Political Shifts and Policy Debates Shape the US Landscape: A Comprehensive Update

The latest US domestic news highlights critical debates on the economy, border policies, and inflation as key issues for undecided voters. With Trump and Biden attracting attention, policy changes, legal rulings, and high-profile endorsements also play significant roles, influencing the political climate and voter decisions.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Undecided voters await Biden-Trump debate with eye on economy, border and age

Gina Gannon, a retiree in the battleground state of Georgia, voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016 before ditching him for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 – and is now looking to next week's debate to help her decide which one to back this year. Gannon, 65, flipped to Biden, she said, because she felt Trump's presidency was too chaotic. But she is now leaning toward Trump again, unhappy about illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and inflation under Biden's administration.

California rejects AT&T bid to stop offering landline service in some areas

California rejected AT&T's bid to stop offering landline telephone service and other services as the "carrier of last resort," a state agency said on Thursday. Marin County said AT&T's request made in March 2023 would have ended services to over 580,000 eligible households throughout the state.

Trump says foreign college graduates should automatically get green cards

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that people who graduate from college in the United States should "automatically" get a green card to be able to stay in the country. "You graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country and that includes junior colleges too," Trump said on the All-In podcast hosted by tech investors.

Exclusive-Biden allies raising $10 million to challenge Trump social media machine

U.S. President Joe Biden's main re-election SuperPAC is raising millions of dollars to try to solve a problem vexing Democrats: how to compete with Republican Donald Trump's social media machine that spits out a wall of viral videos. The previously unreported effort by the highly-secretive Future Forward USA Action underscores broad concerns among Democrats and Biden donors that he and his campaign are losing a viral-video war with the Republican Party, which relentlessly portrays him as too old and out of touch.

US Supreme Court won't upend tax on Americans' foreign earnings

The U.S. Supreme Court preserved a tax on Americans who have invested in certain foreign corporations as constitutionally sound, ruling on Thursday against a challenge to it at a time when some Democratic lawmakers are seeking to impose a wealth tax on the super rich. The justices, in a 7-2 ruling, upheld a lower court's decision against Charles and Kathleen Moore - a retired couple from Redmond, Washington - who challenged the tax imposed on foreign company earnings, even though those profits have not been distributed to shareholders.

Winklevoss twins donate $2 million in bitcoin to support Trump

The billionaire Winklevoss twins, founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini, said on Thursday they had each donated $1 million in bitcoin to support Donald Trump, the latest crypto executives to get behind the Republican presidential candidate. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose crypto firm in February entered settlement agreements with U.S. and New York state financial regulators after accusations of wrongdoing, announced the donations in posts on social media site X.

Biden-era policy against hospital web trackers unlawful, judge rules

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that guidance issued by President Joe Biden's administration that bars hospitals and other medical providers from using online tracking technologies that monitor users of their websites was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth sided with two hospital trade groups including the American Hospital Association and two local healthcare systems in finding that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its authority when it adopted the privacy-promoting guidance policy.

Alberto weakens to tropical depression over northern Mexico, 4 dead

Alberto, the first named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, has weakened into a tropical depression as it moves inland over northeastern Mexico, bringing more heavy rains and flooding after leaving four dead, including three children. The governor of Mexico's Nuevo Leon state told local media late Wednesday that at least three people under 18 had died due to the storm. By Thursday morning, civil protection had reported a fourth death due to an electric shock, local media reported.

Charges dropped for Columbia University students arrested at pro-Palestinian protests

Dozens of pro-Palestinian student protesters arrested in April after occupying and barricading a building at Columbia University in New York City had all criminal charges against them dropped on Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors said at a court hearing. The hearing at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse came seven weeks after Columbia administrators called in hundreds of armed and heavily armored police officers to the university's campus in a high-profile law-enforcement response that was broadcast live on national news channels.

Billionaire Melinda French Gates backs Biden in first-ever endorsement

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has given Democratic incumbent Joe Biden her first ever U.S. presidential endorsement, citing his support for reproductive rights among other issues. Gates this year left the charitable foundation she co-founded with her former husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, with $12.5 billion for her own charity work.

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