Trump's Trials and Tribulations in US Domestic News

The latest US domestic news includes updates on Donald Trump’s criminal trial involving hush money payments, Robert De Niro's comments on Trump, the Supreme Court's decision on Michael Avenatti’s case, and more. In addition, academic protests at UCLA, severe storm fatalities, and political strategies ahead of upcoming elections are highlighted.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump sought to 'hoodwink' voters with porn star payment, prosecutor tells jury

A New York prosecutor told jurors that the hush money payment at the heart of former President Donald Trump's criminal trial was an attempt to "hoodwink the American voter" during the 2016 election, as lawyers made their closing arguments on Tuesday. Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass said the $130,000 payment that ensured porn star Stormy Daniels would not discuss an alleged sexual encounter was part of a broad effort to bury stories that might have damaged his first White House bid.

Robert De Niro calls Trump a 'clown' outside trial in Biden campaign message

Actor Robert De Niro called Donald Trump a "clown" who is bent on destroying American democracy on Tuesday outside the New York City courtroom where the Republican presidential candidate's hush money trial is being held. De Niro, a longtime Democrat who recently voiced an ad for Democratic President Joe Biden, attended a Biden campaign event outside the Manhattan courtroom with two former law enforcement officers, Harry Dunn and Michael Fanone, who were at the U.S. Capitol when it was attacked by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.

US Supreme Court rebuffs lawyer Michael Avenatti's bid to overturn Nike-related convictions

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to hear a bid by imprisoned celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti to overturn his conviction for defrauding a youth basketball coach he represented and extorting athletic wear company Nike in a case in which he was sentenced to 2-1/2 years behind bars. The justices turned away Avenatti's appeal after a lower court upheld his 2020 federal convictions in the case by a jury in New York City. Avenatti has been sentenced to 19 years in prison in three criminal cases and is incarcerated in California.

Judge rejects gag order on Trump in Florida documents criminal case

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by prosecutors to issue a gag order barring Donald Trump from making inflammatory comments about law enforcement, after his campaign falsely claimed the FBI had been authorized to assassinate him when it searched his Florida resort for classified U.S. documents. Florida-based U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon rebuffed Special Counsel Jack Smith's motion to modify the former president's conditions of release as he awaits trial on charges of mishandling classified material. Smith had said Trump's "false and inflammatory" comments about the FBI could subject the agency, as well as and trial witnesses, to threats, violence or harassment.

US House Republican Gonzales faces showdown with hardline challenger

Republican U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales will try to fend off a far-right challenge on Tuesday from a gun rights YouTube celebrity backed by hardline conservatives who have clashed with Gonzales over the U.S.-Mexico border, gun safety and same-sex marriage. In a Texas matchup that could add to the ranks of hardline Republicans in the House of Representatives next year, Gonzales is facing a primary run-off against Brandon Herrera, known as "The AK Guy" due to his enthusiasm for assault rifles, after failing to score an outright win during the state's March primary election.

US storms kill at least 21 across 4 states on Memorial Day weekend

Tornado-spawning thunderstorms that swept the Southern Plains and the Ozark Mountains have killed at least 21 people across four U.S. states as of Monday afternoon and wrecked hundreds of buildings, as forecasters warned of more severe weather. The death toll over the three-day Memorial Day holiday weekend included at least eight fatalities in Arkansas, seven in Texas, four in Kentucky and two in Oklahoma, according to tallies by state emergency authorities.

California academic workers strike in support of pro-Palestinian protests

Discord from last month's violent mob attack on pro-Palestinian students and activists encamped at the University of California, Los Angeles, flared again on Tuesday as academic workers staged a protest strike on campus protesting UCLA's response to the incident. Unionized academic researchers, graduate teaching assistants and post-doctoral scholars at UCLA walked off the job over what they regard as unfair labor practices in the university's handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks, organizers said.

Democrats to nominate Biden virtually to bypass quirk of Ohio law

The Democratic National Committee will nominate President Joe Biden as the party's presidential standard-bearer through a "virtual roll call" ahead of its August convention in Chicago, bypassing a detail in Ohio law that had threatened to keep the president off the November ballot in that state. Ohio law requires all candidates to be legally certified by Aug. 7, but Biden was not scheduled to be officially nominated until after the Democratic National Convention begins on Aug. 19. Tradition dictates that the Democrats' convention follow the Republican one in July, because Democrats hold the White House.

Man convicted of attacking Pelosi's husband gets 30-year sentence - again

The man who was convicted of assaulting then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022 was re-sentenced to 30 years in prison on Tuesday, with no change in the original sentence after the case was reopened so he could speak during his sentencing hearing, local news reported. David DePape was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison on May 17 for forcibly entering Pelosi's home in San Francisco early on Oct. 28, 2022 and clubbing her husband Paul in the head with a hammer in a politically motivated attack.

Trump backs challenger to prominent US House Republican Bob Good

Former President Donald Trump endorsed a primary election challenger to Republican Representative Bob Good, the chair of an influential House of Representatives caucus who backed a Trump opponent in this year's presidential primaries. Trump endorsed Virginia state Senator John McGuire, a former Navy SEAL, against Good in the party's June 18 primary. Good, who has led the House Freedom Caucus since January, has had a rocky relationship with Trump since the congressman endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the primary.

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