US Domestic News Roundup: Biden plans $100 million drive to combat drug-resistant 'superbugs'; Time running out for Trump's Republican 2024 rivals as they face off in second debate and more

The former president chose to address hundreds of electricians, plumbers and pipe-fitters rather than square off with his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at a debate also scheduled for Wednesday night. Exclusive-Biden officials kept immigration jails despite internal cost concerns Biden administration officials last year recommended closing or downsizing nine immigration detention centers because of high costs and staffing shortages, a move that could have saved $235 million, a draft U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo reviewed by Reuters shows.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden plans $100 million drive to combat drug-resistant 'superbugs'

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Wednesday a $100 million research drive to fight deadly drug-resistant bacteria, according to a White House official. More than a million people worldwide lose their lives each year due to infections resulting from bacteria resistant to antibiotics, according to the World Health Organization.

Time running out for Trump's Republican 2024 rivals as they face off in second debate

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's rivals are running out of time to halt his march to the 2024 Republican presidential nomination unless one emerges as a clear alternative in their second debate on Wednesday, party strategists say. Seven Republican candidates will be on stage for the debate that begins at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT on Thursday) at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute in Simi Valley, California.

Trump skips debate to woo blue-collar workers in Michigan

Donald Trump will speak to blue-collar workers outside Detroit on Wednesday, seeking to capitalize politically on an autoworker strike one day after President Joe Biden joined a picket line to show solidarity with workers and its union. The former president chose to address hundreds of electricians, plumbers and pipe-fitters rather than square off with his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at a debate also scheduled for Wednesday night.

Exclusive-Biden officials kept immigration jails despite internal cost concerns

Biden administration officials last year recommended closing or downsizing nine immigration detention centers because of high costs and staffing shortages, a move that could have saved $235 million, a draft U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memo reviewed by Reuters shows. But ICE ultimately only ended contracts with two of the detention centers flagged in the memo. Six of the nine detention centers identified in the August 2022 memo were operated by private companies. Among the for-profit detention centers was the Torrance County Detention Facility in New Mexico, where a government watchdog earlier had called for the relocation of all detainees due to "critical staffing shortages that have led to safety risks and unsanitary living conditions."

US investors want clarity on Biden's vague curbs on China tech

U.S. financial firms are pushing for greater clarity on proposed new rules curbing U.S. investments in some China technology sectors which they say are too vague and put the onus of compliance on investors. Aiming to protect national security and prevent U.S. capital from aiding China's military, President Joe Biden issued an executive order last month restricting new U.S. investments in sensitive Chinese technologies. The Treasury Department subsequently kicked off a rule-making process to implement the order, and financial firms have been rushing to meet a Sept. 28 to provide input. The rules are expected to be implemented sometime next year.

Donald Trump found liable for fraud in New York civil case

A New York judge found Donald Trump and his family business fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and other assets, in a major defeat for the former U.S. president that could severely hamper his ability to do business in the state. The scathing decision by Justice Arthur Engoron of New York state court in Manhattan will make it easier for state Attorney General Letitia James to establish damages at a scheduled Oct. 2 trial.

US Senator Bob Menendez to appear in court as calls for resignation mount

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is set to appear in court on Wednesday to face charges of taking bribes from three New Jersey businessman, as calls for his resignation from his fellow Democrats escalated. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week accused Menendez, 69, and his wife of accepting gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for the senator using his influence to aid Egypt's government and interfere with law enforcement probes of the businessmen.

Explainer-US presidential election 2024: what you need to know

The 2024 presidential election promises to be like no other modern U.S. election. Leading the field of Republican presidential candidates is former President Donald Trump, who faces a battery of federal and state criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Shutdown countdown: US Congress has four days to fund government

The fourth partial shutdown of the U.S. government in a decade was four days away on Wednesday, with House Republicans preemptively rejecting a bipartisan bill advancing in the Senate that would fund agencies through mid-November. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed and a wide range of services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, if Congress fails to pass legislation that Democratic President Joe Biden can sign into law by midnight Saturday (0400 GMT on Sunday).

Some Republican donors now eye Haley as best hope against Trump

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley appears to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' faltering campaign, with more donors saying they are looking more closely at her candidacy as an alternative to frontrunner Donald Trump. Reuters spoke to four donors and one source close to a major donor who were impressed by the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the first Republican presidential debate in August and said they were keen to donate should she continue to strengthen as a candidate.

(With inputs from agencies.)