Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Campaign officials who briefed reporters said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in March will rally Democrats in many of the states where the Nov. 5 election against Republican opponent Donald Trump is likely to be decided. Trump tightens grip on US Republican Party as daughter-in-law takes key post Donald Trump cemented his grip on the Republican National Committee on Friday after his daughter-in-law and another ally assumed top leadership posts amid a debate among members over whether the organization should help pay his legal bills.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden makes contradictory comments on Gaza 'red line' in MSNBC interview

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an MSNBC interview on Saturday that Israel's threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza would be his "red line" for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but then immediately backtracked, saying there was no red line and "I'm never going to leave Israel." In a somewhat contradictory exchange with his interviewer, Biden said "they cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after" Hamas militants.

'Prepping' for disaster diversifies as more Americans lose trust

Brook Morgan surveyed booths at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Colorado that were stocked with boxes of ammunition, mounds of trauma medical kits, and every type of knife imaginable. A self-described "30-year-old lesbian from Indiana," Morgan is one of a new breed of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit that until recently was largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists since the 1980s.

Biden, Trump launch fight for top election prize: Georgia

President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will campaign in the critical battleground state of Georgia on Saturday in what essentially will be the first face-off of the 2024 general election. Both candidates have been accusing each other of being a threat to democracy for weeks, but Saturday will mark the first time this year both will be in the same battleground state at the same time.

After speech, Biden launches major tour plus $30 million ad buy

President Joe Biden visited Pennsylvania on Friday to kick off a tour of battleground states and his reelection team will spend $30 million on an ad buy as he moves quickly into the U.S. general election campaign after his feisty State of the Union speech. Campaign officials who briefed reporters said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in March will rally Democrats in many of the states where the Nov. 5 election against Republican opponent Donald Trump is likely to be decided.

Trump tightens grip on US Republican Party as daughter-in-law takes key post

Donald Trump cemented his grip on the Republican National Committee on Friday after his daughter-in-law and another ally assumed top leadership posts amid a debate among members over whether the organization should help pay his legal bills. RNC members meeting in Houston voted to appoint North Carolina Republican Party head Michael Whatley and Lara Trump as chair and co-chair of the organization, which will play a key role in marshaling voters and funds for the Nov. 5 general election.

Donald Trump posts $91.6 million bond for E. Jean Carroll's defamation verdict

Donald Trump on Friday posted a $91.6 million bond to cover the defamation verdict in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll, and began his appeal of the case that arose from his branding her a liar after she accused him of raping her decades ago. The bond from Federal Insurance Co, part of the insurer Chubb, would cover Carroll's $83.3 million judgment if Trump were to lose his appeal of the Jan. 26 verdict and refuse to pay.

Biden signs spending bill to avert partial government shutdown, White House says

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a spending bill that averted a partial government shutdown, the White House said in a statement. Biden acted after the U.S. Senate on Friday approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire.

Packaging billionaires to help fund Trump campaign, FT reports

Conservative billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein will help fund Donald Trump's campaign, giving the former president financial support as he seeks to catch a fundraising lead built by President Joe Biden, the Financial Times said on Saturday. The Uihleins, who founded the Uline shipping and packaging company from their basement in 1980, had donated to the Republican primary campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race in January.

Alaska Airlines cooperates with DOJ in Boeing 737 MAX blowout probe

Alaska Airlines said on Saturday it is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice after a criminal investigation was opened into the Boeing 737 MAX blowout on its flight in January. "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation," Alaska Airlines said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Biden regrets using "illegal" to describe immigrant in speech

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he regretted using the term "illegal" in a recent speech to describe an undocumented immigrant who allegedly murdered a student, which drew fire from Democrats and immigration advocates who see the word as dehumanizing. During his State of the Union address on Thursday, Biden was goaded by Trump-allied Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and went off script to address the case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from the U.S. state of Georgia, who was allegedly murdered last month by an undocumented immigrant who had been released on parole.

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