Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. to evacuate Americans from cruise ship quarantined at Japan port

The United States said on Saturday it will send aircraft to Japan to bring back American passengers on the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, where the most coronavirus infections outside China have occurred. The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said in a letter on Saturday to passengers that chartered aircraft would arrive in Japan on Sunday evening and that it recommended "out of an abundance of caution" that U.S. citizens disembark and return home for further monitoring.

Fake flyers and face-mask fear: California fights coronavirus discrimination

A flyer in Los Angeles' Carson area, with a fake seal of the World Health Organization, tells residents to avoid Asian-American businesses because of a coronavirus outbreak. A Los Angeles middle schooler is beaten and hospitalized after students say he is as an Asian-American with coronavirus. And over 14,000 people sign a petition urging schools in the Alhambra area to close over coronavirus risks, even though there is only one case of the virus in Los Angeles County, with its population of 10.1 million.

'Disown them:' Biden criticizes Sanders for supporters' online attacks

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday criticized the conduct of online supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, saying his rival for the Democratic nomination for president has "some accountability." Biden, in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press," waded into a spat between Sanders supporters and leaders of The Culinary Union, a powerful labor group in Nevada that has been critical of the senator's healthcare proposals. Nevada holds the next nominating contest in the Democratic presidential primary.

New York prosecutor says former movie producer Weinstein abused his power

New York prosecutors told jurors that Harvey Weinstein abused his power and pushed back against claims by the former Hollywood producer's defense team that his accusers were not credible. Setting the stage for the jury to begin deliberating next week in Weinstein's weeks-long sexual assault trial, Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi said Weinstein, 67, had counted on his victims never coming forward.

New York police charge 14-year-old with murder of college student

New York police announced the arrest of a 14-year-old boy on Saturday who they said fatally stabbed a teenage woman during a brutal Manhattan robbery two months ago that stunned the city where crime rates have been in a decades-long decline. The boy, Rashaun Weaver, was taken into custody without incident on Friday night, police said, following the arrest in December of a 13-year-old boy in connection with the murder of Tessa Majors, 18, a student at Barnard College.

Emboldened, Trump defends right to interfere in criminal cases

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he has "the legal right" to interfere in criminal cases, capping a tumultuous week that raised questions about whether he is eroding the independence of the U.S. legal system. Trump's criticism of the judge, jury and prosecutors in the criminal case of his longtime adviser Roger Stone prompted an unusual rebuke from Attorney General William Barr, his top law enforcement official, and spurred new demands for investigation from the Democrats who unsuccessfully tried to remove the Republican president from office.

Philippines' Duterte says Trump deserves to be re-elected

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that Donald Trump deserved to be re-elected, praising the U.S. president's reaction to his decision to end a decades-old military agreement with the United States. Trump said on Wednesday he did not mind Duterte's decision to end the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) even as his defense secretary, Mark Esper, called the move "unfortunate" as Washington and its allies press China to abide by "international rules" in Asia.

Alaska high court OKs recall petition drive for campaign to oust governor

The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for a campaign seeking to oust the state's embattled governor to proceed with plans to collect enough signatures to place a recall initiative on the 2020 ballot. In the latest legal setback for Governor Mike Dunleavy, a first-term Republican and ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, the state's high court lifted a stay blocking state election officials from printing and distributing petition booklets for the recall drive.

U.S. Border Patrol to send Tactical Unit officers to 'sanctuary cities'

The Trump administration is deploying highly trained officers to boost arrests of unauthorized immigrants in a number of cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, the latest move in a battle against localities that adopt "sanctuary" policies to protect them from deportation. Members of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Border Patrol Tactical Unit will be among the officers deployed to cities to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. They will also be sent to San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark, New Jersey, CBP spokesman Lawrence Payne said in a statement on Friday.

All-Star MVP Award named in honor of Kobe Bryant

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game MVP Award has been permanently named for the late Kobe Bryant, league Commissioner Adam Silver said on Saturday. Bryant, an 18-time All-Star who won a record-tying four All-Star Game MVP awards, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles on Jan. 26. He was 41.