Elon Musk May Join Trump as Policy Adviser After Election

Donald Trump is considering Elon Musk for a policy adviser role if he wins the 2024 election, according to the Wall Street Journal. The duo has discussed Musk's potential influence over economic and border security policies. This follows recent discussions about Musk’s ventures with SpaceX, Tesla, and X.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Elon Musk could become policy adviser if Trump wins election, WSJ reports

Donald Trump is considering tapping billionaire Elon Musk as a policy adviser if the Republican presidential candidate reclaims the White House in November's election, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the talks. The two have discussed ways for Musk, who runs the social media platform X as well as SpaceX and Tesla, to have "formal input and influence" over economic and border security policies, according to the Journal.

Indiana needs clearer medical exception to abortion ban, doctor tells judge

An Indiana doctor who is suing the state over its abortion ban on Wednesday told a state judge that the exception for medical emergencies was unclear, and could prevent medically necessary abortions. The testimony from Dr. Amy Caldwell kicked off a nonjury trial, which is expected to last through Friday. Caldwell brought case along with Planned Parenthood.

Exclusive-US proposes bulk milk testing for bird flu before cattle transport

The U.S. Agriculture Department has proposed allowing farmers to bulk test the milk of their dairy cows for bird flu rather than test milk from individual cows before gaining approval to ship them across state lines, according to state and industry officials and agency documents. The spread of the virus to cows and two dairy workers since late March raised concerns about the threat of a pandemic, and government officials are trying to contain the disease while minimizing economic damage to the farm sector.

US Supreme Court's Alito rejects calls to recuse in 2020 election-related cases

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejected on Wednesday requests by Democratic lawmakers to recuse himself from two cases - one on Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution and the other on a charge involving the Capitol attack - after reports involving contentious flags flown outside his homes. Alito, in two letters sent to congressional Democrats, said the flags at issue were flown not by him but by his wife, who he said was exercising her right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution. Trump, who is seeking to regain the presidency this year, quickly praised Alito's decision.

Biden campaign taps friend groups, social media, with unpredictable results

Andrea Dyess, 57, was already a Joe Biden fan, but after meeting him in her neighborhood of Racine, Wisconsin, in May, she has been talking to anyone who will listen about giving him four more years in the White House. Dyess was on a street corner with her two young grandchildren trying to catch a glimpse of Biden's motorcade, when a campaign worker invited her to join the president at a nearby community center.

US Senator Warren pushes to cement pharmaceutical patent seizure policy

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and another Democratic lawmaker on Thursday said they had sent a letter urging the Department of Commerce to finalize its policy on when the government can seize patents on drugs and other products whose research it funded. The Biden administration in December announced it was setting a new policy that would allow it to seize patents for technologies developed with government funding if it believed their prices were too high.

Federal probe urged of Black Lives Matter protest killing after Texas pardon

The attorneys general of more than a dozen states urged the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to open a federal criminal civil rights probe into the shooting death of a Black Lives Matter protester whose killer was pardoned two weeks ago by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In their letter calling for an investigation, the attorneys general, all of them Democrats, challenged the propriety of the Texas "stand your ground" law cited by Abbott, a Republican, as the basis for his act of clemency.

Boeing to detail quality, training improvements in FAA meeting, sources say

Boeing's outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun and other senior company officials will detail the planemaker's quality, training and other improvements during meetings with U.S. aviation regulators on Thursday, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. In late February, Federal Aviation Administration chief Mike Whitaker gave Boeing 90 days to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" and barred the planemaker from expanding 737 MAX production after a door panel blowout during a Jan. 5 flight on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9.

US nears deal to fund Moderna's bird flu vaccine trial, FT reports

The U.S. government is nearing an agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna's mRNA pandemic bird flu vaccine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as an H5N1 outbreak spreads through egg farms and among cattle herds. The vaccine maker's shares rose nearly 6% to $156.62 in premarket trading.

Jurors to begin second day of deliberations in Trump hush money trial

Jurors in Donald Trump's hush money trial return for a second day of deliberations on Thursday, applying extra scrutiny to a pair of high-profile witnesses as they weigh the fate of the first U.S. president to be charged with a crime. It was unclear when the 12 jurors and six alternates would reach a verdict that could potentially upend Trump's hopes of recapturing the White House from Democratic President Joe Biden as the Republican candidate in the Nov. 5 election.

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