Reuters US Domestic News Summary

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".

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.

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.

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