Reuters US Domestic News Summary

09/16/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. removes defunct Saudi-linked American charity from blacklist

The United States on Friday removed a defunct charity with links to Saudi Arabia from its sanctions blacklist as part of a settlement with the charity that ends a lengthy dispute arising from claims that it funneled money to terrorists, the Treasury Department said. The U.S. decision in 2004 to blacklist the Oregon-based Al Haramain Islamic Foundation sparked a legal battle in which the charity's lawyers accused the government of hiding behind classified evidence and national security claims to shut down a legitimate charity.

Guards at New York's Rikers Island get prison for inmate beating

Six guards at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex were sentenced on Friday to prison for the 2012 beating of an inmate that left him with fractured eye sockets and a broken nose. It was one of the highest-profile prosecutions brought against Rikers employees in recent years as city officials worked to combat the violence and corruption that have plagued Rikers for decades.

Ohio man held on murder, kidnapping charges

An Ohio man was held on $1 million bond on Friday after being charged with kidnapping and murder in connection with the discovery of two bodies by police earlier this week. Prosecutors said Shawn Grate, a 40 year-old homeless man, took a woman on Sunday "against her will for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity" and held her in a vacant home in Ashland, Ohio, 80 miles (129 km) north of Columbus.

U.S. Air Force grounds F-35 fighters over cooling line problems

The U.S. Air Force has grounded 13 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35A Lightning II aircraft after discovering peeling and crumbling insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks, an Air Force spokeswoman said on Friday. The disclosure was made less than two months after the Air Force announced that an initial squadron of the F-35A stealth fighters were ready for combat, marking a major milestone for the $379 billion program, the Pentagon's largest weapons project.

Florida man sues Samsung, says Galaxy Note 7 exploded

Samsung Electronics Co was sued on Friday by a Florida man who said he suffered severe burns after his Galaxy Note 7 smartphone exploded in his front pants pocket. The lawsuit by Jonathan Strobel may be the first in the United States by a Samsung phone user against the South Korean company over a battery defect linked to the Note 7.

Chicago police officer charged with shooting at car full of teens

A Chicago police officer who was captured on a dashboard camera in 2013 firing into a car full of teenagers, wounding two of them, has been indicted on federal civil rights charges, prosecutors said on Friday. Marco Proano, 41, was charged in the two-count indictment, which was handed down on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

Polling places become battleground in U.S. voting rights fight

Louis Brooks, 87, has walked to cast a vote at his neighborhood polling place in Georgia's predominantly black Lincoln Park neighborhood for five decades. But not this year. Brooks says he will not vote in the presidential election for the first time he can remember after local officials moved the polling station more than 2 miles (3 km) away as part of a plan to cut the number of voting sites in Upson County.

Ex-Illinois lawmaker was bilked by Philippine extortion ring: police

Police on Friday released new details about the mysterious resignation in July of an Illinois lawmaker, outlining how he fell prey to an online extortion ring based in the Philippines. Ex-state Representative Ron Sandack, known as an adamant defender of Republican Governor Bruce Rauner's initiatives on the floor of the Democratic-dominated House, was up for re-election in November.

U.S. House panel slams former NSA contractor Snowden

A U.S congressional intelligence committee on Thursday issued a scathing report accusing former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of leaking information that "caused tremendous damage" to U.S. national security, lying about his background and feuding with co-workers. In a report endorsed by both its Republican and Democratic leaders, the House intelligence committee said Snowden was "not a whistleblower" as he has claimed.

Obama enlists Republican Kasich to push for TPP trade deal

Ohio's Republican governor, John Kasich, took over the White House briefing lectern on Friday to praise the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, an unusual move that shows how hard President Barack Obama will push for the trade deal's approval. Obama, a Democrat who is leaving office in four months, met with the governor, who fell short in his bid to be the Republican presidential candidate, in the White House Oval Office to discuss strategies for overcoming domestic political angst over the TPP.

09/16/2016 19:52