Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Former Republican President Trump needs to pay a bond in a New York civil case in which he was found liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms. Explainer-Why did the Baltimore bridge collapse and what do we know about the ship? Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed early on Tuesday after a container ship smashed into the four-lane span, plunging cars into the river.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ship that collided with Baltimore bridge was chartered by Maersk

The Dali container vessel that collided on Tuesday with a bridge in Baltimore was chartered by shipping company Maersk, the Danish group said in a statement. The ship carried Maersk customers' cargo but none of the company's crew or personnel were onboard, it added.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs' properties in L.A. and Miami raided by federal agents

U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents have opened an investigation of hip-hop star Sean "Diddy" Combs, searching his properties in Los Angeles and the Miami area, agency officials said on Monday. The inquiry was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in New York, where a lawsuit was filed against Combs by a former girlfriend in federal court in November accusing him of engaging in sex trafficking.

Explainer-What's next for Trump in his New York criminal and civil cases?

Donald Trump lost his bid on Monday to delay a criminal trial stemming from hush money payments paid to a porn star but won a pause in a $454 million judgment in a separate civil fraud case. Here’s a look at what’s next for the former U.S. president in the two New York cases.

Biden administration defends abortion pill access at US Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday is poised to consider whether to restrict access to the abortion pill as President Joe Biden's administration fights to maintain broad access to the medication in a major case that thrusts reproductive rights back on the agenda of the justices in a presidential election year. Arguments are set for 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) in the Biden administration's appeal of a lower court's ruling that would limit how the medication, called mifepristone, is prescribed and distributed. Four medical associations and four doctors who oppose abortion brought the challenge to mifepristone in Texas.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr to name vice presidential pick Tuesday for 2024 US election bid

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr will announce his U.S. vice presidential pick on Tuesday in California from a list that includes National Football League star Aaron Rodgers and California-based lawyer Nicole Shanahan. Kennedy, 70, a scion of the famous U.S. political family, is hoping to use the selection to help build credibility and momentum in his long-shot bet that Americans are so frustrated with Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump that they will pick a third party.

Trump Justice official Clark faces ethics hearing over 2020 election role

Jeffrey Clark, a senior official in former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, faces the prospect of losing his license to practice law as a Washington legal ethics panel begins to hear evidence on Tuesday about his bid to enlist the Justice Department in Trump's attempt to undo his 2020 election loss. Clark, who served as acting head of the Justice Department's civil division under Trump, faces a multi-day hearing on ethics charges that accuse him of attempting to take actions "involving dishonesty" and that "would seriously interfere with the administration of justice."

Billionaires sought to help fund Trump bond in civil fraud case, sources say

Some major Republican donors were working together to help U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump fund the original bond amount needed to cover his $454 million civil fraud judgment ahead of Monday's deadline, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. Former Republican President Trump needs to pay a bond in a New York civil case in which he was found liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth by billions of dollars to secure better loan and insurance terms.

Explainer-Why did the Baltimore bridge collapse and what do we know about the ship?

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed early on Tuesday after a container ship smashed into the four-lane span, plunging cars into the river. WHAT HAPPENED IN BALTIMORE?

Baltimore bridge collision sends vehicles tumbling into water

A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the U.S. port of Baltimore in darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below. Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.

Biden, Harris head to North Carolina as they seek to flip state

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris travel to North Carolina on Tuesday to contrast their healthcare agenda with a blueprint congressional Republicans recently offered, as their reelection campaign seeks to flip the state for the first time since 2008. The North Carolina trip marks the finale of Biden's tour of all the campaign battleground states following the State of the Union speech earlier this month. Biden, a Democrat, used the tour to draw contrasts with Republicans and to raise millions of dollars as top Republican rival Donald Trump remains bogged down in costly criminal and civil legal challenges.