US Domestic News Summary: Trump impeachment inquiry awaits key witnesses, but some will be no-shows

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump impeachment inquiry awaits key witnesses, but some will be no-shows

U.S. lawmakers leading an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump have scheduled another crucial round of testimony this week, but several key White House witnesses plan to defy them and some other administration officials could follow suit. Refusals by Trump loyalists to appear before Democratic-led committees could set the stage for a battle between the White House and lawmakers over their power to conduct the investigations. Some Democrats say, Trump, who has ordered administration officials not to cooperate, should face an obstruction of justice charge among the impeachment counts they plan to consider against him. South Dakota man convicted of 1992 stabbing death of former doughnut shop co-worker

A South Dakota man convicted of fatally stabbing a former doughnut shop co-worker during a 1992 burglary was put to death by lethal injection late on Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court denied three 11th-hour petitions for stays of his execution. The execution of 63-year-old Charles Rhines, whose lawyers argued his death sentence was tainted by anti-gay bias toward him on the part of his jurors, was confirmed by federal public defender Shawn Nolan in a statement. Gunmen kill Mormon family members in north Mexico

Gunmen have killed up to nine members of a U.S. Mormon family, believed to be mainly children, in the latest massacre to afflict Mexico, family members said. The victims belonged to the LeBaron family from a breakaway Mormon community that settled in the hills and plains of northern Mexico decades ago. Trump wins political support from key Nats players in White House fete

Popular players on the Washington Nationals baseball team praised Donald Trump at Monday's White House celebration of their World Series championship, days after the polarizing U.S. president drew boos from fans and criticism from a pitcher on the underdog team. Trump congratulated the Nationals on their first ever World Series title against the Houston Astros last week, drawing cheers from thousands of red-clad Nationals fans at the White House South Portico, and winning plaudits from players who took turns at the microphone. Trump urges Kentucky ahead of state vote: Send impeachment Democrats a message

Under siege in an impeachment inquiry, President Donald Trump urged voters in Kentucky on Monday to send Democrats arrayed against him in Washington a message by voting for the re-election on Tuesday of the state's Republican governor. Trump's speech to thousands of supporters was an explicit attempt to make the governor's election in Kentucky a referendum on his presidency as he tries to survive an impeachment probe in the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. border patrol officer kills suspected undocumented immigrant

A suspected undocumented immigrant was shot and killed in Sunland Park, New Mexico on Monday after he fired at the U.S. patrol officers who were investigating a possible illegal border crossing, officials said. The Customs and Border Protection officers were investigating in an area close to the border between the United States and Mexico, which is when they encountered the suspect and chased him on foot, the New Mexican state police said in a statement posted online. U.S. Supreme Court mulls making it easier to deport immigrants for crimes

U.S. Supreme Court justices considered on Monday whether to make it easier for federal authorities to deport certain immigrants who have committed crimes, a population targeted by President Donald Trump's administration. The nine justices during an hour of arguments appeared divided over the fate of Andre Martello Barton, a legal permanent U.S. resident from Jamaica who challenged his planned deportation for drug and gun convictions in Georgia dating back to 1996. U.S. House Democrats to continue probe after Boeing testimony

The chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the head of its aviation subcommittee said on Monday that it will continue its investigation into two fatal 737 MAX crashes after Boeing's testimony prompted new questions. Representatives Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen said in a joint letter to fellow lawmakers that Boeing Co-Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg's answers at Wednesday's hearing "were consistent with a culture of concealment and opaqueness and reflected the immense pressure exerted on Boeing employees during the development and production of the 737 MAX." Trump issued for defamation by woman who claims he raped her in the 1990s

A woman who accuses Donald Trump of raping her more than 23 years ago in a New York department store sued the U.S. president on Monday over statements he made in June denying that the attack occurred and criticizing her for coming forward. E. Jean Carroll, a longtime Elle magazine advice columnist, said in a complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan that Trump lied about attacking her, and "smeared her integrity, honesty, and dignity" by concocting a "swarm of related lies" to explain why she would make the incident up. Trial of longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone to begin on Tuesday

The criminal trial of President Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone is set to begin on Tuesday in what could become a colorful sideshow generating unflattering headlines for the president even as he faces a fast-moving impeachment inquiry. Stone, a longtime Republican operative and self-described "dirty trickster" and "agent provocateur," has pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering and lying to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee. That committee is now spearheading the impeachment inquiry in the Democratic-led House focusing on the Republican president's request that Ukraine investigates political rival, Joe Biden.

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