Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Boeing whistleblower found dead of apparent suicide

John Barnett, a former Boeing employee who had reportedly raised concerns about the company's production issues, was found dead of an apparent suicide, according to authorities in South Carolina. Barnett had worked at Boeing for 32 years before leaving the company in 2017, according to the BBC, which previously reported on his efforts to raise issues about the company's production issues.

Biden clinches nomination, bruising presidential rematch with Trump looms

President Joe Biden won enough delegates on Tuesday to seal the Democratic Party's nomination, with a face-off against former President Donald Trump looming in what would be the first U.S. presidential election rematch in nearly 70 years. Biden needed 1,968 delegates to win the nomination and Edison Research said he passed that number on Tuesday night as results began to come in from the primary contest in Georgia, ahead of expected results from Mississippi, Washington state, the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats living abroad.

Trump's defense in hush money trial to stop short of blaming his lawyers

Donald Trump will stop short of blaming his lawyers for the conduct at issue in his upcoming trial on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, the former president's current defense lawyers said in a filing made public on Tuesday.

He will not formally assert a so-called advice-of-counsel defense at the first-ever trial of a former U.S. president, due to begin March 25, Trump's lawyers said. But Trump's team does plan to argue that the involvement of his prior lawyers in the matter showed that he lacked criminal intent, they added.

Pressure rises on Biden, Democrats to reject AIPAC funds

A coalition of progressive groups is asking U.S. President Joe Biden and other Democratic Party officials to not accept endorsements or contributions from a pro-Israel group and its affiliated super PACs. The "Reject AIPAC" coalition, which includes congressional group Justice Democrats and the Democratic Socialists of America group, is directed at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and affiliated groups. AIPAC, a political action committee, and the groups have already spent millions of dollars in the 2024 U.S. elections cycle.

Defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle by half-sister dismissed by judge

A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, rejecting claims that the actress had made "disparaging, hurtful and false" claims about her half-sister. Markle's half-sister Samantha, with whom she shares a father, had alleged that Markle's statements in a Netflix documentary series and a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey had implied Samantha was a "deceptive fame-seeking imposter with avaricious intentions."

US House to vote on TikTok crackdown; fate uncertain in Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban. The vote is expected around 10 a.m. under fast-track rules that require support by two-thirds of House members for the measure to pass.

US prosecutor says classified document report does not exonerate Biden

A U.S. prosecutor said on Tuesday his investigation of President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents didn't exonerate the president despite declining to charge him, after setting off a political firestorm by saying Biden had a "poor memory." Former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur faced a grilling from the Republican-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which has been one of the panels conducting an impeachment inquiry into the 81-year-old Democratic president. Hur - who was appointed as the former top federal prosecutor in Maryland by Biden's predecessor and election rival, Republican Donald Trump - said he "did not exonerate" the president. He noted that the investigation uncovered evidence that Biden knowingly kept secret documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.

Uvalde police chief resigns days after report into school shooting

The police chief of Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman in 2022 invaded a school and killed 19 children and two teachers, said on Tuesday that he was resigning. The resignation, effective April 6, of police chief Daniel Rodriguez, who was not in Uvalde the day of the shooting at Robb Elementary school, comes just days after the Uvalde City Council released an independent investigation into the shooting it commissioned that exonerated responding officers.

US says F-35 fighter jet program achieves full-rate production

The F-35 fighter jet program achieved full-rate production after the successful completion of a crucial series of tests last year, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) said on Tuesday. Full-rate production, known as Milestone C, in the advanced fighter jet program signifies the completion of operational testing, allowing the Pentagon's acquisition chief to approve "full rate" production.

US February budget deficit climbs on interest costs, tax refunds

The U.S. federal budget deficit grew in February with outlays surging as annual tax-filing season kicked into gear and interest costs on the national debt kept rising, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday. The deficit last month was $296 billion, 13% larger than the $262 billion shortfall in February 2023. Outlays for the month grew 8% to $567 billion - a record for the month - while receipts rose 3% to $271 billion. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a deficit of $299 billion in February.