Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Democratic US Senator Joe Manchin will not seek re-election in 2024
Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a maverick who has often bucked party leadership in the past two years, said on Thursday that he will not seek re-election, hurting Democrats' chance of defending their thin Senate majority in the 2024 election. "I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together," Manchin said in a statement.
US Senate Democrats tee up bill to avert government shutdown
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday took a procedural step to allow the Democratic-majority chamber to pass a stopgap government funding bill before a Nov. 17 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown. THE TAKE
Republicans demand Biden challenge China's Xi on fentanyl, prisoners
Republicans in the U.S. Congress urged President Joe Biden to make demands of China's leader Xi Jinping over detained Americans and other issues when they meet next week in San Francisco, arguing that Washington's push to engage Beijing had "negligible benefit." The Biden-Xi meeting around events at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will follow a series of largely unreciprocated U.S. cabinet-level visits to China, as the U.S. seeks to recover from a diplomatic crisis over its downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States in February.
US appeals court calls Biden's 'ghost gun' limits unlawful
A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the Biden administration lacked authority to adopt a regulation aimed at reining in privately made firearms called "ghost guns" that are difficult for law enforcement to trace. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a group of firearm owners, gun rights groups and manufacturers in declaring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' 2022 rule "unlawful."
Trump's lawyers mount long-shot bid to toss NY fraud lawsuit
Donald Trump´s lawyers on Thursday asked a New York judge to decide a civil fraud case against the former U.S. president in his favor, a long-shot bid coming midway through a trial that threatens to hobble his real estate empire. The request to effectively end the case came in open court a day after the New York attorney general´s office rested its case against Trump, his two adult sons and 10 of his companies.
Factbox-Joe Manchin's exit makes it harder for Democrats to defend US Senate majority
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin's decision not to seek reelection will make it even harder for his fellow Democrats to defend their 51-49 majority in the 2024 elections, when they will be defending 23 seats, while Republicans are defending only 11. Here are some of what are expected to be the most challenging races for Democrats as they try to keep their grip on the legislative chamber whose power includes confirming nominees to the Supreme Court:
Apple agrees to $25 million settlement with US over hiring of immigrants
Apple Inc will pay $25 million to settle claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that the company illegally favored immigrant workers over U.S. citizen and green card holders for certain jobs, the agency said on Thursday. The Justice Department in a statement said Apple did not recruit U.S. citizens or permanent residents for jobs that were eligible for a federal program allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards, in violation of a federal law that bars discrimination based on citizenship.
Former US astronaut Frank Borman dies at 95
Former U.S. astronaut Frank Borman, who made history by commanding the first manned flight to circle the moon and later piloted Eastern Airlines as chairman in severe economic turbulence, has died at the age of 95, NASA said on Thursday. Borman, who spent a total of almost 20 days in space on two trips in the 1960s, died on Tuesday in Billings, Montana, NASA said in a statement on its website.
Biden to register for South Carolina primary, seen as first test of re-election strength
U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign on Friday will register for the South Carolina Democratic primary, the party's first official clash and an early enthusiasm test for a president dogged by a rash of recent polls that show declining support among Black voters. The state's Feb. 3 primary will represent the first time Biden faces a contested election since 2020, squaring off against long shots Dean Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.
Unpublished study finds elevated cancer rates at US military base
Cancer and mortality studies conducted by a U.S. health agency have found elevated cancer rates in military and civilian personnel who lived and worked at Camp Lejeune, a major American military base, an epidemiologist familiar with the research says. A report on the findings was submitted in April, but the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has yet to release it, angering people who say they got sick drinking tainted water at the Marine base near Jacksonville, N.C., from 1953 through 1987.
