Robert De Niro Blasts Trump, Supreme Court Nixes Avenatti Appeal, Hunter Biden Faces Trial

Actor Robert De Niro criticized Donald Trump outside his hush money trial while supporting Biden. The U.S. Supreme Court declined Michael Avenatti's appeal to overturn his Nike-related conviction. Hunter Biden's trial on gun charges begins soon. President Biden plots campaign strategy, including a focus on Black voters.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

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.

Texas judge again transfers lawsuit over card late fee rule to Washington, D.C

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Tuesday scored a jurisdictional victory when a federal judge in Texas transferred to another court in Washington, D.C., an industry-backed lawsuit challenging the agency's rule capping credit card late fees at $8. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth moved swiftly to transfer the lawsuit out of his courthouse for a second time after a federal appeals court that had previously prevented him from doing so relinquished jurisdiction on Friday.

Historic criminal trial of Hunter Biden to probe drug addiction

The criminal trial of Hunter Biden on gun charges kicks off next week, with federal prosecutors likely to dissect lurid details of his crack cocaine addiction that could provide fuel for opponents of his father's presidential reelection bid. Hunter Biden will be the first child of a sitting president to be a criminal defendant when jury selection begins on Monday, coming just days after another historic first: the criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

Jurors likely to begin deliberations in Trump hush money trial

Jurors are likely to begin deliberations on Wednesday in Donald Trump's hush money trial, sorting through weeks of evidence and testimony behind closed doors as they determine whether he will become the first U.S. president convicted of a crime. It was far from certain how long they might take to reach a verdict in the case with Trump, 77, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star in the final weeks of the 2016 election.

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.

Exclusive-Nicotine-like chemicals in U.S. vapes may be more potent than nicotine, FDA says

Nicotine alternatives used in vapes being launched in the U.S. and abroad, such as 6-methyl nicotine, may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself, though the scientific data remains incomplete, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and independent researchers. The synthetic substances - which have a chemical structure similar to that of nicotine - are not subject to U.S. tobacco and vaping regulations that are designed to control traditional nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

Biden campaign plots stay-the-course strategy after Trump verdict

Typically, if your political opponent is convicted of a felony, it's considered a rare gift. But as the world anticipates a verdict in Donald Trump's criminal case in New York, President Joe Biden's campaign does not plan to change course, even for a guilty verdict.

Biden returns to Philadelphia to court Black voters

President Joe Biden will unveil a new coalition in Philadelphia on Wednesday to court Black voters, a critical voting bloc that is showing signs of weakness for Democrats ahead of the November election. Black voters have historically turned out for Biden and Democrats, but polls show they could be less supportive of him this year while their support for his rival Donald Trump in national and state polls has been surprisingly high for a Republican.

U.S. health secretary sees pandemic treaty deal as close

The top U.S. health official said on Wednesday it would be "tragic" for the world to miss out on key reforms to the global pandemic response and that a treaty deal was within reach, with no major differences between negotiators. Health officials are meeting in Geneva this week to try to wrap up more than two years of negotiations on a pandemic treaty and a series of updates to existing International Health Rules (IHR). However, countries have failed to finalise the treaty at this assembly and countries are considering an extension.

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