US News Roundup: Boeing Sanctioned, July Fourth Costs Rise, Supreme Court Decisions and More!

This summary of current US domestic news covers numerous topics: Boeing's sanctions, a 5% rise in July Fourth cookout costs, Supreme Court decisions on federal corruption law and emergency abortions in Idaho, the Biden-Trump debate, Paris Hilton's call for oversight in foster care, and US weekly jobless claims data.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

NTSB sanctions Boeing over release of 737 MAX investigation details, flags to DOJ

The National Transportation Safety Board said early on Thursday it was sanctioning Boeing for disclosing non-public details of the ongoing investigation into a 737 MAX mid-air emergency and referring its conduct to the Justice Department. The NTSB said Boeing had "blatantly violated" the agency's investigative regulations by providing "non-public investigative information to the media" and speculating about possible causes of the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines door plug blowout.

US July Fourth cookout costs up by 5% this year, survey shows

The price of a July Fourth cookout will be 5% higher in 2024 than the previous year, according to a survey from the U.S. Farm Bureau released this week. The farmer and rancher organization said an Independence Day cookout for 10 people will cost an average of $71.22 this year versus $67.73 in 2023.

US Supreme Court narrows reach of federal corruption law

The U.S. Supreme Court sided on Wednesday with a former mayor of an Indiana city who was convicted in a case in which he was accused of taking a bribe, in a ruling that could make it harder for federal prosecutors to bring corruption cases against state and local officials. The justices ruled 6-3 to reverse a lower court's decision that had upheld the corruption conviction of former Portage mayor James Snyder for accepting $13,000 from a truck company that received more than $1 million in contracts during his time in office.

US Supreme Court poised to permit emergency abortions in Idaho, Bloomberg reports

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to allow - for now - abortions to be performed in Idaho in cases of medical emergencies for pregnant women, according to an apparent draft ruling in the case that a spokesperson said was inadvertently and briefly uploaded to the court's website. The document was published by Bloomberg after the court issued two rulings earlier in the day, as the justices near the end of their current term with decisions in several major cases due to be announced in the coming days. The disclosure of the document represented another embarrassment for the top U.S. judicial body, coming two years after the draft of a blockbuster ruling rolling back abortion rights was leaked in advance.

Biden, Trump face off at first debate with age and fitness in focus

Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, square off on Thursday at a highly anticipated debate, offering voters a rare side-by-side look at the two oldest candidates ever to seek the country's highest office. The 90-minute televised debate, the first between a sitting president and a former one, will air at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT on Friday) on CNN and is expected to draw a huge audience. A record 84 million watched Trump's first debate in 2016 against Hillary Clinton.

Paris Hilton calls for more oversight of foster care programs at US House hearing

Reality TV star Paris Hilton called for greater federal oversight of youth care programs at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing on Wednesday as she described her traumatic experience in youth care facilities. Hilton, 43, the great-granddaughter of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton, has spoken publicly about the emotional and physical abuse she endured when she was placed in residential youth treatment facilities as a teen.

Are you better off today? A question for voters as Biden, Trump debate

Perhaps the most famous one-liner in a presidential debate, Ronald Reagan's "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" question to voters in his match with Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter in October 1980, came as high inflation pummeled consumers' spending power and captured a general malaise about the economy. As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump head to the first of two debates ahead of their rematch this November, some version of that question may well come up or at least be on the minds of people taking stock of the past, very turbulent, four years.

US Supreme Court will not curb Biden administration social media contacts

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to impose limits on the way President Joe Biden's administration may communicate with social media platforms, rejecting a challenge made on free speech grounds to how officials encouraged the removal of posts deemed misinformation, including about elections and COVID. The justices, in a 6-3 ruling, overturned a lower court's 2023 decision that various federal officials likely violated the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which protects against governmental abridgment of free speech, in a case brought by the states of Missouri and Louisiana as well as five individuals.

Wall Street wants drama-free presidential debate, watching comportment as much as policy

Investors watching the first live debate of the 2024 election race on Thursday hope to hear U.S. President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump argue thoughtful positions on fiscal policy, tariffs and taxes, while closely monitoring their mental acuity. For the debate at CNN studios in Atlanta without an in-person audience, many on Wall Street are looking for the ageing candidates to prove they are sharp enough for four years in the White House.

US weekly jobless claims drift lower

First-time applications for U.S. unemployment benefits drifted lower last week, which could allay fears of a material shift in the labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 for the week ended June 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The claims data included last Wednesday's Juneteenth National Independence Day, a new holiday. Claims tend to be volatile around public holidays.

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