Reuters US Domestic News Summary
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Judge seems skeptical toward giving Trump adviser Stone a new trial
A U.S. judge on Tuesday signaled skepticism toward a bid by Roger Stone's lawyers to win a new trial for President Donald Trump's longtime adviser based on the jury forewoman's alleged bias, even as Trump assailed the juror again on Twitter during the hearing. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who last Thursday sentenced Stone to three years and four months in prison, warned defense lawyers and journalists covering the case that the safety of the jurors could be put at risk if their identities are made public.
U.S. AG Barr names new chief for troubled prison system
U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday announced a new director for the U.S. government's prison system, seeking to impose stability on an agency that has been under scrutiny since the August suicide of financier Jeffrey Epstein in a New York City jail. Barr said he would appoint Michael Carvajal as director of the Bureau of Prisons, which has struggled with staffing shortages, violence, tight budgets and other problems.
Three U.S. Senate Democrats propose sweeping reforms after Boeing 737 MAX crashes
Three Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday introduced sweeping legislation to reform how new airplanes are certified and overseen by U.S. regulators after two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes killed 346 people. The bill would create an independent aircraft certification commission, bar Boeing Co and other manufacturers from tying employee compensation to delivery of airplanes and increase oversight of manufacturers that handle delegated certification tasks on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Hot Pockets heiress gets 5 months in prison for U.S. college admissions scam
A California woman whose family's company created the microwavable snack Hot Pockets was sentenced on Tuesday to five months in prison for paying $300,000 to help her daughters gain an illicit edge in the college admissions process through cheating and fraud. Federal prosecutors in Boston had sought a 21-month prison term for Michelle Janavs, 49, after she admitted she was among the wealthy parents who took part in the largest college admissions scam ever uncovered in the United States.
Massive changes to California voting spark fears of Iowa-style primary chaos
As he looks ahead to California's March 3 Democratic primary, Neal Kelley is having sleepless nights. Kelley is the elections chief for Orange County, part of a wave of California counties rolling out sweeping new balloting procedures affecting millions of voters in the nation's most populous state.
Weinstein upbeat at Manhattan hospital after sex crimes conviction, lawyer says
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was in good spirits on Tuesday, as he accepted visitors while under police guard at a Manhattan hospital, his lawyer said, despite having been convicted a day earlier of sexual assault and rape. Weinstein had been expected to move to New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail complex following the verdict, but was admitted late Monday night to Bellevue Hospital a few miles away.
Trump administration opens new legal front in battle against 'sanctuary' jurisdictions
The Trump administration is turning to federal courts to force state and local officials to turn over records about immigrants in custody in a novel effort to circumvent so-called "sanctuary" policies. Since mid-January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued subpoenas to law enforcement agencies in California, Colorado, Connecticut, New York and Oregon seeking information about nearly two dozen suspected immigration law violators, according to the agency.
Republicans look to drop domestic spying on U.S. phones, texts
U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday reacted skeptically to the Trump administration's request to continue a controversial but inactive domestic surveillance program that collects data on U.S. phone calls and text messages. U.S. Attorney William Barr, appearing at a luncheon with Senate Republicans, urged lawmakers to support a renewal of the National Security Agency program, along with less controversial measures due to expire next month as part of the USA Freedom Act, according to Republicans who attended the event.
U.S. health secretary Azar says more coronavirus cases likely, seeks more funding
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said on Tuesday there will likely be more cases of coronavirus in the United States, and he asked a Senate subcommittee to approve $2.5 billion in funding to fight the outbreak after proposing cuts to the department's budget. "While the immediate risk to individual members of the American public remains low, there is now community transmission in a number of countries, including outside of Asia, which is deeply concerning," Azar said, speaking before a Senate appropriations subcommittee. He said recent fast-spreading outbreaks in Iran and Italy were particularly worrying.
Tesla and U.S. regulators strongly criticized over role of Autopilot in crash
The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday sharply criticized Tesla Inc.'s lack of system safeguards in a fatal 2018 Autopilot crash in California and called U.S. regulators' approach in overseeing the driver assistance systems "misguided." NTSB board members questioned Tesla's design of its semi-automated driving assistance system and condemned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for a "hands-off approach" to regulating the increasingly popular systems.
