Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Pentagon gets request to build roughly 270 miles of Trump border wall

The Pentagon has received a request from within the Trump administration to build roughly 270 miles (435 km) of wall on the border with Mexico and is evaluating its cost and viability, a senior Defense Department official said on Thursday. The disclosure of the request by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sets up another showdown with Democrats in Congress, who oppose President Donald Trump's past diversion of billions of dollars in military spending to bolster security on the border.

Flap with Warren knocks Sanders' strategy off course

The best-laid plans of Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders were upended this week – and his campaign is struggling to get back on track. Sanders went into the week looking to draw a sharper contrast between his progressive agenda and that of former Vice President Joe Biden, a moderate and his top rival for the Democratic nomination.

FBI arrests three suspected neo-Nazis ahead of Virginia gun rally - New York Times

The FBI arrested on Thursday three men suspected of being members of a neo-Nazi hate group who had weapons and discussed attending a gun rally in Virginia next week in hopes of helping to start a race war, the New York Times reported. The men were arrested in Maryland and were expected to make an appearance in federal court later Thursday, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources. Gun rights supporters are planning a large rally in Richmond, Virginia, on Monday in response to the newly Democratic-controlled state legislature's push to stiffen gun laws.

'It was going for my throat': Florida python hunters wrestle invasive snakes

Thomas Aycock's life flashed before his eyes one night in the Everglades as a 13-foot Burmese python squeezed his arm and a leg in its coils. Aycock, who was trying to bag the snake by himself, still recalls feeling its tail across his back. "I knew what it was doing, it was going for my throat," said the 54-year-old Florida Army National Guard major who was able to wrestle free during that incident in the summer of 2018. "I said to myself, 'It can't go down like this.'"

U.S. farmers increased support for Trump ahead of 'Phase 1' signing - Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Donald Trump gained support among American farm families at the end of last year, Reuters/Ipsos poll data showed, as Trump touted a Phase 1 trade deal with key agricultural buyer China. The results show American farmers increasingly backed the Republican president as he sought to pause a drawn out trade war with Beijing that cut deeply into U.S. agricultural sales. The trade deal, announced Dec. 13 and signed on Wednesday, paves the way for increased farm exports to China, though critics have said it failed to address structural economic differences.

Recording Academy puts chief executive on leave days ahead of Grammys

The Recording Academy, whose members choose the Grammy winners, has placed its president and chief executive, Deborah Dugan, on administrative leave with immediate effect, it said on Thursday, just days before the Jan. 26 awards ceremony. The action was taken "in light of concerns raised to the board of trustees, including a formal allegation of misconduct by a senior female member of the Recording Academy team," the organisation said in an email statement.

Trump declares Puerto Rico quake disaster, ties strings to relief

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a major disaster in earthquake-hit Puerto Rico, boosting aid to the island a day after placing tougher restrictions on billions of dollars in delayed hurricane relief. Republican Trump has repeatedly clashed with Puerto Rico, calling the island "one of the most corrupt places on earth." He faced pressure to make the declaration from fellow Republican legislators in states such as Florida, who have large Puerto Rican constituencies.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter says U.S. voter suppression is alive and well

The center that honors slain U.S. civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. will devote the holiday celebrating his legacy on Monday to voter education and registration, his youngest daughter said in a recent interview. Bernice King, 56, said she believes her father would have been disappointed with efforts playing out in some U.S. states to purge voter rolls of people who have not recently cast ballots or to impose strict ID requirements.

Ex-congressman Chris Collins to be sentenced in New York for insider trading

Chris Collins, a former U.S. Congressman from New York who was an early backer of President Donald Trump, is due to be sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to taking part in an insider trading scheme. Collins, 69, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in October in federal court in Manhattan, a day after resigning his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Yosemite National Park says 170 people ill in possible norovirus outbreak

Some 170 people who have spent time in Yosemite National Park in recent weeks have suffered from a gastrointestinal ailment "consistent with norovirus" and two have been diagnosed with the illness, park officials said on Thursday. Most of those who became ill spent time in Yosemite Valley during or around the first week in January, park spokesman Scott Gediman said in a written statement, while the number of new cases reported has declined in the past several days.