US Domestic News Roundup: Analysis-Biden's student loan forgiveness may erase savings of climate, drugs law; White House to host health summit on Sept 28 in bid to end U.S. hunger, boost nutrition and more

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan said Da Afghanistan Bank was immune from jurisdiction, and that allowing the seizures would effectively acknowledge the Islamist militant group as the Afghan government, something only the U.S. president can do. Defense of Trump is 'hypocrisy' by Republicans, Congressman Kinzinger says U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans joining Congress's probe of the assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, accused members of his party of "hypocrisy" for defending the former president's handling of classified documents.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Analysis-Biden's student loan forgiveness may erase savings of climate, drugs law

President Joe Biden's controversial plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for tens of millions of Americans could erase the projected $300 billion deficit reduction that his hard-fought climate, drugs and tax legislation would generate over 10 years - by as much as two times. The extent of the additional federal debt incurred by the one-time gift to college graduates and ex-students depends on which estimates are used, economists say.

White House to host health summit on Sept 28 in bid to end U.S. hunger, boost nutrition

The White House said it will hold a summit aimed to address issues around U.S. hunger, nutrition and health on Sept. 28 in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Joe Biden said in May that the event will help realize his administration's goal to end U.S. hunger and reduce diet-related diseases in a majority of Americans by 2030.

NASA postpones debut test flight of next-generation moon megarocket

NASA on Monday postponed for at least four days the launch of its colossal next-generation rocketship on a long-awaited debut test flight, a planned six-week uncrewed voyage around the moon and back 50 years after Apollo's last lunar mission. The countdown clock was halted about 40 minutes before the targeted launch time of 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT), as the 32-story-tall, two-stage Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and its Orion crew capsule awaited liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

North American companies send in the robots, even as productivity slumps

North American companies snapped up a record number of robots in the first half of this year as they struggled to keep factories and warehouses humming in the face of an extremely tight labor market and soaring compensation costs. Companies ordered a record 12,305 machines in the second quarter valued at $585 million, 25% more units than during the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by the industry group the Association for Advancing Automation. Combined with a strong first quarter, the North American robotics market notched its best first half ever, the group said.

Black Duke volleyball player speaks out about racist abuse at BYU game

A Black Duke University women's volleyball player who had racial slurs hurled at her from the crowd during Friday's match against Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, spoke out on Sunday about the incident that drew national condemnation. Rachel Richardson, a 19-year-old sophomore player and outside hitter, said she and her Black teammates were "targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match," which took place in front of 5,000 spectators.

Some Pennsylvania Republicans defend Mastriano for posing in Confederate uniform

Some Republicans in Pennsylvania defended Donald Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano on Saturday after Reuters published a 2014 photo of him posing in a Confederate uniform. The previously unreported photo was released by the U.S. Army War College to Reuters under a Freedom of Information Act request. It showed Mastriano among the 2013-14 faculty for the Department of Military Strategy, Plans, and Operations, where he worked at the time.

Sept. 11 victims not entitled to seize Afghan central bank assets -U.S. judge

A U.S. judge on Friday recommended that victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks not be allowed to seize billions of dollars of assets belonging to Afghanistan's central bank to satisfy court judgments they obtained against the Taliban. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in Manhattan said Da Afghanistan Bank was immune from jurisdiction, and that allowing the seizures would effectively acknowledge the Islamist militant group as the Afghan government, something only the U.S. president can do.

Defense of Trump is 'hypocrisy' by Republicans, Congressman Kinzinger says

U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans joining Congress's probe of the assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters, accused members of his party of "hypocrisy" for defending the former president's handling of classified documents. "The hypocrisy of folks in my party that spent years chanting 'lock her up' about Hillary Clinton because of some deleted emails or quote unquote wiping a server are now out there defending a man who very clearly did not take the national security of the United States to heart," Kinzinger said during an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press."

U.S. judge indicates intent to name special master in Trump FBI search

A U.S. judge on Saturday said it was her "preliminary intent" to grant former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a special master to oversee a review of materials seized Aug. 8 from his Florida home during an FBI raid. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who was nominated by Trump in 2020, on Saturday also directed the Justice Department to submit under seal more details "specifying all property seized pursuant to the search warrant."

Two victims, gunman dead in shooting inside Oregon grocery store

Police in Oregon were trying to determine on Monday what led a gunman to go on a shooting spree with an AR-15-style rifle hours earlier in a shopping center parking lot and then inside a grocery store, killing two people before he was found dead. Police in Bend, Oregon, responded to calls of an active shooter at 7 p.m. local time on Sunday at the Forum Shopping Center, the city's police chief Mike Krantz said during a late-night news conference.