Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Climate change risk threatens 18 U.S. military sites: study
Rising sea levels due to hurricanes and tidal flooding intensified by climate change will put military bases along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast at risk, according to a report released on Wednesday. Nonprofit group the Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed 18 military installations that represent more than 120 coastal bases nationwide to weigh the impact of climate change on their operations.
Transgender student asks U.S. high court to keep out of bathroom case
Lawyers for a transgender high school student in Virginia asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to keep out of a legal dispute about bathroom rights, an issue that has emerged as an increasingly divisive one in the United States. In court papers, lawyers for the student, Gavin Grimm, urged the Supreme Court to leave in place a lower court's order in favor of Grimm while the litigation goes on.
Charleston church shooter was headed to Tennessee when captured: documents
The white man accused of killing nine black parishioners in a racist attack at a South Carolina church last year was heading to Tennessee when he was arrested, according to court records filed by prosecutors to support their federal charges. The documents relating to the upcoming federal trial for Dylann Roof, 22, provided details about the attack during a Bible study session at Charleston's historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.
California firefighters battle wildfires in hot, windy weather
Crews battling a deadly wildfire in rugged drought-stricken terrain north of Los Angeles on Wednesday face a second consecutive day of scorching weather and erratic winds that could hinder their efforts. The National Weather Service forecast of near-triple-digit temperatures and 20 mph wind gusts for the area where the so-called Sand Fire, a wildfire that erupted 40 miles north of Los Angeles, has destroyed 18 homes and claimed one life in five days.
Powerball jackpot grows to $422 million, eighth largest ever
The Powerball jackpot grew to $422 million before an 11 p.m. EDT drawing on Wednesday, making it the eighth largest in the game's history and the 11th-biggest lottery prize ever in the United States. The jackpot amount has now rolled over 22 times since it was reset to its starting sum of $40 million for a drawing on May 11, lottery officials said.
Gulf waterway traffic restrictions lifted: U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday it lifted traffic restrictions on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near Galveston, Texas after temporarily halting movement on a section of the waterway following a barge incident. A sunken barge east of the Galveston Causeway railroad bridge was refloated Tuesday evening, the agency said in a statement.
U.S. court rules Beijing meetings helped Las Vegas Sands in Macau
A U.S. court has ruled that a Hong Kong businessman's role in arranging meetings between Las Vegas Sands and Chinese government officials helped the casino company secure a license in Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub. The Nevada Supreme Court's ruling on July 22 came after it granted a rehearing in a 12-year legal battle between Las Vegas Sands and Richard Suen. In March the court had found "insufficient evidence" to support a May 2013 jury verdict in favor of Suen and Round Square Co, a company he partially owns, and ordered a new trial to determine damages.
All 46 crew rescued after fishing vessel sinks off Alaskan coast: Coast Guard
The 46-member crew of a fishing vessel that sank more than 600 miles off the coast of Alaska in the Bering Sea on Tuesday had to be rescued by boats in the area and taken to a nearby island, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The crew of Alaska Juris issued a distress alert to the Coast Guard and put on survival suits before leaving their ship at about 11:30 a.m. Alaska time near Kiska Island, about 690 miles (1,100 km) west of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement.
U.S. opens door to a change in blood donation policy for gay men
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened the door on Tuesday to a change in its blood donor deferral recommendations, which currently prohibit donations from gay men for a year following their last sexual encounter in order to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In December the FDA overturned a 30-year ban on all blood donations from men who have sex with men, saying the change was based on science showing an indefinite ban was not necessary to prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus.
Ex-Virginia Tech students indicted in death of 13-year-old girl
A grand jury indicted two former Virginia Tech students on Tuesday for first-degree murder in the death of a 13-year-old girl, a prosecutor said. The suspects, David Eisenhauer, 18, of Columbia, Maryland, and Natalie Keepers, 19, of Laurel, Maryland, were indicted for the January slaying of Nicole Lovell, Montgomery County prosecutor Mary Pettitt said in a statement.
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