US Domestic News Roundup: Wake up and smell the coffee ... made in the United States; U.S. House approves bill to suspend debt limit, fund government and more

Ten days earlier Laundrie had returned home to North Port, Florida, without her from a cross-country road trip. Special Report - Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next U.S. elections One leading candidate seeking to become Georgia’s chief elections official, Republican Jody Hice, is a Congressman who voted to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win in the hours after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Wake up and smell the coffee ... made in the United States

Farmer David Armstrong recently finished planting what is likely the most challenging crop his family has ever cultivated since his ancestors started farming in 1865 - 20,000 coffee trees. Except Armstrong is not in the tropics of Central America - he is in Ventura, California, just 60 miles (97 km) away from downtown Los Angeles.

U.S. House approves bill to suspend debt limit, fund government

Democrats in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to fund the U.S. government through Dec. 3 and suspend the nation's borrowing limit until the end of 2022, sending it to the Senate where Republicans have vowed to block it. The House vote was 220-211 along party lines. It was unclear how soon the Senate would act.

Biden pledges 500 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses as U.S. pressured to do more

President Joe Biden will push world leaders on Wednesday to do more to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, and announce a U.S. pledge to buy 500 million more vaccine doses to donate to other countries. Holding a virtual summit to boost global vaccination rates, Biden hopes to show he is leading by example with the pledge https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-donate-an-additional-500-mln-covid-19-vaccines-world-2021-09-21, which will bring U.S. donations to the rest of the world up to more than 1.1 billion doses.

Splits among Democrats plague effort to pass Biden's domestic agenda

Divisions between progressives and moderates are bedeviling U.S. Democrats as they struggle to advance President Joe Biden's agenda, with the fate of the $3.5 trillion social spending legislation they hope to pass hanging in the balance. House of Representatives Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters on Tuesday the proposed price tag could be lowered, depending on what Democrats in the Senate, including moderate Senator Joe Manchin, can support.

U.S. House Democrats advance abortion rights bill, Senate passage unlikely

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill on Tuesday that would protect the right to abortion and annul some new restrictions passed by Republican-controlled state governments. If the "Women's Health Protection Act" passes the Democratic-controlled House, it is unlikely to succeed in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans also are a minority but hold enough votes to prevent it from reaching the 60-vote threshold to pass most legislation.

U.S. farmers face supply shortages, higher costs after Hurricane Ida

Troy Walker's phone will not stop ringing at his Kansas farm cooperative, with growers needing fertilizer for their wheat fields in the coming months. In Kentucky, corn and soybean farmer Caleb Ragland said shelves at his local farm supplier are often bare of weed killer glyphosate and other crop chemicals. He expects the situation could get worse.

U.S. parents weigh risks, benefits as COVID-19 vaccine for kids nears approval

In an ideal world, Leah Smithers said she could afford to wait for longer-term testing of the COVID-19 vaccines before getting the jab for her 10-year-old son. But with his juvenile diabetes putting him at greater risk of complications if he contracts the virus - and with so much of his young life already shaped by the pandemic - she is ready for him to receive the vaccine as soon as he is eligible.

U.S. and Mexico fly Haitian migrants away from border as pressure builds on Biden

Mexico and the United States were on Wednesday preparing to fly more Haitian migrants away from chaotic U.S.-Mexico border camps, as pressure mounted on U.S. President Joe Biden to stop expulsions of Haitians to their poor, disaster-hit homeland. U.S. authorities have deported more than 500 Haitians since Sunday from a camp housing thousands of mostly Haitian migrants on the U.S. side of border, by the small Texan city of Del Rio.

Police to resume search of Florida wilderness for fiance of Gabby Petito

Police and FBI agents planned to resume their search of a swampy Florida wilderness for Gabby Petito's fiance on Wednesday, one day after the local coroner in Wyoming identified a body found there as the missing 22-year-old travel blogger. Police have called Brian Laundrie, 23, a "person of interest" in the case, which has captivated Americans since Petito's family reported her missing on Sept. 11. Ten days earlier Laundrie had returned home to North Port, Florida, without her from a cross-country road trip.

Special Report - Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next U.S. elections

One leading candidate seeking to become Georgia's chief elections official, Republican Jody Hice, is a Congressman who voted to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 presidential win in the hours after the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol. Hice had posted on social media earlier that day: "This is our 1776 moment," referencing the American Revolution. In Arizona, the contenders for the elections-chief office, secretary of state, include Republican state lawmaker Mark Finchem, who attended the 'Stop the Steal' rally before the deadly insurrection and spoke at a similar gathering the previous day. In Nevada, one strong Republican candidate for elections chief is Jim Marchant, who unsuccessfully sued to have his own defeat in a 2020 congressional race reversed based on unfounded voter-fraud claims.