US Domestic News Roundup: Retail Sales, Juneteenth, and More

This summary highlights key US domestic news stories including retail sales performance, Juneteenth celebrations, ongoing changes in abortion laws, mass pardons for marijuana convictions, smartphone bans in Los Angeles schools, suspension of avocado and mango inspections in Mexico, Biden's citizenship program, the Colorado gay nightclub killer's trial, campaign finance in presidential race, and Boeing's CEO facing Senate questions.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US retail sales miss expectations in May

U.S. retail sales increased less than expected in May as lower prices for gasoline weighed on receipts at service stations. Retail sales rose 0.1% last month after a downwardly revised 0.2% drop in April, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Retail sales were previously reported to have been unchanged in April.

Explainer-What is Juneteenth and how are people marking the day?

Juneteenth, a day that marks the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, is always observed on June 19 each year. It became a U.S. federal holiday in 2021, following the signing of a bill by President Joe Biden. Long a regional holiday in the South, Juneteenth rose in prominence across the country following 2020 protests over the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other African Americans.

US abortion rights still in flux two years after Roe reversal

Nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, litigation over abortion has exploded. Justice Samuel Alito wrote in 2022's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the court's longstanding precedent had "enflamed debate and deepened division." He said it was time to take the abortion issue out of the hands of the court and return it "to the people's elected representatives."

Maryland governor pardons over 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions

The governor of Maryland pardoned more than 175,000 low-level marijuana convictions on Monday, an executive action he said was aimed at addressing the disproportionate impact the state's drug policies have had on people of color. The mass pardon by Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, comes after Maryland residents voted in November 2022 to legalize adult use of marijuana through a ballot referendum.

Los Angeles schools to consider ban on smartphones

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday will consider banning smartphones for its 429,000 students in an attempt to insulate a generation of kids from distractions and social media that undermine learning and hurt mental health. The proposal was being formulated before U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Monday called for a warning label on social media platforms, akin to those on cigarette packages, due to what he considers a mental health emergency.

US suspends avocado, mango inspections in Mexican state on security concerns

The United States paused safety inspections for avocados and mangos from a top-producing Mexican state due to a security incident involving U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) staff, a spokesperson for the agency said on Monday. The spokesperson said Mexican exports from the western state of Michoacan have not been blocked, and avocados and mangos already in transit would not be affected by the suspension of inspections, which would be paused "until further notice."

Biden offers path to citizenship to spouses of US citizens in election-year gambit

President Joe Biden on Tuesday will announce a program offering a path to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who are married to U.S. citizens, a large-scale legalization effort that contrasts sharply with Republican rival Donald Trump's plan for mass deportations. The program, which will roll out in coming months, will be open to an estimated 500,000 spouses who have lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years as of June 17, senior Biden administration officials said in a call with reporters on Monday. Some 50,000 children under age 21 with a U.S.-citizen parent also will be eligible, they said. The majority of people who would likely benefit are Mexicans, they added.

Colorado gay nightclub killer due to plead guilty to federal charges, get life in prison

The convicted shooter who killed five people in a 2022 attack at a gay nightclub in Colorado is expected to plead guilty to federal hate crime and gun charges at a court hearing on Tuesday and be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, has already been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to state murder charges in a separate prosecution last year for the attack on Club Q in Colorado Springs.

Pro-Trump groups outspend pro-Biden groups so far in US presidential race

Outside groups supporting Donald Trump's presidential bid have spent significantly more money in recent months than groups that are working to re-elect Democratic President Joe Biden, according to a Reuters analysis of campaign finance records. Pro-Trump spending groups have spent more than $25 million since Trump clinched the Republican nomination on March 6, Federal Election Commission records show, compared to more than $15 million spent by Biden's allies during the same time.

Boeing CEO to face harsh Senate questions, new whistleblower claims

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will face tough questions from U.S. senators on Tuesday over the planemaker's safety culture as well claims from a new whistleblower employee. Calhoun will appear at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the first time he will face lawmakers' questions after a January mid-air emergency involving an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 raised widespread alarm.

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