Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Ransom notes tied to the six-month-old kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie, mother of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie, have been released by investigators in Arizona, renewing efforts to identify the culprits.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ransom notes tied to Nancy Guthrie ​kidnapping released six months into unsolved case

Two ransom notes purportedly written ​by kidnappers who abducted the mother of "Today" show ‌co-host ​Savannah Guthrie were released on Friday, six months after Nancy Guthrie vanished in Arizona, as investigators renewed efforts to identify the culprits. Copies of the two email messages were posted online by the Pima County Sheriff's Department ‌with a notice appealing again to members of the public to come forward with information that might help identify the masked prowler caught on video by Nancy Guthrie's doorbell camera outside her home around the time she went missing.

Fires on more than 250,000 acres of Washington state prompt evacuations

Wildfires across more than ‌a quarter of a million acres in Washington state have prompted widespread evacuations and power outages in the Spokane area, state officials said ‌on Saturday evening. About 4,000 people were fighting more than a dozen fires throughout the state, Dave Upthegrove, the state's commissioner of public lands, said during a virtual press conference.

US lawmaker Kaptur injured in car crash, her office says

U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries after a car crash in Toledo, Ohio, on Sunday, the Democratic lawmaker's office ⁠said. Kaptur, 80, was ​a passenger in the vehicle and ⁠on her way to church, her office said. Toledo police did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, but told local news outlets that officers responded to a two-vehicle ⁠crash shortly before 11 a.m. EDT. Police described it as a hit-and-run, or "hit-skip," incident, multiple outlets reported.

US to make visa bond program permanent for people from dozens of ​countries

The U.S. State Department will make permanent a visa bond program that could require applicants from 50 countries, mostly from Africa, to post ⁠bonds of up to $20,000 when seeking U.S. visas, according to a federal notice posted online on Friday. The Federal Register notice applies to B1 and B2 visas, which are issued for ⁠business ​and tourism travel.

US Senate Judiciary Committee to consider Blanche nomination for attorney general on Tuesday

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled an executive business meeting for Tuesday to consider the nomination of Todd Blanche to be U.S. attorney general, according to the committee's website. Blanche's nomination has been stalled ⁠after a standoff with fellow Republicans over a plan by President Donald Trump for $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that could be used to pay people ⁠who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on ⁠January 6, 2021.

Idaho mass shooter died from self-inflicted gunshot, police say

The man who fatally shot three people and injured more than half a dozen others this weekend in Twin Falls, Idaho, died from a self-inflicted gunshot ‌wound, police said on ‌Sunday. Twin Falls Police Chief Matthew Hicks told a press conference that the 24-year-old ​suspect, identified as Chad Williams, acted alone.