Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Trump comments on Russia, NATO ‘appalling and unhinged’ -White House
The White House on Saturday rejected comments made by former U.S. President Donald Trump about not protecting NATO allies from a potential Russian invasion as “appalling and unhinged.” Trump, appearing to recount a meeting with NATO leaders during a political rally in South Carolina on Saturday, quoted the president of “a big country” that he did not name as asking, “Well sir if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia – will you protect us?”
Biden to skip traditional Super Bowl interview for second year
U.S. President Joe Biden will skip the traditional pre-game interview with the CBS television network before Sunday’s Super Bowl, which is expected to become the most-watched American football game ever. It is the second year in a row that Biden has opted out of the interview.
Two dead after jet plane crash lands on Florida highway, collides with vehicles
A private passenger jet with five people aboard crash-landed on a busy Florida highway and collided with two vehicles on the ground in a fiery accident on Friday that killed two people, according to authorities and news footage from the scene. The Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet, which took off from Ohio, was on approach to Naples Airport when the pilot radioed that both the plane’s turbofan engines had failed, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a statement.
Special counsel report on Biden memory is wrong, White House says
The White House on Friday blasted a report from a Department of Justice special counsel that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses, and Vice President Kamala Harris called the report “clearly politically motivated.” The report from Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland during Republican Donald Trump’s administration, has prompted an election-year brawl and renewed questions about Biden’s advanced age. This week Biden, 81, mixed up the names of several world leaders.
Age, mental capacity dominates presidential campaign trail after report questions Biden’s memory
The mental ability and age of the United States’ presidential candidates took center stage on the campaign trail on Saturday, following a report that suggested President Joe Biden was suffering memory lapses. Former President Donald Trump accused both Biden, the Democrat he will likely face in November’s general election, and Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, of lacking the mental capacity to be president.
Republican China committee chairman Gallagher retiring from US Congress
U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House select committee on competition with China, said on Saturday he will not run for re-election, four days after he was one of only four House Republicans to buck party leadership and vote against impeaching President Joe Biden’s top border official. Gallagher, 39, a four-term House member and former Marine Corps intelligence officer, issued a statement noting that the authors of the U.S. Constitution had not intended elective office to be for a lifetime.
US Senate faces new test on Ukraine aid bill
A narrowly divided U.S. Senate will try to move closer to passing a $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Sunday, while hoping to show enough bipartisan support to propel the measure all the way through Congress. The legislation needs 60 votes to overcome a procedural hurdle and continue toward Senate passage in the coming days. It could move more quickly if Democrats and Republicans reach an agreement to fast-track the measure, though even then it will face stiff opposition in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Trump vows to undo Biden gun restrictions if re-elected
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race, said on Friday he had firmly protected gun rights while in the White House and vowed if re-elected to undo all restrictions enacted by President Joe Biden. Speaking to thousands of supporters at an event organized by the National Rifle Association (NRA), Trump promised to rescind a rule curbing sales of gun accessories known as pistol braces and other regulations put in place by the Biden administration.
Gun makers to ask US Supreme Court to bar Mexico’s lawsuit
U.S. gun manufacturers plan to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their bid to escape Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for facilitating the trafficking of weapons to drug cartels across the U.S.-Mexico border. The planned appeal was disclosed during a virtual court hearing on Friday by a lawyer for Smith & Wesson Brands after the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month overturned a judge’s decision dismissing the case.
Trump-backing US Senate Republicans souring on longtime leader McConnell
Top U.S. Senate Republican Mitch McConnell’s negotiations with Democrats to try to secure more Ukraine aid has drawn mounting attacks from hardliners within his party that some lawmakers say is a direct result of Donald Trump’s rising influence. The Kentucky Republican, the chamber’s longest-serving party leader at 81, has faced more heat from hardliners since Trump, the party’s likely presidential nominee, torpedoed a bipartisan deal McConnell backed that aimed to stem the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border and provide aid to Ukraine and Israel.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)