Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
O'Rourke to host Texas voting rights rally as U.S. Democrats push reforms
Former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will headline a voting rights rally in Texas on Sunday, a day before Democrats in the U.S. Senate take up a sweeping bill aimed at combating new Republican-backed voting restrictions in that state and others across the country. Democratic lawmakers in Texas staged a dramatic, 11th-hour walkout as the legislative session was ending last month, blocking the Republican majority from passing a wide-ranging bill that would have eliminated drive-through and overnight voting, made it easier for judges to overturn election results and given partisan poll watchers more access to polling sites.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump-backed challenge to Obamacare
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican bid backed by former President Donald Trump's administration to invalidate Obamacare, preserving the landmark healthcare law for the third time since its 2010 enactment. The 7-2 ruling declared that Texas and other challengers had no legal standing to file their lawsuit seeking to nullify a law, formally called the Affordable Care Act, that has enabled millions of Americans to obtain medical coverage either through public programs or private insurers. The decision was authored by liberal Justice Stephen Breyer.
St. Louis couple who brandished guns at protesters plead guilty
A St. Louis, Missouri, couple who drew international attention for brandishing guns at racial justice protesters last year pleaded guilty on Thursday to misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident. A St. Louis grand jury indicted personal injury lawyers Mark McCloskey, 64, and his wife Patricia McCloskey, 62, on felony unlawful use of a weapon and tampering charges in October, four months after the incident.
Senators cobbling together bipartisan U.S. infrastructure proposal
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday met with members of a bipartisan group of senators struggling to develop an infrastructure proposal that could make it through Congress while achieving President Joe Biden's goals. Twenty-one of the 100 senators, including 11 Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats have joined on the bipartisan proposal, building out a framework that sources said would cost $1.2 trillion over eight years.
Temperatures soar again in U.S. Southwest heatwave, misery spreads east
A baking heatwave that has gripped the U.S. Southwest for three days spread eastward to Iowa and Missouri on Thursday, while punishing the hardest-hit areas with record high temperatures that have strained power systems. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings for much of the Southwest, including Arizona, southern Nevada, much of California and southern Utah. Heat advisories were issued for parts of the Central Plains, including Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.
U.S. Supreme Court rules for Nestle, Cargill over slavery lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a lawsuit accusing Cargill Inc and a Nestle SA subsidiary of knowingly helping perpetuate slavery at Ivory Coast cocoa farms, but sidestepped a broader ruling on the permissibility of suits accusing American companies of human rights violations abroad. The 8-1 ruling authored by Justice Clarence Thomas reversed a lower court decision that had allowed the lawsuit, brought on behalf of former child slaves from Mali who worked at the farms, filed against the companies in 2005 to proceed.
Senate Democrats 'encouraged' on voting rights bill, McConnell opposed
U.S. Senate Democrats scrambled to unite around a sweeping election reform bill they hope to begin debating next week, in the face of Republican opposition and moves by several states to pass laws placing new restrictions on voting. Several Democrats expressed optimism over a compromise plan proposed by moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, details of which were released on Wednesday.
Biden signs 'Juneteenth' bill, asks U.S. to reflect on slavery's 'terrible toll'
U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris signed a bill into law on Thursday to make June 19 a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, as the White House pushes to address the country's historical injustices. The bill, which was passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday after clearing the Senate unanimously, marks the day in 1865 when a Union general informed a group of enslaved people in Texas that they had been made free two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.
U.S. Justice Dept. calls state laws restricting trans rights unconstitutional
The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday made its most forceful statement against a wave of Republican-backed state laws that restrict transgender rights, saying measures enacted in West Virginia and Arkansas should be struck down in the courts. Justice Department lawyers urged a West Virginia judge to invalidate a state law banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports in middle and high schools and colleges, in a legal brief known as a "statement of interest."
U.S. motor vehicle travel jumped by 55% in April over 2020 levels
U.S. motorists drove 55% more miles in April over pandemic levels in 2020 as more Americans return to offices and resume trips. The Federal Highway Administration said motorists drove 256.5 billion miles in April, up 90.6 billion miles over April 2020. In seasonally adjusted figures, travel in April was down 4.7%, or 12.3 billion miles, versus March 2021, the agency said.
