Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Analysis: U.S. Supreme Court's rightward lurch put Roe v. Wade on the brink
During a 2016 presidential debate, then-candidate Donald Trump made a statement that seemed brash at the time: If he were elected and got the chance to nominate justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion would be overturned. By this time next year, with the court having tilted further to the right thanks to Trump's three appointments to the nation's highest court, his prediction could come true.
Drought forces North American ranchers to sell off their future
When Canadian rancher Dianne Riding strides across her brown pasture, sidestepping cracks and popping grasshoppers, she has less company than usual. Record-setting heat and sparse rain left Riding with too little grass or hay to feed her cattle near Lake Francis, Manitoba. She sold 51 head at auction in July, about 40% of her herd. The sales included 20 heifers, young cows that have not given birth, that were potential breeding stock.
R. Kelly accuser says she reached $200,000 settlement after herpes diagnosis
A woman testified at R. Kelly's sex abuse trial on Friday that she reached a $200,000 settlement with the R&B singer after she contracted herpes. Prosecutors have been trying to show jurors in Brooklyn federal court that Kelly was careless toward alleged victims of his sexual practices, including multiple victims who claim he kept silent about transmitting disease through intercourse.
New York's 9/11 Museum CEO seeks to educate, inspire younger generation
One of the most important tasks Alice Greenwald has as president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is to educate and inspire a younger generation and make sure the heroism and sacrifices made that day in 2001 are never forgotten. "If you think about 20 years, it is the span of a generation and there are tens of millions of young people, college age and younger, who were born after 2001. (Others) were toddlers, they were infants when 9/11 happened," she said.
NY, NJ officials vow to improve extreme weather resilience as Ida death toll rises to 46
Officials in New York and New Jersey said on Friday that improvements to infrastructure were needed to deal with extreme weather events after flash flooding from Hurricane Ida caught the U.S. Northeast off guard, killing at least 46 people. Ida struck the Gulf coast Sunday as a Category 4 storm and marched northward through the eastern United States, culminating in high-intensity rains and fast-rising floods in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and New York on Wednesday night.
Black unemployment setback shows Fed's challenges targeting 'broad and inclusive' job growth
Attaining its goal of maximum employment has always been a tall order for the Federal Reserve but broadening the scope of that objective to one that is also "broad and inclusive" has made the task tougher still, with Friday's payrolls report standing as a case in point. Job gains in August were far more meager than expected https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-job-growth-slows-sharply-august-unemployment-rate-falls-52-2021-09-03 largely due to the surge in coronavirus cases. And even though the unemployment rate fell to a pandemic-era low of 5.2%, it did not drop for everyone. The jobless rate rose for Blacks - to 8.8% from 8.2% - and they were the only major racial demographic group to see an increase.
Capitol rioter 'QAnon Shaman' pleads guilty, disappointed Trump didn't pardon
The U.S. Capitol rioter nicknamed the "QAnon Shaman" is disappointed former President Donald Trump did not pardon him, his defense lawyer said on Friday after the man pleaded guilty to taking part in the Jan. 6 unrest. Jacob Chansley, of Phoenix, Arizona, was photographed inside the Capitol shirtless, wearing a horned headdress and heavily tattooed. He has been held without bond since his arrest shortly after the riot, and on Friday entered a guilty plea to obstructing an official proceeding.
Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick pleads not guilty to sexually abusing teenage boy
Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges he molested a 16-year-old boy in 1974, a case that makes him the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official to be prosecuted for sexually abusing a minor. McCarrick, 91, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., wore a face mask and hunched over a walker as he entered the courthouse in Dedham, Massachusetts, walking past TV cameras and a demonstrator yelling "shame on you."
Touring hurricane-hit Louisiana, Biden cites 'incredible' storm, pitches infrastructure fix
U.S. President Joe Biden visited Louisiana on Friday to get a first-hand look at the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida, the monster storm that devastated the southern portion of the state and left 1 million people without power. Biden met Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and local officials about the hurricane, which is providing the president with a tough test just after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
California Republicans launching campaign to boost trust in mail-in voting
California Republicans will launch a campaign on Friday to convince conservatives to trust the state's mail-in balloting system, hoping to boost turnout in the election to recall Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, party officials said. The party will roll out videos on its digital platforms showing Republican Party officials mailing their ballots and urging supporters to vote early in the Sept. 14 election, according to footage seen exclusively by Reuters and interviews with party leaders.
