Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Jean Carroll's second trial A federal judge said Donald Trump will face an anonymous jury as it decides how much he should pay E.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

N.Y. judge widens Trump case gag order; limits in criminal case lifted

A judge on Friday issued an expanded gag order in the New York state civil fraud case against Donald Trump, while a federal appeals court temporarily lifted similar restrictions in a criminal case against the former U.S. president in Washington.

The order issued by Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York state court in Manhattan bars public statements by lawyers in the case about the judge's communications with his staff. The case brought by New York state's attorney general accuses Trump of inflating his assets and net worth to obtain favorable bank loans and lower insurance premiums.

Thousands of Black women claim hair relaxers gave them cancer

Sheila Bush, a cosmetologist, was lounging in the recliner at her St. Louis-area home last winter when an advertisement from a law firm flashed up on her television screen, urging viewers to call a toll-free number if they or a loved one had used hair relaxers and been diagnosed with uterine cancer. After seeing the ad three times, Bush, who said she had used hair relaxers every six weeks for most of her life and was diagnosed with uterine cancer about a decade ago, decided to pick up the phone.

Bidens visit sites of Maine shootings, mourn victims

U.S. President Joe Biden made a solemn trek on Friday to the two sites in Lewiston, Maine, where a gunman killed 18 people last month and said the latest mass shooting had opened painful wounds all across America. "We're here to grieve with you, so you know you're not alone," said Biden, who was joined by his wife Jill.

Matthew Perry laid to rest in Los Angeles -media

Actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday at age 54, was laid to rest on Friday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a service attended by relatives and castmates from the hit 1990s television sitcom "Friends," show business media reported, citing photographs. Mourners gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, less than a mile from the Warner Brothers studio where the show was filmed. It is also the final resting place of numerous Hollywood A-listers including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball and Elizabeth Taylor.

Striking actors reviewing 'final' offer from Hollywood studios

Negotiators representing Hollywood actors are considering a new proposal that major studios described as their "last, best and final offer" to end a four-month-long strike, the SAG-AFTRA union said on Saturday. SAG-AFTRA members walked off the job in July to demand higher compensation in the streaming TV era plus protections around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and other gains.

US Representative Tlaib accuses Biden of supporting genocide against Palestinians

U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress, has accused President Joe Biden of supporting a "genocide" against Palestinians and warned of repercussions in next year's election. In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, late on Friday, the Democratic Congresswoman from Michigan repeated her calls for Biden to back a ceasefire in the almost month-long Israel-Hamas conflict.

Republicans stiffen qualifying requirements for fourth debate in December

Republican presidential primary candidates will need to meet relatively stringent polling requirements to participate in the fourth debate in December, the Republican National Committee said on Friday, which could result in a winnowing of the field. The debate is set to take place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Dec. 6, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Donald Trump to face anonymous jury in writer E. Jean Carroll's second trial

A federal judge said Donald Trump will face an anonymous jury as it decides how much he should pay E. Jean Carroll for defaming the writer in 2019 by denying that he raped her. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said he found "strong reason" to provide special protections for jurors at the scheduled Jan. 16, 2024 civil trial.

US appeals court upholds Illinois assault weapons ban

A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld an Illinois state ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines enacted after a 2022 mass shooting in Chicago's Highland Park suburb that left seven people dead and dozens more wounded. In a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a lower-court injunction imposed against the firearms restrictions in one set of cases and affirmed decisions keeping the law intact in another batch.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker welcome first child together -reports

Reality TV star and entrepreneur Kourtney Kardashian welcomed her first child with musician Travis Barker, media outlets reported on Saturday. Kardashian, 44, announced the pregnancy in June at a Blink 182 concert where Barker, 47, was performing, and the couple later revealed they were expecting a boy.

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