Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The House's 286-134 vote sent the measure to the Democratic-majority Senate, which has hours to act ahead of a midnight deadline (0400 GMT Saturday) to prevent parts of the Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department to Treasury and State departments from closing. Hardline Republicans' hopes dashed as US Congress pushes funding bill forward U.S. Representative Chip Roy, one of the most prominent hardline Republicans in Congress, pulls no punches when it comes to how frustrated he is about the $1.2 trillion spending package that lawmakers are working to pass before midnight on Friday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Measles cases in US rise to 62 as of Thursday, says CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday the number of measles cases in the United States has increased to 62 as of Thursday, higher than the whole of last year. The CDC issued a health advisory on Monday urging people, particularly children and international travelers, to get vaccinated against measles due to the increase in cases this year. Total cases were at 58 last week.

Investors greenlight Trump's $5.7 billion social media deal

Former U.S. President Donald Trump came a step closer on Friday to reaping a major windfall from his social media firm after investors in a blank-check acquisition company approved a merger currently worth about $5.7 billion. The deal values Trump's majority stake in the company that holds his app Truth Social at about $3.3 billion. The windfall could prove vital as Trump grapples with the financial fallout of a string of legal cases against him, including a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud case in New York.

US House Democrats offer to protect Republican Johnson for Ukraine aid

Democrats, who helped Republican hardliners oust Kevin McCarthy as U.S. House of Representatives speaker last year, said on Friday that they could protect Speaker Mike Johnson from a similar fate if he allowed a vote on stalled aid to Ukraine. Comments to that effect from several House Democrats followed a decision by Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene to file a motion seeking Johnson's ouster over a $1.2 trillion bipartisan spending bill needed to avert a partial government shutdown at midnight.

Republican Mike Gallagher to leave US House in April

Republican U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher will step down from Congress on April 19. his office said on Friday, a move that will narrow Republicans' already razor-thin majority. Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, had already said he would not be running for re-election in November. But his decision to leave Congress early means the seat will be vacant for a time before the next election.

Across US, homeless initiatives highlight a growing crisis

U.S. state and local governments pushed ahead this week with divergent strategies to deal with the country's homeless crisis, aiming either to raise more funds to address the issue or to empower authorities to rid public places of its visible signs. In California, voters narrowly approved a ballot measure that prioritizes funding for homeless services. In Chicago, voters appeared to reject a tax increase on property transfers worth more than $1 million, spelling the defeat of a plan that may have raised $100 million a year to benefit the city's burgeoning population of residents without stable housing.

Biden administration urges US Supreme Court to reject Musk appeal in SEC dispute

President Joe Biden's administration on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to turn away billionaire businessman Elon Musk's dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk in December asked the justices to take up his appeal after a lower court upheld his consent decree with the SEC that arose after he posted on Twitter, now called X, in 2018 that he had "funding secured" to take his electric car company Tesla private. The SEC accused Musk of defrauding investors.

'God gave us Trump': Christian media evangelicals preach a messianic message

"This is really a battle between good and evil," evangelical TV preacher Hank Kunneman says of the slew of criminal charges facing Donald Trump. "There's something on President Trump that the enemy fears: It's called the anointing." The Nebraska pastor, who was speaking on cable news show "FlashPoint" last summer, is among several voices in Christian media pressing a message of Biblical proportions: The 2024 presidential race is a fight for America's soul, and a persecuted Trump has God's protection.

US Senate takes up $1.2 trillion bill to avoid shutdown, midnight deadline looms

The Democratic-majority U.S. Senate on Friday was trying to pass a $1.2 trillion government funding bill after House of Representatives passage angered a Republican hardliner in that chamber, who threatened to try to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. The House's 286-134 vote sent the measure to the Democratic-majority Senate, which has hours to act ahead of a midnight deadline (0400 GMT Saturday) to prevent parts of the Department of Homeland Security, Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department to Treasury and State departments from closing.

Hardline Republicans' hopes dashed as US Congress pushes funding bill forward

U.S. Representative Chip Roy, one of the most prominent hardline Republicans in Congress, pulls no punches when it comes to how frustrated he is about the $1.2 trillion spending package that lawmakers are working to pass before midnight on Friday. "Everyone that I know and trust about the border, about overall spending, see it as a complete and total failure and a capitulation by Republicans. And (Republican) leadership worked the deal, so it's on leadership," Roy told reporters.

Two elderly men found slain in Idaho during fugitives' 36 hours on the run

Two people found slain in Idaho during the manhunt for an escaped prison inmate and his armed accomplice have been identified as elderly men the fugitives encountered, and in one case abducted, while on the run, police said on Friday. Skylar Meade, serving time for aggravated battery, and Nicholas Umphenour, shot their way out of a hospital in Boise and were taken into custody 36 hours later on Thursday about 130 miles to the southeast near Twin Falls, Idaho.

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