Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office accused brothers Oren Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 37, the co-founders of the luxury real estate brokerage known as Official, as well as their brother Alon Alexander, 37, of drugging and sexually assaulting women for more than a decade starting in 2010. US Senate rejects Biden labor board nominee, teeing up Republican control The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected Democratic President Joe Biden's nomination of a U.S. labor board official for a new term, giving President-elect Donald Trump a chance to cement Republican control of the agency soon after taking office.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Senators say US must boost security after Chinese Salt Typhoon telecom hacking

The United States must do more to address hacking threats after China's alleged efforts known as Salt Typhoon to infiltrate American telecommunications companies and steal data about U.S. calls, senators said at a hearing Wednesday. "This attack likely represents the largest telecommunications hack in our nation's history," said Senator Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat who chairs a telecom subcommittee.

US House passes massive defense policy bill, despite transgender provision

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a defense policy bill on Wednesday, governing a record $895 billion in annual military spending, despite inclusion of a controversial policy targeting gender-affirming care for transgender children.

The tally was 281-140 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, sending it for consideration by the Democratic-led U.S. Senate.

Time magazine to name Trump 'Person of the Year'

Donald Trump will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday on the same day he is expected to be named Time magazine's "Person of the Year", according to two people familiar with the selection and plans. A spokesperson for Time declined to comment on the selection.

Malibu wildfire rages on, destroys several structures

Firefighters made some progress in containing a wildfire in the beach community of Malibu, California, on Wednesday, but it continued to threaten several structures, force residents to flee and close schools in the area. More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the Franklin Fire, which had scorched nearly 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) and was 7% contained as of Wednesday morning, as it burned in the steep, rugged terrain northwest of Los Angeles.

US CFTC Democrat says she could be a 'gadfly' to Republican majority

Kristin Johnson, a top Democratic official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, signalled on Wednesday she would be willing to stay on at the agency under new Republican leadership, serving as a "gadfly" on key issues like crypto and artificial intelligence. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to replace the current Democratic CFTC chair Rostin Behnam with a Republican pick, eventually giving the governing party control of the five-member commission.

Trump's NASA pick may pause his private SpaceX astronaut trips

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for NASA administrator, tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, said on Wednesday his planned private astronaut missions with Elon Musk's SpaceX may be paused as he prepares to enter government service. "The future of the Polaris program is a little bit of a question mark at the moment," Isaacman, who was tapped by Trump last week to lead NASA, said in response to a question at the Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando. "It may wind up on hold for a little bit."

Trump asks judge to dismiss Central Park Five defamation lawsuit

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of making defamatory statements during his campaign about five Black and Hispanic men who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned for the 1989 rape of a white jogger in New York's Central Park. Trump's lawyers said in a court filing that his statements about the men, known widely as the Central Park Five, were legally protected expressions of opinion.

Co-founders of US luxury real estate brokerage charged with sex trafficking

Two real estate agents known for promoting flashy properties in New York and Miami have been arrested on sex-trafficking charges, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday, accusing them of raping dozens of women. The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office accused brothers Oren Alexander, 38, and Tal Alexander, 37, the co-founders of the luxury real estate brokerage known as Official, as well as their brother Alon Alexander, 37, of drugging and sexually assaulting women for more than a decade starting in 2010.

US Senate rejects Biden labor board nominee, teeing up Republican control

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected Democratic President Joe Biden's nomination of a U.S. labor board official for a new term, giving President-elect Donald Trump a chance to cement Republican control of the agency soon after taking office. The Senate voted 50-49 against holding a confirmation vote on the nomination of National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran, whose term expires next week. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, both Democrats who left their party during Biden's term after repeatedly bucking his legislative priorities, provided the decisive votes.

FBI Director Chris Wray to resign following Trump nomination of Patel

FBI Director Chris Wray will step down from his post early next year, he said on Wednesday, after Republican President-elect Donald Trump signaled his intent to fire the veteran official and replace him with firebrand Kash Patel. His resignation makes him the second straight FBI director driven out by Trump, who during his first term in office fired Wray's predecessor James Comey, after souring on him over the FBI's investigations into alleged contacts between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.

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