US Domestic News Roundup: Ex-Giuliani associate Parnas heads to trial in U.S. campaign finance case; Americans may not get some Christmas treats, White House officials warn and more

The supply crisis, driven in part by the global COVID pandemic, not only threatens to dampen U.S. spending at a critical time, it also poses a political risk for U.S. President Joe Biden. U.S. House expected to pass bill to hike debt ceiling, avert default The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is expected on Tuesday to give final approval to a Senate-passed bill temporarily raising the government's borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion, putting off the risk of default until early December.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ex-Giuliani associate Parnas heads to trial in U.S. campaign finance case

A onetime associate of Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani heads for a trial on Tuesday that could shed light on how campaign finance operates behind the scenes, including during the Republican former president's failed 2020 reelection bid. Jury selection will begin in Manhattan federal court in the case against Lev Parnas, and his co-defendant Andrey Kukushkin.

Americans may not get some Christmas treats, White House officials warn

White House officials, scrambling to relieve global supply bottlenecks choking U.S. ports, highways and railways, warn Americans may face higher prices and some empty shelves this Christmas season. The supply crisis, driven in part by the global COVID pandemic, not only threatens to dampen U.S. spending at a critical time, it also poses a political risk for U.S. President Joe Biden.

U.S. House expected to pass bill to hike debt ceiling, avert default

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is expected on Tuesday to give final approval to a Senate-passed bill temporarily raising the government's borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion, putting off the risk of default until early December. Democrats, who control the House by a mere four-vote margin, were expected to maintain party discipline and pass the hard-fought, $480 billion debt limit increase, only to face another deadline within weeks for avoiding both a historic debt default and a temporary government shutdown.

'Desperate for tires.' Components shortage roils U.S. harvest

Dale Hadden cannot find any spare tires for his combine harvester. So the Illinois farmer told his harvest crew to avoid driving on the sides of roads this autumn to avoid metal scraps that could shred tires. New Ag Supply in Kansas is pleading with customers to order parts now for spring planting. And in Iowa, farmer Cordt Holub is locking up his machinery inside his barn each night, after thieves stole hard-to-find tractor parts from a local Deere & Co dealership.

Former U.S. Navy engineer to face judge in submarine espionage case

A former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer and his wife on Tuesday are scheduled to face their first court hearing on Tuesday on charges they attempted to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power in exchange for cryptocurrency. Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana, were arrested on Saturday in West Virginia following a year-long sting operation by undercover FBI agents, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Accused Colorado supermarket shooter deemed mentally incompetent

Psychologists who evaluated a 22-year-old man accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Colorado grocery store in March have found him incompetent to stand trial, but prosecutors are seeking a second mental health evaluation, court records showed on Monday. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, and dozens of attempted murder and related charges stemming from the March 22 rampage at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, about 28 miles northwest of Denver.

U.S. parades, protests mark Columbus Day, now also Indigenous Peoples' Day

Christopher Columbus Day drew crowds on Monday with U.S. city parades marking the explorer's voyage and Italian-American culture, as the focus increasingly turned to the heritage and plight of indigenous people subjugated by European settlers. At the White House, where U.S. President Joe Biden had declared Oct. 11 as Indigenous Peoples' Day, community activists held protests on climate change, fossil fuels and the coronavirus which disproportionately affect Native Americans.

Texas governor bars all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in state, rips Biden for 'bullying'

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, responding to what he called "bullying" by the Biden Administration, on Monday barred all COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the state by any entity, including private employers. Abbott's move sets him up for a clash with President Joe Biden, a Democrat who last month called on businesses nationwide to order their workers to be vaccinated or lose their jobs. At least several thousand people have since been fired for refusing to comply.

As Brazilians flock to the U.S. border, an alleged smuggler cashes in

Record numbers of Brazilians have been arrested at the U.S. southern border this year, part of the United States' broader migration crisis. Police believe a child-custody dispute has led them to one of the smugglers moving migrants north. In early June, Brazilian federal police arrested Chelbe Moraes, a businessman who had allegedly absconded with his three-year-old daughter when he lost custody to his ex-partner. After tapping the phones of Moraes' associates, the officers began to suspect he was a veteran people smuggler, or "coyote."

Virginia Republican tries to 'thread the needle' on election-fraud claims

At a recent Virginia rally, Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin talked up his plans to boost the economy and fight crime, and said nothing at all about false claims that Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory was the result of fraud. But some in the crowd heard the message all the same, moments before the former private equity executive's speech when Republican state Senator Amanda Chase told Youngkin supporters - offstage and without a microphone - that she was on guard against a repeat of election cheating.

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