Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The non-jury trial in Boston comes amid broader legal and political battles in the Democratic-led state and elsewhere nationally over the status of drivers for app-based companies whose rise has fueled the U.S. gig worker economy. Campus Gaza rallies may subside, but experts see possible 'hot summer of protest' About a dozen students arrested by police clearing a sit-in at a Denver college campus emerged from detainment to cheers from fellow pro-Palestinian protesters, several waving yellow court summons like tiny victory flags and imploring fellow demonstrators not to let their energy fade.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump again attacks New York prosecutor, floats economic plans at New Jersey rally

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attacked the Manhattan judge and prosecutor in his New York criminal trial, while hinting at a range of possible economic policies at a sizable rally in New Jersey on Saturday. Speaking before tens of thousands of supporters on a chilly beach on the Atlantic coastline, the former president disparaged District Attorney Alvin Bragg's appearance and dismissed the various state and federal charges he faces as a form of political persecution.

Yellen to tout broadband investments in trip to rural Virginia

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Stafford County, Virginia on Monday to tour a broadband infrastructure project funded by the $1.9 trillion COVID-era American Rescue Plan and underscore the importance of investing in rural areas. The Treasury Department said Yellen would visit a community where nearly 700 homes have secured broadband services as a result of funds from President Joe Biden's legislation and its Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF).

US Senator Robert Menendez's corruption trial to get underway

Jury selection is expected to begin on Monday in the corruption trial of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, a case that could affect the Democrat's reelection prospects and help determine which party controls the Senate next year. Menendez, 70, and two New Jersey businessmen face charges in a bribery conspiracy case in Manhattan federal court, in a trial that could last five to eight weeks. The senator's wife, Nadine Menendez, has also been charged but will be tried separately.

First human to receive transplanted pig kidney dies

A man with end-stage renal disease who earlier this year became the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig has died, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said. "The Mass General transplant team is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman," the hospital said in a statement on Saturday. "We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant."

US auto workers union seeks tough victory at Mercedes plant in Alabama

Workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama began voting Monday on whether to join the United Auto Workers union, a significant test of whether the labor group can maintain momentum in the historically anti-union American South. A union victory at the plant, weeks after a resounding win at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee, would be a watershed moment for the UAW as it seeks to organize more than a dozen automakers across the nation and add to its dwindling ranks.

Massachusetts takes Uber, Lyft to trial over status of gig workers

Uber Technologies and Lyft are set to face trial on Monday in a U.S. lawsuit by Massachusetts' attorney general alleging the ride-share companies misclassified their drivers as independent contractors rather than more costly employees. The non-jury trial in Boston comes amid broader legal and political battles in the Democratic-led state and elsewhere nationally over the status of drivers for app-based companies whose rise has fueled the U.S. gig worker economy.

Campus Gaza rallies may subside, but experts see possible 'hot summer of protest'

About a dozen students arrested by police clearing a sit-in at a Denver college campus emerged from detainment to cheers from fellow pro-Palestinian protesters, several waving yellow court summons like tiny victory flags and imploring fellow demonstrators not to let their energy fade. Just how much staying power the student demonstrations over the war in Gaza that have sprung up in Denver and at dozens of universities across the United States will have is a key question for protesters, school administrators and police, with graduation ceremonies being held, summer break coming and high-profile encampments dismantled.

Seinfeld speech at Duke commencement prompts walkout protesting his support for Israel

Dozens of students walked out of Duke University's commencement ceremony on Sunday as some chanted "free Palestine" to protest its guest speaker, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who has supported Israel throughout the war in Gaza, according to a video posted on social media. Figures in robes and caps, some waving Palestinian flags, were seen filing out of crowds of graduates assembled on the grass in the North Carolina University's football stadium in the video posted on X. Reuters was able to verify the video's date and location.

Trump's aggrieved former lawyer Michael Cohen to testify at hush money trial

Donald Trump's estranged former fixer Michael Cohen is expected to begin giving testimony on Monday that could help decide the fate of the former U.S. president, who stands accused of illegally hiding a payment to silence a porn star who said they had a sexual encounter. For nearly a decade Cohen, 57, worked as an executive and lawyer at Trump's New York-based family real estate company and once said he would take a bullet for Trump, a Republican trying to take back the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden in this year's Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Michael Cohen, key witness in Trump trial, went from loyal fixer to archnemesis

Michael Cohen, who once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump, was poised on Monday to serve as a star prosecution witness in the former U.S. president's criminal trial on charges of covering up hush money paid to a porn star. Cohen was expected to take the stand on Day 16 of the trial in New York state court in Manhattan. His testimony marks the culmination of a 15-year arc from a lawyer and fixer for the businessman-turned-politician to an outspoken antagonist.