Reuters US Domestic News Summary

09/06/2016 8:59

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Cosby due back in Pennsylvania court for sexual assault case

Comedian Bill Cosby is scheduled to return to a Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday, two months after a judge rejected his latest bid to have criminal sexual assault charges dismissed. The 79-year-old entertainer is accused of drugging and then assaulting Andrea Constand, a former basketball coach at his alma mater Temple University, at his home in 2004.

Obama says more needs to be done to grow wages, shrink inequality

More needs to be done to grow wages and shrink inequality in the global economy, United States President Barack Obama said on Monday, at the close of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. For rolling highlights of what the leaders have said, please click:

Puerto Rico debt fix unlikely to resemble Detroit's

The federal appointees tapped to help map Puerto Rico's economic future are technocrats more than political actors, and that could make the U.S. territory's fiscal turnaround look more like a corporate restructuring than a politically charged municipal bankruptcy in the vein of Detroit. The law known as PROMESA, which created the board when it passed the U.S. Congress in June with bipartisan support, envisioned a pragmatic solution for an island combating $70 billion in debt, 45 percent poverty and a brain drain as residents bolt in droves for the mainland United States.

Helicopter search suspended for missing U.S. climbers in Pakistan

An aerial search for two American mountaineers missing in Pakistan was suspended on Sunday, an official said, after an initial flight showed no sign of the men but indicated an avalanche on the peak they were climbing. The climbers, Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, were attempting to summit the 6,960-meter (22,835-feet) Ogre-II peak in the Karakoram mountain range but did not return when expected.

Gunfire kills two at New York's Caribbean street party

Two people were shot dead at a pre-dawn Caribbean heritage celebration in New York despite ramped-up efforts by police and community activists to prevent the violence that has plagued the annual event in years past, authorities said on Monday. Gunfire erupted in three separate incidents during J'Ouvert, a street party tied to the Caribbean Carnival that draws tens of thousands of revelers in the borough of Brooklyn over the Labor Day Weekend. Two other people were wounded, police said.

Obama defends Kaepernick's right to protest even if message obscured

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was exercising his constitutional right by refusing to stand for the national anthem, although he added that the nature of the protest could make it hard for some to hear his message. Kaepernick sparked controversy last month when he remained seated before a preseason game during the traditional rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," saying it was a protest against racial injustice and police brutality. During a second game last week, the San Francisco 49er took one knee instead of standing.

Hermine lingers off U.S. East Coast, high winds and rain expected

Hermine, a storm that raked Florida with hurricane-force winds last week, lingered on Tuesday off the U.S. East Coast where it was expected to produce heavy gusts and rain over the next two days. Forecasters warned swimmers and boaters to stay out of treacherous waters and rough surf. New York City said all public beaches would be closed through Tuesday because of "life-threatening" rip currents.

U.S. conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly dead at 92

Phyllis Schlafly, who became a "founding mother" of the modern U.S. conservative movement by battling feminists in the 1970s and working tirelessly to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, died on Monday at the age of 92, her Eagle Forum group said. Schlafly, who lived in the St. Louis suburb of Ladue, Missouri, died at her home in the presence of her family, Eagle Forum said in a statement. The cause of death was not given.

ITT Educational to shut institutes, lay off over 8,000 employees

ITT Educational Services Inc said it would discontinue operations at its ITT Technical Institutes, in line with the U.S. Department of Education's directive, affecting more than 8,000 employees. The for-profit education provider said on Tuesday that the move would also affect hundreds of thousands of students and alumni.

09/06/2016 8:59