Reuters US Domestic News Summary

If that date is accepted by Judge Scott McAfee, Trump could potentially be on trial for allegedly trying to overturn the last presidential election when Americans vote in the next one. White House challenges House impeachment inquiry of Biden The White House on Friday challenged the validity of an impeachment inquiry run by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives into President Joe Biden's son's business dealings.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Former US first lady Rosalynn Carter, 96, enters hospice care at home

Former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, the 96-year-old wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has entered hospice care at home, the Carter Center said in a statement on Friday. In May 2023, the Carter family had said the former first lady had dementia but was continuing to live happily at the couple's home in rural Plains, Georgia.

Donald Trump loses bid for mistrial in New York civil fraud case

A New York judge on Friday rejected Donald Trump's bid for a mistrial in state Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit against him, after the former U.S. president accused the judge and his law clerk of being politically biased.

Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York state court in Manhattan said he could not "in good conscience" let Trump pursue a mistrial request that was "utterly without merit."

US lawmakers pressure FDIC chief over misconduct allegations

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Friday renewed public calls for an investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The announcements came as FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg this week faced calls for his resignation following Wall Street Journal reporting according to which the agency had failed to eradicate widespread harassment in its workforce and spotlighting Gruenberg's personal role in cases of alleged harassment and discrimination.

Georgia prosecutors propose Aug. 5 trial date for Trump

Prosecutors in former President Donald Trump's election interference case in Georgia on Friday proposed starting the trial on Aug. 5, 2024, just months before the November U.S. presidential election. If that date is accepted by Judge Scott McAfee, Trump could potentially be on trial for allegedly trying to overturn the last presidential election when Americans vote in the next one.

White House challenges House impeachment inquiry of Biden

The White House on Friday challenged the validity of an impeachment inquiry run by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives into President Joe Biden's son's business dealings. A letter from White House legal counsel Dick Sauber sent to House Republicans leading the inquiry said the probe was not valid since the House did not vote to authorize it. A copy of the letter was seen by Reuters.

US government spending bill extends farm programs, some nutrition aid

The stopgap funding bill to keep the U.S. government open signed by President Joe Biden on Thursday includes funding through next September for farm programs and food assistance, but only a few months of funds for a key nutrition program for low-income mothers and their young children. The spending bill passed by the House on Tuesday and Senate on Wednesday funds government functions through January 19 and includes a one-year extension of the 2018 bill farm bill, which expired on September 30.

Analysis-What China's Xi gained from his Biden meeting

When Chinese President Xi Jinping met executives for dinner on Wednesday night in San Francisco, he was greeted with not one, but three standing ovations from the U.S. business community. It was one of several public relations wins for the Chinese leader on his first trip in six years to the United States, where he and President Joe Biden reached agreements covering fentanyl, military communications and artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

US Rep. George Santos faces effort to expel him from Congress after scathing report

Embattled U.S. Representative George Santos faced a fresh effort to expel him from Congress on Friday, the day after fellow lawmakers released a report that suggested federal prosecutors should bring additional criminal charges against him. House of Representatives Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest introduced the bill targeting the first-term fellow Republican, who has been engulfed in scandal since his 2022 election, following revelations that he lied about much of his past and federal fraud charges.

US professors suspended, probed over Gaza war comments

In the past week, two University of Arizona educators were suspended and a University of Southern California professor was relegated to teaching remotely while the school investigated him, all after being recorded by students as they spoke about the war in Gaza. They are examples of the way the Israel-Hamas war, which is set to become a campaign issue in the 2024 presidential race, is entangling faculty members at U.S. universities who voice their opinions on the conflict.

Suspect in New Hampshire hospital shooting dead; all patients reported safe

Gunfire erupted on Friday in the lobby of a state psychiatric hospital in New Hampshire before the threat was neutralized and the suspect was killed, state police and emergency management officials reported. New Hampshire state police initially had reported "multiple victims" from the shooting, but state police Colonel Mark Hall later told reporters the shooting was confined to the lobby area of the facility and that "all patients are safe."