US Domestic News Rundown: Debates, Legal Battles, and Climate Activism

This summary covers key US domestic news, including legal complaints submitted by 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez, a fiesty inflation debate between Biden and Trump, a Supreme Court ruling on emergency abortions in Idaho, and a face-off at the UN over North Korean arms supplied by Russia. Moreover, the Biden administration's conservation measures in Alaska, the FAA's investigation into a Southwest Airlines incident, and the planned climate protests at Citi's headquarters are also discussed.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

'Rust' armorer says state withheld evidence, requests release from prison

Lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie "Rust," said in a Thursday court filing that prosecutors withheld evidence that would have favored the defendant during her manslaughter trial. The filing comes as a New Mexico judge is expected to rule on Friday on a request from Alec Baldwin's legal team that a manslaughter charge against him for the on-set shooting during the filming of "Rust" be tossed out.

Biden, Trump point fingers at each other on inflation during debate

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump both took credit for what they said was a strong economy under their watch and blamed the other for punishing inflation as they battled on the debate stage before the Nov. 5 election.

"He's done a poor job and inflation is killing our country. It is absolutely killing us," said Trump, who was president from 2017-2021. Under his own watch, Trump said, "everything was rocking good."

US Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho for now

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to permit - for now - abortions to be performed in Idaho when pregnant women are facing medical emergencies, as the justices dispensed with the contentious issue without actually deciding the underlying legal issue in the case. The 6-3 ruling revived a federal judge's decision that a 1986 U.S. law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) takes precedence over Idaho's Republican-backed near-total abortion ban when the two conflict. EMTALA requires hospitals that receive funds under the federal Medicare program to "stabilize" patients with emergency medical conditions.

US to confront Russia at UN over North Korean weapons

The United States will confront Russia at the United Nations Security Council on Friday over violating a North Korea arms embargo, and will push for China's view on growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, said deputy U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood. The meeting of the 15-member council comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Pyongyang last week to sign a pact with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in which they agreed to provide military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

US protects Alaska lands important to tribes' hunting, fishing

Large areas of federal land in Alaska will be protected from development to conserve fish and wildlife habitats that are important to native communities' way of life, under two measures announced by the Biden administration on Friday. The steps by the Interior Department are aligned with President Joe Biden's goal to conserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters as part of his climate change agenda.

FAA to investigate Southwest flight that departed from closed runway in Maine

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday it will investigate a Southwest Airlines flight that departed from a temporarily closed runway in Maine earlier this week. The FAA said on Tuesday an airport vehicle exited the runway before Southwest Flight 4805, a Boeing 737, began its takeoff roll and departed around 5:45 a.m. local time (0945 GMT). Southwest said it is engaged with the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA to understand the circumstances of the departure. After the incident the plane continued safely to Baltimore, Southwest said.

Climate activists plan protests at Citi's New York headquarters

Climate activists are planning a march targeting Citigroup's headquarters in New York on Friday, part of what they call a "Summer of Heat" campaign. More than 1,000 climate activists are expected to take part in the march that will terminate with a "mass civil disobedience action" at Citi's offices, according to a statement from the Summer of Heat on Wall Street campaign, which is organizing the protests.

Democrats scramble to limit damage after Biden's wobbly debate showing against Trump

President Joe Biden's allies scrambled on Friday to contain the fallout from his faltering performance at the first 2024 U.S. presidential debate after he struggled to stem a barrage of attacks and false claims from his Republican rival Donald Trump. The Biden campaign had hoped that a strong debate would quell concerns among voters that the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent is too old to serve a second four-year term.

Biden's shaky Trump debate alarms Democrats, raises questions for his campaign

U.S. President Joe Biden's shaky performance against Republican rival Donald Trump on Thursday rattled Democrats and prompted some strategists to ask whether their party should take the unprecedented step of replacing him as their candidate. Biden supporters had hoped Thursday night's debate would dispel worries that the 81-year-old was too old for another term, but the 90-minute clash appeared to do the opposite.

US presidential debate: some undecided voters see a disastrous Biden night

A group of U.S. voters who were unable to choose between Joe Biden and Donald Trump before Thursday's presidential debate delivered their verdicts after the contest and it was almost universally bad news for Biden. Of the 13 "undecideds" who spoke to Reuters, 10 described the 81-year-old Democratic president's performance against Republican candidate Trump collectively as feeble, befuddled, embarrassing and difficult to watch.

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