Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Boston march against hate speech avoids Charlottesville chaos

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Boston on Saturday to protest a "free speech" rally featuring far-right speakers a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white-supremacist demonstration. Rally organizers had invited several far-right speakers who were confined to a small pen that police set up in the historic Boston Common park to keep the two sides separate. The city avoided a repeat of last weekend's bloody street battles in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed.

U.S. warship Indianapolis found 18,000 feet deep in Pacific Ocean

Researchers have found the wreckage of the U.S. warship Indianapolis, which was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in the final days of World War Two, more than 18,000 feet (5.5 kilometers) below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, the Navy said on Saturday. The cruiser was returning from its mission to deliver components for the atomic bomb that would soon be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima when it was fired upon in the North Pacific Ocean by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945.

Trump, first lady will not attend Kennedy Center Honors: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will not attend the Kennedy Center Honors in December, the White House announced on Saturday, after several honorees said they would boycott a White House reception before the show. The Kennedy Center also said in a statement the White House reception "will no longer take place."

Comedian, civil rights activist Dick Gregory dies at 84

Dick Gregory, a comedian who lambasted racism and played a prominent role in the 1960s civil rights movement after becoming one of the first black comics to perform for white audiences, died on Saturday at age 84, his son said. "It is with enormous sadness that the Gregory family confirms that their father, comedic legend and civil rights activist Mr. Dick Gregory departed this earth tonight in Washington, D.C.," his son, Christian, wrote on Instagram.

Prominent U.S. religious conservatives defend Trump after Charlottesville

Two prominent religious conservatives defended U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday after he was widely criticized for blaming both white nationalists and counter-protesters for last weekend's violence at a Virginia rally organized by neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Evangelical Christian Jerry Falwell Jr said Trump could be more polished and politically correct but is not racist. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who last week criticized the white nationalists' "evil, sinful, disgusting behavior," said unequivocally on Sunday that the faith community stood by Trump.

South Carolina aquarium to monitor animal behavior during eclipse

Animals in the path of the first total solar eclipse to travel across the United States in 99 years have a big surprise awaiting them on Monday afternoon, biologists say. Zoos, aquariums and other wildlife parks see the celestial phenomenon as a special research opportunity to observe how birds and mammals react when the moon's shadow blots out most of the sun's light in the middle of the day, experts say.

Canada's Trudeau warns against entering country 'irregularly'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who once took to Twitter to welcome Syrian refugees into the country, said on Sunday that there would be "no advantage" to entering "irregularly." "Canada is an opening and welcoming society," he told reporters in Montreal following talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. "But let me be clear. We are also a country of laws. Entering Canada irregularly is not an advantage. There are rigorous immigration and customs rules that will be followed. Make no mistake."

Duke University removes contentious Confederate statue after vandalism

Duke University removed a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the entrance of a chapel on the Durham, North Carolina, campus, officials said on Saturday, days after it was vandalized. The decision to take down the statue followed discussions among students, faculty, staff and alumni about maintaining safety on campus, university President Vincent E. Price said in a statement.

U.S. national monument review to test key land protection law

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will recommend on Aug. 24 whether to eliminate or shrink nearly two dozen national monuments, creating the first major test for a 111-year-old law that gives presidents the power to protect swaths of public land. Zinke is expected to recommend that at least some of the national monuments under review - which were all created since 1996 - be rescinded or shrunk in size, responding to an order by President Donald Trump, who believes there should be greater opportunity to increase local resource development and economic opportunities.

Unwavering Trump voters say they will not miss Steve Bannon

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's firing has been met with a collective shrug by some of President Donald Trump's most committed supporters who argue the controversial nationalist became an obstacle to the administration's agenda. In interviews in multiple cities this weekend, Americans who voted for Trump said Bannon's departure on Friday was the removal of an unnecessary distraction for the Trump presidency, while others saw his role as largely inconsequential and possibly overblown.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)