Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Pacific Northwest cities shatter heat records again, life grinds to a halt

The cities of Portland and Salem in Oregon, and Seattle in Washington set new temperature records on Monday as the Pacific Northwest baked under a heatwave that has shut down much of daily life for residents. In Salem, Oregon's state capitol, temperatures reached 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47.2 degrees Celsius), the hottest since record-keeping began in the 1890s.

'Stop denying racism, start dismantling it,' U.N. rights chief says

Nations should "start dismantling racism", set up reparations programmes and prosecute law enforcement officials for unlawful killings of people of African descent, the U.N. human rights chief said on Monday. Michelle Bachelet, in a global report sparked by the murder of African American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, said police use of racial profiling and excessive force is entrenched in much of North America, Europe and Latin America.

Obama says Trump election 'hooey' violated core tenet of democracy

Former U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday his successor in office, Donald Trump, violated a core tenet of democracy when he made up a "bunch of hooey" about last year's election and refused to concede he lost. Speaking at his first virtual fundraiser since the 2020 election, Obama, a Democrat, said Trump's claims undermined the legitimacy of U.S. elections and helped lead to other anti-democratic measures such as efforts to suppress the vote.

11th victim recovered from rubble of Miami tower collapse - mayor

Another body was recovered on Monday from the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium tower, the county mayor said, bringing the death toll to 11. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 150 people remained missing as of Monday afternoon as searchers continued to comb through the ruins of the building for possible survivors.

Washington has no plans to change July 4 celebration as Delta variant cases rise

The Biden administration is confident science supports its plans for a July 4 celebration in Washington, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday amid renewed worries about spread of the coronavirus. President Joe Biden plans a 1,000 person Independence Day celebration on the White House lawn with essential workers and military families, and Washington's National Mall will be open to spectators to watch an evening fireworks display over the Washington Monument.

McConnell ups pressure on Biden, Democrats over U.S. infrastructure

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged President Joe Biden on Monday to get the two top Democrats in Congress to abandon a plan to link a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal to a larger reconciliation package that Republicans oppose. On Saturday, Biden withdrew a threat to not sign the bipartisan bill https://www.reuters.com/world/us/whats-us-senates-12-trillion-infrastructure-plan-2021-06-24 unless it was accompanied by a separate package focused on what he called "human infrastructure," including help for home healthcare.

Juul to pay North Carolina $40 million over claims it targeted youth

E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc has agreed to pay $40 million to North Carolina to settle a lawsuit by the state accusing it of marketing its products to minors. The settlement, announced on Monday by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, is the first reached by the company with a state government. The deal also includes restrictions on sales of products that appeal to minors and requires Juul to produce yearly reports demonstrating its compliance.

Young artist, devoted couple, Little League coach among victims of Florida collapse

With search-and-rescue teams still sifting through the rubble of a collapsed Florida condominium building, authorities by Monday had identified eight of the 10 confirmed victims of the disaster, with 151 people still missing. Those recovered from rubble in the oceanside town of Surfside included a young Puerto Rican graphic artist who refused to let a disability dampen his spirits, a devoted couple who had been married for nearly 60 years and a volunteer Little League baseball coach.

U.S. consumer watchdog approves new foreclosure protections, but not blanket ban

The U.S. consumer watchdog on Monday finalized new protections for homeowners who are struggling to make mortgage payments due to the pandemic, but said foreclosures will be allowed to resume in coming months once those extra protections have been met. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in April proposed, among other measures, a new review process which it said at the time would generally prohibit mortgage servicers from starting a foreclosure until after Dec. 31, 2021.

Transgender student wins as U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs bathroom appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to a transgender former public high school student who waged a six-year legal battle against a Virginia county school board that had barred him from using the bathroom corresponding with his gender identity. The justices left in place a lower court's ruling that the Gloucester County School Board had acted unlawfully in preventing Gavin Grimm from using the boys' bathroom before he graduated in 2017. In doing so, the court opted against taking up a major transgender rights case that could have set a nationwide precedent on the issue.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)