US Domestic News Roundup: Biden to tout tougher "Buy American" rules in visit to Mack Trucks plant; Trump-backed candidate projected to lose U.S. House race in Texas-media and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden to tout tougher "Buy American" rules in visit to Mack Trucks plant

President Joe Biden will tour a Mack Trucks plant in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to hammer home the importance of American manufacturing and unveil new rules that will gradually boost the U.S. content of goods bought with taxpayer dollars. Biden will meet with local members of the United Autoworkers Union (UAW), which represents 85% of the 2,500 workers at Mack Trucks' Lehigh Valley plant, and receive a briefing on the new electric-powered garbage truck the company is piloting in New York City and North Carolina, the White House said.

Trump-backed candidate projected to lose U.S. House race in Texas-media

Former President Donald Trump's preferred candidate for a U.S. House seat in Texas was projected to lose a special runoff election on Tuesday, defeated by a fellow Republican who raised far more campaign cash, the Texas Tribune newspaper said.

Susan Wright, a 58-year-old Republican activist whom Trump endorsed in April, had sought to finish her late husband Representative Ron Wright's term in the House.

Biden condemns anti-Semitism after swastika found at State Department

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke out against anti-Semitism after officials said that a swastika had been found carved into the wall of a U.S. State Department elevator. "Let me be clear: Anti-Semitism has no place in the State Department, in my administration, or anywhere in the world. It's up to all of us to give hate no safe harbor and stand up to bigotry wherever we find it," Biden tweeted late on Tuesday.

Prominent US Democratic Party activist convicted in 'party and play' deaths

A wealthy former U.S. Democratic Party activist accused of giving fatal doses of methamphetamine to two men he invited to his suburban Los Angeles home for sex was convicted on Tuesday of nine federal criminal counts. Ed Buck, 66, was convicted after a nine-day trial in U.S. District Court at which prosecutors said he solicited men for "party and play" sex games in which he gave out drugs or injected them into his partners.

U.S. Justice Dept won't defend Republican lawmaker in Capitol riot lawsuit

The U.S. Justice Department in a court filing on Tuesday declined to defend Republican congressman Mo Brooks in a lawsuit that alleges he conspired to instigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Brooks had asked the Justice Department consider him covered by the Westfall Act, which protects federal employees from being sued for actions taken as part of their jobs, concerning the lawsuit brought by Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell.

Desalination advances in California despite opponents pushing for alternatives

Environmentalists say desalination decimates ocean life, costs too much money and energy, and soon will be made obsolete by water recycling. But as Western states face an epic drought, regulators appear ready to approve a desalination plant in Huntington Beach, California. After spending 22 years and $100 million navigating a thicket of state regulations and environmentalists' challenges, Poseidon Water is down to one major regulatory hurdle - the California Coastal Commission. The company feels confident enough to talk of breaking ground by the end of next year on the $1.4 billion plant that would produce some 50 million gallons of drinking water daily.

McConnell strives to counter 'bad advice' to boost U.S. Republican vaccination rate

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed misinformation for the low rates of COVID-19 vaccination among Americans, which are fueling a rise in coronavirus cases, particularly in Republican-dominated states. "There is bad advice out there, you know. Apparently you see that all over the place: people practicing medicine without a license, giving bad advice. And that bad advice should be ignored," the 79-year-old Kentucky lawmaker told Reuters.

Actor Bob Odenkirk collapses on set of 'Better Call Saul' - sources

Television and film actor Bob Odenkirk was taken to a Los Angeles-area hospital on Tuesday after collapsing on the set of his AMC cable network show "Better Call Saul," according to sources close to the performer. The incident was first reported by celebrity news website TMZ.com, which said Odenkirk was stricken as he and cast-mates were shooting a scene in New Mexico, where the series is set, and that he was immediately surrounded by crew members who called an ambulance.

California expands state healthcare to undocumented residents 50 and up

California's governor on Tuesday signed into law a major expansion of the state's Medicaid coverage to all low-income residents aged 50 and up regardless of their immigration status, extending eligibility to some 235,000 undocumented people. Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a Republican-led recall election in September, said the bill is a key milestone in efforts to bring universal healthcare to the nation's most populous state.

Analysis-U.S. Supreme Court's 'shadow docket' favored religion and Trump

As midnight approached on the eve of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, the conservative-majority Supreme Court granted emergency requests by Christian and Jewish groups challenging COVID-19 crowd restrictions imposed by New York state. The twin 5-4 decisions in favor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations were two of 10 decisions in the past year backing religious groups chafing under pandemic-related measures that forced them to close their doors or otherwise limit usual activities.