Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Analysis-Autopilot verdict deals Tesla a 'black eye', threatens Musk's robotaxi ambitions

A court verdict against Tesla last week, stemming from a fatal 2019 crash of an Autopilot-equipped Model S, could hurt its plans to expand its nascent robotaxi network and intensify concerns over the safety of its autonomous vehicle technology. A Florida jury ordered Musk's electric vehicle company on Friday to pay about $243 million to victims of the crash, finding its Autopilot driver-assistance software defective. Tesla said the driver was solely at fault and vowed to appeal.

US trade deficit narrows to $60.2 billion in June

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in June on a sharp drop in consumer goods imports, the latest evidence of the imprint on global commerce President Donald Trump is making with sweeping tariffs on imported goods. The overall trade gap narrowed 16.0% in June to $60.2 billion, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday. Days after reporting that the goods trade deficit tumbled 10.8% to its lowest since September 2023, the government said the full deficit including services also was its narrowest since September 2023.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs loses bid to get out of jail prior to sentencing

Sean "Diddy" Combs on Monday lost his bid to be released from jail ahead of his October 3 sentencing, despite a jury having found the hip-hop mogul not guilty of the most serious charges at his sex crimes trial. Combs' lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian on July 29 to release Combs on $50 million bond, saying conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn were dangerous and other defendants convicted of prostitution-related charges similar to Combs' were usually released before sentencing.

US could require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourist visas under pilot program

The U.S. could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The program gives U.S. consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. Bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where screening and vetting information is deemed insufficient, the notice said.

US factory orders fall sharply in June on aircraft orders drop

New orders for U.S.-manufactured goods fell in June as commercial aircraft orders plunged, reversing the surge in plane orders that had driven the overall upswing in orders in the prior month. Factory orders tumbled 4.8% after an upwardly revised 8.3% increase in May, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders would decline 4.8% after a previously reported 8.2% jump in May. Orders were up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis in June.

The jobs data revisions that cost a US government statistician her job

The revisions to previous estimates of the size of U.S. payrolls gains for May and June that prompted President Donald Trump to fire Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday were by any measure extraordinarily large. Indeed, the combined downward revision for the two months of 258,000 was the largest - outside of those during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic - since at least 1979.

Texas Democrats seek to block redistricting vote by leaving state

Democratic lawmakers in Texas said on Sunday they were leaving the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, a move Republicans are seeking to protect their narrow U.S. House majority in next year's midterm elections. President Donald Trump has championed the redistricting plan, telling reporters he expects the effort to yield as many as five additional House Republicans. Republicans hold a narrow 220-212 majority in the House of Representatives, with three Democratic-held seats vacant after members' deaths.

White House readies order to fine banks for dropping clients over politics, WSJ reports

The White House is drafting an executive order that would impose penalties on banks for dropping customers for political reasons, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing a draft of the order, the Journal said regulators would be instructed to investigate whether any financial institutions breach the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, antitrust laws or consumer financial protection laws.

Exclusive-Tesla's brand loyalty collapsed after Musk backed Trump, data shows

Tesla for years had more repeat U.S. customers than any other major automotive brand but its loyalty has plunged since CEO Elon Musk endorsed President Donald Trump last summer, according to data from research firm S&P Global Mobility shared exclusively with Reuters. The data, which has not been previously reported, shows Tesla's customer loyalty peaked in June 2024, when 73% of Tesla-owning households in the market for a new car bought another Tesla, according to an S&P analysis of vehicle-registration data in all 50 states.

Florida reports 21 cases of E.coli infections linked to raw milk

The Florida Department of Health said on Monday that there have been 21 cases of Campylobacter and E. coli infections linked to drinking raw milk in the state, including six children under 10. The state health department reported seven hospitalizations linked to the consumption of raw milk containing disease-causing bacteria from a particular farm in Northeast/Central Florida.

US government restricts sports visas for transgender women

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Monday it has updated its immigration policy to restrict visa eligibility for transgender women seeking to compete in women's sports. Under the policy update, USCIS will consider "the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women" as a negative factor when evaluating visa petitions in categories such as O-1A for extraordinary ability, EB-1 and EB-2 green cards for highly skilled workers, and national interest waivers.

Manhattan shooting renews focus on CTE, concussion risks in amateur sports

A deadly Manhattan office shooting by former high school football player Shane Tamura has renewed attention on how head injuries are managed in amateur football. Tamura, 27, fatally shot four people before killing himself, leaving a note blaming chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and the NFL for his actions. National Football League headquarters are in the Park Avenue building where the shooting occurred.

Satellite firm SES wins $90 million contract to support U.S. Army

SES has won an $89.6 million contract to provide its commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) services to the U.S. army, the European satellite company said on Monday. Its SES Space & Defense subsidiary has been awarded the five-year deal, the company said. It will supply its strategic transport and communications network to Combat Service Support, Department of Defense (DoD) programmes, as well as additional U.S. government agencies.

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio urges Trump to reveal why he fired top labor official

Investor Ray Dalio said on Monday he, too, would likely have fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he "believes the data is not good", but urged U.S. President Donald Trump to disclose the reasoning behind her removal. In a post on social media platform X, Dalio - founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates - said leaders "manipulating numbers" to suit their political objectives could be a big problem, echoing growing concern around the quality of economic data.

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