US Domestic News Roundup: Hispanic support for Trump raises red flag for Biden; Trump will cry fraud if he loses in early states, DeSantis warns and more

Trump has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term in office. Fed's Williams douses Wall Street's rate-cut speculation Just days after a Federal Reserve meeting that penciled in an ample course of interest rate cuts next year, which in turn unleashed a broad rally in financial markets, one of the U.S. central bank's top policymakers pushed back on the ebullience on Friday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Hispanic support for Trump raises red flag for Biden

When Michele Pena ran as a Republican candidate for the Arizona state legislature in a heavily Hispanic and Democratic-leaning district on the Mexican border, few believed she could win. Pena, the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, was a school volunteer and single mother with no political experience. She began with a campaign budget of just $1,600. She nonetheless scored an upset victory last year in the district, which is separated from Mexico by miles of border wall built under former President Donald Trump to keep out "bad hombres".

Trump will cry fraud if he loses in early states, DeSantis warns

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis offered a stinging rebuke of rival Donald Trump on Friday, arguing that Trump would attempt to "de-legitimize the results" if he loses in an early nominating state such as Iowa or New Hampshire next month. "If Trump loses, he will say it's stolen no matter what, absolutely," DeSantis said at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire.

Binder with top-secret Russia intelligence missing since end of Trump term -source

A binder holding top-secret intelligence that contributed to a U.S. assessment that Russia tried to help throw the 2016 U.S. election to Donald Trump has been missing since the last days of his presidency, a source familiar with the issue said. The Russia intelligence was included with other documents in a binder that Trump directed the CIA to send to the White House just before he left office so he could declassify materials related to the FBI probe of Russian interference in the 2016 vote, the source said.

US religious freedom watchdog 'implores' Biden administration to designate India

The U.S. religious freedom watchdog on Friday again called on the Biden administration to designate India as a "country of particular concern" under the U.S. Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged targeting of religious minorities overseas. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government commission, said "recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom."

Actor Matthew Perry died from 'acute effects of ketamine'

"Friends" star Matthew Perry died from the "acute effects" of the powerful sedative ketamine that, combined with other factors, caused the actor to lose consciousness and drown in his hot tub, according to an autopsy released on Friday. The report from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner came nearly seven weeks after Perry, 54, who publicly acknowledged decades of drug and alcohol abuse, was found by his live-in assistant floating face down and lifeless in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home.

Trump appeals gag order in NY civil fraud case to state's highest court

Donald Trump on Friday appealed a gag order restricting the former U.S. president from publicly talking about court staff in his New York civil fraud trial to the state's highest court. The judge overseeing the case, Justice Arthur Engoron, issued the gag order on Oct. 3 after Trump shared on social media a photo of the judge's law clerk posing with U.S. Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and falsely called her Schumer's girlfriend."

Arizona governor, a Democrat, orders National Guard to the border

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs on Friday ordered National Guard troops to the border with Mexico, saying the U.S. federal government's recent decision to close a legal port of entry in her state "has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis." It was a notable rebuke of President Joe Biden by a fellow Democrat as border security is shaping up to be a major issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, with Biden seeking re-election next November.

Giuliani ordered to pay $148 million to Georgia election workers in defamation trial

Rudy Giuliani must pay more than $148 million in damages to two former Georgia election workers he defamed through false accusations that they helped rig the 2020 election against Donald Trump, a jury decided on Friday. The jury in federal court in Washington found that Giuliani owes the workers, Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, roughly $73 million to compensate them for the reputational and emotional harm they suffered and $75 million to punish the former Trump lawyer and one-time New York mayor for his conduct.

Trump repeats 'poisoning the blood' anti-immigrant remark

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, said on Saturday that undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country," repeating language that has previously drawn criticism as xenophobic and echoing of Nazi rhetoric. Trump made the comments during a campaign event in New Hampshire where he railed against the record number of migrants attempting to cross the U.S. border illegally. Trump has promised to crack down on illegal immigration and restrict legal immigration if elected to a second four-year term in office.

Fed's Williams douses Wall Street's rate-cut speculation

Just days after a Federal Reserve meeting that penciled in an ample course of interest rate cuts next year, which in turn unleashed a broad rally in financial markets, one of the U.S. central bank's top policymakers pushed back on the ebullience on Friday. "We aren't really talking about rate cuts right now," New York Fed President John Williams said in an interview with CNBC. When it comes to the question of lowering rates, "I just think it's just premature to be even thinking about that" as the central bank continues to mull whether monetary policy is in the right place to help guide inflation back to its 2% target, he said.