Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
US Justice Department unit for drug and food safety cases being disbanded
A Justice Department unit that handles criminal and civil enforcement of U.S. food and drug safety laws is being disbanded as part of an ongoing cost-cutting campaign by President Donald Trump's administration, according to three people familiar with the matter. About 215 people work for the Consumer Protection Branch, part of the Justice Department's Civil Division, including attorneys, support staff and law enforcement agents. It was listed as a possible target for cuts in a March memo by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, first reported by Reuters.
US universities help foreign students weather Trump purge
From warnings not to leave the country to guidance on how to complete degrees, U.S. universities are advising foreign students how to withstand President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. First immigration agents arrested students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. Then thousands of foreign students were targeted for deportation over minor offenses and arrests.
US senator raises concern about SEC oversight of Trump Media investment products
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren asked the U.S. securities regulator on Friday about its plans to supervise exchange-traded funds due to be launched by a company founded and majority-owned by President Donald Trump, citing concerns about conflicts of interest. "All SEC decisions and actions involving (Trump Media & Technology Group) and President Trump´s financial interests should be carefully managed to ensure that they are free from undue political interference and influence from the President and his administration," Warren said in a letter, seen by Reuters, to Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins.
US judge blocks Trump from ending union bargaining for many federal workers
A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the administration of President Donald Trump from stripping hundreds of thousands of federal employees of the ability to unionize and collectively bargain over working conditions. Senior U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., blocked an executive order Trump issued in March from being implemented pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 160,000 federal employees.
DOGE orders AmeriCorps to cancel $400 million in grants, Washington Post reports
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has ordered the cancellation of around $400 million in grants doled out by AmeriCorps, the federal government's national service and volunteering agency, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. The canceled grants amount to 41% of the agency's annual budget for 2025 and will affect 1,031 organizations as well as 32,465 AmeriCorps members and senior volunteers, the newspaper reported.
Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty as prosecutors seek death penalty
Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges of gunning down health insurance executive Brian Thompson, a day after prosecutors formally stated their intent to seek the death penalty. Wearing a tan jail-issued t-shirt in a packed lower Manhattan courtroom, Mangione stood up as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked for his plea.
US charges Milwaukee judge with obstructing immigration arrest in Trump crackdown
U.S. officials arrested a Wisconsin judge on Friday and charged her with helping a man in her court evade immigration authorities in an escalating dispute between President Donald Trump's administration and local officials over immigration enforcement. In a criminal complaint, the U.S. Justice Department said Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, refused to turn over the man after immigration agents showed up to arrest him in her courtroom on April 18, and that she tried to help him evade arrest by allowing him to exit through a jury door.
In first 100 days, Trump tells migrants 'leave the United States'
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Taras Atamanchuk found safety for his family near Houston, Texas. The 32-year-old moved to the U.S. with his wife and daughter in 2023 through former President Joe Biden's "parole" program for Ukrainians with U.S. sponsors, landing a job as a software engineer with an annual salary of $120,000.
US judge skeptical about Trump defense of Education Department layoffs
A federal judge on Friday sharply questioned a lawyer from President Donald Trump's Justice Department who was defending the administration's move to terminate more than 1,300 U.S. Department of Education employees against a challenge by Democratic-led states. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, during a hearing in Boston expressed skepticism about the administration's arguments. Lawyers for the Republican administration disputed the contention that the mass termination, announced last month, of nearly half of the department's workforce, amounted to an unlawful effort by Trump to abolish the agency.
Exclusive-White House wants to defund independent Social Security board, sources say
The White House wants to defund a bipartisan board that advises the president and Congress on Social Security policy, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the Trump administration moves to cut costs and eliminate independent voices in government. The White House's Office of Management and Budget has notified staff at the Social Security Advisory Board that it plans to cut the board's annual budget from around $3 million to zero, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public budgetary details.
Voight seeks to revive Hollywood's golden age with Trump-backed tax credits
Jon Voight, one of three veteran actors named by U.S. President Donald Trump as "special ambassadors" to Hollywood, is preparing to outline his plans to restore the entertainment industry's Golden Age. Voight -- who rose to acclaim for playing a street hustler in the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy" and received a best actor Oscar in 1979 for his portrayal of a paraplegic Vietnam War veteran in "Coming Home" -- said he has witnessed the heavy toll production flight has taken on the acting community as well as on those who support filmmaking.