Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Lawsuit seeks lower bail for poor detainees in U.S. deportation cases
U.S. immigration officials should make bail more affordable for poor migrants detained ahead of deportation proceedings and who are not considered likely to abscond, a civil rights group said in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday. The proposed class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, cited the example of a Honduran hair stylist who has been detained for more than three years because he cannot afford to pay his bond of $3,000.
EU may require visas from Americans and Canadians: EU source
The European Union executive is considering whether to make U.S. and Canadian citizens apply for visas before traveling to the bloc, a move that could raise tensions as Brussels negotiates a trade pact with Washington. Only Britain and Ireland have opt-outs from the 28-nation EU's common visa policy and the European Commission must decide by April 12 whether to demand visas from countries who have similar requirements in place for one or more EU state.
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Woman's body found in suitcase on San Diego sidewalk
The body of a woman stuffed into a suitcase was discovered on a sidewalk in downtown San Diego on Wednesday, sparking an investigation by homicide detectives, police said. The suitcase was found across the street from an upscale hotel in the city's Core Columbia district, a neighborhood of offices and apartment buildings, San Diego police spokesman Robert Heims said.
Texas executes man who killed boy and drank his blood
A south Texas man who bludgeoned and slashed to death a 12-year-old boy, mutilated the corpse and then drank the blood of his victim was executed on Wednesday at the state's death chamber in Huntsville, a prisons official said. Pablo Vasquez, 38, was put to death by lethal injection and pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m., the official said. The execution was the sixth in Texas this year and the 537th since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state.
Fantasy sports are illegal gambling in Tennessee: attorney general
Fantasy sports contests constitute illegal gambling under Tennessee law, the state attorney general said this week in an opinion about a multibillion-dollar online industry that has been challenged legally in several states. Fantasy sports, which have been popular for decades, allow participants to create fictional teams of athletes from national sports leagues. The better a chosen athlete performs in real life, the better the player's fantasy team does.
UC Berkeley reveals more staff members involved in sexual misconduct
The University of California Berkeley released new records that revealed 12 staff members violated the school's sexual misconduct policy over the past five years, bringing the number of employees involved in such cases over that time period to 19. The fresh revelations come as the university still reels from harassment claims that surfaced in recent weeks against the dean of the law school and an assistant basketball coach, as well as an earlier claim against a high-profile astronomy professor.
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Google expanding self-driving vehicle testing to Phoenix, Arizona
Alphabet Inc is expanding its testing of self-driving cars to the Phoenix, Arizona metro area, the company said on Thursday, making it the fourth U.S. city to serve as a proving ground for the autonomous vehicles. The company's Google unit has conducted driverless vehicle testing for six years in Mountain View, California, where it is based, and expanded testing to Austin, Texas last summer. In February, Kirkland, Washington, which is home to significant wet weather, was added as a testing site.
Obama returns to law school to argue for his Supreme Court pick
President Barack Obama returns on Thursday to the University of Chicago Law School where he once taught to make the case for his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, centrist appellate judge Merrick Garland. The town hall event with students and faculty at 2:30 p.m. CDT (1930 GMT) is part of a White House campaign to try to pressure the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate to approve Garland, 63, who grew up in a Chicago suburb..
Judge dismisses Kesha's bid for release from recording contract
A New York judge on Wednesday threw out pop star Kesha's legal bid to scrap her recording contract with Sony Music and her producer, Dr. Luke, whom the singer has accused of rape and other forms of abuse. Kesha, 29, last month appealed New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich's decision to refuse to release her from a six-album contract with Sony , after the singer filing a sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014.
U.S. executives urge repeal of Mississippi law opposed by gays
Executives of several major U.S. corporations urged Mississippi on Wednesday to repeal a new state law that allows businesses to deny wedding services to same-sex couples on religious grounds. The measure, which also permits employers to cite principles of faith in setting workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom access, was signed into law on Tuesday by Republican Governor Phil Bryant.
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