Trump’s 78th Birthday Highlights Age Debate; Sandy Hook Families Target Alex Jones’ Social Media in Bankruptcy

Donald Trump criticized U.S. policies and spotlighted his age as a central issue in the 2024 race. Sandy Hook families aim to seize Alex Jones' social media accounts in his bankruptcy. The U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to the abortion pill while addressing federal agency actions.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump talks tariffs and taxes, calls Republican host city 'horrible'

Donald Trump criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine and suggested raising tariffs to replace the U.S. income tax on a Thursday visit to Capitol Hill where he also called the city hosting his party's presidential convention "horrible." In separate meetings with Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump sought to mend divisions ahead of the Nov. 5 election that could see his party win control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Sandy Hook families want to seize Alex Jones' social media accounts

Families of the Sandy Hook massacre victims want to seize Alex Jones' social media accounts in his bankruptcy, saying that the conspiracy theorist's frequent posts to fans are a key part of the Infowars business being liquidated to pay Jones' debts. Jones, who filed for bankruptcy protection 17 months ago, has given up on trying to reach a settlement that would reduce the $1.5 billion that he owes to the relatives of 20 students and six staff members killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Trump turns 78, spotlighting age as central issue in 2024 race

Donald Trump turns 78 on Friday, a milestone that will remind voters that the two major-party candidates running for U.S. president this year are the oldest ever to seek the office.

Age and mental sharpness have been at the center of the contest between the Republican Trump and his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden, often getting more attention than substantive policy issues in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election.

Pro-Trump influencers fire up fears of migrant 'invasion' ahead of U.S. election

One late afternoon in mid-May, a half dozen Hispanic day laborers were paid $20 each to parade in front of the White House on camera, holding signs with slogans like "I Love Biden" and "I Need Work Permit for My Family." The stunt was orchestrated by Nick Shirley, a pro-Trump online influencer who often asks migrants on camera if they support Democratic President Joe Biden or think he made it easier for them to come to the U.S.

US finds Phoenix Police Dept violates civil rights of city residents

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday took aim at the Phoenix Police Department, accusing its officers of systemically violating peoples' civil rights and using excessive and at times "unjustified deadly force" against city residents. In a new investigative report, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division said it has reasonable cause to believe that police in Phoenix routinely discriminate against Black, Hispanic and Native Americans, and unlawfully detain homeless people and dispose of their belongings.

Supreme Court's Clarence Thomas took additional trips paid for by benefactor, senator says

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took at least three additional trips funded by billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow that the conservative justice failed to disclose, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Thursday. Crow, a Texas businessman and Republican donor, disclosed details about the justice's travel between 2017 and 2021 in response to a Judiciary Committee vote last November to authorize subpoenas to Crow and Leonard Leo, another influential conservative figure, according to Senator Dick Durbin.

US Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill mifepristone

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to restrict access to the abortion pill, handing a victory on Thursday to President Joe Biden's administration in its efforts to preserve broad access to the drug. The justices, two years after ending the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, ruled 9-0 to overturn a lower court's decision to roll back U.S. Food and Drug Administration steps in 2016 and 2021 that eased how the drug, called mifepristone, is prescribed and distributed. The decision was authored by conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Abortion pill still under legal threat despite US Supreme Court ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday keeping the abortion drug mifepristone on the market with no new restrictions ends one chapter of the legal fight over the drug, but efforts by abortion opponents to restrict its use may not be over. In rejecting a lawsuit by anti-abortion medical groups and doctors, the Supreme Court did not rule on their claim that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acted improperly when it eased restrictions on mifepristone, including allowing it to be prescribed by telemedicine and dispensed by mail. Instead, the court found that they had not shown that they had suffered the kind of harm that would allow them to bring a lawsuit.

Texas man charged with threatening FBI agent over Hunter Biden case

A Texas man was charged on Thursday with threatening to jail or "slaughter" an FBI agent over the criminal case against President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, federal prosecutors said. Timothy Muller, 43, was charged in a criminal complaint with making threatening communications across state lines and "influencing, impeding or retaliating" against a federal official.

Hunter Biden agrees to drop lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani, court records show

U.S. President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, agreed to drop a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani's former lawyer Robert Costello in which he accused the pair of violating his privacy over data allegedly taken from his laptop, court records showed on Thursday. Hunter Biden had accused Giuliani, who has served as a personal lawyer for former President Donald Trump, and Costello of being responsible for the "total annihilation" of his digital privacy in the lawsuit filed in September last year.

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