Reuters US Domestic News Summary

07/26/2016 8:56

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

One of New York City's busiest subway lines to shut for 18 months

One of New York City's busiest subway lines will cease running between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 18 months starting in 2019, transit officials said on Monday, creating a massive service disruption in an already overtaxed system. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it will close a tunnel underneath the East River that carries the L train to fix extensive damage caused by flooding during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Los Angeles police officer hurt during gun fight: police

A police officer in Los Angeles was injured during a gun fight on the southeast side of the city late on Monday, the department said, though it was unclear if he had been shot. Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said on Twitter that an officer was in hospital and was expected to make a full recovery, but did not disclose details about the incident.

Suspects sought in Florida nightclub shooting that left two teens dead

Florida police said on Monday they had taken three people into custody but were searching for additional suspects in connection with a shooting outside a nightclub just after midnight that left two teenagers dead and more than a dozen people wounded. The shooting took place shortly after 12:30 a.m. EDT (0430 GMT) on Monday in the parking lot of Club Blu, which was hosting an event open to teenagers, the Fort Myers Police Department said.

Michael Jordan speaks against both police killings, targeting of police

Basketball legend Michael Jordan spoke out on police violence on Monday and announced two $1 million grants, to civil rights group NAACP's Legal Defense Fund and to a group that works on improving police relations with communities. "I can no longer stay silent," Jordan wrote in a statement sent to the media. The retired sports star and business magnate is known for his reticence to address social issues, though he has made political donations in the past.

Firefighters battling California blaze face hot, dry conditions on Tuesday

Firefighters in drought-hit California who are battling a 50-square-mile wildfire could be hampered by triple-digit heat, wind gusts up to 30 mph and low humidity on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. About 3,000 firefighters have been fighting to contain the so called Sand Fire on the rugged northwestern fringes of the Los Angeles National Forest since Friday.

Man shot by Chicago police officers wants cops fired

A man who was shot by Chicago police last year said on Monday he wants the officers fired from the department, days after the city's law enforcement watchdog issued a rare finding that the shooting was unjustified. "I want them to step down," Antwon Golatte told a news conference. "They knew they were wrong for what they did and they're not just going to keep hurting innocent people out there."

New York City police upgrade gear after Texas, Louisiana shootings

The New York City Police Department has acquired $7 million in military-style protective equipment for patrol officers in response to recent shooting attacks on police in Baton Rouge and Dallas earlier this month, officials said on Monday. "You name it, we're buying it," Police Commissioner William Bratton told a news conference. "There's not a police department in America that is spending as much money, as much thought and interest on this issue of officer safety."

Behind Democrats' email leak, U.S. experts see a Russian subplot

If the Russian government is behind the theft and release of embarrassing emails from the Democratic Party, as U.S. officials have suggested, it may reflect less a love of Donald Trump or enmity for Hillary Clinton than a desire to discredit the U.S. political system. A U.S. official who is taking part in the investigation said that intelligence collected on the hacking of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails released by Wikileaks on Friday "indicates beyond a reasonable doubt that it originated in Russia."

Washington State football players investigated for assault: reports

At least six Washington State University football players were being investigated for assault after a fight at a weekend party left two students hospitalized, the Spokesman-Review newspaper reported on Monday. A fight erupted early on Saturday at a backyard party in the city of Pullman, home of the university in eastern Washington, the newspaper quoted Pullman police commander Chris Tennant as saying.

Many U.S. states, cities, missing chance of lifetime to borrow

The 1923 middle school building in Oregon's Corbett School District is so old that horses and trailers were used to dig the basement. It floods every winter, the building has no sprinkler system, and there is asbestos and lead paint in some spots. Yet this May, voters struck down, for the fourth time, a plan to sell bonds that would pay for a new building, passing up an opportunity to finance the new school at a cost that may never be so low again.

07/26/2016 8:56