Reuters US Domestic News Summary

"This surge in law enforcement resources will build on the Department’s efforts to target the individuals and organizations that are driving violent crime in the nation’s capital," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Big money fails to stop Trump, again, prompting a donor reckoning From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, wealthy donors have thrown tens of millions of dollars at Republican U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley in an effort to keep Donald Trump from returning to the White House.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Colorado voters vying to bar Trump from ballot file US Supreme Court brief

Six Colorado voters who argue that Donald Trump is ineligible for the presidency because he engaged in insurrection urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to uphold a judicial ruling that bars him from the state's Republican primary ballot.

The plaintiffs filed the brief as the justices prepare to hear arguments in the politically explosive case on Feb. 8. Trump has asked the justices to overturn a Dec. 19 Colorado Supreme Court ruling that found Trump engaged in an insurrection that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Donald Trump ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million, will appeal verdict

Donald Trump was handed a stinging defeat on Friday by a Manhattan jury that ordered him to pay $83.3 million to the writer E. Jean Carroll, who said he destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her. Jurors needed less than three hours to reach a verdict in Manhattan federal court following a five-day trial. The sum that the former U.S. president was ordered to pay far exceeded the minimum $10 million that Carroll had sought.

In South Carolina, Biden woos Black voters in a changing U.S. South

Democrats have no chance of winning South Carolina in November, but the state is pivotal to Joe Biden's reelection anyway. Democrats hope South Carolina's new role as host of the party's first official primary on Feb. 3 will bolster support among Black voters. Top party officials also see it as a springboard to an audacious new strategy: retaking the American South in years to come.

US House bill would curb genetic info sharing with China's Wuxi Apptec, BGI

A congressional committee focused on China has introduced a bill that would restrict federally funded medical providers from allowing China's BGI Group, WuXi Apptec and other biotech companies from getting genetic information about Americans. The House select committee on China, led by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, said the legislation unveiled on Thursday is aimed at BGI Group and its subsidiaries MGI and Complete Genomics, along with WuXi Apptec, according to a statement.

Alabama will help bring nitrogen asphyxiation executions to other states

Alabama offered assistance on Friday to other U.S. states seeking to carry out executions using asphyxiation by nitrogen gas, a few hours after pioneering the new method to kill Kenneth Smith, a prisoner condemned for a 1988 murder. The state also promised more to come in Alabama: Attorney General Steve Marshall said 43 other people on death row had chosen asphyxiation over lethal injections since lawmakers approved the method in 2018.

Explainer-The 2024 Republican Nevada caucus and primary: When are they? What's at stake?

The next showdown in the Republican nominating fight between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley takes place in Nevada in early February. But because of legal disputes and political maneuverings, there are actually two contests, with Trump on the ballot in one, and Haley, his last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, on another.

US Justice Department finds that ex-New York Governor Cuomo sexually harassed employees

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday agreed with a finding by the New York attorney general that the state's former governor, Andrew Cuomo, violated federal law by sexually harassing female employees and retaliating against those who spoke out. As a result of its findings, the federal agency signed a settlement with the New York Executive Chamber approving reforms that Cuomo's successor, Kathy Hochul, had passed to prevent and address misconduct, and also added several more.

Michigan's Arab American leaders shun Biden campaign, ahead of president's visit

A group of Arab American leaders in Dearborn, Michigan skipped a meeting on Friday with President Joe Biden's campaign manager that was organized ahead of a possible visit to the battleground state by Biden on Feb. 1, two participants and two sources said. Biden's likely visit to the state next week involves meetings with members of the United Auto Workers Union and potential meetings with the Arab American community, the participants and sources said.

Justice Dept to surge resources to fight crime in US capital

The Justice Department plans to send additional law enforcement resources to help Washington, D.C., battle the perpetrators of violent crime and carjackings, the department said on Friday. "This surge in law enforcement resources will build on the Department’s efforts to target the individuals and organizations that are driving violent crime in the nation’s capital," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Big money fails to stop Trump, again, prompting a donor reckoning

From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, wealthy donors have thrown tens of millions of dollars at Republican U.S. presidential candidate Nikki Haley in an effort to keep Donald Trump from returning to the White House. They have learned a hard lesson: Big money can't win the Republican presidential nomination -- at least not against Trump, who holds the support of a wide majority of the party's voters.