Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Patrick Dai, 21, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York. Trump hush money charges seen as serious by most voters, Reuters/Ipsos finds The New York criminal charges against Donald Trump for allegedly covering up hush-money payments to a porn star are serious in the eyes of a firm majority of U.S. voters, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found ahead of the former president's trial starting next week.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US agrees to delay Senator Bob Menendez's corruption trial over wife's health

U.S. prosecutors asked a federal judge on Wednesday to delay the corruption trial of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his wife by at least two months, after lawyers for Nadine Menendez said she faced a serious medical condition that required surgery. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan, prosecutors asked that the May 6 trial date be pushed back to July or August, though they still oppose granting the Menendezes' requests to be tried separately.

Former Cornell University student pleads guilty to making threats against Jews

A former Cornell University student has pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence, against Jewish students on campus, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. Patrick Dai, 21, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York.

Trump hush money charges seen as serious by most voters, Reuters/Ipsos finds

The New York criminal charges against Donald Trump for allegedly covering up hush-money payments to a porn star are serious in the eyes of a firm majority of U.S. voters, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found ahead of the former president's trial starting next week. Some 64% of registered voters in the five-day poll, which closed on Monday, described the charges as at least "somewhat serious," compared to 34% who said the charges lacked seriousness. The rest were unsure or didn't answer.

Biden holds 4 point lead over Trump, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows

U.S. President Joe Biden has marginally widened his lead over Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential election as the Republican candidate prepares for the start of the first of four upcoming criminal trials, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Some 41% of registered voters in the five-day poll, which closed on Monday, said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, compared with 37% who picked former President Trump. That 4 point lead was up from a 1 point lead Biden held in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in March.

Surveillance bill stumbles again in US House on privacy concerns

A modest overhaul of a controversial U.S. surveillance program foundered in the House of Representatives on Wednesday after Democratic and Republican critics, including Donald Trump, said it gave the government too much power to spy on its citizens. By a vote of 228-193, the Republican-controlled House prevented the bill from coming up for debate on the floor. That leaves the program in limbo shortly before it is due to expire on April 19.

Trump loses third bid this week to delay hush money trial

A New York appeals judge on Wednesday denied Donald Trump's third last-ditch attempt this week to delay his April 15 criminal trial on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, paving the way for the first-ever trial of a former U.S. president. During an earlier hearing, Trump lawyer Emil Bove said the trial should be delayed because Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, has not yet ruled on their request for him to recuse himself.

Arizona ruling puts abortion at center of 2024 presidential election

Democrats wasted little time capitalizing on Tuesday's ruling from Arizona's high court upholding a 160-year-old abortion ban, organizing press conferences in swing states across the country and blaming former Republican President Donald Trump for eliminating a nationwide right to abortion. The decision from the conservative Arizona Supreme Court sent a shockwave through the battleground state, which is poised to play a pivotal role in November's presidential election while also hosting one of the country's most high-profile Senate races.

Trump ex-deputy Weisselberg sentenced to five months for perjury

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was sentenced on Wednesday to five months in jail after pleading guilty last month to perjury charges for lying to investigators and a judge about Donald Trump's finances. Judge Laurie Peterson handed down the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan criminal court. The sentence was in line with the punishment the judge said she would impose at Weisselberg's March 4 plea hearing.

US electricity and gasoline prices push up energy sector inflation

U.S. electricity and gasoline prices increased sharply in March, with electricity up 0.9% and gasoline up 1.7%, leading the energy sector to far outpace broader inflation for the month, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on Wednesday. Energy prices, which include electricity, gasoline, fuel oil and other power and oil-related goods and services, jumped by 1.1% last month compared to a 0.4% rise in the broader Consumer Price Index, BLS data showed.

Trump thinks it's not appropriate to visit Ukraine as presidential candidate

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump thinks it is not appropriate for him to visit Ukraine right now since he does not hold office, his campaign said on Wednesday after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged him to come. Zelenskiy, in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets published on Tuesday, asked Trump to visit the country so he could hear the former U.S. president's ideas for ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

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