US Domestic News Roundup: Off-duty pilot accused of trying to disable jetliner faces first court hearing; US Senator Menendez pleads not guilty to foreign agent charge and more

Federal prosecutors on Oct. 12 accused the New Jersey Democrat - until recently the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - of taking actions from 2018 to 2022 on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials. Republican search for new US House leader returns to square one Republicans, whose party infighting has paralyzed the U.S. House of Representatives for three weeks, tried on Monday to find consensus on a new speaker to lead the chamber and address funding needs for Israel, Ukraine and the federal government.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Off-duty pilot accused of trying to disable jetliner faces first court hearing

An off-duty pilot accused of trying to shut off the engines of an Alaska Airlines jet on a weekend flight over the Pacific Northwest was due to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Portland, Oregon, where he faced 83 counts of attempted murder. Joseph David Emerson, 44, was arrested on Sunday in Portland, where the twin-engine aircraft landed safely after it was diverted during what the airline called a "credible security threat" on a flight from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco.

Fight over Texas anti-abortion transport bans reaches biggest battlegrounds yet

Commissioners in Lubbock County, Texas, on Monday voted to outlaw the act of transporting another person along their roads for an abortion, part of a strategy by conservative activists to further restrict abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The move makes Lubbock the biggest jurisdiction yet to pass such a restriction on abortion-related transportation since the June 2022 end of Roe, which had granted a nationwide right to abortion. Six cities and counties in Texas have passed the bans, out of nine that have considered them.

Louisiana 'super fog' kills 7 in massive car pile-up

A Louisiana "super fog" aggravated by marsh fires led to a pile-up of 158 cars just west of New Orleans on Monday that killed seven people, injured at least 25 and left a string of crumbled and charred vehicles on a bridge over Lake Maurepas, officials said. At least one vehicle went over the edge and lay sideways in the water, pictures posted by the Louisiana State Police showed. The search for victims from the chain-reaction accident continued for hours after the crash, the state police said on Facebook.

US Senator Menendez pleads not guilty to foreign agent charge

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty on Monday to a new indictment charging him with conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government. Federal prosecutors on Oct. 12 accused the New Jersey Democrat - until recently the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - of taking actions from 2018 to 2022 on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials.

Republican search for new US House leader returns to square one

Republicans, whose party infighting has paralyzed the U.S. House of Representatives for three weeks, tried on Monday to find consensus on a new speaker to lead the chamber and address funding needs for Israel, Ukraine and the federal government. Eight candidates to be speaker, including No. 3 House Republican Tom Emmer, made their pitches to fellow Republicans at a 2-1/2 hour closed-door forum and answered questions about how they would handle the job.

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers avoid challenges to 'cartoon' villain image

Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers have complained that prosecutors at his fraud trial are portraying the FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder as a "cartoon of a villain," but have done little to counter unflattering depictions of him offered to the jury by his former colleagues. In cross-examining former members of his inner circle who have pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution, defense lawyers generally has avoided challenging their accounts of Bankman-Fried angrily snapping at colleagues who questioned key company decisions. They also did not challenge testimony by one of the witnesses that his quirky persona was mostly an act.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen set to testify at ex-president's civil fraud trial

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer and fixer, is expected to take the stand on Tuesday as a key witness against the former president in a civil fraud case that threatens to break up Trump's business empire. Trump is expected to be in the courtroom Tuesday, according to a person familiar with his plans. That could set up a tense face-to-face encounter with Cohen, who has become one of Trump's fiercest critics since cutting ties with him five years ago.

Republican Scott to boost staff, resources in Iowa as presidential campaign flags

U.S. Senator Tim Scott is increasing his staff in Iowa and shifting resources to the early voting state as he seeks to revive his languishing campaign to be the Republican 2024 presidential nominee. Former President Donald Trump is the runaway favorite to win the Republican primaries that kick off on Jan. 15 in Iowa.

US picks 31 regional hubs to spur tech innovation

The Biden administration on Monday named 31 U.S. regional technology hubs from 370 applicants, making the areas eligible for $500 million in federal funding to help spur innovation across a variety of sectors. President Joe Biden's "industrial policy" effort uses federal government dollars to fund prospective growth sectors from electric vehicle battery production to semiconductors and clean energy to attract more private sector investments.

US House Republicans try - again - to pick a leader

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday will try again to fill a leadership vacuum that has paralyzed the chamber for three weeks and left Congress unable to tackle urgent funding requests for Israel and Ukraine. The 221-member Republican majority in the House is due to gather at 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT) for a series of closed-door votes to choose a nominee from eight candidates for speaker, a position that has been vacant since Oct. 3.