Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The male driver was in custody, Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said, adding he was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges. Justice Department seeks 25-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers founder Rhodes The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge on Friday to sentence Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 25 years in prison for his conviction on seditious conspiracy and other charges over the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Yellen warns of 'constitutional crisis' if Congress fails to act on debt

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday issued a stark warning that a failure by Congress to act on the debt ceiling could trigger a "constitutional crisis" that also would call into question the federal government's creditworthiness. Yellen sounded the alarm over possible financial market consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised by early June, when she has said the federal government could run short of cash to pay its bills.

Georgia fake elector defendants accept immunity in Trump probe -lawyer

Prosecutors for Georgia's Fulton County have granted immunity to at least eight people under investigation for conspiring to overturn Georgia's vote in the 2020 presidential election, according to a court filing on Friday. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to disclose this summer whether former President Donald Trump and others will be charged with crimes related to interfering with the 2020 election.

Man who pepper-sprayed police gets 14 years in longest Jan. 6-related sentence

A Pennsylvania man found guilty of felony assault and other charges for pepper-spraying police officers outside the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Friday to 14 years behind bars, the longest prison term to date for anyone convicted in the riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Peter J. Schwartz, 49, was convicted last December at a trial in federal court where evidence showed he was in the vanguard of a mob attacking police at the lower west terrace of the Capitol and boasted later that he had "started a riot" by "throwing the first chair."

U.S. Supreme Court halts execution of Oklahoma inmate Glossip

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, whose cause drew support from the state's Republican attorney general after an investigation shed new light on evidence relating to the 1997 murder Glossip was convicted of commissioning. The justices acted after a divided Oklahoma state panel on April 26 voted against recommending clemency for Glossip, 60, who was scheduled to be executed on May 18 for his role in the murder of motel owner Barry Van Treese.

Driver arrested after 7, including migrants, killed in Brownsville, Texas

At least seven pedestrians were killed and several others injured on Sunday when an SUV mowed down people near a homeless shelter that attends to migrants in Brownsville, Texas, police said. The male driver was in custody, Lieutenant Martin Sandoval of the Brownsville Police Department said, adding he was charged with reckless driving and could face additional charges.

Justice Department seeks 25-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers founder Rhodes

The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal judge on Friday to sentence Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to 25 years in prison for his conviction on seditious conspiracy and other charges over the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. The Justice Department is also seeking a sentence of 21 years for another Oath Keepers leader, Kelly Meggs, who was also found guilty in November of seditious conspiracy by a Washington, D.C., jury.

Fire burns for third day at Shell Texas chemical plant

A fire burned for a third day on Sunday at Shell Plc's chemical plant in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, Texas, a company spokesperson said. The fire initially ignited on Friday afternoon in an explosion in an olefins unit, used to make plastics and rubber.

Senate Republicans oppose vote just to raise US debt ceiling, push for other priorities

A group of 43 Republicans in the U.S. Senate said they oppose voting on a bill that only raises the U.S. debt ceiling without tackling other priorities, in a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, showing they could block such a plan by Democrats. Citing an economy "in free fall," the Republicans, led by Senator Mike Lee and including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said "substantive spending and budget reforms" need to be "a starting point" for negotiations.

Texas mall shooting prompts Biden to renew call for gun control

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Congress to pass gun control bills in the wake of yet another mass shooting that left nine people dead, including the gunman, at a Texas mall on Saturday. The Democratic president renewed calls for Congress to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, as well as to enact universal background checks and end immunity for gun manufacturers. There is little chance the narrowly divided House and Senate would pass such legislation, although polls show most Americans support background checks.

Former FCC Chair Newton Minow, who called 1960s TV 'vast wasteland', dies at 97

Former U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chair Newton Minow, who lambasted television as a "vast wasteland" more than 60 years ago and challenged the broadcast world to come up with imaginative alternatives, died on Saturday at the age of 97, his daughter Nell Minow said on Twitter. Minow in 2011 said television had indeed improved through its multitude of choices.

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