Reuters US Domestic News Summary

09/13/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Anti-government militants conspired in Oregon refuge standoff -prosecutors

Anti-government militants who seized a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon earlier this year conspired to intimidate government workers and steal property, a heavily armed invasion that was not protected by the U.S. Constitution, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Barrow told a packed courtroom in downtown Portland that during the January takeover, the conspirators, many wearing camouflage and toting rifles, practiced shooting drills and hand-to-hand combat at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. They also had a stockpile of some 15,000 rounds of ammunition.

U.S. probe blames Delta pilot for 2015 New York runway accident

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday faulted a Delta Air Lines pilot for a March 2015 incident in which a Boeing MD-88 veered off the runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport, resulting in minor injuries to 29 passengers. The report said the pilot's use of excessive reverse thrust during landing led to a loss of directional control and the jet's departure from the snow-covered runway.

Supreme Court leaves Ohio voting restrictions in place

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to reinstate for the Nov. 8 general election Ohio's so-called Golden Week voting procedures, when people could register and cast ballots in the same week, that had been abolished by a Republican-backed law. The high court rejected a request by Ohio Democrats and let stand an August ruling by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the 2014 law, which imposed new restrictions on when people could register to vote and cast ballots. Ohio Democrats argued that the law had a discriminatory impact on black voters.

Chelsea Manning ends hunger strike, Army agrees to treatment: ACLU

U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, ended her hunger strike on Tuesday after the Army said she will receive treatment for her gender dysphoria, the American Civil Liberties Union said. The 28-year-old Army private, who was born male but revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identifies as a woman, announced the hunger strike on Friday.

Pardon for former NSA contractor Snowden seen unlikely

The U.S. government will not budge on its demand that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden return to face prosecution for stealing thousands of classified intelligence documents, despite new calls for President Barack Obama to pardon him, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The officials said they expect Snowden's supporters to use the Thursday release of "Snowden" - directed by veteran filmmaker Oliver Stone - to mount a public campaign demanding a pardon before Obama leaves office in January.

Protesters slam North Dakota pipeline but company 'committed'

Holding signs and banners and chanting "Oil Kills," protesters in Atlanta on Tuesday shouted support for Native American activists trying to stop construction of a North Dakota pipeline they say will desecrate sacred land and pollute water. The protests against the Dakota Access pipeline have drawn international attention, sparking a renewal of Native American activism and prompting the U.S. government to block its construction on federal land, even as the company building the line expressed its commitment to the project on Tuesday.

Two men arrested in 1973 murders of California girls

Two men linked through DNA testing to the 1973 murders of two girls in a small northern California town were arrested on Tuesday, more than four decades after the crime, authorities said. William Lloyd Harbour, 65, was taken into custody on Tuesday morning at a traffic stop in Linda, California, some 40 miles south of Sacramento, the Yuba County Sheriff's Department said in a written statement.

Loss of 'March Madness' games could hurt North Carolina governor's re-election bid

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has weathered negative headlines as jobs, conventions and musical performances were canceled in his state this year to protest a law deemed discriminatory against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But news that the Southern state was being stripped of hosting two rounds of the nationally popular "March Madness" Division I men's college basketball tournament next spring could prove the law's most damaging fallout yet for the Republican seeking re-election in November, political experts said on Tuesday.

Man pleads guilty in 2014 Missouri highway shootings

A man who put residents of Kansas City, Missouri, on edge for weeks in 2014 by shooting at cars on area highways pleaded guilty on Tuesday to 20 felony charges and will serve 30 years in prison, officials said. Mohammed Whitaker, 30, of Grandview, Missouri, pleaded guilty to 10 counts of unlawful use of a weapon by discharging it at a motor vehicle and 10 counts of armed criminal action, said the office of Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

New York police seek man who set fire to Muslim woman

New York City investigators on Tuesday searched for a man suspected of setting fire to a traditionally dressed Muslim woman in a Midtown shopping area, police said. Police said they were investigating the incident, which occurred the day before the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, as a hate crime.

09/13/2016 19:52