US Domestic News Roundup: Fourth Ghislaine Maxwell accuser expected to testify at sex abuse trial; Walnuts for holiday baking languish as U.S. shipping crisis hurts farmers and more

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved an unusual bill, agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to sidestep the Senate's "filibuster" rule and ultimately raise federal borrowing authority by a simple majority vote. U.S. campaign to vaccinate young children off to sluggish start despite abundant supply The United States rushed millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 across the nation, but demand for inoculations for younger kids has been low, more than a dozen state public health officials and physicians said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Fourth Ghislaine Maxwell accuser expected to testify at sex abuse trial

A fourth woman who said she was a teenager when Ghislaine Maxwell gave her an unsolicited massage and set her up for sex abuse by late financier Jeffrey Epstein is expected on Thursday to testify against Maxwell at the British socialite's criminal trial. The testimony by the woman, known as Minor Victim-2 in Maxwell's indictment, comes as the prosecution nears the end of its case.

Walnuts for holiday baking languish as U.S. shipping crisis hurts farmers

The shrink-wrapped boxes of fresh California walnuts stacked almost to the ceiling in Don Barton's California packing facility should be headed to Europe for holiday baking and to Asia for New Year celebrations. Instead, newly cleaned and shelled nuts - about $10 million worth - are stuck at his processing plant near Sacramento, thousands of miles from their destinations, as the global supply chain crisis squeezes ports.

Former U.S. senator, presidential candidate Bob Dole to lie in state in Capitol

Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, a three-time Republican presidential candidate and decorated World War Two veteran, will lie in state on Thursday in the rotunda of the Capitol where he served for 36 years. Members of Congress and other invited guests will pay their respects to Dole, who represented Kansas in the House of Representatives for eight years and then in the Senate from 1969-1996, including two stints as majority leader. He died in his sleep on Sunday at age 98 after a lung cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards

Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting had been instrumental in boosting turnout of Black voters. But this was an entirely different five-member board than had overseen the last election. The Democratic majority of three Black women was gone. So was the Black elections supervisor.

Biden 'Summit for Democracy' to rally nations against rising authoritarianism

U.S. President Joe Biden will gather 111 world leaders in a virtual meeting dubbed the Summit for Democracy, in what Washington hopes will be a boost for global democracy threatened by an increase in authoritarian rulers. U.S. officials promise a year of action will follow the two-day conference but preparations have been overshadowed by questions over some invitees' democratic credentials, and complaints from uninvited countries.

Deal to avert U.S. default, raise debt limit faces test in Senate

A deal between the top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Senate to help raise the federal government's $28.9 trillion debt limit will be tested on Thursday when the full chamber votes on whether to approve the measure. The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved an unusual bill, agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, to sidestep the Senate's "filibuster" rule and ultimately raise federal borrowing authority by a simple majority vote.

U.S. campaign to vaccinate young children off to sluggish start despite abundant supply

The United States rushed millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 to 11 across the nation, but demand for inoculations for younger kids has been low, more than a dozen state public health officials and physicians said. Of the 28 million eligible U.S. children in that age group, around 5 million have received at least one dose, according to federal data, likely satisfying initial pent up demand from parents who were waiting to vaccinate their kids.

U.S. senators announce bipartisan social media data transparency bill

Three U.S. senators, two Democrats and a Republican, announced on Thursday a bill to require social media companies like Facebook, now known as Meta Platforms Inc, to give certain researchers access to its data. Senators Chris Coons and Amy Klobuchar, both Democrats, announced the bill along with Rob Portman, a Republican. It would require the companies to release internal data and assist independent researchers whose projects have been vetted by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency.

North Carolina Supreme Court delays primary elections until May 2022

The North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered primary elections in the state delayed from March until May of 2022, citing legal challenges to gerrymandered political maps. The court in its five-page unsigned written ruling directed North Carolina election officials to hold primaries for all state offices on May 17.

U.S. Senate passes Republican bill to overturn Biden vaccine mandate

The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a Republican measure that would overturn President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test mandate for private businesses, with two Democrats joining Republicans to back the initiative. The 52-48 vote sends the legislation to the Democratic-led House of Representatives, where it faces strong headwinds, while Biden has threatened to veto it.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)