Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden will not face criminal charges for mishandling classified papers

President Joe Biden will not face charges for knowingly taking classified documents when he left the vice presidency in 2017, according to a prosecutor's report released Thursday that will raise new problems for the Democrat as he seeks reelection.

Special Counsel Robert Hur said he opted against bringing criminal charges following a 15-month investigation because Biden cooperated and would be difficult to convict, describing him as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Nikki Haley is on a losing streak, but donors still see her as a hedge against Trump

Nikki Haley finished a disappointing third in the Iowa Republican nominating contest and a distant second in New Hampshire, while in Nevada - where she was the only candidate in Tuesday's primary - she finished behind ballots marked "none of these candidates." And if opinion polls are correct, the 52-year-old former South Carolina governor faces certain defeat to Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, 77, in her home state on Feb. 24.

Trump set to win Nevada's delegates after Haley humiliation

Donald Trump is set to win all of Nevada's delegates in the state's Republican presidential nominating caucuses on Thursday as he moves closer to becoming his party's White House standard-bearer and a likely general election rematch with U.S. President Joe Biden in November. Former President Trump, the frontrunner in his party's nominating race, is the only major candidate competing in Nevada's caucuses and is almost assured of winning the state's 26 delegates to the party's nominating convention in July.

Explainer-What is next for Donald Trump at the US Supreme Court?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday seemed poised to rule in favor of former President Donald Trump in a legal fight over whether he is eligible to remain on the ballot as he seeks to regain the presidency despite his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack by his supporters. It may not be the only Trump case the court will consider this election year. Trump also is expected to go to the Supreme Court by Monday to contest a lower court's decision rejecting his claim of immunity from criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

US driving hits new record in 2023, topping pre-COVID levels

Travel on U.S. roads in 2023 rose 2.1% to 3.263 trillion miles setting a new yearly record and topping pre-COVID 19 levels for the first time, the Transportation Department said Thursday. Road travel overall last year was up 67.5 billion miles and up by 2.2% in December, according to preliminary data. In 2019, U.S. motorists logged 3.261 trillion miles for the year. U.S. driving sharply declined after COVID-19 lockdowns were imposed in early 2020 as many people worked from home.

US Senate advances $95 billion Ukraine, Israel aid bill after failed border deal

A $95.34 billion bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after Republicans blocked compromise legislation that included a long-sought overhaul of immigration policy. Senators backed a procedural motion by 67-32, exceeding the 60-vote threshold to advance the bill. Seventeen Republicans voted in favor, in a surprising shift after they blocked the broader bill on Wednesday.

Biden mixes up Germany's Angela Merkel with late Helmut Kohl

U.S. President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to a conversation he had with Angela Merkel in 2021 as having taken place with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, on Wednesday night, his second such mix-up this week. At a New York reception that raised money for his reelection bid, the 81-year-old Biden changed a story that is a staple of his stump speech to include Kohl instead of Merkel, who was in power at the time of the reported conversation, at the G7 summit in 2021.

US Senate panel votes to boost FAA staffing, rejects hiking pilot retirement age

A U.S. Senate committee on Thursday voted on legislation to boost safety inspector and air traffic controller staffing, but declined to endorse raising the airline pilot retirement age to 67 from 65. The U.S. House of Representatives in July voted 351-69 on a sweeping bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that would hike the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67. The Senate Commerce Committee voted 14-13 to reject the retirement age hike after the FAA said earlier this week it would prefer additional research was conducted before Congress raised the age.

Massachusetts student fights 'two genders' shirt ban in US appeals court

A federal appeals court on Thursday appeared skeptical that a Massachusetts middle school violated a student's right to free speech by requiring him to stop wearing a T-shirt that said, "There are only two genders." A lawyer for Liam Morrison, 13, told the three judges of a 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Boston that officials at the Nichols Middle School in Middleborough violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by censoring him when he expressed a view opposing its pro-LGBTQ stances.

Trump ballot disqualification bid gets skeptical US Supreme Court reception

Donald Trump appeared to be headed for a big legal victory at the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices on Thursday signaled their readiness to reject a judicial decision kicking the former president off the ballot in Colorado for taking part in an insurrection during the 2021 Capitol attack. The nine justices heard about two hours of arguments in Trump's appeal of a Dec. 19 ruling by Colorado's top court to disqualify him from the state's Republican March 5 primary ballot under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment after finding that he participated in an insurrection.