Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Slain security guard of California mosque engaged gunmen in shootout, hailed as hero

The security guard slain at the Islamic Center of San Diego was hailed on Tuesday as a fallen hero who sacrificed his life to keep 140 school children inside the mosque safe by engaging two gunmen in a shootout that deterred the teenage suspects and helped thwart their attack. Authorities also disclosed that the 17- and 18-year-old assailants, who took their own lives shortly after Monday's shooting, were ​believed to have met online and were apparently "radicalized" in hate-related ideology on the internet.

Trump reveals new details of bunker-like ballroom with drone base

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday revealed previously undisclosed details about his new bunker-like White House ballroom, saying it would have a drone base on the roof and a military hospital as part of a six-story ​subterranean complex. Amid the bang and clang of construction, Trump took a group of reporters on a tour of the project to try to bolster his argument that the U.S. Congress should allocate $1 billion to pay for security enhancements ‌to the building.

US airlines oppose Trump ​plan to require small airports to use private security

A group representing major U.S. airlines opposes a White House proposal to require smaller airports to use private security screeners instead of the Transportation Security Administration, according to written testimony seen by Reuters.

Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu will tell a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday that ensuring that private security "remains an option for airports and does not become a mandatory program is paramount to the U.S. aviation industry."

Exclusive-US Health Secretary Kennedy backs away from some recent changes to CDC vaccine panel

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s latest effort to reconstitute a CDC vaccine advisory committee backs away from some reforms he announced just weeks ago and could complicate his efforts to alter federal immunization policy, according to a copy of the plan reviewed by Reuters. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, played a central role in rewriting U.S. vaccine policies under Kennedy, who has spent years sowing doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence. The advisory board recommends which shots should be administered to Americans and when, and informs health insurance coverage.

Democratic-led states sue over Trump administration's student ‌loan restrictions

A group of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging a new rule the Trump administration issued that could limit access to federal student loans for people pursuing advanced professional degrees in healthcare-related fields. Democratic attorneys general from 23 states and the District of Columbia joined with the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania to file a lawsuit in federal court in Maryland arguing that the U.S. Department of Education's new rule is unlawful.

DOJ to make announcement on Wednesday related to 1996 Cuba incident

The U.S. Justice Department said it will make an announcement in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday in conjunction with a ceremony to honor the victims of a 1996 incident in which Cuban military jets killed four people. The Trump administration plans to announce criminal charges against former Cuban president Raul Castro on Wednesday, according to a U.S. Justice Department official, in a move that would mark a step-up in Washington's pressure campaign against the Caribbean island's communist government.

Republicans Collins, Dooley advance to primary runoff in hopes of facing US Senator Ossoff in November

A hardline Republican congressman and a former college football coach who has never held elective office advanced to a runoff on Tuesday in Georgia's U.S. Senate Republican primary election, extending a messy intra-party battle to determine who will face Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in the November general election. U.S. Representative Mike Collins led former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley 40.5%-30% with 80% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press. Their projected advance to a June 16 runoff eliminated a third contender, Representative Buddy Carter, who had spent heavily to gain statewide name recognition.

US watchdog urged to probe ‌Roblox over child safety and marketing

Two children's advocacy groups asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday to investigate gaming platform Roblox, according to a letter shared with Reuters saying its design features and marketing techniques are "unfair and deceptive." The groups Fairplay and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation asked the FTC to investigate whether Roblox violated the Federal Trade Act's section 5, according to the letter. The law prohibits unfair or deceptive practices affecting commerce.

Vance or Rubio for 2028? The White House briefing room edition

The White House press briefing room has emerged as an informal audition stage this month in the intensifying race of who will succeed President Donald Trump in 2028. Taking the podium on Tuesday, two weeks after his possible rival Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ‌Vice President JD Vance worked to impress an audience of one.

Trump backs hardliner Ken Paxton in critical Texas US Senate race runoff

President Donald Trump endorsed Texas conservative hardliner Ken Paxton on Tuesday in his primary challenge of veteran Republican U.S. Senator John Cornyn, supporting a scandal-plagued ally over a longtime incumbent in a key race ahead of November's midterm elections. The announcement comes a week before Paxton, who is Texas attorney general, and Cornyn compete in a runoff - three months after neither candidate surpassed 50% in a March 3 three-way primary.

Divisions awaiting Warsh to be on display in Fed minutes release

The depth of the differences among Federal Reserve policymakers' views on the direction of interest rates and severity of inflation will be on view on Wednesday with the release of a readout of the most divided meeting in a generation, one that also marked the end of Chair Jerome Powell's leadership tenure. With Powell's successor Kevin Warsh set to be sworn in on Friday, Wednesday's release of the minutes of the April 28-29 meeting will add critical detail about shifts in two blocs of Fed officials waiting to greet him - a growing one wary of the inflation arising from the war in Iran and of any talk of future rate cuts, and a diminishing one still leaning toward lowering borrowing costs.

US Senator Warner, Democrat and ex-telecom exec, questions Trump Mobile's claims

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and a former telecommunications executive, said Tuesday the Trump Organization is making misleading claims about its long-delayed mobile phone. The Trump Organization, founded by President Donald Trump and managed by his adult sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., launched the mobile venture in June last year under a trademark licensing arrangement. The organization pushed back the T1 phone's release from August to October and is starting to ship this month.

US Senate Republicans advance major portion of $72 billion migrant enforcement bill

Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday advanced partisan legislation setting $72 billion in new funding ⁠for President Donald Trump's aggressive and controversial migrant ​deportation program. The action by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee did not settle a continuing battle over whether the measure should include $1 billion in additional funding for security enhancements to Trump's 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom already ⁠under construction and other Secret Service activities.

Trump-IRS settlement 'forever' bars audits into tax claims for Trump and his family

The U.S. Justice Department has "forever barred" the Internal Revenue Service from pursuing any audits into past tax claims for President Donald Trump, his relatives and his companies, according to a one-page document released Tuesday. The sweeping document, signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said the U.S. government could not audit Trump's tax returns filed before Monday or any matters "that were raised or could have been raised."

US Senate advances measure curbing Trump's Iran war powers

The U.S. Senate advanced a war-powers resolution on Tuesday that would end the Iran war unless President Donald Trump obtains Congress' authorization, a rare rebuke of the Republican leader 80 days after U.S. and Israeli forces began striking Iran. The vote on a procedural measure to advance the resolution was 50 to 47, as four of Trump's fellow Republicans voted with every Democrat but one in favor. Three Republicans missed the ⁠vote.

US Supreme Court's uneven approach to election-map rulings boosts Republicans

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court last December permitted Texas to move ahead with a new voting map beneficial to Republicans, as the justices faulted a lower court for issuing an order blocking it "on the eve of an election." At the time, the Texas party primary elections were four months away and the general election was 11 months off. The top U.S. judicial body's action in the case followed a legal concept known as the Purcell principle it established two decades ago that courts should strive to avoid changing voting rules too close to an election due to the risk of voter confusion.

'Am I out?' Drought and rising costs from Iran war deepen pain for US farmers

Scott Irlbeck crouched in a field of stunted wheat plants in a parched stretch of West Texas and slipped his hand into a crack wide ​enough to swallow it. Last autumn, Irlbeck planted a crop that barely grew because rain never came. He now hopes his insurance adjuster will declare it a total loss so he will not need to spend money on pricey fuel to harvest it next month.

Supreme Court rulings loom in four major Trump-related cases

President Donald Trump was incensed on February 20 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs, an integral part of his economic and foreign policy strategy. That may not be the last disappointment for Trump during the court's current term. Four more major cases involving Trump are due to be decided by the top U.S. judicial body by around the end ⁠of next month. They involve his effort to restrict birthright citizenship, fire a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors, oust a Federal Trade Commission member and end protected status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Syria.

Pennsylvania Democrats pick swing-district challengers in bid to reclaim US House

Democratic Party voters in Pennsylvania picked their candidates to challenge incumbent Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday ahead of November elections that will determine which party controls Congress. Here are the candidates who won Tuesday's primaries in the most closely watched races for seats that Democrats want to flip, according to calls by local news outlets based on preliminary vote counts:

Jones, Jackson advance to Republican primary runoff in Georgia governor race

Burt Jones and Rick Jackson advanced to a primary runoff in the Republican Party's race to be candidate for governor of the U.S. state of Georgia in November's election, media reported on Tuesday. They are hoping to take over from Brian Kemp, a Republican blocked from running again ⁠by term limits.

US ​lawmakers seek to undercut Chinese AI and tech sales abroad

U.S. senators from both parties will unveil a bill on Tuesday aimed at countering Chinese sales of AI tools overseas, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The legislation, sponsored by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, would create an office within the State Department to subsidize purchases by allied governments of U.S. technology and streamline the procurement process. If passed, a fund worth $500 million would be created to help finance the program.

Trump-backed Ed Gallrein ousts Thomas Massie in Kentucky fight for US Congress seat, NBC News projects

Ed Gallrein, boosted by the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, ousted incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie, a prominent Trump critic, on Tuesday to become the Republican Party's nominee to represent Kentucky's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, NBC News projected. Tuesday's primary vote was seen as a test of Trump's powers to persuade Republican voters to punish his critics. Massie has represented parts of northen Kentucky in the House since 2012, and has been an outspoken critic of Trump during the president's second term.

Trump approval drops to 35% as Republican support softens, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds

Donald Trump's presidential approval rating fell to nearly its lowest level since he returned to the White House, hit by a drop in support among Republicans, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll, which closed on Monday, showed 35% of the country approved of Trump's job performance, down a percentage point from a Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month and just above the low-point of his presidency - 34% - ⁠seen last month. Trump started his current term in January 2025 with a 47% approval rating.

Trump purges another Republican critic with Massie defeat in Kentucky

U.S. President Donald Trump scored another victory in his campaign to punish disloyal Republicans on Tuesday as Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his primary race, underscoring the risks for lawmakers who defy Trump. Massie, who angered Trump by leading a push to release Justice Department files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and emerged as an outspoken critic of the war with Iran, was defeated by Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL backed by the president and bolstered by heavy spending by pro-Israel groups.

Non-citizens face more scrutiny on bank activities after Trump order

Non-citizens in the ⁠U.S. will face greater scrutiny on their banking activities following an executive order by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, but the directive was less extensive than a previous proposal floated by Treasury requiring banks to collect clients' citizenship information. The ⁠Trump administration has proposed a number of policies that have sideswiped banks, including the idea floated earlier in the year to collect citizenship data. In January, Trump also blindsided the industry by calling for credit card providers to cap interest rates in a bid to address cost-of-living concerns, and he has targeted Wall Street banks for discriminating against conservatives, a claim they deny.

Barr wins Republican primary for Kentucky Senate seat, US media projects

Republican voters in Kentucky nominated Andy Barr on Tuesday as their candidate in November's election for the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator Mitch McConnell for four decades, according to projections from NBC News and the Associated Press. McConnell, 84, is one of the most powerful members of the Republican Party and served as Senate majority leader from 2015 to 2021.

New York City hotels reach labour deal before World Cup

New York City hotel operators and unions have reached an eight-year labour deal covering about 25,000 workers, averting a strike over wages, workloads and staffing levels that had threatened to disrupt the city ahead of the FIFA World Cup, the head of the Hotel Association of New York City said on ‌Tuesday.

Vijay Dandapani, the association's president and chief executive, said the mood among owners was "overall positive" after weeks of negotiations, though the industry made significant concessions.

US ‌acting AG Blanche won't rule out Trump 'weaponization' payouts to January 6 rioters who assaulted police

U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday he could not commit to barring money from President Donald Trump's newly announced "weaponization" fund from going to people who assaulted police officers, including during the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Blanche, in his first congressional testimony since ascending to the top of the Justice ​Department after Pam Bondi's firing last month, also told Democratic senators that he could not commit to barring any of the nearly $1.8 billion from the settlement going to Trump campaign donors.

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