US Domestic News Roundup: Biden tests negative for COVID again, will exit isolation, White House physician says; Jury awards $45.2 million in punitive damages in Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden tests negative for COVID again, will exit isolation, White House physician says

U.S. President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 for a second consecutive day on Sunday and will exit isolation after testing positive for nearly a week, the White House physician said. Following his negative test, Biden will return to public engagement and travel, Dr. Kevin O'Connor said. The president traveled to his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Sunday morning.

Jury awards $45.2 million in punitive damages in Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial

U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre $45.2 million in punitive damages - on top of $4.1 million in compensatory damages already awarded - for falsely claiming the shooting was a hoax, a Texas jury decided on Friday. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, separated parents of slain 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, testified that followers of Jones harassed them and sent them death threats for years in the false belief that they were lying about their son's death in Dec. 14, 2012, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

U.S. Senate Democrats fend off amendments to $430 billion climate and drug bill

The U.S. Senate on Sunday repelled attempts to amend a $430 billion measure sought by President Joe Biden, as Democrats forged ahead with efforts to pass a bill aimed at controlling climate change and cutting prescription drug costs for the elderly. Senators, working over the weekend to pass a bill central to Biden's domestic agenda, labored into the early morning hours in hopes of passing the bill before starting an August recess. The bill also seeks to tighten enforcement on tax payments from corporations and the wealthy.

White House says it is working to push assault weapons ban in Senate

The White House said on Saturday it is having conversations about what it can do to advance a bill banning the assault-style rifles that have been used in mass shootings. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration is actively discussing with top Democratic lawmakers what support they can provide to push the bill, which was approved last month in the U.S. House of Representatives, through the Senate.

How Ahmaud Arbery's death changed a coastal Georgia community

Carla Arbery has a T-shirt summing up what’s changed in her coastal Georgia community since the murder of nephew Ahmaud Arbery by three white men in 2020. Phrases on her shirt list action sparked by the fatal shooting of the young Black jogger: The abolishment of a state citizens-arrest provision that the three white killers claimed justified the shooting. The removal and indictment of the local district attorney. And new leadership in the police department.

Analysis-U.S. Senate Democrats' bill will make mark on climate, healthcare costs

The $430 billion climate change, healthcare and tax bill the U.S. Senate began debating on Saturday night could deliver a major win for Democrats and could help reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change while also cutting costs for the elderly. Democrats hope the bill, which they aim to push through the Senate over united Republican opposition, will boost their chances in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when Republicans are favored to recapture the majority in at least one chamber of Congress.

Indiana lawmakers approve first state abortion ban since Roe overturned

The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate gave final legislative approval on Friday to a bill that would ban most abortions, six weeks after a U.S. Supreme Court decision erased a woman's constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. The bill, adopted on a 28-19 vote hours after clearing the state's House of Representatives, would make Indiana the first U.S. state to impose such a ban since the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case legalizing abortion nationwide was overturned on June 24.

Explainer: Monkeypox in the U.S. - Where could it spread next?

The United States declared monkeypox a public health emergency last week, an effort to bolster the U.S. response to contain the outbreak. The virus continues to be largely transmitted among gay and bisexual men, but experts say the disease could spill over into other populations, especially due to vaccine shortages. Monkeypox is spread by contact with puss-filled sores and is rarely fatal.

Fourth Muslim man murdered in New Mexico in 'targeted killings'

Police in New Mexico and federal agencies were probing the murders of four Muslim men to determine if the killings, the latest of which happened on Friday evening, were linked while the state's governor described them as "targeted killings." Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina told reporters on Saturday that a "young man who is part of the Muslim community was murdered."

Explainer-What's next for conspiracy theorist Alex Jones

A jury in Austin, Texas, decided on Friday that U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre $45.2 million in punitive damages for falsely claiming the shooting was a hoax, on top of $4.1 million in compensatory damages. Here are some of the other legal challenges Jones and his company now face.