Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump wins Nevada, Virgin Islands to close in on Republican nomination Donald Trump won Republican presidential nominating caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday, moving closer to becoming his party's White House standard-bearer in a likely general election rematch with U.S. President Joe Biden in November.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump wins Nevada, Virgin Islands to close in on Republican nomination

Donald Trump won Republican presidential nominating caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday, moving closer to becoming his party's White House standard-bearer in a likely general election rematch with U.S. President Joe Biden in November. Trump, the frontrunner in his party's nominating race, was the only major candidate competing in Nevada's caucuses and was set to win the state's 26 delegates to the party's nominating convention in July after being projected the winner on Thursday night by Edison Research.

NY attorney general expands crypto lawsuit, sees $3 billion fraud

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday expanded her lawsuit against Digital Currency Group and other cryptocurrency defendants, tripling the size of their alleged fraud scheme to more than $3 billion. James had in October sued DCG, its Genesis Global Capital unit, and Gemini Trust, the exchange run by twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Bruised and betrayed, Nikki Haley defies Trump juggernaut

These are testing times for Nikki Haley. The ex-envoy to the U.N. has been abandoned by allies and become an outsider in her own party. She has lost a primary where she was the only name on the ballot. The storm has come to her doorstep, with her home targeted by "swatting" hoaxes.

Two dead after jet plane crash lands on Florida highway, collides with vehicle

A small jet airplane crash-landed on Friday on a busy Florida interstate highway and burst into flames after colliding with a vehicle, killing at least two people, according to authorities and news footage from the scene. The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane, seen in video and photos engulfed in flames and thick smoke, was a Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet with five people aboard.

Magnitude 4.6 quake lightly rattles Los Angeles

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck Southern California northwest of Los Angeles on Friday, rattling a wide area around the nation's second-most populous city, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. But there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The quake was centered about 9 miles (14.5 km) west of Thousand Oaks, a community in the coastal foothills about 40 miles northwest of downtown L.A., according to the USGS.

Special counsel report on Biden memory is wrong, White House says

The White House on Friday blasted a report from a Department of Justice special counsel that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses, and Vice President Kamala Harris called the report "clearly politically motivated." The report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland during Republican Donald Trump's administration, has prompted an election-year brawl and renewed questions about Biden's advanced age. This week Biden, 81, mixed up the names of several world leaders.

Maryland ex-Governor Hogan running for US Senate

Former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced a campaign for the U.S. Senate on Friday, with the Republican seeking to replace retiring Democratic Senator Ben Cardin. Hogan, who served eight years as governor ending last year, is considered a moderate in a party that has moved rightward. He opted against a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination while speaking out against Donald Trump's candidacy.

Mixed US consumer price revisions leave slowing inflation trend intact

U.S. monthly consumer prices rose less than initially thought in December, but the overall inflation revisions were mixed, and did not shift expectations on the timing of an anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve this year. The annual revisions published by the Labor Department on Friday also showed the consumer price index increasing slightly more than previously reported in October and November.

Gun makers to ask US Supreme Court to bar Mexico's lawsuit

U.S. gun manufacturers plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their bid to escape Mexico's $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border. The planned appeal was disclosed during a virtual court hearing on Friday by a lawyer for Smith & Wesson Brands after the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month overturned a judge's decision dismissing the case.

US won't restart UNRWA aid until investigation completed -officials

The Biden administration plans to wait for an internal investigation of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees to conclude before resuming aid to the organization, U.S. officials told Arab-American community leaders in Michigan.

U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power and other senior U.S. officials visited the 2024 election battleground state of Michigan on Thursday amid widespread criticism there of President Joe Biden's policy on Israel, his failure to call for a ceasefire on attacks on Gaza and continued military aid.