US Domestic News Summary: CDC probes lung illnesses linked to e-cigarette use

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. CDC probes lung illnesses linked to e-cigarette use

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a "cluster" of lung illnesses that it believes may be linked to e-cigarette use after such cases were reported in 14 states. The CDC said there was no evidence that an infectious disease was behind the illnesses and that more information was needed to determine whether they were in fact caused by e-cigarette use. Ohio man charged with threatening Jewish community centre

An Ohio man who authorities said is a self-described white nationalist is in custody on charges that he threatened to attack a local Jewish community centre. James Reardon, 20, was being held on $250,000 bond on Sunday on charges of aggravated menacing and online harassment, according to records from the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office. Police make arrests as right-wing, anti-fascist groups rally in Portland

Police in Portland, Oregon arrested at least 13 people on Saturday as a right-wing group marched to a downtown waterfront park and anti-fascist counterprotesters scuffled with officers who tried to keep the two sides apart. A rally by hundreds of supporters of the right-wing Proud Boys organization was met by a similar number of "Antifa" opponents, and isolated clashes broke out between both sides and between antifa and police as the gathering wrapped up. Kathleen Blanco, Louisiana's first woman governor, dies, led the state through hurricanes

Trailblazing former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, whose tenure was dominated by the trauma of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, has died from complications of cancer, the state's current governor said on Sunday. She was 76. Blanco, a Democrat, was the first woman elected to lead the state, serving as governor from 2004 to 2008. Trump affirms that Mike Pence will be 2020 running mate

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would keep Vice President Mike Pence as his running mate when he seeks re-election in November 2020. "I'm very happy with Mike Pence," Trump, who is expected to easily win the Republican nomination for a second term, told reporters before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey. Suspect in New York City subway scare apprehended by police

A man blamed by New York City police for leaving two kitchen appliances resembling pressure cookers in a subway station, causing chaos for commuters during Friday morning's rush hour, has been apprehended, authorities said on Saturday. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea wrote on Twitter that the individual, caught on camera leaving the devices inside the Fulton Street station in Lower Manhattan, was located and an investigation continues. No other details were immediately available. The official autopsy concludes Epstein's death was suicide by hanging

New York City's chief medical examiner determined on Friday that suicide by hanging was the cause of death for financier Jeffrey Epstein, whose body was found six days ago in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The sparely worded official announcement detailing the autopsy conclusions rebutted a host of conspiracy theories - including one promoted by President Donald Trump - that had circulated on social media about the death of the well-connected former money manager. For Trump, appeals to white fears about race may be a tougher sell in 2020: Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric and focus on the grievances of white voters helped him win the 2016 election. But a Reuters analysis of public opinion over the last four years suggests that Trump's brand of white identity politics may be less effective in the 2020 election campaign. The analysis comes amid widespread criticism of Trump's racially charged comments about four minority women lawmakers and the fallout from a mass shooting of Hispanics in El Paso, Texas, that many Democratic presidential candidates swiftly blamed on the president's rhetoric.