Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Abbott, a Republican, had ordered the state Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) to carry out child abuse investigations into families whose children were receiving puberty-blocking treatments in February 2022. Haley voters: Trump doesn't want you, new Biden ad says President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is appealing directly to supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was the last major opponent to Donald Trump before she withdrew from the race earlier this month.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Texas federal judge blocks updated fair lending rules

A federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked enforcement of new regulations adopted during the Biden administration that sought to overhaul how lenders extend loans and other services to low- and moderate-income Americans. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, sided with banking and business groups including the American Bankers Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce in finding the new rules ran afoul of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.

Texas appeals court blocks state from probing transgender kids' parents

A Texas appeals court on Friday upheld a lower court's injunction blocking the state from investigating parents who provide their transgender children with gender-affirming medical treatments, which Governor Greg Abbott has called abusive. Abbott, a Republican, had ordered the state Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) to carry out child abuse investigations into families whose children were receiving puberty-blocking treatments in February 2022.

Haley voters: Trump doesn't want you, new Biden ad says

President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is appealing directly to supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who was the last major opponent to Donald Trump before she withdrew from the race earlier this month. "Nikki Haley voters, Donald Trump doesn't want your vote," Biden said in a social media post on Friday that included a link to a new ad from his campaign. "I want to be clear: There is a place for you in my campaign."

Powerball jackpot grows to $935 million ahead of Saturday drawing

Lottery players trying to beat Powerball's long odds will know on Saturday night whether they have scored the winning ticket and a whopping $935 million jackpot. The prize, now the fifth-largest in the history of the game according to lottery officials, has been growing steadily since the last Powerball winner hit the jackpot on New Year's Day 2024.

Trump asks appeals court to overturn ruling on Georgia prosecutor

Donald Trump on Friday asked a Georgia appeals court to disqualify the district attorney prosecuting him for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state for a romantic relationship the prosecutor had with a former top deputy. The legal filing from the Republican presidential candidate and eight co-defendants asks the appeals court to reverse a judge's ruling this month that allowed Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, to continue prosecuting the case.

Texas federal court will not adopt policy against 'judge shopping'

A federal court in Texas that has become a favored destination for conservatives suing to block President Joe Biden's agenda has decided not to follow a policy adopted by the judiciary's top policymaking body that aims to curtail the practice of "judge shopping." Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey of the Northern District of Texas announced the decision in a Friday letter to Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had urged him to implement a new policy that aimed to ensure cases challenging federal or state laws are randomly assigned judges.

Salvage crews to lift first piece of collapsed Baltimore bridge

Salvage crews were set to lift the first piece of Baltimore's collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge from the water on Saturday to allow barges and tugboats to access the disaster site, Maryland and U.S. officials said, the first step in a complex effort to reopen the city's blocked port. The steel truss bridge collapsed early on Tuesday morning, killing six road workers, when a massive container ship lost power and crashed into a support pylon, sending much of the span crashing into the Patapsco River, blocking the Port of Baltimore's shipping channel.

Biden threatens Russia with costs on Evan Gershkovich arrest anniversary

President Joe Biden said on Friday the U.S. will impose costs for Russia's "appalling attempts" to use Americans as bargaining chips in a statement to mark the one-year anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's arrest in Russia. Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year.

Kamala Harris pushes the envelope as Biden struggles with some Democrats

Hosting rapper Fat Joe at the White House to talk about reforming marijuana laws. Visiting an abortion clinic. Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at the historic Selma bridge in Alabama. Walking the bloodstained crime scene of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has stepped out of the shadow of President Joe Biden in recent weeks as part of a high-profile effort to persuade the fractious coalition of voters who sent them to the White House to give them a second term.

Special Report-Two Black cadets and the struggle for diversity at an elite US military institution

Pale marble pavers crisscross the Terrazzo, the plaza at the heart of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado that cadets traverse daily, on the way to class, the library and meals. In their first year, cadets must run and keep to the narrow marble strips whenever they are on the 20-acre Terrazzo. Tusajigwe Owens doesn't take short cuts. He is one of 112 Black cadets in the class of 1,071 freshmen that started at the academy in June 2022.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)