Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
White House to host CEOs for workforce advisory meeting
The White House on Wednesday is hosting major chief executives who joined a Trump administration advisory board on workforce issues. Last month, the White House said the chief executives of Apple Inc, Walmart Inc, IBM Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp, Siemens USA, Home Depot Inc, Visa Incand other major companies are joining a 25-member board, co-chaired by adviser Ivanka Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
U.S. seeks to cut dialysis costs with more home care versus clinics
The Trump administration is working on a new payment approach for treating kidney disease that favors lower cost care at home and transplants, a change that would upend a dialysis industry that provides care in thousands of clinics nationwide. The goal is to reduce the $114 billion paid by the U.S. government each year to treat chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, a top area of spending.
Trump vows executive order requiring 'free speech' at colleges
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he would soon sign an executive order requiring American universities and colleges to maintain "free speech" on campuses and threatened that schools not complying could lose federal research funds. Trump made his remarks at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference after bringing to the stage Hayden Williams, a conservative activist who was punched at the University of California, Berkeley, last month while recruiting students for a conservative group.
In 2020 battleground state, looming Mueller report could hold dangers for Democrats
Inside the Touchdown Tavern in the presidential battleground state of Wisconsin, voter Aric Nowicki worries over how the impending release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller´s Russia investigation could affect the 2020 election for president. Nowicki is not concerned about potential harm to President Donald Trump if Mueller accuses the Republican's campaign of working with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Instead, the heating and air-conditioning business owner fears the report could prove a political landmine for overzealous Democrats trying to take down a president they despise.
Defiant U.S. sheriffs push gun sanctuaries, imitating liberals on immigration
A rapidly growing number of counties in at least four states are declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, refusing to enforce gun-control laws that they consider to be infringements on the U.S. constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Organizers of the pro-gun sanctuaries admit they took the idea from liberals who have created immigration sanctuaries across the United States where local officials defy the Trump administration's efforts to enforce tougher immigration laws.
Trump slams Mueller, mocks critics in fiery two-hour speech
President Donald Trump on Saturday attacked U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller ahead of his report on alleged Russia collusion by the Trump campaign in 2016 and said his political opponents were "trying to take me out with bullshit." In a speech that lasted more than two hours -- his longest since taking office two years ago -- Trump also vented about Democrats, a proposed "green new deal," illegal immigrants and criticism of his North Korea summit, while voicing optimism about his own re-election prospects in 2020.
Coal ash contaminates groundwater near most U.S. coal plants: study
More than 90 percent of U.S. coal-fired power plants that are required to monitor groundwater near their coal ash dumps show unsafe levels of toxic metals, according to a study released on Monday by environmental groups, which cited the potential harm to drinking water. The groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice, said their findings show that stronger regulations are needed for coal ash.
U.S. House panel launches probe into possible obstruction by Trump
The House Judiciary Committee will seek documents from more than 60 people and organizations as it begins investigations into possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power by President Donald Trump, the panel's chairman said on Sunday. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler told ABC's "This Week" the panel wanted documents from the Department of Justice, the president's son Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, among others.
Sacramento policemen won't face charges in killing of unarmed black man
Two Sacramento policemen who shot and killed an unarmed black man in a dark backyard last year will not be charged criminally in the case, the county prosecutor said on Saturday, citing what she said was their legitimate fear that the suspect was shooting at them. The decision not to charge the two officers in the death of Stephon Clark, 22, angered community activists and quickly touched off protests outside police headquarters in Sacramento, the California state capital.
At least 23 dead in Alabama tornadoes, winter not over for northeast
Rescuers sifted through rubble looking for more dead and wounded after two back-to-back tornadoes touched down in Alabama, killing at least 23 people, authorities said. The storms inflicted their worst damage on Lee County, Alabama Sunday, an area that includes the state's largest city of Auburn, destroying numerous homes and businesses.
