Reuters US Domestic News Summary

08/03/2016 19:50

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Retired cop arrested outside New York's Trump Tower while armed

An armed, retired New York City police officer was taken into custody outside Trump Tower and charged for resisting U.S. Secret Service agents while they were protecting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, authorities said on Wednesday. Anthony Shark, 54, was arrested on Tuesday night after refusing instructions to leave a street outside the building that agents had closed off while protecting Trump, according to a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.

Supreme Court blocks transgender bathroom choice for now

A Virginia school board may temporarily block a student who was born a girl from using the boys' bathroom while a legal fight over transgender rights proceeds on appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The case is the first time the fight over transgender bathroom rights has reached the Supreme Court. The subject arrived in the heat of a U.S. presidential election in which the makeup of the court is a central issue.

Texas in deal to remedy 'discriminatory' voter ID law

Texas reached a deal with civil rights groups to remedy a voter identification law that a U.S. appeals court last month ruled was discriminatory and violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act, court papers filed on Wednesday showed. Texas had been ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to work out a fix ahead of the November general election to the law that required voters to show government-issued IDs such as a driver's license, passport or concealed handgun license before casting a ballot.

Suicide rate of U.S. veterans rose one third since 2001: study

The suicide rate among American veterans has increased by nearly a third since 2001, a bigger rise than in the wider population of the United States, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study released on Wednesday said. The report estimated that an average of 20 veterans a day died from suicide in 2014, or about 7,300 in the year, compared to a previous estimate of 22 a day. But researchers have cautioned against relying too heavily on that figure to indicate trends in suicides because it does not take into account that the overall number of veterans is declining because of deaths from old age.

California bus crash death toll revised down to four from five

Officials in Northern California on Wednesday revised down the death toll from a charter bus crash the day before to four from five. California Highway Patrol spokesman Moises Onsurez said Tuesday's incorrect tally was due to miscommunication between emergency personnel at the chaotic scene of the crash.

Obama cuts short prison sentences for 214 convicts

President Barack Obama cut short the prison terms of 214 convicts on Wednesday, the largest number of commutations a U.S. leader has granted in single day since at least 1900, the White House said. Obama has now granted a total of 562 commutations during his presidency, more than the number by the past nine presidents combined, it said. In Wednesday's batch, 67 convicts were serving life sentences.

U.S. health researchers test Zika vaccine as funds run low

U.S. government researchers said on Wednesday they have begun their first clinical trial of a Zika vaccine while the Obama administration told lawmakers funds to fight the virus would run out in the coming weeks due to congressional inaction. U.S. concerns over Zika, which is spreading rapidly in the Americas and has hit Brazil the hardest, have risen since Florida authorities last week reported the first signs of local transmission in the continental United States in a Miami neighborhood.

Washington police officer charged with helping Islamic State

A Washington transit police officer was arrested on Wednesday on charges he attempted to help the Islamic State, the U.S. Justice Department said, the first member of law enforcement facing such charges involving a government-designated terrorist group. The suspect, Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, Virginia, is alleged to have sent codes for gift cards worth $245 to an FBI informant in July. The cards were intended for mobile-messaging accounts that Islamic State uses to recruit its followers, according to court records.

Icahn to close Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City

Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal casino, owned by Carl Icahn, will close at the end of the summer, the billionaire investor's company said on Wednesday. Closure of the casino, which is in the midst of a strike by its unionized workers over wages and health insurance costs, would be another blow to the struggling New Jersey beach resort. Four of its 12 casinos remain shut after closing in 2014, though one of them reopened as a hotel only.

Norwegian arrested in Maine after threatening to kill police

A Norwegian man was arrested on Wednesday after sending emails threatening to kill police in Maine with explosives and high-powered rifles, officials said. Police departments across the United States are on high alert following attacks in Dallas and Baton Rouge last month that killed eight police officers.

08/03/2016 19:50