US Domestic News Roundup: With Trump again absent, Republicans trade barbs at messy debate; Embattled US Senator Bob Menendez to face Democrats who want him to resign and more

The House is set to continue voting on amendments to four appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law, and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did. What is the basis for the Republican impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden? Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives hold their first hearing on Thursday in an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden after months of investigations of his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

With Trump again absent, Republicans trade barbs at messy debate

Donald Trump's Republican rivals clashed at a chaotic presidential debate on Wednesday, leveling attacks at the absent former president, Democratic President Joe Biden and one another over issues from China to immigration to the economy. But as the debate ended, none of the seven candidates on stage appeared to have secured the sort of breakout moment that would alter the dynamics of a primary contest that Trump has dominated for months, despite his four criminal indictments - which went virtually unmentioned during the two-hour broadcast.

Embattled US Senator Bob Menendez to face Democrats who want him to resign

Embattled U.S. Senator Bob Menendez on Thursday is expected to address his Democratic colleagues, more than half of whom have called for him to resign, the day after he pleaded not guilty to federal charges of accepting bribes. A total of 27 senators in the 51-member caucus - Democrats and three independents who typically vote with them - have called for Menendez's resignation, including No. 2 Senate Democrat Dick Durbin, the head of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, Gary Peters, and Menendez's fellow senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker.

Biden to warn 'MAGA movement,' Trump threaten US democracy in Arizona

President Joe Biden will deliver a speech on Thursday warning that the United States faces a threat to its democracy, returning to an attack against Republican Donald Trump and his allies ahead of a 2024 election that is likely to be another face-off between the two men. Biden's remarks in Phoenix, Arizona, will also honor the legacy of the late Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee who died in 2018. Biden and McCain remained friends despite deep political differences.

US soldier Travis King arrives in Texas after release from North Korea

U.S. Army Private Travis King landed at a U.S. military base in Texas early on Thursday after being expelled from North Korea following his surprise dash across the heavily militarized border two months ago, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. King arrived on a U.S. military flight, landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at about 0530 GMT, the official said.

Republican US House to hold first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives will hold its first hearing on Thursday in its impeachment inquiry against Democratic President Joe Biden, two days before Congress's deadline to avert a government shutdown. The hearing by the House Oversight Committee is not likely to reveal new information about Biden's financial ties to his troubled son Hunter Biden, 53, who pursued a range of international business ventures while struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

Hardline shutdown push of the few frustrates US House Republicans

A small group of hardline Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have set the federal government on a course towards its fourth partial shutdown in a decade, angering some members of their own caucus. At least nine members of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's narrow 221-212 majority are refusing to back any stopgap measure to keep the government funded past midnight Saturday -- and threatening to try to oust him from leadership if he relies on Democratic votes to work around them.

US Senate, House hold procedural votes as partial government shutdown looms

With a partial shutdown of the U.S. government just three days away, the Democratic-controlled Senate plans a procedural vote on Thursday on a bipartisan short term spending measure that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has rejected. The House is set to continue voting on amendments to four appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law, and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did.

What is the basis for the Republican impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden?

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives hold their first hearing on Thursday in an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden after months of investigations of his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. They have not found any evidence of misconduct by Biden himself. The White House says Biden has done nothing wrong and Republicans have no basis for an impeachment inquiry.

Factbox-Third Republican debate: When is it? Who will be there? Will it matter?

Republican presidential contenders are scheduled to face off in a third primary debate on Nov. 8. Here are some facts about the showdown: WHERE IS IT?

Guns, agency power cases loom as US Supreme Court charts rightward path

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday kicks off a new nine-month term featuring major cases ranging from the right of domestic abusers to have guns to the fate of the federal consumer finance watchdog agency, giving its muscular conservative majority fresh opportunities to reshape American law. Its docket features tests of the authority of U.S. agencies including an effort to effectively dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and limit the in-house enforcement proceedings of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the financial markets regulator.