Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. White House unveils plan to speed big projects permits, sidestepping climate concern

The Trump administration on Thursday unveiled a plan to speed permitting for major infrastructure projects like oil pipelines, including by dropping consideration of their potential impact on climate change. The plan, released by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), would help the administration advance big energy projects like the Keystone XL oil pipeline that had been tied up over concerns about their effect on global warming. California governor deploys trailers, tents, funds in homelessness 'emergency'

Responding to a growing crisis on the streets of California's cities, Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday sought to create a $750 million fund to help house the homeless and directed the state to immediately start setting up tents and trailers. Newsom said the money, if approved in the 2020-21 budget, would be distributed to major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as smaller communities to pay rent for homeless people and create more temporary housing. Uber stops upfront ride pricing in response to California worker law

Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday informed its California customers that it would switch to providing estimates as opposed to fixed prices for its rides in response to a new law that makes it harder to qualify its drivers as contractors. In an email sent out to riders and seen by Reuters the company said the final price would now be calculated at the end of a trip, "based on the actual time and distance traveled." Will having a lead female defense attorney help Harvey Weinstein? The jury is out

When Donna Rotunno agreed to represent former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein as lead defense attorney in his New York rape trial, she believed that her gender could prove to be an asset in the courtroom. Rotunno took the case in June 2019, two years after dozens of allegations against Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement, in which hundreds of women accused powerful men in business and politics of sexual harassment or assault. Millions of people used the hashtag "#MeToo" to share their stories on social media and Hollywood celebrities began the "Times Up" campaign to fight sexual misconduct in the workplace. U.S. House to vote this week to limit Trump's military actions on Iran: Pelosi

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday the House would vote on a resolution intended to limit President Donald Trump's military actions regarding Iran, stating that concerns about the administration's strategy and decisions were not addressed in a briefing with lawmakers. Pelosi said on Monday the House would vote on a war powers resolution, but did not provide many details on its timing then. Resigning California congressman's seat to be left vacant for year

California Governor Gavin Newsom has decided against calling a special election to fill the seat U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter will leave vacant in Congress next week when he resigns following his conviction in a federal corruption scandal. Newsom's decision on Wednesday, a day after the six-term Republican announced he would leave office effective Jan. 13, means Hunter's district, encompassing parts of San Diego and Riverside counties, will go without elected representation through 2020. Democratic fundraiser ActBlue touts $1 billion in 2019 online donations

Grassroots donors gave about $1 billion to Democratic candidates and progressive groups in 2019 through the online fundraising organization ActBlue, the nonprofit said on Thursday. About a third of the money arrived during the last three months of the year, with more than $20 million donated on Dec. 31 alone, the group said. New York governor renews effort to legalize recreational marijuana

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday pledged for the second year in a row to legalize recreational marijuana, looking for his state to become the nation's 12th to do so and saying that it could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Cuomo, a Democrat, made the legalization of cannabis a key priority as he outlined his agenda for 2020, saying taxes imposed by a regulatory scheme could bring some $300 million into the state's coffers and confront injustices in enforcement of drug laws. U.S. appeals court stays judge's ruling blocking military funds for border wall

A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday put on hold a lower court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump's administration from using $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build a wall on the country's border with Mexico. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay pending the Trump administration's appeal of a Dec. 10 decision by a federal judge that barred the funding transfer. Trump administration casts doubt on women's rights amendment push

The Trump administration on Wednesday said it was too late to renew the effort to push through a decades-old proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ensure American women have equal rights to men. The U.S. Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion saying the deadline had long passed for additional states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which was backed by 35 states in the 1970s, three short of the required number.