US News Roundup: Trump and Biden to meet in pivotal first presidential debate; U.S. fighter jet crashes after collision with refueling plane and more

Trump and Biden to meet in pivotal first presidential debate Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will square off for the first time on Tuesday in a pivotal debate that will provide a stark clash of styles and the prospect of a fiery and brutally personal grudge match.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump and Biden to meet in pivotal first presidential debate

Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden will square off for the first time on Tuesday in a pivotal debate that will provide a stark clash of styles and the prospect of a fiery and brutally personal grudge match. With more than a million Americans already casting early ballots and time running out to change minds or influence the small sliver of undecided voters, the stakes are enormous as the two White House candidates take the stage five weeks before the Nov. 3 election.

U.S. fighter jet crashes after collision with refueling plane

A U.S. Air Force F-35B fighter jet crashed after it collided with an aerial refueling tanker on Tuesday, a U.S. marines unit said. The pilot of the F-35B jet ejected and was being treated, while the crew of the KC-130J refueling aircraft had landed safely, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing said.

'This clown' - 'Nothing smart about you': Un-presidential insults fly in first Trump-Biden debate

Interrupted repeatedly by President Donald Trump in their presidential debate on Tuesday, an exasperated Joe Biden resorted to insults and name-calling against an opponent who built his political career by coining belittling nicknames for his rivals. "You're the worst president America has ever had," Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said during a back-and-forth on taxes.

In Pennsylvania coal country, miners forgive Trump for failed revival

Rick Bender, who owns a coal processing plant in Hegins, Pennsylvania, voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016, in part because of his promise to revive the industry from a decade-long decline. The revival never came. Bender says he is struggling to keep workers employed at the plant in eastern Pennsylvania because coal prices are so low. Still, he plans to vote for Trump again come November. He says the president's Democratic challenger Joe Biden is too focused on fighting climate change.

Kentucky AG says he did not recommend charges against two Breonna Taylor officers

The Kentucky attorney general who presented evidence to a grand jury in the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor said he did not recommend any charges against the two police officers who shot her, saying the grand jury needed to make that decision on its own. The revelation in a Louisville television interview pre-empts one of the main points of interest that was to be unveiled on Wednesday when a recording of the proceedings is to be made public.

Republicans stay loyal to Trump despite concerns about his taxes: Reuters poll

A sizable minority of Republicans say U.S. President Donald Trump has not paid his fair share of taxes and worry that his family business has influenced his decisions in office, yet most are still voting to give him a second term, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Tuesday. The national online poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, followed a New York Times investigation that found Trump, a self-described billionaire, is deeply in debt and has regularly paid little to nothing in federal income taxes over much of the past two decades.

U.S. intelligence reports warn of extremist threat around election

U.S. security officials are warning that violent domestic extremists pose a threat to the presidential election next month, amid what one official called a "witch's brew" of rising political tensions, civil unrest and foreign disinformation campaigns. FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memos say threats by domestic extremists to election-related targets will likely increase in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election.

After unruly first debate, Trump and Biden hit campaign trail in crucial states

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will campaign on Wednesday in three U.S. states that will play a key role in the November election, the morning after a chaotic debate marked by interruptions and recriminations. Trump deflected an opportunity to condemn white supremacists and again refused to say if he would accept the election results in Tuesday night's first 2020 debate, two moments that could give Biden fresh ammunition.

Fractious presidential debate unlikely to move needle for Trump

Down in the opinion polls with five weeks to go until the November election, U.S. President Donald Trump sought to use the first presidential debate to bully his way back into the race. Repeatedly interrupting and sparring with opponent Joe Biden, the Republican Trump tried to knock the Democratic former vice president off his feet Tuesday night and alter the dynamic of a contest he has been losing for months.

Trump deflects debate question about whether he condemns white supremacists

President Donald Trump deflected an opportunity to condemn white supremacists during Tuesday's presidential debate, briefly telling one group to "stand back and stand by" before pivoting to attacking left-wing activists. During a segment on race relations, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to denounce "white supremacists and militia groups" and tell them to stand down, rather than add to the violence that has marred anti-racism protests in some U.S. cities.