Reuters US Domestic News Summary

09/14/2016 8:56

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Climate change 'significant and direct' threat to U.S. military: reports

The effects of climate change endanger U.S. military operations and could increase the danger of international conflict, according to three new documents endorsed by retired top U.S. military officers and former national security officials. "There are few easy answers, but one thing is clear: the current trajectory of climatic change presents a strategically-significant risk to U.S. national security, and inaction is not a viable option," said a statement published on Wednesday by the Center for Climate and Security, a Washington-based think tank.

Supreme Court leaves Ohio voting restrictions in place

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to reinstate for the Nov. 8 general election Ohio's "Golden Week," which had allowed voters to register and cast ballots within the same seven-day period before it was repealed by a Republican-backed law two years ago. Ohio Democrats had challenged the repeal on grounds that it discriminated against black voters, and had taken their case to the nation's highest court after the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled against them in August.

Chelsea Manning to receive gender transition surgery: lawyers

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 would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 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.

Admitted triple murderer again fights execution at Boston trial

A Massachusetts man who admitted stabbing three people to death in a weeklong 2001 rampage in two states returns to a Boston courtroom on Wednesday fighting for his life as federal prosecutors mount a second attempt to have him executed. Gary Lee Sampson, 56, was sentenced to death in 2004 after pleading guilty to a series of murders that began with the killings of two men ages 69 and 19 who picked him up while he was hitchhiking in Massachusetts on separate days and ended when he killed the 58-year-old caretaker of a vacation home he broke into on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.

Colorado's civil litigation over movie theater massacre ends

The movie theater chain that owns a Colorado cinema where 12 people were killed in a 2012 shooting spree will not pursue $700,000 in legal costs the company incurred fighting an unsuccessful lawsuit, court records showed on Tuesday. More than two dozen surviving victims and relatives of those killed sued Cinemark USA Inc in state court, accusing the company of lax security measures that made the theater chain partially responsible for the bloodshed.

Ford charts cautious path toward self-driving, shared vehicles

Ford Motor Co Chief Executive Mark Fields is looking for more deals to advance the automaker's expansion into ride services and autonomous vehicles, but will not rush to match big spending by auto industry rivals, he told Reuters. Investors comparing the size of Ford's investments to what other automakers have announced are "looking at the wrong scoreboard," Fields said in an interview at Ford headquarters on Tuesday, ahead of the company's annual late-summer investor meeting.

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.

Uber debuts self-driving vehicles in landmark Pittsburgh trial

When Pittsburgh wakes up on Wednesday morning, some residents will have the choice of going about their day in an Uber that drives itself. The launch of Uber's self-driving pilot program marks the public unveiling of the company's secretive work in autonomous vehicles and the first time self-driving cars have been so freely available to the U.S. public.

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.

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.

09/14/2016 8:56