US Domestic News Roundup: Harris meets college, univerity leaders to discuss abortion ruling; New Mexico police seek public's help in probe of four Muslim slayings and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. fuel retailers rail against green aviation fuel tax credit

U.S. fuel retailers are fighting the inclusion of a tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Democrats' $430 billion spending bill, arguing SAF is more carbon intense and less efficient than renewable diesel. Lawmakers are offering a $1.25-$1.75 per gallon SAF credit depending on the feedstock used, as part of a tax and climate bill that aims to lower U.S. carbon emissions by about 40% by 2030 and cut the federal budget deficit by $300 billion.

With second negative COVID test, Biden exits isolation and gets back on the road

U.S. President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 for a second consecutive day on Sunday and ended his isolation at the White House with a trip to his vacation home in Delaware and a reunion with his wife, first lady Jill Biden. Biden has been holed up at the White House for more than two weeks with COVID, leading to canceled trips and events even as his symptoms stayed mild.

New Mexico police seek public's help in probe of four Muslim slayings

Police in New Mexico on Sunday asked for the public's help in locating a "vehicle of interest" in their probe of four fatal shootings of Muslim men whose slayings in Albuquerque over the past nine months are believed by investigators to be related. Mayor Tim Keller said state authorities were working to provide an "extra police presence at mosques during times of prayer" as the investigation proceeds in New Mexico's largest city, home to as many as 5,000 Muslims out of some 565,000 total residents.

U.S. Senate approves bill to fight climate change, cut drug costs in win for Biden

The U.S. Senate on Sunday passed a sweeping $430 billion bill intended to fight climate change, lower drug prices and raise some corporate taxes, a major victory for President Joe Biden that Democrats hope will aid their chances of keeping control of Congress in this year's elections. After a marathon, 27-hour weekend session of debate and Republican efforts to derail the package, the Senate approved the legislation known as the Inflation Reduction Act by a 51-50 party line vote Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking ballot.

Trump-backed Michigan attorney general candidate involved in voting-system breach, documents show

The Republican nominee for Michigan attorney general led a team that gained unauthorized access to voting equipment while hunting for evidence to support former President Donald Trump's false election-fraud claims, according to a Reuters analysis of court filings and public records. The analysis shows that people working with Matthew DePerno - the Trump-endorsed nominee for the state's top law-enforcement post - examined a vote tabulator from Richfield Township, a conservative stronghold of 3,600 people in northern Michigan's Roscommon County.

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.

Fourth person reported drowned in New Mexico wildfire area floods

A man drowned on Sunday in northern New Mexico when a flash flood swept through a burn area left by the state's largest recorded wildfire, according to a local rancher, marking the fourth such death reported in just over two weeks. A torrent of water carried the man's pickup truck off highway 434 at about 2 p.m. some nine miles northeast of the town of Mora, according to Kenny Zamora, who said the man's vehicle was found on his ranch.

Ahmaud Arbery killers could face life in prison for federal hate-crimes charges

Ahmaud Arbery's family will ask a judge to hand down life terms for the three white men convicted of chasing down and murdering the young Black man as he jogged in a suburban Georgia community. Back-to-back sentencing hearings are scheduled on Monday in U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, for Travis McMichael, 36, his father Gregory McMichael, 66, and a neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, 52.

Analysis: Democrats score big wins on climate, drugs with $430 billion U.S. Senate bill

Democrats scored a major policy victory when the U.S. Senate passed a $430 billion climate change, healthcare and tax bill that will help reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change while also cutting drug costs for the elderly. President Joe Biden's congressional allies hope the bill, which they pushed 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.

Harris meets college, univerity leaders to discuss abortion ruling

Vice President Kamala Harris will meet leaders from U.S. colleges and universities on Monday to discuss challenges students are facing after the recent Supreme Court decision to end the nationwide constitutional right to abortion. Harris, who has now held over half a dozen meetings on reproductive righs with key stakeholders, will focus on what campuses are doing to protect the health of students in the wake of the court's ruling, according to a White House official, who did not wish to be named.