US News Roundup: Trump hardens stance on Mexico border; Police hunt clues in death of sisters

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Pittsburgh synagogue massacre suspect to be arraigned

The avowed anti-Semite accused of opening fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue and killing 11 worshipers is scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday, as three more victims of the massacre are laid to rest. Funerals will be held for Sylvan Simon, 86, his wife, Bernice, 84, and for Richard Gottfried, 65, who was killed on Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill district in the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

Trump hardens stance on Mexico border, says 15,000 troops could be sent

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States could send as many as 15,000 troops to the border with Mexico, as he hardens his stance against a caravan of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. The numbers cited by Trump are significantly higher than defence officials have disclosed. The Pentagon said on Monday it was deploying more than 5,200 troops to the border but that the number would rise. On Wednesday, it said more than 7,000 troops would support the Department of Homeland Security along the border.

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect faces new charges as funerals continue

A federal grand jury on Wednesday charged the man accused of killing 11 worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue with additional hate crimes and firearms offences, as the Jewish community held more funerals for victims of the worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. The 44-count grand jury indictment expands on the charges initially brought against avowed anti-Semite Robert Bowers, 46, after Saturday's massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill district.

Mattis rejects criticism of sending U.S. troops to the border

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday rejected criticism that deploying thousands of troops to the border with Mexico was a political stunt. "The support that we provide to the secretary for homeland security is practical support based on the request from the commissioner of customs and border police, so we don't do stunts in this department," Mattis said after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart at the Pentagon.

Trump's final campaign stretch rattled by twin calamities

When Donald Trump met with advisers about his plans for campaign appearances in the final weeks for the battle for control of the U.S. Congress, the president surprised them by insisting they add more events to an already-crowded schedule. His strategy for the final stretch has been simple: Drive Republican turnout by focusing on an issue that appeals to his core supporters - illegal immigration - using as a foil a large group of Central American migrants making their way slowly through Mexico toward the U.S. border.

Tennessee set to execute double murderer by electrocution

Tennessee plans to execute 63-year-old Edmund Zagorski by electrocution on Thursday night after the condemned man requested not to be put to death by lethal injection. Zagorski, who killed two men in 1983 who was carrying a large amount of cash in order to buy 100 pounds of marijuana, would be the first U.S. inmate executed by electrocution since 2013.

After Saudi sisters found dead by New York river, police hunt clues

New York police were still trying to piece together on Wednesday a mystery over two young women whose bodies were discovered a week ago on the rocky Manhattan shore of the Hudson River, bound together with duct tape around their waists and ankles. Since then, New York City police have determined that Tala Farea, 16, and Rotana Farea, 22, were sisters from Saudi Arabia living in Virginia, and at least one of them was reported missing two months ago.

Trump contends U.S. Constitution does not cover birthright citizenship

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to citizenship to everyone born in the country, an assertion that runs counter to the long-established legal interpretation of the document. "So-called Birthright Citizenship, which costs our Country billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens, will be ended one way or the other. It is not covered by the 14th Amendment because of the words 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof.' Many legal scholars agree....." Trump wrote in a Twitter post six days before U.S. congressional elections.

Groundskeeper in Bayer in U.S. weed-killer case accepts the reduced award

The school groundskeeper who won a jury trial against Bayer AG's Monsanto unit over allegations that the company's glyphosate-containing weed-killers caused his cancer, accepted a court-mandated reduced punitive damages award on Wednesday. The decision by Dewayne Johnson, who sued Monsanto in 2016, brings the total award to $78 million, down from the jury's verdict on Aug. 10 of $289 million - $39 million in compensatory and $250 million in punitive damages.

Woman survives six days in Arizona desert after the crash

A 53-year-old woman survived six days in the Arizona desert on grass and water after crashing her car, before being rescued by a rancher and highway workers who were chasing a cow, police and local media said on Wednesday. The woman, whose name was not disclosed, lost control of her car on Oct. 12 on a rain-slicked road near Wickenburg, Arizona, about 65 miles (105 km) north of Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.