US Domestic News: Delayed Trials, Tornadoes, Judicial Milestones and More

A roundup of recent US domestic events includes the delay of Hunter Biden's tax trial, Iowa's search for tornado survivors, Biden's judicial appointments milestone, Uvalde's settlement for school shooting victims, and more. Key topics cover governance, judiciary, health, and political developments affecting the nation.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial delayed to Sept. 5

The start of the criminal tax trial for President Joe Biden's son was postponed until Sept. 5 from June 20, which Hunter Biden's legal team requested because of conflicts with a separate criminal trial in Delaware. Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell had argued to U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi in Los Angeles that the start of a trial on criminal gun charges in Delaware on June 3 created overlap with pretrial deadlines in the criminal tax case.

Iowa crews search for survivors after deadly tornadoes

Rescue teams in Iowa searched through the ruins of homes and buildings in Greenfield on Wednesday, looking for survivors of a deadly tornado that tore through the town the day before. Authorities were still determining how many people were killed, injured and displaced by the twister in the farming town of 2,000 located about 60 miles (97 km) west of Des Moines, Sergeant Alex Dinkla, a spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol, told a news conference.

Biden passes 200th judicial confirmation milestone as election looms

President Joe Biden surpassed a milestone 200th appointment to the federal judiciary on Wednesday as the U.S. Senate confirmed two more of his nominees, exceeding his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's pace even as the clock ticks toward their Nov. 5 election rematch. Reaching this number at this point in his presidency is evidence, according to Biden's allies, that he may achieve a goal his fellow Democrats not long ago fretted could be out of reach - matching Trump's tally of 234 judges appointed to life-tenured positions on the federal bench in four years in office.

Uvalde, Texas, to pay $2 million to families of school shooting victims

The city of Uvalde has reached a $2 million settlement with families of the victims of a 2022 mass shooting at a public school in the Texas city, one of their lawyers said on Wednesday, ahead of the second anniversary of the massacre. In one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24, 2022, when a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and barricaded himself inside adjoining classrooms with dozens of students.

How Trump's hush money trial verdict could affect the 2024 election

Jurors hearing the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president could render their verdict in Donald Trump's hush money case as soon as next week, with potentially big implications for the 2024 White House race. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a payment that bought the silence of porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels had threatened to go public with her account of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump, a liaison he denies.

US FCC chair backs requiring AI disclosure in campaign TV, radio ads

U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday proposed requiring disclosure of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in political ads on radio and TV. Rosenworcel is asking her colleagues to vote to advance a proposed rule that would require disclosure of AI content in both candidate and issue advertisements, but does not propose to prohibit any AI-generated content within political ads.

Former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley says she will vote for Trump

Former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley said on Wednesday that she will vote for Donald Trump in the November election, despite lobbing harsh criticisms at her former rival for months on the campaign trail. There has been immense speculation on who will receive the votes of Haley's supporters in the Nov. 5 general election rematch between Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden.

Second US dairy worker infected with bird flu confirmed in Michigan

A second human case of bird flu has been confirmed in the United States since the virus was first detected in dairy cattle in late March, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The infection of a dairy worker in Michigan expands the outbreak of the virus that has circulated in poultry for years, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the risk to the general public remains low.

UCLA police chief reassigned following mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters

The police chief for the University of California at Los Angeles has been removed from his post three weeks after campus officials came under fire for their handling of a violent, overnight mob attack on pro-Palestinian activists encamped at UCLA. John Thomas, who was formally appointed UCLA police chief in January, has been "reassigned temporarily, pending an examination of our security processes," Vice Chancellor Mary Osako said in a statement on Wednesday.

US Supreme Court Justice Alito's home flew another provocative flag -NYT

A provocative flag was photographed flying outside conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's vacation home last year, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, days after news that an upside-down American flag had hung outside his Virginia home in 2021. A flag bearing the phrase "Appeal to Heaven" that was carried by some Donald Trump supporters during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol flew outside Alito's vacation home on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, in July and September of 2023, the Times reported, citing photographs and interviews.

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