US Domestic News Roundup: Biden pushes for action on infrastructure and broader agenda; Under fierce Republican attack, U.S. General Milley defends calls with China and more

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate were expected to put a temporary funding bill, possibly extending through Dec. 3, up for a vote as soon as Wednesday in the hope that Republicans will support it. Obama warns against politics of 'anger and resentment' in Chicago Former U.S. President Barack Obama warned against "politics that feeds anger and resentment" on Tuesday in a speech at the groundbreaking of his presidential library in Chicago, which he said would work to strengthen democratic ideas.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden pushes for action on infrastructure and broader agenda

U.S. President Joe Biden and his top aides on Tuesday pushed members of his own party to fund not just infrastructure but his broader agenda as talks over bills for both intensified.

Biden met privately with lawmakers, including conservative Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin, who have balked at the size of the spending packages under consideration.

Under fierce Republican attack, U.S. General Milley defends calls with China

U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, fended off perhaps the most personal and direct attacks from lawmakers of his career on Tuesday as Republicans blasted his calls with China and his interviews for books critical of Donald Trump's presidency. Milley, 63, was unshaken as Republicans called for his resignation during an already contentious hearing that was meant to focus on the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan - but repeatedly swerved into questions regarding the general.

Clock ticking for U.S. Congress as Friday government shutdown looms

The U.S. Congress on Wednesday had just two days left before the federal government begins shutting many of its operations unless Democrats manage to pass a bill providing new funding for the fiscal year that begins on Friday. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate were expected to put a temporary funding bill, possibly extending through Dec. 3, up for a vote as soon as Wednesday in the hope that Republicans will support it.

Obama warns against politics of 'anger and resentment' in Chicago

Former U.S. President Barack Obama warned against "politics that feeds anger and resentment" on Tuesday in a speech at the groundbreaking of his presidential library in Chicago, which he said would work to strengthen democratic ideas. The 44th president said that future Obama Presidential Center in Chicago will aim to strengthen ideals that are vulnerable in a bitter modern U.S. political environment and address global economic, social, technological and environmental issues that major institutions have failed to address.

Drone images give hope for return of kelp on U.S. West coast

Tranquil images of the Pacific Ocean taken by a drone show that California's kelp forests may be making a comeback after years of depletion, bringing good news in the fight against climate change. Kelp, which reduces global warming by soaking up carbon dioxide from the air via photosynthesis, has died off dramatically along Northern California's coast, with one study calculating a loss of more than 95% since 2013 due to rising sea temperatures and disease.

Britney Spears case back in court with dad's role on the line

The Britney Spears case returns to court on Wednesday after a summer of surprise turns, shocking allegations, an engagement and mounting expectations that the 13-year-old legal arrangement that controls the singer's life will soon end. After years of glacial progress, the past two months have seen the "Circus" singer's father, Jamie Spears, make a surprise request for her conservatorship to end, and Spears, 39, getting engaged to her long-term boyfriend.

U.S. bars flight from landing with Americans from Kabul - activists

The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday denied U.S. landing rights for a charter plane carrying more than 100 Americans and U.S. green card holders evacuated from Afghanistan, organizers of the flight said. "They will not allow a charter on an international flight into a U.S. port of entry," Bryan Stern, a founder of non-profit group Project Dynamo, said of the department's Customs and Border Protection agency.

U.S. House passes bill to end disparities in crack cocaine sentences

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill to permanently end the sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder, a policy that has led to the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans. In a bipartisan vote of 361-66, the House approved the EQUAL Act, short for Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law.

Most Americans want more diplomacy, many want fewer troops abroad -survey

A majority of Americans want more U.S. diplomatic engagement and a plurality want fewer U.S. troops stationed abroad, according to a survey taken as the chaotic U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan took place. The survey, reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, was designed by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Eurasia Group Foundation and conducted Aug. 27-Sept. 1. It found that 58.3% believe the United States should engage more in negotiations on issues such as climate change, human rights and migration.

Judge temporarily blocks key aspect of new Arizona abortion law

A U.S. federal judge temporarily blocked a key aspect of a new Arizona abortion law that would have allowed felony charges to be laid against doctors for terminating a pregnancy solely on the basis of a hereditary abnormality in the fetus. U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes raised concerns in an order granting a partial preliminary injunction against the law, according to a court filing late on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the district of Arizona.