US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. judge tells lawyers in Ghislaine Maxwell case to watch what they say; In one-two punch to Trump, Trump helped raise more than $56 million online in early 2021 and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. judge tells lawyers in Ghislaine Maxwell case to watch what they say

The U.S. judge overseeing Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal case on Friday admonished lawyers not to make out-of-court statements that could taint the British socialite's upcoming sex trafficking trial. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan ruled a month after Maxwell lawyer David Markus said the overturning of actor Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction justified ending Maxwell's prosecution https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-people-ghislaine-maxwell-cosby-idUKKCN2E82DN on charges that she groomed and trafficked underage girls for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

In one-two punch to Trump, Justice Dept OK's release of taxes, memo

Former President Donald Trump suffered twin setbacks on Friday when the Justice Department cleared the way to release his tax records and disclosed a memo showing he had urged top officials last year to falsely claim his election defeat was "corrupt." The department, reversing course from the stance it took when Trump was in office, told the Internal Revenue Service to provide the Republican businessman-turned-politician's tax records to congressional investigators - a move he has long fought.

Disney makes vaccination mandatory for on-site U.S. employees

Walt Disney Co said on Friday it was making vaccination mandatory for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases. "Employees who aren't already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions," Disney said.

U.S. Justice Dept says IRS must provide former President Donald Trump's tax returns to Congress

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday ordered the Internal Revenue Service to hand over former President Donald Trump's tax returns to a House of Representatives committee, saying the panel has offered "sufficient reasons" for requesting the material. The department's Office of Legal Counsel reversed course and declared that the department erred in 2019 when Trump was still in office when it found that the request for his taxes by the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee was based on a "disingenuous" objective aimed at exposing them to the public.

U.S. CDC chief says there will be no federal mandate on COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday there will be no nationwide mandate for Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, clarifying comments she made earlier during a televised interview. "To clarify: There will be no nationwide mandate. I was referring to mandates by private institutions and portions of the federal government," Walensky wrote in a Twitter post. "There will be no federal mandate."

Republicans trigger review of election officials in Georgia

Georgia Republicans on Friday triggered a formal review of election officials in Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta, the first step in a process that could lead to their removal and allow the Republican-controlled state legislature to take control of local election operations. Republican House lawmakers from Fulton County released a letter calling for a performance review of the county's election officials, where Democratic President Joe Biden won heavily in the 2020 election, propelling his surprise victory over former President Donald Trump in the battleground state.

U.S. Senate works on the weekend on $1 trln infrastructure bill

The U.S. Senate will continue work on Saturday on a bill that would spend $1 trillion on roads, rail lines and other infrastructure, as lawmakers from both parties sought to advance President Joe Biden's top legislative priority. The ambitious plan https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-biden-infrastructure-details/factbox-whats-in-the-us-senates-bipartisan-1-tln-infrastructure-plan-idUSL1N2P52EF has the backing of Democrats and Republicans alike and has already cleared two hurdles by broad margins in the closely divided Senate. Lawmakers could debate the bill through the weekend.

U.S. lawmakers fail to renew pandemic-related residential eviction ban

The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned on Friday without renewing an 11-month-old pandemic-related federal moratorium on residential evictions set to expire on Saturday after a Republican congressman blocked a bid to extend it until Oct. 18. The moratorium's expiration could put millions of Americans at risk of being forced out of rented houses and apartments. Landlord groups have opposed the moratorium, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention implemented to combat the spread of COVID-19 and prevent homelessness during the pandemic.

Trump helped raise more than $56 million online in early 2021

Former President Donald Trump helped raise more than $56 million from online donors during the first six months of this year, a campaign finance disclosure showed on Friday in a sign of Trump's power within the Republican Party. The "Trump Make America Great Again Committee," which raises money for the Republican Party and for fundraising groups controlled by Trump, brought in more than $34 million during the period, according to a report filed by Winred, the dominant online fundraising platform for Republicans.

U.S. sues Texas after it blocks transport of migrants in state

The U.S. Justice Department sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday, seeking to block an executive order that restricts the transport of migrants through the state and authorizes state troopers to pull over vehicles suspected of doing so. In a lawsuit filed in El Paso federal court, the Justice Department said Abbott's order, which he said was aimed at preventing migrants from potentially spreading the coronavirus, illegally infringes upon the federal government's jurisdiction over immigration matters.

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