US Domestic News Roundup: Top Trump aide says govt shutdown may go into New Year; Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey leaves over 200 sick

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

States help run U.S. National Parks in federal government shutdown

U.S. National Parks will be left with just a skeleton staff during the federal government shutdown, and several states are using their own funds to make sure public restrooms get cleaned and visitor centers stay open. The shutdown of all but essential federal services due to a Capitol Hill fight over U.S. President Donald Trump's funding demands for a Mexico border wall comes at the height of the Christmas travel season.

Roberts, liberal justices snub Trump bid to enforce asylum policy

The Supreme Court on Friday dealt a setback to President Donald Trump by refusing to allow his administration to implement new rules prohibiting asylum for people who cross the U.S. border illegally, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts joining the four liberal justices in denying the request. The justices on a 5-4 vote rebuffed the administration's bid to put on hold a California-based federal judge's order preventing it from carrying out the policy making anyone crossing the U.S.-Mexican border outside of an official port of entry ineligible for asylum.

Prosecutors close Steven Seagal sex assault inquiry without charges

Los Angeles prosecutors said on Friday they were declining to bring a criminal case against actor Steven Seagal stemming from an allegation that he sexually assaulted a minor in 2002, citing California's statute of limitations. The decision marked the second time this year the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office decided against charging Seagal with a crime in connection with an accusation of sexual assault from more than a decade in the past.

Surge at U.S. border pushes some evangelicals to help asylum seekers

Members of an Arizona evangelical church are for the first time taking Central American asylum seekers into their homes, responding to record arrivals of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border. The predominantly white Central Christian Church, a Phoenix area "megachurch" had in the past assisted Muslim refugees. Church leaders wanted to help another group that lacked support and were portrayed as a threat in areas of the media and politics - asylum seekers.

Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey leaves over 200 sick across U.S.

More than 200 people from across the United States have fallen ill, 84 of them hospitalized, from an ongoing salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey products that prompted a second voluntary recall on Friday, the U.S. government said. The latest food-safety advisory from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta came as millions of Americans planned their Christmas holiday menus, updating a notice for contaminated turkey issued in early November.

New Jersey referee suspended after forcing black wrestler to have haircut

A New Jersey high school referee was suspended after a video showed a black wrestler being forced to have his hair cut before a bout after being told he would have to forfeit the match if he refused, according to state athletic officials on Saturday. The video, which was uploaded on Twitter on Thursday by a reporter from SNJ Today newspaper, showed Andrew Johnson of Buena Regional High School in Buena, New Jersey, getting his dreadlocks hairstyle cut off by a school official. Moments later, Johnson, who is black, won his match against his opponent.

Top Trump aide says government shutdown may go into New Year

U.S. President Donald Trump's budget director and chief of staff on Sunday said the partial U.S. government shutdown could continue to Jan. 3, when the new Congress convenes and Democrats take over the House of Representatives. "It's very possible this shutdown will go beyond (December) the 28th and into the new Congress," Mick Mulvaney said on Fox News Sunday.

Dancing FBI agent pleads guilty to accidentally shooting Denver bar patron

An ex-FBI agent who accidentally shot and wounded a Denver bar patron in June after performing a dance-floor back flip pleaded guilty on Friday to misdemeanor assault under a plea deal that spares him from serving jail time, prosecutors said. Chase Bishop, 30, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in Denver District Court for shooting Thomas Reddington in the leg at the Mile High Spirits and Distillery, prosecutors said in a statement.

Michigan charges pharmacists linked to 2012 meningitis outbreak

Michigan prosecutors on Friday filed second-degree murder charges against the co-founder and supervisory pharmacist of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy linked to a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, according to court records. The state court charges came after federal juries in Boston convicted Barry Cadden and Glenn Chin of racketeering and fraud but cleared them of second-degree murder over deaths caused by tainted drugs New England Compounding Center produced.

(With inputs from Reuters)