US Domestic News Roundup: Tens of thousands rally against gun violence in Washington, across U.S; Members of the white nationalist group charged with planning riot at Idaho pride event and more

The national average price for regular unleaded gas rose to $5.004 a gallon on June 11 from $4.986 a day earlier, AAA data showed. Biden says Senate negotiators in gun talks remain 'mildly optimistic' U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Senate negotiators trying to hammer out a deal on modest measures to address gun violence were still "mildly optimistic." He made the comment after speaking several times to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who is leading the talks.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Tens of thousands rally against gun violence in Washington, across U.S

Tens of thousands of demonstrators descended on Washington and at hundreds of rallies across the United States on Saturday to demand that lawmakers pass legislation aimed at curbing gun violence following last month's massacre at a Texas elementary school. In the nation's capital, organizers of March for Our Lives (MFOL) estimated that 40,000 people assembled at the National Mall near the Washington Monument under occasional light rain. The gun safety group was founded by student survivors of the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida, high school.

Members of the white nationalist group charged with planning riot at Idaho pride event

Police in northwest Idaho arrested more than two dozen members of a white nationalist group on Saturday and charged them with planning to stage a riot near an LGBTQ pride event, authorities said. Lee White, police chief in the city of Coeur D'Alene, told reporters 31 members of Patriot Front face misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to riot and additional charges could come later.

Biden warns U.S. inflation could last 'for a while'

President Joe Biden cautioned that U.S. inflation could last "for a while" after data on Friday showed that politically sensitive price pressures unexpectedly accelerated in recent weeks. "We're gonna live with this inflation for a while," Biden said at a Democratic fundraising event in Beverly Hills. "It's gonna come down gradually, but we're going to live with it for a while."

U.S. drops COVID testing for incoming international air travelers

The United States late Friday rescinded a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19, a move that follows intense lobbying by airlines and the travel industry. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky issued a four-page order https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/rescission-global-testing-order-p.pdf.pdf lifting the mandate, effective at 12:01 a.m. ET (0400 GMT) Sunday, saying it is "not currently necessary."

U.S. judge blocks Biden administration policy narrowing immigration enforcement

A U.S. federal judge on Friday threw out a Biden administration directive narrowing who can be targeted by immigration agents for arrest and deportation, siding with officials in Texas and Louisiana challenging the policy in court. The directive, finalized in a memorandum issued last September by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), instructed agents to focus on immigrants deemed to pose a threat to national security or public safety, as well as on recent border crossers.

Biden says he has 'not yet' decided on Saudi trip

U.S. President Joe Biden said he had "not yet" decided if he will travel to Saudi Arabia, a week after he opened the door to a possible trip. Sources have said Biden was planning a trip to Saudi Arabia, along with a trip to Europe and Israel in late June. The White House has said the president feels that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a "pariah" for his role in the killing of a political opponent, Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in Turkey in 2018.

Biden says federal government will fund New Mexico wildfire recovery

The U.S. government will fund New Mexico's full wildfire response, President Joe Biden said on Saturday, speaking from Santa Fe amid anger from survivors over the blaze that was started by federal officials. "We have a responsibility to help the state recover," Biden told elected officials and emergency responders at an afternoon briefing in New Mexico's capital, where he was reviewing efforts to fight the Southwestern state's biggest blaze in recorded history.

Migration pact to cap Americas summit buffeted by discord

U.S. President Joe Biden and fellow leaders of the Americas are set to pitch a plan designed to stem illegal migration and manage record migrant numbers as a regional summit roiled by diplomatic squabbling draws to a close on Friday. Dubbed the "Los Angeles Declaration" and described by Biden as "ground-breaking", the U.S.-led pact aims to create incentives for countries taking in large numbers of migrants, and to spread responsibility for the challenge across the region.

U.S. gasoline average price tops $5 per gallon in historic first

The price of U.S. gasoline averaged more than $5 a gallon for the first time on Saturday, data from the AAA showed, extending a surge in fuel costs that is driving rising inflation. The national average price for regular unleaded gas rose to $5.004 a gallon on June 11 from $4.986 a day earlier, AAA data showed.

Biden says Senate negotiators in gun talks remain 'mildly optimistic'

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Senate negotiators trying to hammer out a deal on modest measures to address gun violence were still "mildly optimistic." He made the comment after speaking several times to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who is leading the talks.

(With inputs from agencies.)