US Domestic News Roundup: Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked 'Pentagon Papers,' dies at 92; Minneapolis police face federal oversight for excessive force, discrimination and more

The 8-1 ruling, written by liberal Justice Elena Kagan, upheld a lower court's decision to allow the Justice Department to toss a lawsuit against a UnitedHealth Group Inc unit by a former employee named Jesse Polansky who accused it of wrongdoing. Pentagon leak suspect Teixeira to appear in court on Wednesday The U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online will appear in a federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday for his arraignment on some of the most serious security breach charges, a court notice showed on Friday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked 'Pentagon Papers,' dies at 92

Daniel Ellsberg, the U.S. military analyst whose change of heart on the Vietnam War led him to leak the classified "Pentagon Papers," revealing U.S. government deception about the war and setting off a major freedom-of-the-press battle, died on Friday at the age of 92, his family said in a statement. Ellsberg, who had been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in February, died at his home in Kensington, California, the family said.

Minneapolis police face federal oversight for excessive force, discrimination

Police in Minneapolis routinely use excessive force and discriminate against Black and Native American people, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday after a two-year investigation prompted by the police killing of George Floyd. The city has agreed to what will likely be years of federal oversight as it works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the findings.

U.S. South faces long, hot holiday weekend after tornadoes

A dangerous heat wave that helped spawn deadly tornadoes in Texas and Florida threatened on Friday to bring more extreme weather to the U.S. South, prompting the National Weather Service to warn Americans to limit time outdoors over the long Juneteenth weekend. At least four people were killed in twisters that touched down on Thursday in the panhandles of Texas and Florida, where flooding also forced almost 150 people out of their homes, officials said.

Abortion remains legal in Iowa as top court refuses to revive ban

Iowa's highest court did not revive a 2018 ban on most abortions on Friday, meaning that abortion will remain legal in the state up to 20 weeks of pregnancy for now. One of the court's seven justices did not take part in the ruling for an unspecified reason, and the remaining justices deadlocked 3-3. That automatically left in place a 2019 court order blocking the law.

For groups fighting U.S. opioid crisis, settlement money can be hard to come by

Companies accused of fueling the U.S. opioid crisis have so far paid out more than $3 billion to compensate states, but has any of the money reached the people who need it? It depends where you live. Yes, if you’re in Massachusetts; no, in Texas. A series of landmark settlements since 2021 with top drug distributors, pharmacies and drugmakers including Johnson & Johnson set compensation at a total of more than $50 billion nationwide.

Explainer-How a Canada Supreme Court ruling could affect U.S.-Canada refugee flows

Canada's Supreme Court on Friday upheld a border pact under which Canada and the United States send back asylum seekers crossing the land border, finding the agreement does not violate asylum seekers' right to life, liberty and security of the person. But it sent the case back to a lower court to determine whether the contested agreement violates asylum seekers' right to equal treatment under the law.

U.S. Supreme Court allows Justice Department to toss whistleblower cases

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday preserved the Justice Department's power to unilaterally dismiss lawsuits filed under a law that lets whistleblowers sue businesses on behalf of the government to recover taxpayer money paid to companies based on false claims in exchange for a portion of any recovery. The 8-1 ruling, written by liberal Justice Elena Kagan, upheld a lower court's decision to allow the Justice Department to toss a lawsuit against a UnitedHealth Group Inc unit by a former employee named Jesse Polansky who accused it of wrongdoing.

Pentagon leak suspect Teixeira to appear in court on Wednesday

The U.S. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top-secret military intelligence records online will appear in a federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday for his arraignment on some of the most serious security breach charges, a court notice showed on Friday. Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

Biden to make re-election pitch to unions in Pennsylvania

President Joe Biden will address union members in Philadelphia on Saturday in his first political rally since announcing his re-election campaign, aiming to shore up a key part of his political coalition and bolster support among white working-class voters. The AFL-CIO, which includes 60 unions representing more than 12.5 million workers, endorsed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday, the earliest it has ever endorsed in a presidential election, and is hosting Saturday's event.

US imposes visa restrictions on Uganda officials after anti-LGBTQ law

The United States has imposed visa restrictions on Uganda officials after the African nation passed an anti-LGBTQ law that was condemned by many countries and the United Nations, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The law, considered one of the harshest in the world, was enacted in May and carries the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. It drew immediate rebukes from Western governments and put in jeopardy some of the billions of dollars in foreign aid the country receives each year.

(With inputs from agencies.)