US Domestic News Roundup: Biden to announce $1.5 billion to fight U.S. opioid crisis; Judge rules that Arizona can enforce near-total abortion ban and more

The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening nationwide opioid crisis, which according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data fueled more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year. Biden suggests support for filibuster change to legalize abortion President Joe Biden challenged Democratic voters on Friday that if they elect at least two more senators in November elections, it would open the possibility of Democrats removing the filibuster and restoring federal abortion rights for women.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Inflation, spending cuts undermine Biden's hunger policy

Grace Melt made her first visit to the Nourishing Hope food pantry on Chicago's North Side in August. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she used food stamps issued by the federal government to buy groceries while out of work for a knee injury.

But this summer, the food stamps couldn't keep up with the grocery store's rising prices, sending her in search of a food donation for the first time.

Biden to announce $1.5 billion to fight U.S. opioid crisis

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Friday nearly $1.5 billion to fund access to medications for opioid overdoses, sanctions against traffickers, and increased funding for law enforcement, the White House said. The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening nationwide opioid crisis, which according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data fueled more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year.

Biden suggests support for filibuster change to legalize abortion

President Joe Biden challenged Democratic voters on Friday that if they elect at least two more senators in November elections, it would open the possibility of Democrats removing the filibuster and restoring federal abortion rights for women. At a Democratic National Committee rally, Biden suggested the two extra Democrats would allow the Democratic-controlled Senate to remove a legislative roadblock known as the filibuster that requires a 60-vote majority to overcome.

Conservative group calls on Republicans to disavow 'left-leaning' companies

A leading U.S. conservative group is pressuring Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to shun "left-leaning" corporations that take stances on social issues such as abortion, election reform and LGBTQ rights, in exchange for its endorsement for party leadership positions. As House Republicans began rolling out their campaign agenda for the Nov. 8 midterm elections, the influential Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, called on the lawmakers to pledge not to meet with executives and lobbyists from companies that "have been hostile to policies that help all Americans."

Judge rules that Arizona can enforce near-total abortion ban

An Arizona judge ruled on Friday that a 1901 ban on nearly all abortions in the state can be enforced after being blocked for about 50 years, a decision that drew immediate criticism from abortion-rights activists and Democrats and is likely to be appealed. Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson granted a request by the state's Republican attorney general to lift a court injunction that had barred enforcement of Arizona's pre-statehood ban on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Georgia to replace voting machines in a county after 'unauthorized access'

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office was replacing some election equipment in a south Georgia county where former officials allegedly allowed unauthorized access to allies of former President Donald Trump in the weeks after the 2020 election. The step comes after video surveillance footage made public recently showed outsiders accessing Coffee County voting machines and copying sensitive software and data.

Judge says Jan. 6 panel may get Arizona Republican Party chair's phone records

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward to block a subpoena by the congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, clearing the way for the committee to access her phone records. Earlier this year, the panel said it had issued subpoenas to people who had knowledge of or participated in efforts to send false "alternate electors" to Washington for then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Ward, a former Arizona state senator and chair of the state Republican Party, was among them. Her husband also received a subpoena.

Colorado man Elijah McClain died from OD of sedative given by paramedics, autopsy shows

Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man killed in 2019 after an encounter with police in Aurora, Colorado, died of an overdose of the powerful sedative ketamine that was injected by paramedics, a new autopsy report released on Friday concluded. Dr. Stephen Cina, a forensic pathologist who had initially concluded that McClain's cause of death was "undetermined," wrote in his new report on Friday that he had had “insufficient information” during his 2019 autopsy.

Just 1/3 of Americans back Republican migrant flights - Reuters/Ipsos

Only a third of Americans - including half of Republicans and one in six Democrats - say it's OK for state officials to fly or bus migrants to other states, a sign the push by Republican Southern governors to ship foreigners north could backfire with some voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Republican leaders, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, are betting their immigration policies and proposals will help motivate their core supporters to vote in the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when they aim to retake control of the U.S. Congress.

Michael Avenatti ordered to pay $148,750 in restitution to Stormy Daniels

Michael Avenatti, the brash celebrity lawyer who rose to fame taking on Donald Trump before a slew of criminal charges destroyed his legal career, was ordered on Friday to pay $148,750 in restitution to his best-known client, porn actress Stormy Daniels. Avenatti, 51, was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury in February of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for embezzling $297,500 in book proceeds from Daniels, who testified that Avenatti "stole from me and lied to me."

(With inputs from agencies.)