US Domestic News Roundup: Gas explosion kills one: Kentucky; U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky to testify in assault trial

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. federal death penalty protocol faces fresh legal scrutiny

Plans by President Donald Trump's administration to resume executions of inmates sentenced to death for federal crimes is set to face a stiff court challenge, but a judge's decision on the legality of its new protocol for lethal injections may come too late for five men scheduled to die starting in December. Attorney General William Barr's July 25 announcement of a single-drug protocol for executing federal prisoners jump-started a long-running civil lawsuit challenging the Justice Department's capital punishment procedures as a violation of the U.S. Constitution and a federal law governing how regulations are enacted.

Navy revokes awards given to prosecutors in Navy SEAL court-martial

U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Wednesday revoked awards given to several military prosecutors in the court-martial of a Navy SEAL who was acquitted of murdering an Iraqi prisoner but convicted of unlawfully posing for photos with his dead body. The move coincided with tweets from President Donald Trump repeating his support for Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher and directing Spencer to rescind awards that were "ridiculously given" to prosecutors who, according to Trump, "lost the case" against Gallagher.

Gas explosion in rural Kentucky kills one, ignites homes

A gas line explosion early on Thursday in a residential community in rural Kentucky sent up a ball of flame that could be seen for miles, killing one person and setting several houses on fire, a local sheriff said. The explosion in Moreland, a community about 40 miles (65 km) south of Lexington, was on a natural gas pipeline operated by the firm Enbridge Inc, the company said in a statement.

Biden steadies ship while setting up an impending clash with Warren

After two sets of Democratic presidential debates, it appears that Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, at least at the moment, are two high-speed trains on a collision course. Biden, the former vice president, likely did enough at Wednesday's debate in Detroit to ease concerns among supporters that his front-runner status was in immediate danger after his underwhelming performance in the first debate in June.

After debate, Democrats will try to gain traction

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden survived another debate night of sustained criticism, while many of his rivals for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination leave Detroit hoping they did enough to keep their bids alive. This week's back-to-back debates gave 20 contenders in the field vying for the party's nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump next year a chance to make their cases to a national audience and assert distinctions on policy and style.

U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky to testify in assault trial

U.S. rapper A$AP Rocky will give testimony in a Swedish court on Thursday on the second day of his assault trial after he and two of his entourage were accused of punching and kicking a teenager. On day one of the trial on Tuesday, the 30-year-old performer, producer, and model, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm. His lawyer told the court he acted in self-defense.

Baltimore pushes back against Trump while acknowledging problems

After U.S. President Donald Trump described Maryland's largest city as "a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess" and a "very dangerous & filthy place" last weekend, Baltimore resident Blondina Bean had mixed feelings about his tweets. Bean, whose 19-year-old son George Phillips was killed in a robbery attempt last year in Baltimore, said she was torn because she felt Trump was right about the majority-black city's high crime rate but wrong to use what she called racist language.

Puerto Rico set for political clash over next governor

Puerto Rico's political crisis risked deepening on Thursday as lawmakers and street protesters opposed the Washington corporate lawyer tapped to replace disgraced Governor Ricardo Rosselló. A day before Rosselló was set to resign over offensive chat messages that sparked mass protests, some members of his party vowed to reject his chosen successor, Pedro Pierluisi, largely over conflict of interest concerns.

Democrats pass up chance to dent GM on job cuts in Detroit debates

Detroit-based General Motors Co emerged from two days of Democratic debates in its hometown largely unscathed as 2020 White House hopefuls largely passed up an opportunity to criticize it for significant job cuts in recent months. The largest U.S. automaker has come under fierce criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for months after its November announcement that it would end production at five North American assembly plants and eliminate about 14,700 jobs. It had been bracing for searing attacks when Democrats descended on Detroit for the second round of debates on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Change in New York State law to usher in 'tidal wave' of child sex abuse lawsuits

Thousands of child sexual abuse lawsuits are expected to flow into New York State courts in the coming weeks exposing decades-old misconduct at schools, hospitals, churches and youth clubs, according to lawyers for victims. On Aug. 14, the Child Victims Act takes effect, giving people one year to sue over allegations of sexual abuse, regardless of when they said it occurred.

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