Reuters US Domestic News Summary

We don't have enough maintenance people, and we don't have enough air traffic controllers," Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who chairs the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee, told Reuters. New York to Trump: No more delay in civil fraud case New York's attorney general urged a state judge to reject Donald Trump's bid to delay her civil fraud case against him, and said the former U.S. president might use his 2024 White House run as an excuse for further delay.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Three former Virginia hospital staff charged with murder in death of Black man

Three former employees of a mental hospital in Virginia were arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Thursday, a prosecutor said, over the death of a Black man who was transported to the facility from jail earlier this month. Irvo Otieno, 28, died on March 6 as he was being admitted to Central State Hospital in the city of Petersburg, according to Dinwiddie County Commonwealth Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill. Petersburg is in central Virginia, roughly 25 miles (40 km) south of Richmond.

North Dakota's top court will not revive state's abortion ban

North Dakota's Supreme Court on Thursday refused to revive a strict abortion ban previously blocked by a lower court, finding that the ban violates a state constitutional right to abortion to preserve the mother's life or health. The ruling means that abortion remains legal in North Dakota for now.

San Francisco Bay area to phase out natural gas heating appliances

The San Francisco Bay area will phase out natural gas-powered furnaces and water heaters beginning in 2027 to improve local air quality and public health. It is the latest move by local officials in the United States to eliminate natural gas, a fossil fuel, from heating homes and buildings. California has been at the forefront of the effort, and the California Air Resources Board said last year it will require that all new space and water heaters have zero emissions by 2030.

U.S. grapples with forces unleashed by Iraq invasion 20 years later

From an empowered Iran and eroded U.S. influence to the cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria to combat Islamic State fighters, the United States still contends with the consequences of invading Iraq 20 years ago, current and former officials say. Then-U.S. President George W. Bush's 2003 decision to oust Saddam Hussein by force, the way limited U.S. troop numbers enabled ethnic strife and the eventual 2011 U.S. pullout have all greatly complicated U.S. policy in the Middle East, they said.

US must boost air traffic control staff as travel demand rises - senator

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs more air traffic controllers to address rising passenger demand, the chair of a U.S. Senate panel overseeing aviation issues said on Thursday, amid investigations into a series of recent runway incidents. "We don't have enough pilots. We don't have enough maintenance people, and we don't have enough air traffic controllers," Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who chairs the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee, told Reuters.

New York to Trump: No more delay in civil fraud case

New York's attorney general urged a state judge to reject Donald Trump's bid to delay her civil fraud case against him, and said the former U.S. president might use his 2024 White House run as an excuse for further delay. In a Wednesday night court filing, Attorney General Letitia James said her office had provided Trump and other defendants with an "enormous quantity" of material, including 1.7 million documents and interview transcripts for 56 witnesses.

U.S. lawmaker wants TikTok CEO to detail actions to protect kids

The chair of a U.S. House of Representatives panel wants TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to address questions next week about the popular Chinese-owned video app's efforts to protect children from inappropriate content and potential exploitation. Chew will be appearing for the first time before Congress when he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23.

FDA advisers back Pfizer's COVID treatment for full approval

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday overwhelmingly backed full approval of Pfizer's oral antiviral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid for adults at high risk of progression to severe disease. The FDA's panel of outside experts voted 16-to-1 in favor of the drug's benefits outweighing its risk for some adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19.

Heavy rains in California leave backyard pool perched on cliff edge

As heavy rains soaked into already sodden ground in California, mudslides in the beachfront community of San Clemente forced evacuations of blufftop homes this week and in one case left a swimming pool dangling partway off the cliff edge. Drone visuals showed a large chunk of the backyard taken out by the mudslide. Patio furniture and plant pots are strewn along the long drop down to the bluff's bottom.

Plaintiffs firms vie for lead roles in Ohio derailment lawsuits

Rival groups of plaintiffs lawyers are vying for lead roles in nearly two dozen lawsuits against railway company Norfolk Southern over last month's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, each proposing their own plan to steer the cases. The two groups on Wednesday presented their bids to U.S. District Judge Benita Yalonda Pearson in Youngstown, who is presiding over the cases. One plan proposed a coalition of non-Ohio class action firms to take the lead, while the other would split leadership between national and Ohio-based attorneys.

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