US Domestic News Roundup: Prosecutors propose March 2024 trial date in Trump Georgia case; Maui officials defend decision not to sound sirens during wildfire and more

Using it during the fire might have led people to evacuate toward the danger, he told reporters. Schumer: Government funding resolution agreement with McCarthy is 'good sign' U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said he met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a few weeks ago and agreed to a resolution that could extend current federal government spending for a few months.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Prosecutors propose March 2024 trial date in Trump Georgia case

The district attorney prosecuting former U.S. President Donald Trump on election interference charges in Georgia has proposed that his trial start in March of next year, a date that would have Trump in court mid-campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The proposed March 4 trial date is one day before Super Tuesday, during which voters in more than a dozen states are set to cast their ballots for the Republican presidential nomination.

Maui officials defend decision not to sound sirens during wildfire

Maui's emergency management chief on Wednesday defended his agency's decision against sounding sirens during last week's deadly wildfire amid questions about whether doing so might have saved lives. Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, said sirens in Hawaii are used to alert people to tsunamis. Using it during the fire might have led people to evacuate toward the danger, he told reporters.

Schumer: Government funding resolution agreement with McCarthy is 'good sign'

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said he met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a few weeks ago and agreed to a resolution that could extend current federal government spending for a few months. "We agreed we should do a CR ... where you just extend the existing funding for a few months so we could work this out, and I thought that was a good sign," the chamber's top Democrat told MSNBC, referring to a temporary spending measure known as a continuing resolution.

New York City bans TikTok on government-owned devices over security concerns

New York City on Wednesday banned TikTok on government-owned devices, citing security concerns, joining a number of U.S. cities and states that have put such restrictions on the short video sharing app. TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans and is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has faced growing calls from U.S. lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence.

Trump Georgia indictment: RICO charges could be a double-edged sword

A Georgia state law against racketeering could be a powerful tool in prosecuting Donald Trump, but applying charges traditionally used to take down organized crime risks miring the case in legal and logistical complications. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday charged the Republican former president and 18 associates in a wide-ranging scheme to reverse his 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden.

Witnesses to Buffalo mass shooting sue social media, gun companies

Sixteen people who witnessed a white supremacist kill 10 Black victims in a shooting last year at a Buffalo, New York grocery store have sued social media and firearms-related companies, to hold them liable for causing emotional trauma. The complaint filed on Tuesday in a state court in Buffalo names as defendants YouTube and Reddit, where the gunman Payton Gendron was allegedly radicalized through exposure to harmful content, and learned information to help carry out his attack.

Biden touts Inflation Reduction Act on first anniversary

U.S President Joe Biden on Wednesday used the first anniversary of his signature Inflation Reduction Act to pitch the landmark clean-energy law as an economic powerhouse to a public that remains largely unaware of its contents. The wide-ranging law provides billions of dollars in tax credits to help consumers buy electric vehicles and companies produce renewable energy, as Biden aims to decarbonize the mighty U.S. power sector. It also helps seniors pay for prescription drugs, expands some elements of Obamacare and raises taxes on wealthy Americans and corporations.

US appeals court backs abortion pill restrictions; Supreme Court appeal planned

Access to the abortion pill mifepristone must be restricted, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday, ordering a ban on telemedicine prescriptions and shipments of the drug by mail, though the decision will not immediately take effect. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of ruling that the drug must be pulled off the market altogether, as a lower court had done.

Biden nods to Camp David history by inviting Yoon, Kishida

President Joe Biden will push Camp David into the international spotlight on Friday when he hosts the leaders of Japan and South Korea there, a return to glory for a mountain retreat that has become indelible in diplomatic history. Biden chose the rustic redoubt in the Maryland hills for the first U.S.-Japan-South Korea summit because Camp David has often been used to symbolize newfound or hard-won friendship, a senior administration official said.

Blinken spoke with Paul Whelan, American detained in Russian prison

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone on Wednesday with American citizen Paul Whelan, who is being held in a Russian prison, according to a source familiar with the call. Blinken told Whelan to "keep the faith and we’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible," CNN reported, citing a source.