US Domestic News Roundup: Trump campaign reports raising $14.5 million in early 2023; Freight rain derails in Maine, three employees hurt and more
Robert Dotson, 52, was killed by police in Farmington, New Mexico, on April 5, after officers responding to a domestic violence report arrived at the wrong house. Panasonic says it may build EV battery plant in Oklahoma Japan's Panasonic Holdings, a battery supplier to electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, said on Sunday that it is considering building a battery plant in Oklahoma, its third in the United States.
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Trump campaign reports raising $14.5 million in early 2023
Donald Trump's presidential campaign on Saturday reported raising $14.5 million during the first three months of this year, with contributions accelerating sharply after he announced he was about to be criminally indicted. The disclosure to the Federal Election Commission does not cover all of the former president's political fundraising or disclose full details for online donors.
Freight rain derails in Maine, three employees hurt
A Canadian Pacific freight train derailed and caught fire in Maine on Saturday, causing minor injuries to three rail employees. "A total of three locomotive engines and six rail cars carrying lumber and electrical wiring derailed into a wooded area, where they caught fire and started a small forest fire," Maine's Forest Department said in a statement to Reuters.
Biden says he will announce run for re-election 'soon'
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he has decided to run for a second term and would formally announce his re-election campaign "relatively soon." "We'll announce it relatively soon. But the trip here just reinforced my sense of optimism about what can be done," Biden told reporters at the tail-end of an emotional trip to Ireland. "I told you my plan is to run again."
Hollywood writers vote on whether to give negotiators power to call strike
Hollywood television and movie writers wrap up a critical vote this week as they push media companies to raise their pay or face a strike that would disrupt an industry recovering from the pandemic and under pressure to make streaming more profitable. Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have asked the roughly 11,500 members to give them the power to call a strike after May 1 if contract talks break down. Voting closes on Monday and the tally is expected to be released shortly after.
Video shows New Mexico police were at wrong house seconds before killing homeowner
New Mexico police officers realized they were at the wrong address just moments before the front door opened and they fatally shot the armed homeowner, then exchanged gunfire with his wife, according to newly released body camera video of the April 5 shooting. Robert Dotson, 52, was killed by police in Farmington, New Mexico, on April 5, after officers responding to a domestic violence report arrived at the wrong house.
Panasonic says it may build EV battery plant in Oklahoma
Japan's Panasonic Holdings, a battery supplier to electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc, said on Sunday that it is considering building a battery plant in Oklahoma, its third in the United States. "Panasonic has entered into an agreement with the State of Oklahoma that defines the eligibility and terms of the incentives under Oklahoma's LEAD Act," the company told Reuters in an email, referring to an incentive package the state has established to attract major companies to its MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor.
US Supreme Court considers Christian mail carrier's refusal to work Sundays
An evangelical Christian former mail carrier's fight with the U.S. Postal Service over his refusal to work on Sundays gives the Supreme Court another chance to widen religious rights but also has led to a debate over whether religious people are more legally deserving than others to weekend days off from work. The justices are set to hear arguments on Tuesday in an appeal by Gerald Groff, a former mail carrier in Pennsylvania, of a lower court's ruling rejecting his claim of religious discrimination against the Postal Service for refusing to exempt him from working on Sundays, when he observes the Christian Sabbath. Groff sued after being disciplined for repeatedly failing to show up when assigned a Sunday work shift.
Airman suspected of leaking secret US documents hit with federal charges
A 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard accused of leaking top secret military intelligence records online was charged on Friday with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material. Jack Douglas Teixeira of North Dighton, Massachusetts, who was arrested by heavily armed FBI agents at his home on Thursday, made his initial appearance in a crowded federal court wearing a brown khaki jumpsuit.
U.S. House Republicans chart new strategy to pressure Biden, Democrats
U.S. House Republicans will try to agree on a plan to lift the federal $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and cut government spending when Congress returns this week, after being stymied for months by Democratic President Joe Biden's demands they do so without conditions. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a Monday speech at the New York Stock Exchange will lay out the conditions Republicans want Democrats to agree to in exchange for movement on the debt ceiling.
Athletics-Record-holder Kipchoge headlines stacked Boston Marathon field
World record-holder Eliud Kipchoge headlines a star-studded Boston Marathon field on Monday as the world's oldest 26.2-mile race takes on a somber tone 10 years after a bombing attack near the finish line. Survivors, first responders and other members of the public gathered on Saturday in Boston in honor of the victims of the marathon bombing, one of the most high-profile attacks on U.S. soil that claimed three lives and saw scores more injured.