US Domestic News Roundup: Embattled U.S. Democrats riled over Biden's student loan forgiveness; Biden asks Republicans to shun 'MAGA' in November, vote Democrat and more

The move, announced by President Joe Biden on Wednesday, kept a pledge he made in the 2020 campaign for the White House and could boost support for his fellow Democrats in the November congressional elections. U.S. judge throws out Texas gun ban for young adults after Supreme Court ruling A federal judge in Texas threw out the state's ban on people between 18 and 20 years old from carrying handguns on Thursday in what appears to be the first major judicial decision since a landmark ruling on weapons rights by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Embattled U.S. Democrats riled over Biden's student loan forgiveness

U.S. President Joe Biden's move to waive college loan payments for millions of Americans drew criticism from some of his fellow Democrats, especially members of Congress facing the toughest re-election contests on Nov. 8. The White House may have thought the plan would provide a nice election-year gift to those grappling with monthly loan payments while also boosting the prospects for Democrats in November, when Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Senate control also is at stake.

Biden asks Republicans to shun 'MAGA' in November, vote Democrat

U.S. President Joe Biden had harsh words to describe Trump-allied Republicans on Thursday, as he held his first political rally in the run-up to November elections, accusing the group of embracing violence and hatred, and saying they edged toward "semi-fascism" at an earlier fund-raising stop. Biden, kicking off a coast-to-coast tour, is looking to lend his support to Democratic candidates and prevent those Republicans from taking control of Congress by touting the sharp differences between the two major U.S. parties, and calling on independent and Republican voters for help.

U.S. Justice Dept. poised to release redacted affidavit on Trump search

The U.S. Justice Department is expected to make public on Friday a redacted version of the affidavit that led to the Aug. 8 FBI search of former president Donald Trump's Florida home, a move that could shed more light on the evidence that led to the unprecedented search. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday ordered the redacted document to be released by noon (1600 GMT) on Friday, a ruling that came just hours after a Justice Department spokesman confirmed that prosecutors had submitted a sealed copy of the affidavit with proposed redactions for the judge's review.

White House says student loan forgiveness plan will cost $24 billion a year

A U.S. plan announced this week to forgive $10,000 in student loans for millions of debt-saddled former college students will cost roughly $24 billion a year assuming that three quarters of those eligible take up the offer, the White House said. The move, announced by President Joe Biden on Wednesday, kept a pledge he made in the 2020 campaign for the White House and could boost support for his fellow Democrats in the November congressional elections.

U.S. judge throws out Texas gun ban for young adults after Supreme Court ruling

A federal judge in Texas threw out the state's ban on people between 18 and 20 years old from carrying handguns on Thursday in what appears to be the first major judicial decision since a landmark ruling on weapons rights by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. The challenge to the Texas statute that bans young adults not in active military service from having handguns in public was filed in 2021 by the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun-owners' rights group. The group said the ban violated the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, which says states can organize militias and that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

California to end sales of gasoline-only cars by 2035

California on Thursday moved to require all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035 to be either electric or plug-in electric hybrids, a landmark move that could speed the end of gasoline-powered vehicles. California Governor Gavin Newsom first announced the plan to phase out vehicles that run only on gasoline by 2035 in September 2020. The California Air Resources Board voted on Thursday to approve the new rules, which set yearly rising zero-emission vehicle rules starting in 2026, but the Biden administration must still approve the new requirements before the plan can take effect.

U.S. consumer spending misses expectation in July; inflation slows

U.S. consumer spending barely rose in July, but inflation eased considerably, which could give the Federal Reserve room to scale back its aggressive interest rate increases. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Data for June was revised slightly down to show outlays advancing 1.0% instead of 1.1% as previously reported.

Migrants bused to U.S. capital from Texas struggle to secure housing, medical care

Nearly a month after arriving with their 1-year-old daughter on a bus sent by the governor of Texas to Washington, D.C., Colombian couple Noralis Zuniga and Juan Camilo Mendoza are unsure how long they will be allowed to stay in their city-funded hotel room. The couple, who said they left Colombia in May after their house in Medellin collapsed due to heavy rains, have tried unsuccessfully to find medical care for their baby, Evangeline. She has welts on her skin since the family's arduous 10-day trek on foot through the Darien Gap, a mountainous jungle between Colombia and Panama.

E.coli infections in four U.S. states rise to 84; majority of Wendy's customers

The E.coli bacteria outbreak in four Midwest states from an unknown source has affected 47 more people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, with a majority of the total 84 reported to have sandwiches at Wendy's.

The agency said 52 people of the 62 it interviewed reported to have eaten sandwiches with romaine lettuce at a Wendy's restaurant in the week before they fell ill.

White House marks Women's Equality Day with abortion rights push

The White House will mark Women's Equality Day on Friday by meeting state and local leaders to discuss ways to safeguard access to abortions amid a flurry of legal challenges against its efforts to protect reproductive rights. Senior White House officials, who have been meeting with state legislators after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ended the constitutional right to abortion, will meet elected officials from Kansas, New York, Maryland, North Carolina and Delaware, senior administration officials said.