Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Toyota invests $391 million in its Texas truck assembly plant

Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it was investing $391 million in its pickup truck assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas, as part of the Japanese automaker's plan to invest $13 billion in its U.S. operations over five years through 2021. The company said the investment will be used to introduce advance manufacturing technologies at the plant and also to help with the development and education of the local workforce.

Ex-campaign chief defends Trump, defies Democrats at impeachment hearing

President Donald Trump's former campaign manager on Tuesday acknowledged that his former boss enlisted him to try to limit the Russia election interference inquiry but defended Trump and tangled with Democrats during pugnacious testimony to a U.S. congressional panel mulling whether to impeach the president. Corey Lewandowski, a Trump confidant eyeing a run as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, testified under subpoena to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee at a contentious hearing that once again exposed America's gaping partisan divisions ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump to bar California from setting vehicle emission rules: sources

The Trump administration will announce as early as Wednesday it is revoking California’s authority to set its own greenhouse gas and vehicle fuel efficiency standards and barring all states from setting such rules, two auto industry officials said on Tuesday. The move is sure to spark legal challenges over issues including states' rights and climate change that administration officials say could ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Migrant mothers and children sue U.S. over asylum ban

More than 125 migrant mothers and children have sued the U.S. government, claiming the Trump administration has violated the rights of asylum-seekers through the arbitrary and capricious implementation of a virtual asylum ban at the southern border. The lawsuit, filed late on Monday, was the first to challenge President Donald Trump over asylum since the U.S. Supreme Court decided last week that an anti-asylum rule will be allowed to take effect while a separate lawsuit on its underlying legality is heard.

Virginia Governor puts state on path to 100% carbon-free power by 2050

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order on Tuesday with a goal of producing all of the state's electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050 in an effort to reduce the commonwealth's impact on climate change: - The order has an interim target of producing 30% of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

U.S. wants to seize all money Edward Snowden makes from new book

The United States filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked secret documents about U.S. telephone and internet surveillance in 2013, saying his new book violates non-disclosure agreements. The Justice Department said Snowden published his memoir, "Permanent Record," without submitting it to intelligence agencies for review, adding that speeches given by Snowden also violated nondisclosure agreements. In 2013, Snowden wrote "Everything You Know about the Constitution is Wrong."

U.S. journalist Cokie Roberts, a 'founding mother' of National Public Radio, dead at 75

U.S. journalist Cokie Roberts, regarded by National Public Radio as one of its "founding mothers" and a prominent political commentator on ABC News, died on Tuesday at 75 at her Washington home from complications of breast cancer, her family said. Roberts worked in radio as a foreign correspondent for CBS and a congressional correspondent for NPR in the 1970s. She went on to become ABC's chief congressional analyst.

Democrats urge new probe of Kavanaugh, impeachment inquiry

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged a House of Representatives panel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while a Democratic lawmaker filed an impeachment resolution in the wake of new allegations of sexual misconduct by the conservative judge when he was in college in the 1980s. The moves by Harris, one of 20 Democratic presidential candidates, and Representative Ayanna Pressley, a progressive on the left of the party, signaled impatience among some Democrats with congressional leaders unenthusiastic about pursuing Kavanaugh's impeachment, though their efforts appeared unlikely to spur action.

Massive U.S. geothermal lease sale draws few bids

A massive government sale on Tuesday of geothermal energy leases in Nevada generated bids on just 26% of the land parcels offered, with most selling at the minimum price of $2 an acre. The sale was by far the federal government's largest offering of geothermal energy leases by acreage in recent years, with 142 parcels on 384,369.6 acres available for auction.

White House says not involved in contract talks with GM, UAW union

The White House is not involved in contract talks with General Motors Co and the United Auto Workers union, aimed at ending a nationwide strike that began late on Sunday, a White House spokesman and GM said. "The Trump Administration, including Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro, are not involved in the negotiations between the UAW and GM," said White House spokesman Judd Deere.