US Domestic News Roundup: Top Biden official to defend LNG pause in Senate hearing; Trump brings fight to stay on ballot to US Supreme Court and more

Nathan Forrester, a lawyer for Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, told the seven justices of the Florida Supreme Court that the amendment is a "Rorschach test." He said it would effectively eliminate the state's authority to regulate abortion, but that some voters might not realize how broad it was. Marianne Williamson drops long-shot challenge to Biden for Democratic presidential nomination Marianne Williamson, the self-help author who gained little traction in her bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, dropped out of the race on Wednesday night.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Lead Democrat on US Senate border talks hopes Trump does not tank Ukraine aid

The day after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a border security deal he spent four months negotiating, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy voiced hope that enough Republicans would vote to pass a military aid package to Ukraine no longer linked to the border measure. Murphy's biggest worry is that aid to Ukraine will fall victim to the same force that killed the border plan: Donald Trump.

Trump set to win Nevada's delegates after Haley humiliation

Donald Trump is set to win all of Nevada's delegates in the state's Republican presidential nominating caucuses on Thursday as he moves closer to becoming his party's White House standard-bearer and a likely general election rematch with U.S. President Joe Biden in November. Former President Trump, the Republican frontrunner in his party's nominating race, is the only major candidate competing in Thursday's Nevada caucuses and is almost assured of winning the state's 26 delegates to the party's nominating convention in July.

Florida top court weighs letting voters decide abortion rights amendment

Florida's attorney general on Wednesday urged the state's highest court to block voters from deciding whether to amend the state constitution to protect abortion, arguing the measure was misleading and unclear. Nathan Forrester, a lawyer for Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, told the seven justices of the Florida Supreme Court that the amendment is a "Rorschach test." He said it would effectively eliminate the state's authority to regulate abortion, but that some voters might not realize how broad it was.

Marianne Williamson drops long-shot challenge to Biden for Democratic presidential nomination

Marianne Williamson, the self-help author who gained little traction in her bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, dropped out of the race on Wednesday night. Williamson, 71, had focused much attention on New Hampshire's Democratic primary on Jan. 23 but gained only about 4% support in an vote that Biden won handily despite not being on the ballot.

Super Bowl ads ditch politics for celebs, Taylor Swift and AI

Fans can expect celebrities and more lighthearted commercials, along with glimpses of Taylor Swift, during the Super Bowl on Sunday, as corporate advertisers avoid the recent practice of using the big game to promote social causes. While high-priced Super Bowl commercials often play for laughs in trying to make an impression, the flashy productions can also reflect the national mood.

Trump told supporters to ignore Nevada's primary; they humiliated Haley anyway

Donald Trump told his supporters not to bother with Tuesday's Nevada primary because he was not on the ballot, but nearly 44,000 Republicans cast votes anyway to deliver a stinging rebuke to Nikki Haley. Even though Haley, Trump's last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, was the only major candidate on Tuesday's primary ballot, she lost in a landslide to ballots marked "none of these candidates."

Southern California faces final cloudburst, renewing mudslide threat

A final burst of heavy rain from a deadly atmospheric river storm doused California's Central Coast on Wednesday as it headed for Los Angeles, bringing a renewed threat of mudslides and floods to a region soaked for days by record downpours. The storm's last gasp in California came as the confirmed number of storm-related fatalities statewide rose to at least six, according to the governor's Office of Emergency Services.

US Senate defeats border deal, but Ukraine, Israel aid may survive

Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated a bipartisan effort to bolster border security that had taken months to negotiate, but said they could still approve aid for Ukraine and Israel that had been tied up in the deal. By a vote of 49-50, largely along party lines, the Senate failed to approve a $118 billion bipartisan package that would tighten immigration laws, help Ukraine fight a Russian invasion and bolster Israel in its war with Hamas.

Top Biden official to defend LNG pause in Senate hearing

A top U.S. Department of Energy official is set on Thursday to defend President Joe Biden's pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports at a Senate hearing called by a fellow Democrat who said he will investigate the decision.

Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary David Turk will testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 9:30 ET (1430 GMT), in a hearing called by Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from natural gas producing West Virginia.

Trump brings fight to stay on ballot to US Supreme Court

Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday bring his fight against a campaign to kick him off state presidential ballots for his actions involving the 2021 Capitol attack to the U.S. Supreme Court in a case with major implications for the November election. The nine justices, three of whom Trump appointed, will hear arguments in his appeal of a lower court's decision to disqualify him from Colorado's Republican presidential primary ballot under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment after finding that he participated in an insurrection.