Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Tesla on track to launch robotaxi trial in Austin, Texas, by June end, Musk says

Tesla is set to begin a test of its long-promised robotaxi service on schedule in Austin, Texas, by the end of June, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Tuesday, even as the company faces safety questions from a U.S. regulator. The electric vehicle maker will roll out about 10 self-driving cars in some parts of the city, and scale up to about a thousand within a few months, Musk told CNBC in an interview.

Musk, Republican Party's biggest donor, says he will cut political spending

Elon Musk, who spent nearly $300 million to back Donald Trump's presidential campaign and other Republicans last year, said on Tuesday he will cut his political spending substantially, the latest public signal that he is shifting his attention back to his business empire amid growing investor concerns. Musk also said he was committed to staying on as Tesla's CEO for another five years, seeking to address questions about how he has balanced his role at the automaker with his involvement in the Trump administration, where he had overseen a massive cost-cutting effort across the federal bureaucracy.

US expected to declare Biden fuel economy rules exceeded legal authority

The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to declare that fuel economy rules issued under then President Joe Biden exceeded the government's legal authority by including electric vehicles in setting the rules, automaker officials said Monday. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday submitted its interpretive rule, "Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program" to the White House for review.

Trump selects $175 billion Golden Dome defense shield design, appoints leader

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had selected a design for the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense shield and named a Space Force general to head the ambitious program aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia. Trump announced at a White House press conference that U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein would be the lead program manager for an effort widely viewed as the keystone to Trump's military planning.

Comic actor George Wendt, 'Cheers' barfly named Norm, dead at 76

Comic actor George Wendt, best known for his Emmy-nominated supporting role as the beer-bellied barfly Norm on the long-running hit NBC television sitcom "Cheers," died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 76. The passing of the Chicago-born performer was announced in a statement from his publicist, Melissa Nathan, who said his family confirmed that he died peacefully in his sleep in the early morning at home.

US judge says deportations to South Sudan likely violate court order

A federal judge said on Tuesday it appeared the Trump administration had violated a court order by deporting several migrants to South Sudan without ensuring they had a meaningful chance to raise any concerns they had for their safety. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston told a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice during a hastily arranged virtual hearing that the potential violation might constitute criminal contempt and he was weighing ordering a plane carrying the migrants to the African nation to turn around.

Trump's approval rating ticks lower, economic concerns weigh, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

President Donald Trump's approval rating ticked slightly lower this week to 42%, matching the lowest level of his new term as Americans kept a dour view of his handling of the U.S. economy, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The results of the three-day poll, which concluded on Sunday, showed a marginal dip from a week earlier when a Reuters/Ipsos survey showed 44% of Americans approved of the job Trump was doing as president. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

US health authorities to set targets for lowering drug prices

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday it would set drug prices pegged to the lowest level paid by other high-income countries following an executive order from President Donald Trump last week aimed at lowering the prices of branded medicines for U.S. consumers. HHS wants to implement so-called most-favored-nation pricing under which U.S. prescription drug prices would drop to the lowest possible price paid by countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which includes most of the world's largest economies.

Trump's mass layoff threat drives U.S. government workers to resign

Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.

US airport security agency does not rule out privatization

The acting head of Transportation Security Administration said on Tuesday the agency did not rule out considering a plan to privatize the government agency while defending a proposed cut for screening officers. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Senators question Paramount's Redstone over '60 Minutes' settlement attempts with Trump

A group of senators sent a letter to Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone on Monday, seeking information about the CBS News owner's efforts to settle a lawsuit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden are questioning whether Paramount's potential attempts to resolve the high profile lawsuit could violate federal anti-bribery laws, according to the letter seen by Reuters.

Fed's Musalem: policy uncertainty has 'meaningful' impact on economic outlook

High uncertainty over the Trump administration's trade and other policies could slow the economy significantly as households and businesses put spending and investment decisions on hold while they wait for more clarity, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank president Alberto Musalem said on Monday. "To the extent that the economy requires capital expenditure to continue to occur, that it requires hiring to continue to occur, and if all those decisions have been somewhat paused because of the uncertainty, it would affect the economic outlook I would expect," Musalem said in Minneapolis. "I don't want to give a precise number estimate, but I would say it tends to be a pretty meaningful impact."

Rubio may have revoked thousands of visas as crackdown continues

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday the number of visas he has revoked was probably in the thousands, adding that he believed there was still more to do. Republican President Donald Trump's administration has sought to ramp up deportations and revoke student visas as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill his hardline immigration agenda.

Trump urges Congress to approve auction of 600 megahertz of spectrum

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday "I am going to free up plenty of SPECTRUM for auction, so Congress must put 600 MHz in 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.'""Let's make sure all options are on the table," Trump said in a post on the Truth Social platform.

US FAA announces Newark flight cuts to reduce congestion

Following a series of major disruptions in New Jersey's main airport, the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Tuesday it is requiring temporary cuts to flights at Newark after meetings with major U.S. airlines to address congestion. Newark Liberty International Airport has been dealing with a chaotic series of equipment outages, runway construction and air traffic control staffing issues for weeks.

Massachusetts college student to plead guilty to PowerSchool data breach

A Massachusetts college student has agreed to plead guilty to hacking cloud-based education software provider PowerSchool and stealing data pertaining to millions of students and teachers that hackers used to extort the company and school districts into paying ransoms. Matthew Lane, 19, entered into a plea deal on Tuesday to resolve charges filed in federal court in Worcester, Massachusetts, related to the hacking of two companies, which were then extorted for ransoms.

US official's email on gang assessment sparks concern inside intel agencies

A top adviser to Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, acknowledged in a March 24 email that the Venezuelan government may not have specifically directed the activities of a gang that the Trump administration has used to justify fast-tracking deportation of immigrants, but argued that a link between Venezuela and the gang was "common sense." U.S. President Donald Trump has used a claim that Tren de Aragua is coordinating its U.S. activities with the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to justify deportations of alleged gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Some legal scholars have argued invoking the act requires a connection to a foreign government.

Fed officials expect tariffs to boost prices; White House downplays risk

Federal Reserve officials said on Tuesday that higher prices are coming on the back of rising U.S. import tariffs, with the open question now whether the inflation shock will be fleeting or more persistent. "One thing that we've heard is that a lot of the tariff impact to date has actually not shown up in the numbers yet. There's been a lot of front-running, building inventories and all those sorts of things. And we are hearing from an increasing number of businesses that those strategies ... are starting to run their course," Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on the sidelines of a conference in Florida.

New Orleans jail worker arrested, accused of helping inmates escape

A maintenance worker at a New Orleans jail was under arrest, accused of helping 10 inmates escape last week, including some accused of murder, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on Tuesday. The worker, Sterling Williams, 33, admitted to agents that he turned off the water supply to a cell at the request of one of the inmates, Murrill said in a statement on Tuesday. That allowed the escapees to tear a sink and toilet off the wall, creating a hole through which they fled.

US is not withdrawing from the world, Rubio says during testy hearings in Congress

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday insisted that the country is not withdrawing from the world, as he batted away criticism of cuts to aid and diplomatic budgets from former colleagues in Congress, some of whom regret voting to confirm him because he has not stood up to President Donald Trump. In sometimes feisty first testimony as the country's top diplomat, Rubio was challenged over his role in the administration's crackdown on immigration, Trump's engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the decision to prioritize the resettlement in the United States of white South Africans over refugees from elsewhere.

Trump migrant detentions at Guantanamo Bay cost $100,000 per person daily, senator says

President Donald Trump's use of the Guantanamo Bay naval base to house migrants appears to cost $100,000 per day for each detainee, U.S. Senator Gary Peters said during a hearing on Tuesday, decrying what he described as a prime example of wasteful government spending. Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, questioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the high cost, far more than the $165 per day in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Peters also asked why detainees have been sent to the American naval base in Cuba but then shuttled back to the United States at taxpayer expense.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Infringe its trademarks, lawsuit claims

Carnegie Hall is suing the operator of several restaurants called the Carnegie Diner and Cafe, accusing it of infringing trademarks belonging to one of the world's most prestigious music venues. The nonprofit Carnegie Hall Corp, which manages the 134-year-old venue, said Efstathios Antonakopoulos has "taken every opportunity" to trade off its image and brand to promote his Carnegie Diners in Manhattan; Secaucus, New Jersey; and Vienna, Virginia, with a stated goal to franchise nationwide by 2029.

Trump struggles to convince Republican holdouts in Congress on tax bill

President Donald Trump on Tuesday pressed his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress to unite behind a sweeping tax-cut bill, but apparently failed to convince a handful of holdouts who could still block a package that encompasses much of his domestic agenda. In a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, Trump bluntly warned Republicans in the House of Representatives not to press for further changes to the sprawling bill, which would cut taxes and tighten eligibility for the Medicaid health program.

Laura Loomer swipes at Trump from the heart of MAGA

Laura Loomer once had to chain herself to a building to get attention. Not any longer. A far-right activist who has jockeyed her way up from online agitator to self-appointed presidential adviser, Loomer has long been one of President Donald Trump's most fervent supporters.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs took ecstasy shaped like Obama's face, jury hears

Sean "Diddy" Combs once took an ecstasy pill shaped like President Barack Obama's face, the hip-hop mogul's former personal assistant testified on Tuesday at Combs' racketeering and sex trafficking trial. David James, who worked for Combs from 2007 to 2009, told jurors during the second week of the trial in Manhattan federal court that he frequently saw Combs take drugs, including opiates during the day and ecstasy at night. James said he sometimes picked up drugs for Combs and his friends, and often brought narcotics and other personal items like lubricant and condoms to Combs' hotel rooms.

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