US Domestic News Roundup: Trump, DeSantis court Republican activists in California; California's Newsom promoting Biden in '24 - and perhaps himself in '28 and more

The Democratic-majority Senate voted 88-9 to pass the measure to avoid the federal government's fourth partial shutdown in a decade, sending the bill to President Joe Biden, who signed it into law before the 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) deadline. Climate change means New York City's flooding is 'new normal,' governor says Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding in New York City on Friday reflect a "new normal" due to the effects of climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned on Saturday, as the city began drying out after one of its wettest days ever.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump, DeSantis court Republican activists in California

Donald Trump campaigned in California on Friday, just two days after skipping the Republican presidential debate there, looking to build support in the state with the biggest prize in his party's 2024 White House nominating race. "With your help, we're going to win the California primary," the former president said to a crowd of Republican activists and party members who gave him a raucous standing ovation when he took the stage at the California Republican Party convention in Anaheim, 25 miles (40 km) south of Los Angeles.

US Congress averts government shutdown, passing stopgap bill

The U.S. Congress passed a stopgap funding bill late on Saturday with overwhelming Democratic support after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy backed down from an earlier demand by his party's hardliners for a partisan bill. The Democratic-majority Senate voted 88-9 to pass the measure to avoid the federal government's fourth partial shutdown in a decade, sending the bill to President Joe Biden, who signed it into law before the 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) deadline.

Climate change means New York City's flooding is 'new normal,' governor says

Torrential downpours that caused flash flooding in New York City on Friday reflect a "new normal" due to the effects of climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul warned on Saturday, as the city began drying out after one of its wettest days ever. Almost eight inches (20 cm) of rain fell in some parts of the most populous U.S. city, enough to enable a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo to swim briefly out of the confines of her pool enclosure.

Major tests await conservative US Supreme Court in new term

Monday marks the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court's new term as it prepares to tackle major cases involving gun rights, the power of federal agencies, social media regulation and Republican-drawn electoral districts, and considers taking up a dispute over the availability of the abortion pill. The first case on the docket for the justices - six conservatives and three liberals - in their nine-month term is a dispute from Iowa involving the sentencing of a non-violent drug offender.

California's Newsom promoting Biden in '24 - and perhaps himself in '28

Shortly after Wednesday's second Republican presidential debate concluded, California Governor Gavin Newsom was holding court in the so-called "spin room," bouncing from one network to another to tout Democratic President Joe Biden as the real winner of the evening. It was an increasingly familiar position for Newsom, who has emerged as perhaps the Biden re-election campaign's most visible representative.

California governor vetoes bill offering unemployment pay to strikers

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have paid unemployment benefits to striking workers, and had drawn strong support from labor unions and from his fellow Democrats in the state legislature. In rejecting the bill, Newsom noted that the state's unemployment trust fund is already nearing $20 billion in debt.

US Rep Bowman faces investigation after pulling fire alarm at Capitol

Democratic U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman faced investigation on Sunday, the morning after he pulled a fire alarm in the Capitol complex as his party was trying to delay a key vote, prompting an evacuation of a congressional office building. Video released by the Capitol Police on Saturday showed Bowman, who represents parts of New York City and its immediate suburbs, activating the fire alarm near the exit to an office building which houses congressional offices.

Americans celebrate Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday as he receives hospice care

Americans celebrated the 99th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter this weekend, with the White House putting up a wooden cake display on its north lawn and the Carter library in Georgia hosting a party for the public. Carter, a Democrat who served as U.S. president from January 1977 to January 1981, is in hospice care after deciding in February to decline additional medical intervention. He turns 99 on Sunday.

Republican House Speaker McCarthy faces ouster threat for avoiding shutdown

Top U.S. House Republican Kevin McCarthy could face an untimely end to his role as speaker if party hardliners oust him, for averting a costly government shutdown on Saturday with a stopgap bill that drew more support from Democrats than Republicans. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 335-91 to adopt a 45-day stopgap measure hours before funding for federal agencies was set to expire. The Democratic-led Senate later approved the same bill with bipartisan support and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

US near-miss with government shutdown illustrates Washington dysfunction

The U.S. narrowly dodged its fourth partial government shutdown in a decade on Sunday, but the past week exposed the depths of political dysfunction in Washington and particularly within the splintered House Republican caucus. A last-minute decision by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to turn to Democrats to pass a short-term funding bill pushed the risk of shutdown to mid-November, meaning the federal government's more than 4 million workers can count on continued paychecks for now.