US Domestic News Roundup: Environmental groups press California on electric car rules; Biden heads to Texas to highlight toxic health risks for veterans and more

In announcing the move during press briefing convened by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the state's surgeon general Dr. Joseph Lapado cited studies that showed few COVID fatalities among healthy children and elevated risk among young boys receiving the vaccine of side effects such as myocarditis. U.S. small business sentiment drops to lowest in a year - survey U.S. small business confidence fell to the lowest in a year in February in the face of a wave of inflation that is forcing a record percentage of establishments to raise prices and denting their outlook for the economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Environmental groups press California on electric car rules

More than 80 environmental groups and other organizations on Monday urged California Governor Gavin Newsom to impose tougher rules promoting electric vehicles even as the state is moving faster than President Joe Biden's administration. "Californians being punished by high gas prices and climate disasters deserve the fastest all-electric future Gov. Newsom can deliver," said Scott Hochberg of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, one of the groups signing the letter.

Biden heads to Texas to highlight toxic health risks for veterans

President Joe Biden travels to Texas on Tuesday to highlight the exposure of U.S. service members to toxins in war zones that can later result in serious health problems, like the cancer that killed his son and for which he blames Iraqi burn pits. Accompanied by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, Biden will visit a clinic for veterans in Fort Worth and receive a briefing from staff on services for veterans and challenges they face, the White House said.

U.S. Congress nearing deal to aid Ukraine, fund government

U.S. congressional negotiators on Monday were nearing a deal on a bill to provide Ukraine with billions of dollars in emergency aid, as well as fund the U.S. government through Sept. 30 and provide money to address COVID-19. Lawmakers were racing against a midnight Friday deadline for passing such a sweeping bill, before existing funds are exhausted. Failure to meet the deadline would either require another stop-gap funding bill or force partial government shutdowns during a time of international crisis.

Prosecutor says Texas man on trial was 'a leader' of assault on U.S. Capitol

A federal prosecutor accused a Texas man of being "a leader" of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters as she wrapped up arguments on Monday in the first criminal trial of someone accused of joining the riot.

Guy Reffitt of Texas, is the first of some 750 people charged with joining in the riot to face trial in Washington.

U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs Republicans in electoral map disputes

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let North Carolina and Pennsylvania use electoral maps approved by state courts to replace ones deemed to have given Republicans unfair advantages, improving Democratic chances of retaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The justices denied Republican requests to put on hold lower court rulings that adopted court-drawn boundaries for North Carolina's 14 House districts and Pennsylvania's 17 House districts to replace electoral maps devised by Republican-controlled legislatures in the two states.

Florida Senate expected to pass bill limiting LGBTQ discussion in school

Florida's Senate on Tuesday is expected to pass a Republican-backed bill that would prohibit classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity for many young students, a measure Democrats denounced as being anti-LGBTQ. The legislation, referred to by its opponents as the "don't say gay" bill, has stirred national controversy amid an increasingly partisan debate over what schools should teach children about race and gender.

Florida breaks with CDC, recommends no COVID vaccine for healthy children

Florida's top health official said on Monday the state would recommend against the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children, breaking with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In announcing the move during press briefing convened by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the state's surgeon general Dr. Joseph Lapado cited studies that showed few COVID fatalities among healthy children and elevated risk among young boys receiving the vaccine of side effects such as myocarditis.

U.S. small business sentiment drops to lowest in a year - survey

U.S. small business confidence fell to the lowest in a year in February in the face of a wave of inflation that is forcing a record percentage of establishments to raise prices and denting their outlook for the economy, a survey showed on Tuesday. The National Federation of Independent Business said its Small Business Optimism Index dropped 1.4 points to 95.7 last month from 97.1 in January. It was the lowest reading since February 2021.

Boat packed with hundreds of Haitian migrants runs aground in Florida

U.S. authorities are investigating what appeared to be one of the largest human smuggling attempts off U.S. shores in years, after a boat packed with 356 Haitian migrants ran aground in the Florida Keys on Sunday. Among the passengers, 158 jumped from the boat and attempted to swim toward the shore in Key Largo despite rough seas. They were rescued from the water and detained by the U.S. Border Patrol, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The other 198 remained on the boat and were taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Guantanamo detainee called '20th Hijacker' of 9/11 repatriated to Saudi Arabia

A man accused of being the would-be 20th hijacker in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks has been repatriated to Saudi Arabia after two decades detained at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. Department of Defense said on Monday. Mohammad Mani Ahmad al-Qahtani, 46, was transferred to his native Saudi Arabia after a review board determined in June that he no longer represented a significant threat to U.S. national security, the Defense Department said in a written statement.

(With inputs from agencies.)