Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Johnson & Johnson settles Ohio lawsuits to avoid federal trial

Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it will pay $20.4 million to settle claims by two Ohio counties, allowing the U.S. healthcare giant to avoid an upcoming federal trial seeking to hold the industry responsible for the nation's opioid epidemic. J&J became the fourth drugmaker to settle claims ahead of the Federal Court trial against multiple manufacturers and distributors in Cleveland scheduled for later this month. The case is considered a bellwether for more than 2,600 lawsuits by state and local governments that are pending nationally. Back home, at-risk Democrats face voters' partisan divide on impeachment

Speaking before a rowdy and divided crowd of about 200 at an indoor shooting range Tuesday evening, first-term House Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens from Michigan faced angry Republican voters who lashed out at her party's push for gun control - as well as its treatment of President Donald Trump. Stevens did not hold the town hall in her home district to discuss House Democrats' impeachment inquiry of Trump, but to discuss tighter gun laws, perhaps the one issue that is just as divisive in American politics. Women's sports may reap big gains from California law on college endorsement deals

Male stars of college basketball and football will likely reap the greatest immediate gains from California's new law allowing student athletes to profit from endorsement deals, but female athletes, and women's sports generally, could be big winners in the long run. Although relatively few college athletes of either gender ever advance to professional competition, women's opportunities for going pro are particularly scant compared with men, leaving them little or no chance of cashing in on their talents during their prime, proponents said. U.S. judge rejects claim Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants

Harvard University's undergraduate admissions program does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, rejecting a lawsuit brought by opponents of affirmative action and backed by the Trump administration. The lawsuit was brought by a group hoping to eventually overturn U.S. Supreme Court precedents that allow colleges to consider race as one factor in admissions, so long as quotas are not involved. Man faces sentencing for threatening to kill Boston Globe journalists

A California man faces sentencing on Wednesday for threatening to kill journalists at the Boston Globe in retaliation for its role coordinating an editorial response by hundreds of newspapers to U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on the media. Federal prosecutors in Boston are seeking a 10-month prison term for Robert Chain, 69, who they say lobbed "abhorrent, vicious, and menacing" threats at the Boston Globe and at reporters at The New York Times. Biden would ban assault rifles, but not force owners to sell them

Democrat Joe Biden would seek to make gun manufacturers more accountable for mass killings and ban assault rifles but would not force owners to sell their existing high-power weapons to the government, under gun control policy his presidential campaign rolled out on Wednesday. The former vice president, who leads in most opinion polls in the Democratic race to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election, unveiled his plan to attack gun violence ahead of a forum on the issue in Las Vegas on Wednesday. UAW rejects new GM offer as strike forces 6,000 Mexico layoffs

The United Auto Workers union said on Tuesday it rejected a new comprehensive offer from General Motors Co to end a two-week-old strike, saying the automaker came up short on several fronts including wages, healthcare and temporary workers. The union said it made a counterproposal and warned "there are still many important issues that remain unresolved." Also on Tuesday, GM said the strike by U.S. workers forced it to halt production at its pickup and transmission plants in Silao, Mexico, resulting in temporary layoffs of 6,000 workers. Ex-Dallas police officer Amber Guyger guilty in wrong-apartment murder

A Dallas jury on Tuesday found former police officer Amber Guyger guilty of murder for accidentally walking into a neighbor's apartment while thinking it was her own and fatally shooting him as he ate ice cream. The Sept. 6, 2018 killing of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old black PwC accountant, by a white officer sparked street protests, particularly when prosecutors initially opted to bring the lesser charge of manslaughter against Guyger, 31. Trump impeachment probe gains steam with briefing, depositions

Two former officials who were engaged in the Trump administration's dealings with Ukraine will meet with U.S. congressional committees starting this week, as the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump gains steam. Congressional staff was also due to attend a briefing at the Capitol on Wednesday by the State Department's inspector general, Steve Linick, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Democratic presidential candidates to tackle gun violence as impeachment talk looms large

Ten of the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination will gather in Las Vegas on Wednesday for an all-day forum on gun violence, tackling an issue that has increasingly become a chief concern for their party's voters. But the specter of the impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine could overshadow policy debates on the campaign trail, while threatening to imperil negotiations between the White House and senators on legislation to expand background checks for firearm purchases.