Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Johnson was a little-known member of the House of Representatives until October, when he emerged from the bruising leadership fight that followed his predecessor's ouster in the powerful role of top Republican in Congress and second in line to the presidency behind the vice president. Stormy Daniels to face tough questions from Trump lawyers at trial Porn star Stormy Daniels will face tough questioning from Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday as they try to dismantle the credibility of a woman whose story of a 2006 sexual encounter ultimately led to the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Factbox-Who is Stormy Daniels and what did she say happened with Trump?

Porn star Stormy Daniels has testified in a Manhattan courtroom that she had sex with Donald Trump in 2006, an encounter that ultimately led to the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. New York prosecutors have charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records, saying he tried to cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels to silence her before the 2016 election that made him president. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

US House quickly defeats Greene's effort to oust Speaker Johnson

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday swiftly and overwhelmingly defeated an effort by firebrand Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, a fellow Republican, from his leadership role. Democrats joined Republicans in a 359-43 vote to protect Johnson's speakership, in a bid to avoid a replay of the chaos that occurred in October when Republicans ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.

Stormy Daniels: the porn star-turned-Trump nemesis testifying against the ex-president

Adult film star Stormy Daniels says her life descended into chaos after news broke of her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Donald Trump. Now, she is a crucial prosecution witness in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Trump, 77, is accused of covering up his reimbursement to former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 election about the alleged sexual encounter, which took place while he was married to his third wife, Melania.

Republican clerk charged in Michigan voting-system breach

A Michigan township clerk was charged with multiple felonies on Wednesday, the latest turn in a state inquiry into efforts by Donald Trump supporters to tamper with voting machines to prove his false claim that he lost the 2020 election due to fraud. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement that former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott, 52, has been charged with five felonies related to unauthorized use of a computer, concealing a voting machine, and misconduct in office, and one misdemeanor for disobeying the secretary of state. The most serious count carries a potential seven-year prison term.

Virginia school board considers restoring Confederate names to schools

A U.S. school board in Shenandoah County, Virginia, will vote on Thursday on whether to restore previously removed Confederate names to two schools, potentially becoming the first community in the nation to reinstate such names. The motion would undo the school board's decision in 2020 stripping a high school and elementary school of the names of three military leaders of the pro-slavery Southern states in the U.S. Civil War: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Turner Ashby.

Five takeaways from Stormy Daniels' testimony at Donald Trump's trial

Stormy Daniels took the witness stand on Tuesday at Donald Trump's criminal trial and described in lurid detail her alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former U.S. president. Trump has pleaded not guilty to Manhattan prosecutors' charges he falsified business records to cover up his former lawyer's $130,000 payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, for her silence before the 2016 election.

Explainer-How are Reuters/Ipsos US public opinion polls conducted?

Reuters/Ipsos conducts polls of national U.S. public opinion on a variety of political, business and social topics including a monthly reading on the approval of the president and other government entities, such as Congress and the Supreme Court.

WHAT DO PUBLIC OPINION POLLS MEASURE?

US House Speaker Johnson survives ouster attempt, but future uncertain

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson wakes up on Thursday having survived an attempt to push him out, but he still faces an uncertain future as leader of a Republican caucus locked in civil war. Johnson was a little-known member of the House of Representatives until October, when he emerged from the bruising leadership fight that followed his predecessor's ouster in the powerful role of top Republican in Congress and second in line to the presidency behind the vice president.

Stormy Daniels to face tough questions from Trump lawyers at trial

Porn star Stormy Daniels will face tough questioning from Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday as they try to dismantle the credibility of a woman whose story of a 2006 sexual encounter ultimately led to the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Daniels' unflattering account of sex with Trump riveted jurors on Tuesday, and served to remind U.S. voters of the more lurid aspects of his 2017-2021 presidency as he campaigns to win back the White House this year.

Too many tractors: As boom times fade, farm equipment piles up

Falling crop prices are leaving agriculture equipment sellers with an excess of unsold tractors and combines. To cope with the surplus, dealers are discounting machines, suspending new orders, and even auctioning off equipment at reduced prices.

The slower equipment sales are a knock-on effect of corn and soy prices dropping to more than three-year lows as U.S. farm income plummets and equipment makers and dealers are forced to pivot quickly after a period of booming business.

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