US Domestic News Roundup: Biden says Trump echoed Nazis with use of word 'vermin'; Top US House Republican Johnson endorses Trump for president and more

Police officers and city officials watched too. Advocates argue to disqualify Trump from Colorado ballot over Jan. 6 attack Lawyers representing a group of Colorado voters are set to deliver closing arguments on Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the state's ballot next year over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden says Trump echoed Nazis with use of word 'vermin'

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday attacked former President Donald Trump for using the word "vermin" to refer to his political enemies, saying it echoed the language of Nazi Germany. At a recent rally in New Hampshire, Trump repeated his false claim that fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election and told the crowd he would "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections."

Top US House Republican Johnson endorses Trump for president

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, the highest-ranking Republican in Congress, endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, a move that underlines the grip the former president holds on much of the party's establishment. "I'm all in for President Trump," Johnson said on CNBC.

US Senate takes up bill to avert partial government shutdown

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday prepared to take up a stopgap spending bill that would avert a partial government shutdown, with little time remaining before funding runs out on Friday. The chamber's Democratic and Republican leaders say they support the legislation, which passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday by a wide bipartisan margin.

Repairs to arson-damaged Los Angeles freeway expected to take at least 3 weeks

A Los Angeles freeway section heavily damaged by a weekend fire can be salvaged and reopened after extensive repairs rather than having to be demolished and rebuilt, a project that nevertheless will likely take three to five weeks, officials said on Tuesday. The decision to brace and repair the stricken portion of the Santa Monica Freeway in lieu of a more costly, months-long effort to tear down and replace it, was based on engineering tests showing the structural integrity of the freeway deck remained stronger than anticipated.

US Senate panel moves toward ending abortion-related military promotions blockade

A Democratic-led U.S. Senate committee advanced legislation on Tuesday that would clear the way for the quick confirmation of hundreds of military promotions that one Republican senator has been delaying for months to protest Defense Department abortion policy. The Rules Committee voted 9-7 - along party lines - to send the resolution for a vote in the full Senate. Although Democrats control a 51-seat majority in the 100-member chamber, it was not certain the rule would go into effect because it must receive 60 votes in the chamber to move ahead.

Suspect in Colorado supermarket massacre enters insanity plea

A 24-year-old man initially ruled incompetent to stand trial on charges that he fatally shot 10 people inside a Colorado grocery store in 2021, but later deemed mentally fit, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murder charges on Tuesday. Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa entered his plea in Boulder District Court after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to try him on 10 counts of first-degree murder, in addition to dozens of counts of attempted murder, assault and weapons offenses stemming from the rampage.

Republican lawmaker accuses ousted US House speaker of throwing elbow

Tensions among Republicans in the U.S. Congress boiled over on Tuesday, with one lawmaker accusing the ousted House speaker of elbowing him in the kidney, while a Senate Republican challenged a union leader to a fight during a hearing. Republican Representative Tim Burchett accused Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as Speaker of the House of Representatives early lat month, of elbowing him in an incident at the Capitol that was witnessed by a National Public Radio reporter who also recorded audio of the exchange.

San Francisco patches over homelessness, drug-abuse for APEC

On a sunny Sunday before world leaders were scheduled to gather for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the United Nations Plaza, one of the epicenters of San Francisco's drugs and homelessness crisis, wore a festive air. Until recently a bustling marketplace for stolen goods and open-air drug trade, the area had been spruced up with a brand-new skate park, and trainees from a dance company performed to a crowd. There was hardly a homeless person to be seen. Police officers and city officials watched too.

Advocates argue to disqualify Trump from Colorado ballot over Jan. 6 attack

Lawyers representing a group of Colorado voters are set to deliver closing arguments on Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the state's ballot next year over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. The voters are seeking to use the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding public office, to argue that Trump is ineligible to run for president in 2024. The provision was ratified in 1868 following the U.S. Civil War.

Biden, Xi to talk fentanyl in city gripped by opioid crisis

Just blocks from where U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will meet other Asia-Pacific leaders this week in San Francisco is a neighborhood where it is commonplace to see people using and selling drugs. While the leaders are unlikely to see the blunt reality of the U.S. opioid crisis as they attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, it will be a topic of discussion when Biden and Xi meet one-on-one on Wednesday.