Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

California's top environmental regulator to retire amid Trump battles

California's top environmental regulator, who has helped lead the state's effort to ban the sale of gasoline-only vehicles starting in 2035, will retire on September 30 as the state spars with President Donald Trump over climate change rules. Governor Gavin Newsom said California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph, a long-time environmental official, will be replaced by Lauren Sanchez, who is senior adviser to the governor for climate.

Kennedy appoints five new members to US vaccine panel

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday appointed five new members to the revamped advisory panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy. This comes ahead of the panel's meeting this week to review guidance on shots for hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella-varicella and COVID-19, in a closely watched session that could further reshape the federal vaccination policy.

Fed faces key week of decisions with membership, political independence in doubt

The U.S. Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting this week with a historic challenge to its leadership pending in the courts and a rushed effort underway to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee to fill an open seat on the central bank's Board of Governors. The Fed is confronting a potentially intense pace of change between Trump's attempted firing of Governor Lisa Cook and the Senate's move to approve his nominee for a separate open seat. The move against Cook is both a first-of-its-kind test of the Fed's independence but also potentially disruptive to how the central bank is perceived on global markets.

Jimmy Kimmel defeats George Santos' appeal over videos

Jimmy Kimmel defeated an appeal by former New York Congressman George Santos accusing the late-night host of tricking him into making personalized videos on the Cameo app and using them to poke fun at the now-imprisoned Republican. In a 3-0 decision on Monday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Kimmel made "fair use" of the videos on his ABC show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to comment on Santos' alleged willingness to "say absurd things" for money.

Nebraska confirms first case of bird flu in dairy cattle herd

Nebraska confirmed its first case of bird flu in a dairy cattle herd, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday, showing the virus continues to spread in livestock after an outbreak began last year. Dairy cattle in 17 states have been confirmed to be infected since the start of the outbreak in March 2024, though reports of cases generally have slowed since last year, according to the USDA. California, Michigan, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Texas also reported cases in herds this year.

Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sues Trump administration over firing

Maurene Comey, a former federal prosecutor who brought criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, sued President Donald Trump's administration on Monday over her abrupt July firing. Comey, the eldest daughter of former FBI director and longtime Trump adversary James Comey, said in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court against the Justice Department and the Executive Office of the President that she was not provided any cause for her removal.

Exclusive-Former Fed Bullard, after meeting Treasury chief, flags conditions to be Fed chair

James Bullard, the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said Monday he'd spoken last week with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about becoming central bank chair, and that he's very interested in the job under the right set of conditions. "I talked to the Treasury secretary last Wednesday and his team" about the top Fed position as well as other issues, Bullard said in an interview with Reuters. Bullard, who is now Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University, led the St. Louis Fed from 2008 to 2023.

Trump seen again pushing deadline on TikTok sale or divestment, source says

The Trump administration is expected to again extend a September 17 deadline for China's ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of short-video app TikTok or shut it down, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. It would be the fourth reprieve granted by President Donald Trump from federal enforcement of a law that originally gave ByteDance until January 2025 to sell or shut down the popular social media platform.

Trump administration to give $500 million to historically Black and tribal colleges

President Donald Trump's administration announced plans on Monday to invest $500 million in historically Black colleges and tribal universities, days after ending $350 million in grants to programs for colleges with large numbers of Hispanic students and other minority-serving institutions. Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities will receive an additional $495 million on top of their anticipated 2025 investment, an increase of 48.4% and 109.3% respectively, the U.S. Education Department said in a statement.

US court rejects challenge to FAA approval of expanded SpaceX operations

A U.S. district court judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit by conservation groups challenging the Federal Aviation Administration approval in 2022 of expanded rocket launch operations by Elon Musk's SpaceX next to a national wildlife refuge in South Texas. The groups said noise, light pollution, construction and road traffic also degrade the area, home to endangered ocelots and jaguarundis, as well as nesting sites for endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles and for threatened shorebirds.

Chicago area residents mourn immigrant fatally shot by ICE agent during arrest attempt

Rudy Repa, a 27-year-old resident of Franklin Park, Illinois, placed a single marigold at a makeshift memorial near the spot where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a man from Mexico during an attempted arrest in the Chicago suburb. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said an officer shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, during a traffic stop on Friday in Franklin Park. In a statement, the agency said Villegas-Gonzalez was in the country illegally and had attempted to flee in his car, dragging and injuring the officer.

US banks borrow $1.5 billion from Fed's repo facility in sign of mild funding pressure

U.S. banks borrowed $1.5 billion from the Federal Reserve's Standing Repo Facility on Monday, the deadline for quarterly corporate tax payments and Treasury debt settlements, Fed data showed, suggesting some tightness in meeting funding obligations. The SRF serves as a backstop for any potential funding shortage. Launched in July 2021 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed's SRF offers daily overnight cash twice a day in exchange for eligible collateral like Treasuries.

Trump targets Memphis in law enforcement surge, eyes Chicago next

U.S. President Donald Trump established a Memphis Safe Task Force on Monday modeled after the recent federal law enforcement surge in the nation's capital, as part of a broader initiative he says is needed to combat urban violence. He said he plans to take similar action in Chicago next.

Trump vows national emergency in Washington, DC over ICE dispute

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he would call a national emergency and federalize Washington, D.C. after Mayor Muriel Bowser said its police would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At issue is the provision of information on individuals living in, or entering, the United States illegally. Trump's threat adds to a move critics have seen as federal overreach, with more than 2,000 troops patrolling the city.

Charlie Kirk shooting suspect not cooperating with authorities, Utah governor says

The man arrested in the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is not cooperating with authorities, but investigators are working to establish a motive for the shooting by talking to his friends and family, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Sunday. Cox said the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, 22, would be formally charged on Tuesday. He remains in custody in Utah.

Over half of US healthcare workers plan to switch jobs by next year, survey finds

More than half of U.S. healthcare workers are actively looking to leave their current jobs, according to a new survey, underscoring mounting pressure on an already strained system. The Harris Poll, commissioned by education services company Strategic Education, surveyed 1,504 frontline healthcare employees and 304 employers between June 26 and July 21 this year and found widespread burnout, dissatisfaction and a high attrition risk.

USDA considering economic aid for farmers this fall, says secretary

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with Congress to evaluate whether economic aid might be needed for the nation's farmers this autumn amid trade disputes and record-high yields, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Monday. U.S. farmers have missed out on billions in soybean sales to China as stalled trade talks halt exports, and the USDA's recent forecast of a record corn crop this autumn will likely weigh on a farm economy already saddled with low prices and rising fertilizer and seed costs.

Unions back off threat to launch strike against New York rail agency

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Monday that unions had backed off from a threat to launch a strike later this week at the Long Island Rail Road, which serves nearly 300,000 passengers daily. A group of unions said at a press conference they had asked President Donald Trump to appoint an emergency board to conduct mediation after previously threatening to launch a strike at the railroad serving New York commuters.

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