Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Attacker stabs five at rabbi's home in New York
An attacker stabbed five people late on Saturday at a Hasidic rabbi's home in New York state and fled before apparently being arrested, a Jewish organization said, a rampage that came after days of increased tension over anti-Semitic assaults. The Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) said on Twitter an attacker wearing a scarf stabbed the victims at a house in Monsey, Rockland County, about 30 miles north of New York City.
Suspect in knife rampage at rabbi's home appears to have acted alone: New York police
An assailant who stabbed five people attending a party at an Hasidic rabbi's home in what New York's governor called an act of domestic terrorism appears to have been acting alone, police said on Sunday. Grafton Thomas, 37, is accused of attempted murder after bursting in to the Hanukkah celebration on Saturday night in Rockland County, about 30 miles (48 km) north of New York City. Police said he fled and was later arrested in Manhattan by two officers who were on the lookout for his car.
Federal judge denies bid to restore 98,000 voters in U.S. state of Georgia
A federal judge on Friday denied an attempt to restore about 98,000 voters in Georgia to the U.S. state's electoral rolls after they were removed earlier this month upon being classified as "inactive." Lead plaintiff Fair Fight Action, a voting rights nonprofit, did not establish that the Georgia secretary of state's decision to cancel the voter registrations had violated the constitution, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones said in the ruling.
Five people, heading to college football game, killed in plane crash in Louisiana: local media
Five people heading to a college football game in Atlanta were killed on Saturday when their small plane crashed just after it departed from a regional airport in southern Louisiana, local media and authorities reported. Six passengers were on board the Piper fixed-wing aircraft when it crashed shortly after 9 a.m. local time into a U.S. Post Office parking lot in Lafayette, Louisiana, police and fire officials told KATC news, a local ABC affiliate.
Democrat Warren's U.S. presidential campaign issues fundraising plea
Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign told supporters on Friday its fundraising haul stands at just over $17 million and made a plea for more donations with just days left in the fourth quarter. The figure was a sharp drop from the previous quarter and accompanied the progressive Democrats' slight slide in opinion polls in recent weeks in the Democratic contest to face Republican Donald Trump in the November 2020 election.
Christianity Today's split with Trump highlights deeper issue in white evangelical America
After evangelical publication Christianity Today published a blistering editorial on what it called Donald Trump's "grossly immoral character," some church leaders and the U.S. president himself denounced the criticism as elitist and out-of-touch. The Dec. 19 editorial sparked a Christmas holiday debate over religion in U.S. politics, and posed new questions about the close alignment between white evangelical voters and Trump, who has given their beliefs strong political support.
Shooter among two dead in Texas church attack
A gunman who opened fire in a Texas church, killing one person and leaving another in critical condition, died after parishioners at the Sunday morning service shot him in response, authorities said. The Fort Worth Fire Department said three people, including the person who they believed to be the shooter, were transported from the scene in critical condition. The scene was secure, they added.
Remains of six recovered from Hawaii helicopter crash, no sign of survivors
Teams combing the wreckage of a Hawaii sightseeing helicopter that crashed on Kauai island found no sign of survivors on Friday and recovered six sets of human remains before suspending the search due to bad weather, police and fire officials said. The grim announcement came in a news conference almost 24 hours after the aircraft, first reported missing on Thursday evening, went down in a remote area of rugged terrain near the end of a tour flight over the island's famed Na Pali Coast.
