Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump, DeSantis court Republican activists in California Donald Trump campaigned in California on Friday, just two days after skipping the Republican presidential debate there, looking to build support in the state with the biggest prize in his party's 2024 White House nominating race.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump, DeSantis court Republican activists in California

Donald Trump campaigned in California on Friday, just two days after skipping the Republican presidential debate there, looking to build support in the state with the biggest prize in his party's 2024 White House nominating race. "With your help, we're going to win the California primary," the former president said to a crowd of Republican activists and party members who gave him a raucous standing ovation when he took the stage at the California Republican Party convention in Anaheim, 25 miles (40 km) south of Los Angeles.

US House passes bipartisan bill to avoid government shutdown

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a stopgap funding bill on Saturday with overwhelming Democratic support after Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy backed down from an earlier demand by party hardliners for a partisan bill. Time remained short to avoid the federal government's fourth partial shutdown in a decade, which will begin at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Sunday unless the Democratic-majority Senate passes it and President Joe Biden signs it into law in time.

Climate change means New York City's flooding is 'new normal,' governor says

Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding in New York City on Friday reflect a "new normal" due to the effects of climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned on Saturday, as the city began drying out after one of its wettest days ever. Almost eight inches (20 cm) of rain fell in some parts of the most populous U.S. city, enough to enable a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo to swim briefly out of the confines of her pool enclosure.

California's Newsom promoting Biden in '24 - and perhaps himself in '28

Shortly after Wednesday's second Republican presidential debate concluded, California Governor Gavin Newsom was holding court in the so-called "spin room," bouncing from one network to another to tout Democratic President Joe Biden as the real winner of the evening. It was an increasingly familiar position for Newsom, who has emerged as perhaps the Biden re-election campaign's most visible representative.

Suspect in rapper Tupac Shakur's 1996 slaying charged with murder in Las Vegas

An admitted former street gang leader was arrested on Friday on a charge of murder in the Las Vegas shooting death of hip-hop star Tupac Shakur nearly three decades ago, a long-unsolved crime that became a defining moment in the history of rap music. Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who police said was long suspected and began implicating himself in a series of public statements in recent years, was taken into custody outside his home a day after a grand jury in Clark County, Nevada, returned an indictment against him.

US appeals court blocks venture capital fund's grant program for Black women

A federal appeals court on Saturday blocked a venture capital fund from moving forward with a program that awards funding to businesses run by Black women in a case by the anti-affirmative action activist behind the successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to race-conscious college admissions policies. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on a 2-1 vote granted a request by Edward Blum's American Alliance for Equal Rights to temporarily block Fearless Fund from considering applications for grants only from businesses led by Black women.

Five dead, five hurt in Illinois collision that leaked toxic substance

A semi-truck carrying thousands of gallons of a toxic substance crashed in southern Illinois, and the multi-vehicle accident killed five people and left five seriously injured, officials said on Saturday. The truck was carrying about 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia when it crashed late Friday near the city of Teutopolis in Effingham County, located about 105 miles northeast of St. Louis. Early estimates indicated that 4,000 gallons were spilled, leading to about 500 people being evacuated from the area, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said.

Fresno in California becomes only second US city to ban caste discrimination

Fresno, California, became only the second U.S. city to ban caste discrimination after a unanimous city council vote that added caste and indigeneity as two new protected categories into its municipal code. THE TAKE

Americans celebrate Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday as he receives hospice care

Americans celebrated the 99th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter this weekend, with the White House putting up a wooden cake display on its north lawn and the Carter library in Georgia hosting a party for the public. Carter, a Democrat who served as U.S. president from January 1977 to January 1981, is in hospice care after deciding in February to decline additional medical intervention. He turns 99 on Sunday.

Analysis-Feinstein's death poses two big questions for US Senate Democrats

The death of trailblazing U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein presented her fellow Democrats with two key questions on Friday: Who will replace her in the chamber and who will take her seat on the committee that approves federal judges. The answer to the first question is easy: California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom will name a successor, who he has promised will be a Black woman.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)