US News Roundup: Twitter suspends group of pro-Bloomberg accounts; Democrat Sanders Russia is trying to help his campaign and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Sanders' 'Trump-like rhetoric' encouraged vandals, Bloomberg camp says

Michael Bloomberg’s presidential campaign on Friday alleged that rival Bernie Sanders’ “Trump-like rhetoric” encouraged supporters to vandalize a Bloomberg campaign office in Tennessee and others across the country. Vandals spray-painted an expletive and the word “oligarch” on the doors of Bloomberg’s office in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday evening, the campaign said.

Despite horror stories, California cruise passengers won't let coronavirus spoil their fun

With a white captain's hat perched on his head, Calvin Ballard seemed relaxed as he waited to depart on his first-ever cruise to Mexico, unfazed by the possibility of being trapped on a ship under siege by an outbreak of coronavirus. Like many fellow vacationers streaming onto an ocean liner docked near Los Angeles, Ballard said he was well aware that passengers aboard other cruises had ended up stranded for weeks, far from home, and he vowed to take special care to stay healthy. Nonetheless, he was determined to have a good time.

U.S. national security adviser denies Russia boosting Trump reelection

U.S. President Donald Trump's national security adviser denied that U.S. intelligence officials have warned that Russia has been interfering in the U.S. presidential campaign to boost Trump's re-election chances. "I haven't seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected," Robert O'Brien, who was appointed by Trump to the post in September, said in an ABC News interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

Weinstein jury suggests hung on predatory sexual assault counts

Jurors weighing rape and sexual assault charges against Harvey Weinstein asked the judge presiding over the case whether they could be hung on two counts of predatory sexual assault. Conviction on those counts could put the former movie producer behind bars for life.

Twitter suspends group of pro-Bloomberg accounts over 'platform manipulation'

Twitter Inc on Friday said it had started suspending and restricting dozens of accounts posting content promoting U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. "We took enforcement action on about 70 accounts, which includes a combination of permanent suspensions and account challenges to verify ownership," a Twitter spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters.

Broad-based support powers Sanders to big win in Nevada Democratic vote

Broad-based support across age, racial and ideological groups propelled Bernie Sanders to a dominant victory in Nevada's Democratic caucuses, tightening his grip on the front-runner spot in the race to find a challenger to President Donald Trump. Joe Biden, the former vice president, appeared headed to a badly needed second-place finish in Nevada after poor showings earlier this month in the first two nominating contests in the Democratic presidential race ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

'Not good enough,' Warren says of Bloomberg's non-disclosure agreement pledge

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg said on Friday that his company has identified three women bound by non-disclosure agreements regarding his past conduct and that they would be released from their accords if they choose. In a statement, Bloomberg, who runs media conglomerate Bloomberg LP, said the agreements concern "comments they said I had made," and that the women should contact his company for a release.

U.S. officials tell Democrat Sanders Russia is trying to help his campaign: Washington Post

U.S. officials have told Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders that Russia is trying to help his campaign, the Washington Post reported on Friday. Republican President Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers have also been informed about the Russian assistance to Senator Sanders, said the Post, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Nevada caucuses present new test to Democrats after chaotic Iowa contest

Nevada Democrats will host hundreds of caucuses on Saturday, the third contest in the state-by-state presidential nominating process, almost three weeks after the Iowa caucuses caused mayhem when a technical meltdown delayed results. The Democratic race has narrowed to eight candidates vying for their party's nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

Sanders blasts Russia for reportedly trying to boost his presidential campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders warned Russia on Friday to stay out of 2020 White House elections after U.S. officials had told him Moscow was trying to aid his campaign. "The intelligence community is telling us they are interfering in this campaign, right now, in 2020. And what I say to Mr. Putin, if elected president, trust me you are not going to be interfering in American elections," Sanders told reporters in Bakersfield, California.

(With inputs from agencies.)