funds.

At least 17% of all funds related to the government's coronavirus Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) schemes were disbursed to potentially fraudulent actors, according to a report released Tuesday by the SBA's office of inspector general.