Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said the phone conversation was about harassment from a prank caller and not, as Cohen had asserted in previous testimony, about a $130,000 payment that bought the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels at the center of the month-long trial. Despite consumer watchdog's US Supreme Court win, agency powers still on chopping block The U.S. Supreme Court's decision safeguarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - the nation's consumer finance watchdog - earned plaudits from supporters of robust federal regulation.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US House votes to force weapons shipments to Israel, rebuking Biden

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would force President Joe Biden to send weapons to Israel, seeking to rebuke the Democrat for delaying bomb shipments as he urges Israel to do more to protect civilians during its war with Hamas. The Israel Security Assistance Support Act was approved 224 to 187, largely along party lines. Sixteen Democrats joined most Republicans in voting yes, and three Republicans joined most Democrats in opposing the measure.

Donald Trump wants to control the Justice Department and FBI. His allies have a plan

Some of Donald Trump's allies are assembling proposals to curtail the Justice Department's independence and turn the nation's top law enforcement body into an attack dog for conservative causes, nine people involved in the effort told Reuters. If successful, the overhaul could represent one of the most consequential actions of a second Trump presidency given the Justice Department's role in protecting democratic institutions and upholding the rule of law.

Americans divided as Supreme Court weighs abortion pill access, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Americans are divided on whether women should have to see a doctor in person before receiving abortion pills, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to reimpose that restriction on medication abortion. But broad bipartisan majorities opposed the idea of allowing states with abortion bans in place to block access to the procedure in certain emergency cases when it is needed to protect the mother's health, at issue in another case before the court.

New York City said 'no injuries' at Columbia arrests; students' medical records say otherwise

After the arrests of pro-Palestine student protesters occupying a Columbia University building last month, New York Mayor Eric Adams and senior police officials repeatedly said there were "no injuries," no "violent clashes" and minimal force used. But at least nine of the 46 protesters arrested inside the barricaded Hamilton Hall on April 30 sustained injuries beyond minor scrapes and bruises, according to medical records, photographs shared by protesters, and interviews. The documented injuries included a fractured eye socket, concussions, an ankle sprain, cuts, and injured wrists and hands from tight plastic flexicuffs.

Explainer-Biden vs Trump: What to expect from presidential debates

U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to two debates ahead of November's election, scheduling televised face-offs that could prove critical in their tight rematch to win the White House. Here is what you need to know about the upcoming debates.

Trump's lawyer accuses Michael Cohen of lying at hush money trial

Donald Trump's lawyer on Thursday accused star witness Michael Cohen of lying at the former U.S. president's trial about a phone conversation he claimed to have had with Trump about a hush money payment to a porn star shortly before the 2016 presidential election. Trump's lawyer Todd Blanche said the phone conversation was about harassment from a prank caller and not, as Cohen had asserted in previous testimony, about a $130,000 payment that bought the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels at the center of the month-long trial.

Despite consumer watchdog's US Supreme Court win, agency powers still on chopping block

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision safeguarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - the nation's consumer finance watchdog - earned plaudits from supporters of robust federal regulation. But their praise for the court may prove short-lived. Powered by its 6-3 conservative majority, the court has emerged in recent years as something of an ally in what has been called the "war on the administrative state," a longstanding conservative effort to weaken federal agencies that regulate key aspects of American business and life.

Judge to rule on Alec Baldwin bid to avoid 'Rust' trial

A New Mexico judge was expected to rule on Friday whether to throw out the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin in the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie 'Rust.' Baldwin's lawyers have filed motions to dismiss his indictment, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, a failure to show the actor committed a crime and destruction of evidence during testing of the gun Baldwin was using during a rehearsal on the film's New Mexico set.

Four deaths confirmed from severe storm that ravaged Houston

A severe storm packing hurricane-force winds pummeled Houston on Thursday, killing at least four people, blowing windows out of high-rise buildings and leaving some 800,000 homes without power as much of the city was plunged into darkness, the mayor said. Much of downtown Houston and its commercial district were littered with fallen power lines and glass from shattered windows following the storm, with traffic and street lights knocked out across the city, the mayor, John Whitmire said in an interview on local television station KRIV.

Trump prosecutors' hard evidence bolsters Michael Cohen's testimony, experts say

Donald Trump's lawyers at his New York criminal trial have portrayed his estranged former fixer Michael Cohen as a liar and Trump-hater who acted alone to pay off a porn star, but legal experts say prosecutors have largely backed up his testimony with the accounts of others, phone logs and other hard evidence. Trump's onetime lawyer, Cohen testified for the prosecution this week that Trump directed him to pay adult film actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet before the 2016 election about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter. He testified that Trump then approved a plan to fudge records to cover up the deal.