US Domestic News Roundup: Biden pushes US House Republicans on Ukraine aid amid Trump opposition; Trump, allies press misconduct claim against Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and more

The new capabilities, related to Russian attempts to develop a space-based weapon, do not pose an urgent threat to the United States, the source said. Trump, allies press misconduct claim against Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis Lawyers for Donald Trump and several allies charged with trying to overturn his election loss in Georgia will ask a judge on Thursday to disqualify the prosecutor on the case, Fani Willis, over an alleged improper relationship with a lawyer on her team.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden pushes US House Republicans on Ukraine aid amid Trump opposition

U.S. President Joe Biden and top officials are pushing House Speaker Mike Johnson for a vote on what the White House says is a critically needed funding bill for Ukraine's war against Russia that is opposed by former President Donald Trump.

Trump's opposition to the Senate-approved $95.34 billion military aid package for Ukraine and Israel means that it may never be voted on in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. A small group of moderate Republicans said they were working on an alternate version of the bill that might win his support.

Jeffrey Epstein victims sue FBI, allege coverup

A dozen victims of Jeffrey Epstein filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing the FBI of covering up its failure to investigate the late financier, enabling his sex trafficking to continue for more than 20 years. The victims, using Jane Doe pseudonyms, said the FBI received credible tips as early as 1996 that Epstein trafficked young women and girls, yet failed to interview victims or share what it knew with federal and local law enforcement.

Exclusive-Biden slashes F-35 jet order 18% in 2025 budget request, sources say

U.S. President Joe Biden wants an 18% cut in the number of F-35 jets the Pentagon buys next year after Congress' cap on the size of the upcoming defense budget compelled the administration to find savings, two sources familiar with the situation said. The Pentagon order for Lockheed Martin's stealthy fighter will drop to below 70, down from an expected order of 83, for an estimated $1.6 billion drop in spending on jets.

US warned allies about Russian space, nuclear capabilities, source says

The United States has told Congress and allies in Europe about new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The new capabilities, related to Russian attempts to develop a space-based weapon, do not pose an urgent threat to the United States, the source said.

Trump, allies press misconduct claim against Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis

Lawyers for Donald Trump and several allies charged with trying to overturn his election loss in Georgia will ask a judge on Thursday to disqualify the prosecutor on the case, Fani Willis, over an alleged improper relationship with a lawyer on her team. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a two-day hearing focused on claims by the Republican former U.S. president and his co-defendants that the romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, a Georgia lawyer she hired to help lead the prosecution, created a conflict of interest and tainted the criminal case.

Special counsel urges US Supreme Court to rebuff Trump in immunity fight

The special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump on federal charges involving the former president's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject Trump's bid to further delay trial proceedings as he presses his claim of immunity. "The nation has a compelling interest in seeing the charges brought to trial," Special Counsel Jack Smith said in his filing to the justices, adding that "the public interest in a prompt trial is at its zenith where, as here, a former president is charged with conspiring to subvert the electoral process so that he could remain in office."

Private US moon lander launched half century after last Apollo lunar mission

A moon lander built by Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines was launched from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to conduct the first U.S. lunar touchdown in more than a half century and the first by a privately owned spacecraft. The company's Nova-C lander, dubbed Odysseus, lifted off shortly after 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk' SpaceX from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Exclusive-US families begin to embrace weight-loss drugs for their children

A small but rapidly growing number of U.S. adolescents began treatment with Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy last year, a powerful new tool to address record rates of pediatric obesity, according to data shared exclusively with Reuters. In the first 10 months of 2023, 1,268 children ages 12 to 17 with an obesity diagnosis started taking Wegovy, according to U.S. insurance claims data compiled by health technology company Komodo Health.

Judge in Trump's NY criminal case to rule on bid to toss charges

A New York judge is set to rule on Donald Trump's bid to dismiss the first of four indictments he faces on Thursday, a decision that will determine whether the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president can proceed next month. Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has asked Justice Juan Merchan to toss a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Police seek clues to Kansas City mass shooting, with 3 people in custody

Three people were in custody in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, facing questions about what led to a deadly mass shooting near the city's Super Bowl victory rally and who was behind it. At least one person was killed and 21 others wounded by gunfire on Wednesday outside the city's landmark Union Station, where thousands of fans had gathered with the Kansas City Chiefs to celebrate the team's NFL championship triumph over the San Francisco 49ers, authorities said.

(With inputs from agencies.)