Reuters US Domestic News Summary

A US Senate committee has set a vote for June 24 on Brett Matsumoto's nomination to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, producing key US economic data.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Senate committee sets vote on Trump's BLS chief nominee

A U.S. Senate committee will vote next week on whether to advance the nomination of Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's pick to head the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that produces key economic data including monthly reports on the state of the job market and inflation. The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has set a vote for June 24, according to an undated posting on ​its website.

Soccer-US riding high after dream World Cup start, but wary of Australia

The United States will hope to keep the party going after starting the World Cup with a fluid attacking display, but must be wary of an Australia side which began with a famous victory and have been fired up by misplaced disrespect. Few would have predicted that ​Friday's game could decide who tops Group D, but the co-hosts' 4-1 rout of Paraguay followed by the Socceroos' 2-0 humbling of Turkey makes the winners firm favourites to progress in first place.

Luigi Mangione plans ‘extreme emotional disturbance’ defense at ‌CEO killing trial

Luigi Mangione, the man ​accused of gunning down a health insurance executive in Manhattan, plans to argue at his murder trial that he was undergoing an extreme mental health crisis at the time of the alleged killing, a judge revealed at a hearing on Wednesday. The strategy poses steep legal hurdles but could lead to a jury convicting Mangione of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries significantly lighter sentences.

Trump: Clayton DNI confirmation won't go forward until McDonald is confirmed as US Attorney

President Donald Trump said Wednesday's Senate hearing on Jay Clayton's nomination to become the next U.S. spy chief was canceled and would not go forward until James McDonald is confirmed as a U.S. Attorney. Last week, Trump nominated Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to be the next spy chief amid a political firestorm over Bill Pulte, a fierce loyalist whom Trump picked to fill the role on a temporary basis.

Strong US retail sales showcase economy's resilience despite Iran war

U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in May, with households boosting purchases of motor vehicles even as they paid more for gasoline, but a slowdown is likely as the cushion from ‌larger tax refunds against higher prices diminishes. The fourth straight month of strong retail sales reported by the Commerce Department on Wednesday added to a recent pickup in job growth in highlighting the economy's resilience despite the oil price shock from the U.S.-led war with Iran, which is stoking inflation.

US moves to end monitoring of Teamsters union

The U.S. Justice Department moved on Wednesday to end its oversight of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters after nearly four decades, telling a federal judge that one of the country's largest labor unions had purged itself of corruption and organized crime. The Justice Department and the Teamsters said in joint filings in Manhattan federal court that under a court settlement first approved in 1989, the 1.4 million-member union had restored democratic governance and eliminated what prosecutors once called "a campaign of fear" that included murders, bombings, theft and extortion.

Donald Trump settles lawsuit against niece over publication of tax records

U.S. President Donald Trump has settled his lawsuit accusing his niece Mary Trump of improperly leaking information to the New York Times for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 probe into his finances and his alleged effort to avoid taxes. Both sides announced a settlement in a letter filed on Tuesday with a New York state court in Manhattan, and expect to seek a formal dismissal in the coming weeks.

Trump blows up spy bill after Senate Republicans say 'no' to voter ID legislation

President Donald Trump's derailment of a U.S. Senate plan to pass a key national security bill this week is only the latest example of a growing rift with Senate Republicans, who are more willing to defy the commander-in-chief in the run-up to ‌the November midterm elections. Aiming to protect his controversial choice of loyalist Bill Pulte as acting U.S. spy chief, Trump forced the Senate Intelligence Committee to postpone a confirmation hearing for U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, his permanent nominee for director of national security, who Republicans had hoped to fast-track into the job.

As oil roundtrips, AI booms, and US consumers spend, economists' Fed outlooks hit the extremes

Is the second half of 2026 when the U.S. consumer finally cracks and leaves the economy gasping for breath, or will rising inflation and strong investment and hiring force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates to tame surging growth similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic? Pick a view and there is a highly trained economist helping advise billions ‌of dollars in capital who shares it, particularly now when the outlook is muddied by volatile geopolitics, U.S. growth that seems narrowly based but continues beating expectations, and financial markets that may reflect an economy on the cusp of a profound transformation or yet another bubble.

US SEC poised to allow stock token trading in potential market shakeup

U.S. equity markets face a potential shakeup as the Securities and Exchange Commission readies a new policy that would allow crypto companies to offer blockchain-based stocks, analysts and lawyers said. The crypto industry says tokenized stocks — blockchain-based instruments that track traditional equities — could revolutionize stock markets by allowing shares to be traded 24/7 and settled instantly, boosting liquidity and reducing transaction costs.

US Health Department announces over $700 million to combat mental health, addiction, homelessness

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday announced more than $700 million in new funding opportunities aimed at tackling mental illness, addiction and homelessness. The package includes a new $96 million grant program, Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-based Treatment and Support, or STREETS, which will award funding to eight communities, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

Warsh Fed holds rates steady. Trump says 'It's all right. Whatever.'

President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed confidence in Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh after the new central bank chief concluded his first rate-setting meeting with a decision to leave interest rates unchanged and published projections that showed nearly half of U.S. central bankers feel a rate hike will be needed this year. "It's all right. Whatever," Trump said in France, when asked what he felt about the Fed's decision to hold interest rates steady.

Trump delays spy nominee Clayton's confirmation, wants voter ID law

U.S. President Donald Trump threw doubt on Wednesday on the confirmation of his nominee to become the nation's top spy, Jay Clayton, ordering its abrupt postponement in an effort to force Congress to pass a strict voter identification bill. Republicans who have been pushing for rapid Senate approval of Clayton, the top U.S. attorney ⁠for Manhattan, to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) ​had said his confirmation hearing would go ahead as scheduled, until Trump ordered him not to appear.

Trump administration removed dozens of national park exhibits that 'disparage' US

The U.S. National Park Service has removed at least 51 exhibits from ⁠37 sites to carry out President Donald Trump's executive order targeting displays that "inappropriately disparage Americans past or living," a court-ordered inventory showed. The examples revealed in a Trump administration filing on Wednesday span a variety of national parks and monuments including Philadelphia's Independence National Historical Park, where an exhibit describing the ownership of enslaved people by George Washington, the first U.S. president, was removed.

Fed's Warsh flags new tasks forces to study Fed operations

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh announced on Wednesday a wide-ranging project to review key aspects of central bank policy making, in a move that indicated any near-term moves to change how the Fed manages its massive stock of bonds lay well off in the future. “I'm appointing a task force in each of five areas that are central to the broad conduct of monetary policy,” Warsh said in a press conference following the first interest-rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting held under his stewardship.

Congress to hold hearing on US ⁠airline competition, regulation

A House of Representatives panel will hold a June 24 hearing on the state of U.S. airline competition and regulation after the collapse of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines last month. A House Judiciary subcommittee that oversees antitrust issues will hold a hearing titled "The 30,000 Foot View: Competition and Regulation in the U.S. Airline Industry." Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu is expected to testify at the hearing.

Warsh-led Fed expected to leave interest rates unchanged

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday at the end of the first meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh, with a new policy statement and economic projections likely to reflect growing concern about the inflation stoked by the Iran war even as oil prices slide on peace deal hopes. With recent data showing strong U.S. hiring, a relatively low 4.3% unemployment rate, and inflation well above the U.S. central bank's 2% ​target, many analysts anticipate the Fed will remove language from its policy statement about "additional adjustments" to its benchmark interest rate, a reference that had been used to indicate likely future decreases in borrowing costs.

US progesterone supplies tighten as menopause treatment demand grows

U.S. supplies of progesterone are coming under strain, with patients, clinicians, and pharmacists reporting recent intermittent shortages of oral versions of the hormone used in many fertility and menopause treatments. The supply concerns come as women going through menopause across the country are already facing difficulties filling prescriptions for estrogen patches, another commonly used hormone therapy.

US business inventories increase as expected in April

U.S. business inventories increased strongly in April, suggesting that inventory investment could contribute to economic ⁠growth in the second quarter. Inventories rose 0.5% after advancing 1.0% in March, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Wednesday. The increase in inventories, a key component of gross domestic product and one of the most volatile, was in line with economists' expectations. They advanced 2.7% year-on-year in April. Inventories have been drawn down for four straight quarters, and almost had a neutral impact on the first quarter's 1.6% annualized growth rate.

Warsh kicks off Fed chief era with sweeping review as rates remain unchanged

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh opened a new era of U.S. monetary policy on Wednesday, with officials agreeing to leave interest rates unchanged despite inflation stuck well above their target but also launching an ambitious review that could reshape how the central bank makes decisions and communicates with the public. Warsh, who took over as Fed chief last month, made an immediate imprint in organizing a unanimous consensus around a stripped-down policy statement that jettisoned any forward guidance on what actions the central bank might take in the ⁠near term, ​although new quarterly projections, eschewed by Warsh himself, showed nine of 19 policymakers now anticipate a rate hike by the end of 2026.

Fed chief Warsh skips rate-path 'dot,' launches communications review

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh did not submit an interest-rate path projection as part of the central bank’s quarterly publication of economic projections on Wednesday, spelling big changes ahead for what's become a key guidepost for investors on monetary policy. The central bank's latest "dot plot" released on Wednesday depicting the anonymized individual rate-path views of policymakers featured just 18 submissions. The full slate of Fed policymakers numbers 19.

US pending home sales increase to a six-month high in May

Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes increased more than expected in May, though higher mortgage rates and tight supply remained constraints for the housing market. The pending home sales index rose 3.8% last month to 76.8, the highest level since last November, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, increasing 0.8%. Contracts increased in all four regions, soaring 8.7% in the Northeast and surging 8.1% in the Midwest.

Soccer-Unquenchable Scottish thirst for World Cup beer pushes Boston bars to the limit

Bars in Boston are gearing up for a second tidal wave of drinking by Scotland's Tartan Army of football fans who nearly drained some pubs of all their beer in the first weekend of their World Cup occupation of the city. When Scotland beat Haiti 1-0 on Saturday in their first World Cup appearance since 1998, bar staff had to scramble ⁠for emergency supplies to satisfy the country's famously raucous and thirsty fans who have packed into Boston by the tens of thousands.

Tropical Storm Arthur forms near Texas coast, life-threatening flooding expected

Tropical Storm Arthur formed near the Texas coast and is expected to bring life-threatening flooding across portions of the Southeastern U.S., the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday. The storm — the first named system of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season — was located about 20 miles (35 km) north-northwest of Matagorda, Texas, on Wednesday afternoon, producing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour (75 km/h).

Death rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump, Reuters analysis finds

A Vietnamese man with cardiovascular problems collapsed and died in the “Speedway Slammer,” the repurposed Indiana maximum-security prison ⁠that’s become a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In a Pennsylvania detention center, a Chinese man who had previously attempted suicide was found hanging in the shower. In a New York facility, a Honduran man with ⁠an elevated heart rate and tremors from alcohol withdrawal died in his cell with no emergency care. These men are among 50 people who have died in U.S. immigration detention since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation campaign in January 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement records show.

Trump administration to pay $765 million to scrap four more offshore wind leases

The Trump administration on Wednesday said it would pay $765 million to power project developer Invenergy to terminate four wind leases off the coasts of New York, California and Maine. The Department of the Interior said in a statement that Invenergy will use those funds to develop natural gas power plants in five Midwestern states and geothermal projects in the Western United States.

New York LaGuardia airport to temporarily close runway to address pavement issue

New York's LaGuardia airport said on Wednesday it will close a runway at 5 p.m. EDT to address a pavement issue, the second time in less than a month it has been forced to close a runway. The airport said a two-inch depression adjacent to a runway was identified, forcing the closure so crews can conduct additional testing, identify the cause, ‌and perform any stabilization work and aim to return the runway to operations by Thursday morning. Last month, the busy airport was forced to close ‌a runway for two days because of a runway sinkhole.

US FTC sues transgender health nonprofit over youth care standards

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission and four states accused a nonprofit focused on transgender health of making misleading statements about the benefits of gender-affirming treatments for young people in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is the latest move ​by the Trump administration and Republican-led states to limit gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Texas, Iowa, Nebraska and Alaska joined the lawsuit filed in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas.