Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

NASA says 20% of workforce to depart space agency

About 20% of the employees at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration are set to depart the space agency, a NASA spokesperson said on Friday. Around 3,870 individuals are expected to depart, but that number may change in the coming days and weeks, the spokesperson said, adding that the remaining number of employees at the agency would be around 14,000.

Trump golfs in Scotland as Epstein questions persist

U.S. President Donald Trump kept a low profile on his Scottish golf course on Saturday, ahead of meetings with top British and European leaders, as questions swirled at home about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday, with hundreds of people on hand to watch the arrival in Glasgow of Air Force One, the presidential aircraft.

US appeals court strikes down SEC rule on 'audit trail' funding

A federal appeals court on Friday struck down 2023 regulations adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on funding a comprehensive market surveillance system, finding that Wall Street's top regulator had not provided a sufficient basis for allowing stock exchanges to pass on its costs to their members, court papers showed. The unanimous decision represented another blow to SEC regulations adopted under the Biden administration, which faced concerted opposition from industry and Republican lawmakers. It was also a setback for the Consolidated Audit Trail, a repository of investor and transaction data meant to give regulators overarching visibility into U.S. market operations that has faced delays and obstacles for more than a decade.

Exclusive-US diplomats asked if non-whites qualify for Trump refugee program for South Africans

In early July, the top official at the U.S. embassy in South Africa reached out to Washington asking for clarification on a contentious U.S. policy: could non-whites apply for a refugee program geared toward white South Africans if they met other requirements? President Donald Trump's February executive order establishing the program specified that it was for "Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination," referring to an ethnic group descended mostly from Dutch settlers.

Trump arrives in Scotland for golf and bilateral talks as EU trade deal nears

U.S. President Donald Trump, dogged by questions about his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, arrived in Scotland on Friday for some golf and bilateral talks that could yield a trade deal with the European Union. Trump told reporters upon his arrival that he will visit his two golf properties in Scotland and meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whom he called a "highly respected woman."

FDA probes death of patient on Sarepta's Elevidys, partner Roche says death unrelated to therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it was investigating the death of an eight-year-old boy who received Sarepta Therapeutics' muscular disorder gene therapy Elevidys. The death occurred on June 7, the agency said, sending shares of the company down more than 3% in extended trading.

US appeals court rejects challenge to Washington laws on transgender youth care

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a constitutional challenge by parents in Washington state to laws addressing the rights of transgender runaway children who seek gender-affirming care at shelters. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said two anti-transgender nonprofits and several parents whose teenage children exhibited signs of gender dysphoria, but were not now runaways, lacked legal standing to sue because they could not prove present or future injuries.

Trump presses Powell to cut rates during tense visit to Fed

President Donald Trump locked horns with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a rare presidential visit to the U.S. central bank on Thursday, criticizing the cost of renovating two historical buildings at its headquarters and pressing the case for lower interest rates. Trump, who called Powell a "numbskull" earlier this week for failing to heed the White House's demand for a large reduction in borrowing costs, wrapped up his visit to the Fed's $2.5 billion building project in Washington by saying he did not intend to fire Powell, as he has frequently suggested he would.

Hulk Hogan, who helped turn pro wrestling into billion-dollar spectacle, dies at 71

Hulk Hogan, the American sports and entertainment star who made professional wrestling a global phenomenon and loudly supported Donald Trump for president, has died at the age of 71, World Wrestling Entertainment said on Thursday. "WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture's most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s," WWE said in a statement.

Trump suggests Fed may be ready to lower interest rates

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the U.S. central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. The two men met on Thursday when Trump made a rare visit to the U.S. central bank to tour the ongoing renovation of two buildings at its headquarters in Washington. The White House has criticized the cost of the project, and the president and Powell sparred over the issue during the visit.

Amid Epstein furor, Ghislaine Maxwell seeks relief from US Supreme Court

Even as an uproar over files relating to Jeffrey Epstein engulfs President Donald Trump and Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court is due to wade into the controversy and decide whether to hear a bid by an associate of the late financier and convicted sex offender to overturn her criminal conviction. The justices, now on their summer recess, are expected in late September to consider whether to take up an appeal by British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty in 2021 by a jury in New York of helping Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls.

US judge dismisses Justice Dept lawsuit over sanctuary laws in Chicago and Illinois

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department that accused the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago of unlawfully interfering with President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins in Chicago was a setback for Trump's litigation campaign against local "sanctuary" laws that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Trump administration proposes bigger role for Development Finance Corporation

The Trump administration wants to provide the U.S.'s flagship development agency more leeway to finance projects in high-income countries, while quadrupling its spending power and enhancing its national security focus, according to a White House proposal seen by Reuters. The plan would represent a big change for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a relatively small agency which until now has been dedicated to supporting poor countries, mainly with projects that boost their energy and critical minerals development and preserve nature.

Trump: strong dollar sounds good but 'you make a hell of a lot more' with a weaker one

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he liked a strong dollar but "you make a hell of a lot more money" with a weaker one. "So when we have a strong dollar, one thing happens: It sounds good. But you don't do any tourism. You can't sell tractors, you can't sell trucks, you can't sell anything," Trump said at the White House before leaving on a trip to Scotland.

NFL-About 100 players, two dozen club employees face fines for selling Super Bowl tickets

About 100 NFL players and two dozen employees from several teams face fines for selling this year's Super Bowl tickets for more than face value, a source told Reuters on Friday, activity that violated a long-standing league policy. Players will be fined 1.5 times the face value of the ticket they sold while club employees will be fined twice the amount. ESPN first broke the news on the fines.

Kennedy to oust care task force, WSJ reports; HHS says no decision yet

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to remove all the members of an advisory panel that determines what cancer screenings and other preventive health measures insurers must cover, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said on Friday that Kennedy had not yet made a decision regarding the 16-member U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)