Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
US Head Start preschool programs hit by Trump cuts, funding delays
Head Start preschool programs for low-income U.S. children are scrambling to cope with funding cuts and delays, as they feel the squeeze of President Donald Trump's cost-cutting drive. Local administrators and advocates for the program that serves nearly 800,000 children and families say the closure of five U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offices that oversee the program in Chicago, Boston, New York, Seattle and San Francisco has led to delays in processing grant applications.
Some athletes skip Washington's pride events, wary of welcome in Trump's US
Ry Shissler, a 40-year old cartographer who swims the backstroke, was planning to compete internationally for the first time during the WorldPride celebrations that start this month in Washington, D.C. But the trans athlete and their team, Toronto´s Purple Fins, made the difficult decision to skip the games and the Pride events in the U.S. entirely, worried about their treatment at the border and beyond.
US expected to declare Biden fuel economy rules exceeded legal authority
The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to declare that fuel economy rules issued under then President Joe Biden exceeded the government's legal authority by including electric vehicles in setting the rules, automaker officials said Monday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday submitted its interpretive rule, "Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program" to the White House for review.
US judge rejects Vanguard $40 million mutual fund settlement, cites SEC accord
A federal judge on Monday rejected Vanguard Group's $40 million settlement with investors who claimed the mutual fund giant stuck them with inflated tax bills in its popular target-date funds. U.S. District Judge John Murphy in Philadelphia said the proposed class action settlement announced in November "provides no value" to investors because Vanguard could have offset the $40 million from its similar, larger settlement in January with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Denzel Washington receives surprise honorary Palme d'Or award at Cannes
U.S. actor Denzel Washington received a surprise honorary Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday evening in recognition of his outstanding career, according to organizers. Washington, 70, was in southern France for the premiere of U.S. director Spike Lee's latest film "Highest 2 Lowest," an adaptation of legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low," which also celebrated its premiere on Monday.
FTC's Democrats to ask judge to rule Trump fired them illegally
Two Democrats on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission who were fired by President Donald Trump in March will urge a federal judge in Washington to declare the move illegal on Tuesday, in the latest showdown over the limits of presidential power. Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter seek an order declaring their terminations unlawful and allowing them to resume their work at the agency, which enforces consumer protection and antitrust law.
Trump's mass layoff threat drives U.S. government workers to resign
Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.
US Senate Democratic leader proposes ban on foreign Air Force One planes
U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Monday introduced a bill that would prevent any foreign aircraft from being used as Air Force One, the aircraft that transports the U.S. president. Schumer introduced the "Presidential Airlift Security Act" after news last week that President Donald Trump planned to accept a $400 million airplane from Qatar, which legal experts said raised a raft of questions about the scope of laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments and are intended to thwart corruption and improper influence.
Alphabet's Waymo gets California nod for robotaxi expansion in San Francisco Bay Area
Alphabet's self-driving unit Waymo said on Monday it received approval from California to expand its robotaxi operations in more areas of the San Francisco Peninsula and further south, including San Jose. Waymo's permission from California comes as Tesla gears up to roll out a paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, next month. CEO Elon Musk has said the electric vehicle maker will expand the service to California later this year.
FAA investigating after Newark air traffic control suffered two-second outage
The Federal Aviation Administration said the facility that handles Newark air traffic on Monday lost radio frequencies for about two seconds, the latest in a series of telecom issues.
The incident occurred around 11:35 a.m. ET (1535 GMT) and all aircraft remained safely separated, the FAA said.
Probe of crash of Mexican tall ship into Brooklyn Bridge centers on engine
The investigation into why a Mexican Navy training ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, shearing the top of its masts, will look into a possible engine failure and the role of a tug boat that assisted it in backing out of its pier, officials said on Monday. The ship's engine was the key focus for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Brian Young, who is leading the agency's investigation.
US Supreme Court lets Trump end deportation protection for Venezuelans
The U.S. Supreme Court let Donald Trump's administration on Monday end temporary protected status that was granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States by his predecessor Joe Biden, as the Republican president moves to ramp up deportations as part of his hardline approach to immigration.
The court granted the Justice Department's request to lift a judge's order that had halted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decision to terminate deportation protection conferred to Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program while the administration pursues an appeal in the case.
Biden's cancer diagnosis prompts new questions about his health while in White House
Former U.S. President Joe Biden's cancer announcement revived questions on Monday about the extent of his health issues during his tenure, with President Donald Trump saying Biden should have been more transparent with the public. "I'm surprised that the public wasn't notified a long time ago, because to get to stage 9, that's a long time," Trump told reporters on Monday, misstating Biden's diagnosis. Trump also voiced sympathy on Sunday in a social media post.
US DOJ opens investigation into Coinbase's recent cyberattack
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a probe into a recent breach at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, the company said on Monday. "We have notified and are working with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement agencies and welcome law enforcement's pursuit of criminal charges against these bad actors," said Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase.
US terminates $60 million in Harvard grants over alleged antisemitism
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday that it was terminating $60 million in federal grants to Harvard University saying the Ivy League institution failed to address antisemitic harassment and ethnic discrimination on campus. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has frozen or ended federal grants and contracts for the university worth nearly $3 billion in recent weeks.
Delta can sue CrowdStrike over computer outage that caused 7,000 canceled flights
Delta Air Lines can pursue much of its lawsuit seeking to hold cybersecurity company CrowdStrike liable for a massive computer outage last July that caused the carrier to cancel 7,000 flights, a Georgia state judge ruled. In a decision on Friday, Judge Kelly Lee Ellerbe of the Fulton County Superior Court said Delta can try to prove CrowdStrike was grossly negligent in pushing a defective update of its Falcon software to customers, crashing more than 8 million Microsoft Windows-based computers worldwide.
New Jersey congresswoman faces assault charge over scuffle outside immigration jail
The U.S. attorney for New Jersey said on Monday she was charging a member of Congress from the state with assault and impeding law enforcement during a scuffle caught on video earlier this month at a privately run immigration detention center in Newark. The lawmaker, U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat from Newark, denied wrongdoing and said she was the victim of a politically motivated prosecution at the hands of U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a former personal lawyer to President Donald Trump.
Tariff truce will not spark cargo boom at busiest US seaport, executive director says
The head of the busiest U.S. port does not expect imports to soar after last week's tariff truce between Washington and Beijing that temporarily lowered the duty to 30% from 145%. "You won't see a deluge of freight here at the Port of Los Angeles," Gene Seroka, executive director of the port that is also No. 1 for trade with China, said in a briefing on Monday.
Perpetua Resources receives final federal permit for Stibnite Gold Project
Mining company Perpetua Resources said on Monday it has received the final federal permit for its Idaho antimony and gold Stibnite project from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. President Donald Trump invoked emergency powers in March to boost domestic production of critical minerals as part of a broad effort to offset China's near-total control of the sector.
Factbox-Major cases involving Trump before the US Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has acted in a series of cases involving challenges to executive orders signed by President Donald Trump and actions by his administration since he returned to office in January. Cases at the court have involved deportations, protected status for certain migrants, Trump's transgender military ban, his move to restrict automatic birthright citizenship, firings of federal workers and certain agency officials, cuts to teacher training grants, payments to foreign aid organizations and access to Social Security data. Here is a look at these cases.
Trump to join House Republicans as his tax bill nears deadline
U.S. President Donald Trump will join the congressional debate over his sweeping tax bill on Tuesday, as Republicans who control the House of Representatives struggle to keep their fragile majority together for a crucial vote later this week. The president is due to attend a Tuesday morning meeting of the 220-member House Republican caucus, according to a White House official. The meeting will include hardline conservatives who stalled Trump's "one big beautiful bill" over the weekend, as well as Republicans from New York who hope to get his help raising a deduction cap for state and local taxes.
Low-income migrants fined up to $1.8 million by Trump administration
Wendy Ortiz was surprised to find out she was being fined by U.S. immigration authorities for being in the country illegally - but it was the amount that truly shocked her: $1.8 million. Ortiz, 32, who earns $13 an hour in her job at a meatpacking plant in Pennsylvania, has lived in the United States for a decade, after fleeing El Salvador to escape a violent ex-partner and gang threats, she said in an interview and in immigration paperwork. Her salary barely covers rent and expenses for her autistic 6-year-old U.S.-citizen son.
RFK Jr. calls for healthier school meals as Trump cancels program that funded them
First-graders at John B. Wright elementary school in Tucson bounced into the brightly lit lunchroom, chattering with friends as they grabbed trays featuring juicy mandarin oranges, cherry tomatoes and butter lettuce, all grown at nearby farms that coax fresh produce from the Sonoran Desert. Those fruit and vegetables were supplied with the help of the federal Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, or LFS, which was set to distribute $660 million to school systems and child care facilities in 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Trump headed to Capitol to try to mend US House Republican rifts on tax bill
President Donald Trump is headed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with congressional Republicans as they aim to reach agreement on a sweeping tax-cut bill, with their narrow majority divided over the scope of spending cuts. Hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday briefly blocked the advance of the bill - which nonpartisan analysts say could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt - but relented on Sunday.
Laura Loomer swipes at Trump from the heart of MAGA
Laura Loomer once had to chain herself to a building to get attention. Not any longer. A far-right activist who has jockeyed her way up from online agitator to self-appointed presidential adviser, Loomer has long been one of President Donald Trump´s most fervent supporters.
Qatar dismisses concerns over offer of aircraft to Trump
Qatar dismissed concerns about its offer to give U.S. President Donald Trump a Boeing plane, saying it was not trying to buy influence, a day after a bill was introduced in the Senate to prevent a foreign aircraft operating as Air Force One.
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Tuesday that the offer was "a normal thing that happens between allies."
