US News Roundup: Trump defends accused Kenosha gunman, declines to condemn violence from his supporters and more

In battleground Pennsylvania, Biden accuses Trump of stoking violence Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted, and slammed President Donald Trump for stoking violence in American cities gripped by protests over police brutality and racial inequality.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Zuckerberg, Chan to donate $300 million for U.S. elections to deal with COVID-19 pandemic

Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan will donate $300 million to help the U.S. election process deal with challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount will be donated to two non-partisan organizations for recruiting poll workers, renting polling places, and buying PPE kits for poll workers, Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. (https://bit.ly/3gNhfQB)

Trump defends accused Kenosha gunman, declines to condemn violence from his supporters

President Donald Trump on Monday sided with a 17-year old charged with killing two people during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, saying the accused gunman was trying to get away and would have been killed by demonstrators if he had not opened fire. Trump on Tuesday will visit Kenosha, the site of protests against police brutality and racism since Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times by police on Aug. 23 and left paralyzed.

Trump pushes to keep tax returns from NY prosecutor, eyes possible Supreme Court appeal

President Donald Trump on Monday urged a federal appeals court not to let Manhattan's top prosecutor have his tax returns, saying "the deck was clearly stacked against" him, and said he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if necessary. The argument was made in a filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which on Tuesday will hear arguments on Trump's bid to delay Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance's subpoena for the tax returns during Trump's appeal.

GM, Ventec Life Systems deliver 30,000 ventilators to U.S. government

General Motors Co and medical equipment maker Ventec Life Systems have delivered 30,000 ventilators to the U.S. government during the COVID-19 pandemic, the automaker said on Tuesday. The deliveries were under a $489 million contract from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

Facebook lifts block on pro-Biden ad, citing 'enforcement error'

Facebook Inc said on Monday it had erred in blocking a pro-Biden ad submitted by Democratic political action committee Priorities USA, after initially telling the group the video violated its policy against "sensational" content. A company spokesman cited an "enforcement error" and said Facebook was approving the ad, which showed clips of President Donald Trump threatening to end Obamacare and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saying "c'mon man" in response.

Senator Markey battles Kennedy 'mystique' in Massachusetts Democratic primary

Massachusetts Democrats on Tuesday will decide whether they want to position a young member of the fabled Kennedy family to join the U.S. Senate or stick with their incumbent, who has been in Congress for decades fighting to tackle climate change and reduce nuclear weapons proliferation. This primary election pits Representative Joe Kennedy III, 39, the grandson of assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, against 74-year-old Senator Ed Markey, who has spent over 40 years in the House of Representatives and Senate.

In battleground Pennsylvania, Biden accuses Trump of stoking violence

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday called for rioters and looters to be prosecuted, and slammed President Donald Trump for stoking violence in American cities gripped by protests over police brutality and racial inequality. Biden's speech in battleground state Pennsylvania was his most forceful counter yet to accusations by Trump that he is weak on crime and that leaders in his Democratic Party have lost control over the mass demonstrations that in some instances have turned violent.

California agency to vote on extending lives of aging gas plants

California, which imposed rolling blackouts during an oppressive heat wave on two days last month, will decide on Tuesday whether to extend the lives of four aging natural gas plants it has been seeking to retire for a decade. The vote by the State Water Resources Control Board follows a state analysis last year that identified a potential electricity capacity shortfall beginning in the summer of 2021, according to agency documents.

Trump heads to politically crucial Wisconsin amid violence, racial unrest

Despite entreaties to stay away, President Donald Trump heads to Kenosha, Wisconsin on Tuesday to highlight his "law and order" campaign theme in a city upended by protests after the shooting of a Black man by a white police officer. The Republican president, who is running for re-election against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, has seen his polling gap with the former vice president narrow amid ongoing protests over racial injustice and resulting violence.

Portland police break up protest with smoke grenades and pepper balls; 19 arrested

Protests flared again in Portland overnight on Monday as demonstrators clashed with police on the streets of the city which after months of sometimes violent confrontations has become a focal point of the U.S. presidential race. Police used smoke grenades and pepper balls to control the crowd of protesters. Police acknowledged in a statement that officers "deployed some crowd control munitions" and said 19 people were arrested, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with police.