Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Candidate Ron DeSantis said on Thursday he’s never experienced cold like that and has a major problem: He left his winter coat in his home state of Florida and has asked aides to fly it to Iowa as soon as possible. Trump tangles with judge as New York civil fraud trial wraps up Donald Trump on Thursday accused the New York judge in his civil fraud trial of "having your own agenda" - and the judge told his lawyer to control his client - as a months-long case that could hobble the former U.S. president's business empire came to an end.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

New York Trump judge latest target of threats aimed at US officials

A threat against the judge overseeing Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York on Thursday is the latest in a string of incidents targeting prominent U.S. officials that have raised worries in the U.S. Justice Department. Justice Arthur Engoron, a frequent target of the former U.S. president's ire, was threatened hours before he was due to preside over closing arguments, a court spokesperson confirmed. It was not clear if any arrests were made.

Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to tax fraud charges

U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles to tax charges stemming from business dealings that have also prompted an impeachment probe of his father. Hunter Biden, 53, stands criminally accused of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019, while spending millions of dollars on drugs, escorts, exotic cars and other high-ticket items.

Millions of US women, children risk hunger without more aid funding, White House says

The U.S. Congress must raise spending on a food assistance program for low-income women and children or 2 million could be turned away this year, Biden administration officials said on Thursday. A bitterly divided Congress has for months failed to reach agreement on 2024 government spending levels and is racing to avert a partial shutdown on Jan. 19.

US Senate Democrats plan for stopgap to avert shutdown, House Republicans bicker

Top U.S. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Thursday said he was taking the first procedural step toward passing a stopgap funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown starting late next week, as House Republicans again found themselves in the midst of a possible revolt over spending. Schumer's move came as Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson faced opposition from within his own narrow majority to a deal reached with Schumer on a $1.59 trillion top-line spending number for government agencies in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Top Republican brushes off Mayorkas offer to testify at impeachment hearing

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives committee overseeing an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over illegal immigration on Wednesday brushed aside the border chief's offer to testify in his defense. The committee said in a press release that Mayorkas had refused to testify in recent months despite "repeated invitations" and that it would move ahead with a hearing next week featuring "victims of Secretary Mayorkas' border crisis."

Trump town hall viewership on Fox News tops CNN's Republican debate audience

Roughly 4.3 million people watched former U.S. President Donald Trump's live town hall on Fox News on Wednesday, topping the roughly 2.5 million people who watched two of his Republican rivals debate on CNN, according to early Nielsen ratings data released on Thursday. Trump opted to appear on Fox rather than participate in the evening's Republican debate between presidential contenders Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, which aired for two hours on CNN, overlapping with the town hall for one hour.

Iowa deep freeze to test Republican candidates and coats on caucus day

When Iowa voters gather on Monday to kick off the Republican presidential nominating race, forecasters predict it could be the coldest Iowa caucus night ever - as low as a frigid minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 degrees Celsius) in places. Candidate Ron DeSantis said on Thursday he's never experienced cold like that and has a major problem: He left his winter coat in his home state of Florida and has asked aides to fly it to Iowa as soon as possible.

Trump tangles with judge as New York civil fraud trial wraps up

Donald Trump on Thursday accused the New York judge in his civil fraud trial of "having your own agenda" - and the judge told his lawyer to control his client - as a months-long case that could hobble the former U.S. president's business empire came to an end. During a contentious final day of the trial in Manhattan, Trump once again tangled with Justice Arthur Engoron, who is considering what penalties to impose after earlier finding that Trump's company inflated his net worth to win better financing terms. The judge, deciding the case without a jury, said he hoped to issue a ruling by Jan. 31.

Iowa farmers want Trump, despite talk of trade wars

Republican farmers in Iowa say they want Donald Trump as their U.S. president, buoyed by the historic sums of money his administration handed out to farms and despite his talk of trade wars that could tank already stifled U.S. agricultural exports. Farmers are a politically powerful voting bloc whom Trump has worked to court in the lead-up to Monday's caucuses in Iowa, a top farm state and site of the party's first nominating contest. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump is the favorite of 49% of Republicans for the party's nomination to run against Democratic President Joe Biden in November.

Harvard is sued by Jewish students over 'rampant' antisemitism on campus

Harvard University has been sued by Jewish students who accused it of allowing its campus to become a bastion of rampant antisemitism. In a complaint filed on Wednesday night, six students accused Harvard of selectively enforcing its anti-discrimination policies to avoid protecting Jewish students from harassment, ignoring their pleas for protection, and hiring professors who support anti-Jewish violence and spread antisemitic propaganda.

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