Reuters US Domestic News Summary

It was the latest victory for gun rights advocates since a Supreme Court ruling last June granting a broad right for people to carry firearms outside the home. Pence, New Hampshire's Sununu rebuke DeSantis, back aid for Ukraine The U.S. should continue supporting Ukraine, former Vice President Mike Pence and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Saturday, a position that puts them at odds with the top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Donald Trump could be charged any day - what happens next?

Donald Trump could be charged in New York as soon as this week for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign, nearly seven years after the money changed hands. But any trial of the former U.S. president would still be more than a year away, legal experts said, and could coincide with the final months of the 2024 presidential campaign as Trump seeks a return to the White House.

Five young people killed in New York state car crash

A car veered off a highway into a tree and caught fire early on Sunday outside of New York City in suburban Scarsdale, killing five of the six young people who were in the vehicle, police said. The dead - four males and a female - ranged in age from 8 to 17 and included a 16-year-old boy who was believed to be driving when the crash occurred at about 12:20 a.m. on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Westchester County, according to police.

Looming Trump charges follow criticism of N.Y. prosecutor for not acting sooner

A New York City prosecutor who was publicly criticized for declining to charge Donald Trump last year now appears very close to bringing the first criminal indictment against a former president in U.S. history. Trump on Saturday said that he expects to be arrested this week on charges by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is investigating whether Trump falsified business records by concealing his reimbursement of his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Talk of Trump arrest builds sympathy for the former president, Sununu says

The possibility that Donald Trump may be charged for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star during his 2016 campaign is garnering sympathy for the Republican former president, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Sunday. Trump, whose supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to overturn his 2020 election defeat, said he expects to be arrested on Tuesday and called for protests. He did not cite any evidence for his arrest concerns and his spokesman said the former president had not been notified of any impending arrest.

US asks Supreme Court to uphold domestic violence gun law

The U.S. Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to allow a federal law stand that makes it a crime for people under domestic violence restraining orders to own firearms. In February, a three judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans declared that the ban was unconstitutional, saying it violated the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms. It was the latest victory for gun rights advocates since a Supreme Court ruling last June granting a broad right for people to carry firearms outside the home.

Pence, New Hampshire's Sununu rebuke DeSantis, back aid for Ukraine

The U.S. should continue supporting Ukraine, former Vice President Mike Pence and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said on Saturday, a position that puts them at odds with the top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Foreign policy has emerged as the main ideological fissure within the Republican Party as the 2024 nominating contest heats up.

Lieutenant in Tyre Nichols' death retired before termination hearing -reports

A lieutenant with the Memphis Police Department involved in the traffic stop that led to the killing of Tyre Nichols in January filed for retirement before a disciplinary hearing to fire him, according to media reports. Documents obtained by several news outlets identified DeWayne Smith, a 25-year veteran of the city's police force, as the on-scene supervisor on the night of Jan. 7, when officers kicked and punched Nichols while he was handcuffed.

U.S. Senate Democrat Durbin tests positive for COVID, will quarantine

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, said on Sunday that he will quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, adding to a number of lawmakers from both parties who have been absent from the Senate. "Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and boosted and only experiencing minor symptoms," Durbin said in a tweet.

In US Supreme Court Jack Daniel's case, a free speech fight over a dog toy

A trademark dispute over a poop-themed dog toy shaped like a Jack Daniel's whiskey bottle coming before the U.S. Supreme Court could redefine how the judiciary applies constitutional free speech rights to trademark law. In a case to be argued on Wednesday, the nine justices are expected to use this legal dogfight to clarify the line between a parody protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and a trademark-infringing ripoff, with repercussions extending beyond booze and pet accessories. A ruling is due by the end of June.

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