Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The US is winning over international soccer fans with a warm welcome, despite initial concerns over visa access, costs, and gun violence, showcasing a unique culture and hospitality.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Soccer-How a warm World Cup welcome is endearing the US ​to fans

Ahead of the World Cup, many international fans were sceptical of the idea ​of the U.S. as co-hosts for soccer's biggest tournament. There ‌were ​worries over visa access, high costs, gun violence, a lack of local interest in the sport and more. While those worries have not been entirely dispelled, as the tournament has got under way social media has been flooded with posts from fans visiting the country for ‌the first time and discovering something more positive - a distinctive culture of 24-hour retail, free soda refills, chicken wings dipped in ranch dressing and a warm welcome from Americans.

Swimming-American Douglass breaks 50m freestyle world record

American Kate Douglass broke Olympic champion Sarah Sjostrom's women's 50 metres freestyle world record on Friday at a U.S. Pro Swim Series event in Indianapolis. The 24-year-old, who won the 200m ‌breaststroke gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, clocked 23.59 seconds to better the 23.61 set by Swede Sjostrom at the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Trump tells Axios he ‌no longer views Anthropic as national security threat

U.S. President Donald Trump said he might have viewed artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a national security threat last week, but he no longer does, according to an interview with "The Axios Show" published on Friday. Senior Anthropic technical staff were scheduled to meet with Trump administration officials earlier this week to discuss a dispute over foreign access to its most advanced AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The company last ⁠week disabled ​access for all users to those models after ⁠Trump ordered Anthropic to block foreign nationals from accessing them.

For US Vice President JD Vance, Iran talks could shape political rise

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is poised to take on his biggest role yet on the international ⁠stage as President Donald Trump's chief negotiator to end the three-month war with Iran, a moment that could shape Vance’s prospects as a White House successor. The two nations agreed to a provisional peace agreement on Wednesday ​that suspended hostilities but left core issues unresolved, deferring decisions on Iran's nuclear program, its support for regional armed proxies and the economically vital Strait of Hormuz to ⁠60 days of talks.

Chicago police investigate shooting that left 12 injured

An apparent drive-by shooting in Chicago injured at least 12 people on Friday night, police said. The shooting occurred near Princeton Park on the city's South Side.

Maine Democrats ⁠pick ​progressive Dunlap in key House race after Golden exit

Maine Democrats nominated state auditor Matthew Dunlap to run in the state's 2nd Congressional District, a closely watched race that could help decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November, U.S. media projected on Friday. The largely rural district is one of a small number of competitive seats expected to shape ⁠the balance of power in Congress, with Democrats defending a district that has leaned Republican at the presidential level.

US appeals court blocks Trump admin from enacting new plans to slash ⁠consumer watchdog staff

A federal appeals court on ⁠Friday blocked the Trump administration's plans to immediately slash the workforce at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by about two-thirds, delivering a setback to the White House's protracted efforts to shrink the consumer watchdog. The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ‌Circuit came in response to a ‌revised plan the Justice Department submitted in late March following repeated legal defeats over its ​plans to decimate if not eliminate the CFPB.