US Domestic News Roundup: LGBT nightclub massacre survivors tell U.S. Congress: 'We are being slaughtered'; U.S. Senate could pass temporary funding bill as soon as Thursday -Schumer and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

LGBT nightclub massacre survivors tell U.S. Congress: 'We are being slaughtered'

Survivors of mass shootings targeting U.S. LGBT nightclubs detailed the violence they endured and criticized inflammatory political rhetoric in a congressional hearing on Wednesday. "We are being slaughtered and dehumanized across this country, in communities you took oaths to protect," said Matthew Haynes, owner of the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where five people were killed and 22 wounded in a mass shooting last month.

U.S. Senate could pass temporary funding bill as soon as Thursday -Schumer

The U.S. Senate could give final approval by Thursday to a one-week extension of federal government funding before the midnight Friday deadline, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday. "The House is set to act on a one-week CR as soon as tonight and when that bill comes to the Senate we should be ready to act quickly, as soon as tomorrow if we can," Schumer said, referring to the "continuing resolution" stop-gap funding bill.

Police testify about attack on U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's husband

A San Francisco police officer testified on Wednesday that he witnessed the attack on U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband when the suspect in the assault hit Paul Pelosi with a hammer in late October. Prosecutors at the preliminary hearing for suspect David Wayne DePape, 42, played a recording of Paul Pelosi's 911 call during the hearing and showed video of the attack from police body cameras, USA Today reported.

Biden administration offers U.S. households more free COVID-19 tests for winter

U.S. households can order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the government website COVIDTests.gov beginning on Thursday as part of the Biden administration's efforts to tackle coronavirus infections over the winter. The White House said it would use existing funding to pay for the tests since it has been unsuccessful so far in getting Congress to pass a bill to put more money towards the U.S. COVID-19 response.

Puerto Rican independence bill goes to U.S. House vote on Thursday

Puerto Ricans could move a step closer to a referendum on whether the island should become a U.S. state, an independent country or have another type of government when the House of Representatives votes Thursday on a bill outlining the process.

A House committee approved the Puerto Rico Status Act on Wednesday, paving the way for the full House vote.

'We choose love': Ten years after Sandy Hook shooting, town reflects on loss

Ten years after one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, residents of the Connecticut town where it took place marked Wednesday's anniversary by attending vigils, paying respects at a new memorial and reflecting in private with loved ones. The rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 - when a heavily armed gunman killed 20 young children and six educators - shocked the country and forever linked Newtown, a picturesque New England town, with the epidemic of mass shootings that has wracked the United States in recent years.

Georgia's top election official calls for end to runoffs in the state

Georgia's top election official on Wednesday called on lawmakers to eliminate the state's unusual runoff election system, a week after Democrats again prevailed in a runoff for a closely fought U.S. Senate race. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said runoff elections put a significant strain on election officials. Under Georgia law, if no candidate secures at least half of the votes in November's regular election, a runoff between the two top vote-getters is triggered.

Three men to be sentenced in plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Three men convicted of playing supporting roles in a foiled plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan in 2020 are set to be sentenced on Thursday, as two of the conspiracy's ringleaders await sentencing before the end of the month. The men - Joseph Morrison, 28, his father-in-law Pete Musico, 44, and Paul Bellar, 23 - each face up to 20 years in prison after a jury in October found them guilty of gang membership, firearm violations and providing material support for terrorism.

U.S. House passes one-week government funding bill, sends to Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a stopgap one-week funding bill, a move intended to give lawmakers more time to pass a bill to fully fund the federal government through its fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2023. The stopgap measure, known as a "continuing resolution," is needed to avert a partial shutdown of federal agencies that would otherwise begin on Saturday.

Window closing for deal in U.S. Congress to protect 'Dreamer' immigrants

Over 200 advocates from around the United States converged on Capitol Hill this week with an 11th-hour mission: persuade lawmakers to provide citizenship to "Dreamer" immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children. Addinelly Moreno Soto, a 31-year-old communications aide who came to the United States from Mexico at age 3, trekked to the Capitol from San Antonio with her husband hoping to meet with her state's U.S. Senator John Cornyn, an influential Republican whose support could help advance a deal that has eluded Congress for more than a decade.