Reuters US Domestic News Summary

"To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse," she said before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee alongside fellow gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols. Biden backs top general Milley after reported 'secret' calls with China President Joe Biden on Wednesday threw his support behind the top U.S. military officer, Mark Milley, a day after a new book said he went around civilian leaders to place secret calls to his Chinese counterpart over concerns about then-President Donald Trump.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S.-Mexico border arrests dip in August, remain at 20-year highs

U.S. authorities arrested more than 195,000 migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico in August, according to government figures released on Wednesday, deepening the humanitarian and political challenge confronting U.S. President Joe Biden as he struggles to curb the high numbers. While the numbers of arrests dipped slightly compared to July, they represent a increase compared with August 2019 when numbers had spiked before the coronavirus pandemic curbed migration around the world. Border arrests have hovered around 20-year highs in recent months.

California to examine tighter rules for recall elections after Newsom victory

A day after California voters resoundingly rejected a Republican-backed effort to oust Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom from his job, lawmakers began considering ways to reform the state's system for recalling elected officials. Newsom on Tuesday handily beat back the challenge with 64% of the vote, sending a decisive message that voters in the deeply Democratic state supported his policies for tackling COVID-19, immigration and crime.

Pennsylvania Republicans subpoena detailed voter info in 2020 election probe

Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania voted on Wednesday to subpoena the state's top election official in a review that joins widely criticized efforts in other battleground states aimed at fueling doubts about the 2020 election. With a 7-to-4 vote along party lines, Republicans in the state Senate committee overseeing the review will issue a subpoena for information on some 7 million voters from Veronica Degraffenreid, acting head of the Department of State.

Florida Oath Keepers member pleads guilty to Jan. 6 Capitol riot charges

A former U.S. Marine from Florida on Wednesday became the latest defendant associated with the Oath Keepers militia group to plead guilty to criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. Jason Dolan, 45, of Wellington, Florida, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said that under federal sentencing guidelines, Dolan faced a prison term of between 63 and 78 months, though the court could deviate from the guidelines.

U.S. judge rules Trump cannot stop rape accuser's lawsuit from proceeding

A U.S. judge on Wednesday said former President Donald Trump cannot delay a lawsuit accusing him of defaming former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll after she claimed he raped her in the mid-1990s. In a one-sentence order, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan refused to put the case on hold while Trump appeals an earlier ruling he made.

Simone Biles condemns U.S. Olympic Committee, FBI for sex-abuse crisis

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles held back tears on Wednesday, as she told lawmakers how the FBI and U.S. gymnastic and Olympic officials failed to stop the sexual abuse that she and hundreds of other athletes suffered from former doctor Larry Nassar. "To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse," she said before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee alongside fellow gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols.

Biden backs top general Milley after reported 'secret' calls with China

President Joe Biden on Wednesday threw his support behind the top U.S. military officer, Mark Milley, a day after a new book said he went around civilian leaders to place secret calls to his Chinese counterpart over concerns about then-President Donald Trump. Milley's office pushed back against the report in the book, saying the calls he made as chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff were coordinated within the Pentagon and across the U.S. government.

FDA staff say Pfizer COVID-19 boosters may not be needed, but do improve immunity

U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists said on Wednesday that booster doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine may not be needed, even though the third shot generates a higher immune response in recipients. The FDA staff members said in a document prepared for outside advisors that it is still unproven that the efficacy of Comirnaty - the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer developed with Germany's BioNTech SE - is declining.

U.S. House Democrats advance tax-hike plan as rifts open over Biden spending bill

Legislation to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations advanced out of a U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday to help fund President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion social spending plan, but a provision to slash drug prices stalled elsewhere on Capitol Hill. Many elements of Democrats' sweeping "reconciliation" bill remain in flux due to the competing demands of the party's centrists and progressives. Biden met with two influential moderate Senate Democrats on the legislation at the White House.

Explainer-Main battles ahead for U.S. Democrats' $3.5 trillion social spending bill

Democrats are crafting a massive spending package as big as $3.5 trillion that would transform the U.S. economy by investing in free community college, childcare and green energy, funded by tax hikes on the wealthy and larger companies. The bill's authors must balance the Biden White House's campaign pledges and the party's progressives and moderates, all while catering to lawmakers empowered by Democrats' razor-thin majorities in Congress to demand pet concessions.