US Domestic News Roundup: Facebook crackdown on hate speech; Trump 'going big' in Iowa and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Michigan governor urges broader Facebook crackdown on hate speech, citing attacks on state's lawmakers

Michigan's Democratic governor has urged Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg to step up efforts to check hate speech on the social network and protect the security of elections, citing attacks on legislators from the state. "Of late, hundreds of vitriolic, sexist and violent posts on Facebook have called for violence against Muslims and Michigan legislators," Governor Gretchen Whitmer wrote to Zuckerberg in a letter she also shared on Twitter on Friday.

Despite lack of primary threat, Trump 'going big' in Iowa

President Donald Trump's campaign plans to blanket Iowa with representatives and events ahead of the state's Feb. 3 caucuses, hoping to use the first-in-the-nation primary to show evidence of his strength in rural America, sources tell Reuters. The Republican incumbent faces no real primary opposition. As a dozen Democrats battle in their own caucuses to take him on in November, Trump's campaign sees Iowa's vote as a chance to offer a counter-narrative to the impeachment turmoil he faces in Washington, the sources said.

Facebook must disclose app records for Massachusetts probe, judge rules

Facebook Inc has been ordered by a Massachusetts judge to turn over material to the state's attorney general about thousands of apps that the social media company suspected may have misused customer data. In a decision made public on Friday, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Brian Davis said Attorney General Maura Healey had demonstrated a "substantial need" for the material, as she investigates Facebook's privacy practices.

Prominent lawyers Starr, Dershowitz join Trump impeachment team

Former independent counsel Ken Starr, who paved the way for the impeachment of Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1998, and prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz will join President Donald Trump's impeachment trial defense team, Trump's legal team and a source said on Friday. The team will be led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump private attorney Jay Sekulow. Trump adviser Pam Bondi and former independent counsel Robert Ray will also be on the team, according to the source who is familiar with the team's composition.

Children, young adults cannot sue U.S. government over climate change: ruling

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit by children and young adults who claimed they had a constitutional right to be protected from climate change, in a major setback to efforts to spur the U.S. government to address the issue. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the plaintiffs, who were between the ages of 8 and 19 when the lawsuit began in 2015, lacked legal standing to sue the United States.

Trump criticizes Virginia gun control measures, says rights under 'attack'

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States' Constitution, which gives Americans the right to keep and bear firearms, was being attacked in the state of Virginia. "Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

Ahead of rally, Virginia Senate acts, gun-control activists, report threats

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. Constitution was being attacked in the state of Virginia, where lawmakers have been moving to enact tougher gun laws and arms enthusiasts are planning a rally next week. "Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter, referring to the amendment in the Bill of Rights that gives Americans the right to keep and bear firearms.

U.S. to screen passengers for new China coronavirus at 3 airports

The United States will begin screening efforts at three U.S. airports to detect travelers from the central Chinese city of Wuhan who may have symptoms of a new respiratory virus that so far has killed two people and infected 45 more, public health officials said on Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the screening at the San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles airports will begin later on Friday and focus on travelers to the United States via direct or connecting flights from Wuhan.

U.S. will work to determine if ex-ambassdor Yovanovitch was under threat - Pompeo

The U.S. State Department will do everything necessary to determine whether former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was under threat in Ukraine, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday. Documents released this week indicated Lev Parnas, a Ukraine-born U.S. citizen, helped U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani investigate U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Former U.S. congressman Collins sentenced to 26 months for insider trading

Chris Collins, a former U.S. congressman from New York who was an early backer of President Donald Trump, was sentenced to 26 months in prison and fined $200,000 on Friday after pleading guilty to taking part in an insider trading scheme. Collins, 69, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in October in federal court in Manhattan, a day after resigning his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was convicted of trading on insider information while a board member and a 16.8% stakeholder of Australian biotechnology company Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd.