Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The court also turned away a series of appeals in cases involving lawyers who pursued unsuccessful litigation to try to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, a long-shot candidate's bid to disqualify Trump from the 2024 election and videos secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists. Trump reaped over $100 million through fraud, New York says as trial starts A defiant Donald Trump attacked New York's attorney general and the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial as it began on Monday, with a state lawyer accusing the former president of generating more than $100 million by lying about his real estate empire.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US Supreme Court ruling may help Hunter Biden fight gun charge

Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son, may get a legal boost from an unlikely source - the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court - when he contests his indictment on firearms-related charges, thanks to the reasoning expressed by the justices in their most recent expansion of gun rights. Hunter Biden, 53, is expected to plead not guilty on Tuesday in Delaware to unlawfully possessing a gun as an illegal drug user and lying about his drug use on a background check form when he bought a Colt Cobra revolver in 2018.

US Supreme Court rebuffs dispute over videos targeting abortion providers

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a bid by anti-abortion activists to throw out more than $2 million in damages they were ordered to pay Planned Parenthood after secretly recording video of abortion providers in a scheme to try to show the illicit sale of aborted fetal tissue for profit.

The justices turned away the appeal by David Daleiden and his group, the Center for Medical Progress, of a lower court's decision in 2022 upholding most of the damages in a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood, a women's healthcare and abortion provider, accusing the defendants of conspiracy, eavesdropping and other claims. The lower court rejected the argument made by the defendants that with the secret recording they were exercising their right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution.

US State Dept slams Congress for failure to renew PEPFAR anti-AIDS program

The U.S. Congress' failure to reauthorize the main U.S. program aimed at reducing the spread of AIDS sends a message that Washington is "backing down" from its leadership on the issue, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday. A deadline to renew long-term funding for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) passed on Saturday, despite a stop gap deal reached to avoid a government-wide shutdown.

Criminal trial of US Senator Bob Menendez set for May 6

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez's trial on corruption charges will begin in May, a federal judge in New York said on Monday. The Democratic senator for New Jersey has pleaded not guilty and resisted calls for his resignation following his indictment last month on charges of taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen.

Republican US Rep Matt Gaetz moves to oust McCarthy as speaker

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced a direct threat to his leadership when hardline fellow Republican Representative Matt Gaetz called on Monday for a vote to oust him, injecting an additional element of chaos into Congress. Gaetz, who has clashed with McCarthy for months, said he introduced a "motion to vacate" that would force a vote to remove McCarthy as speaker, though he has not floated an alternative leader for the chamber.

Attacked by Trump, New York judge to weigh ex-president's fraud case

Last week, Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 race for the White House, called a once obscure New York judge "DERANGED" and a "Highly Politicized Democrat" who "hated everything about me at a level that I have never seen before." That same judge will preside over a trial where he will decide how much Trump and his family business should pay for committing fraud, and whether effectively to put them out of business in New York.

US senators hope to meet with Xi during China trip next week

A group of U.S. senators, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, plans to visit China next week and hopes to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a spokesperson for Republican Senator Mike Crapo confirmed on Monday. Schumer's office said last month he was planning a trip to China, South Korea and Japan co-led by Crapo but did not comment on Monday. The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment.

US Congress debates Ukraine aid as Pentagon warns money running low

A last-ditch weekend spending agreement avoided a U.S. government shutdown but left pro-Ukraine officials in Washington scrambling on Monday to determine the best path forward for securing approval for billions more assistance for Kyiv. Leaders in the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats, promised to take up legislation in the coming weeks to ensure continued U.S. security and economic support for Ukraine.

Curtain comes up on new term for conservative US Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court began its new term on Monday with arguments in a criminal sentencing case, setting out on a nine-month legal journey that will test how far its 6-3 conservative majority is willing to steer American law in a rightward direction. The court also turned away a series of appeals in cases involving lawyers who pursued unsuccessful litigation to try to overturn former President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, a long-shot candidate's bid to disqualify Trump from the 2024 election and videos secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists.

Trump reaped over $100 million through fraud, New York says as trial starts

A defiant Donald Trump attacked New York's attorney general and the judge overseeing his civil fraud trial as it began on Monday, with a state lawyer accusing the former president of generating more than $100 million by lying about his real estate empire. Attorney General Letitia James is seeking at least $250 million in fines, a permanent ban against Trump and his sons Donald Jr and Eric from running businesses in New York and a five-year commercial real estate ban against Trump and the Trump Organization.

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