Reuters US Domestic News Summary

A self-described "30-year-old lesbian from Indiana," Morgan is one of a new breed of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit that until recently was largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists since the 1980s. Trump, Biden trade salvos in Georgia face-off A defiant and bitter Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the state where he faces criminal charges for undermining the 2020 U.S. presidential election, looking to win the battleground of Georgia as a stepping-stone to taking back the presidency.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden makes contradictory comments on Gaza 'red line' in MSNBC interview

U.S. President Joe Biden said in an MSNBC interview on Saturday that Israel’s threatened invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza would be his “red line” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but then immediately backtracked, saying there was no red line and "I’m never going to leave Israel." In a somewhat contradictory exchange with his interviewer, Biden said "they cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after" Hamas militants.

'Prepping' for disaster diversifies as more Americans lose trust

Brook Morgan surveyed booths at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Colorado that were stocked with boxes of ammunition, mounds of trauma medical kits, and every type of knife imaginable. A self-described "30-year-old lesbian from Indiana," Morgan is one of a new breed of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes, a pursuit that until recently was largely associated with far-right movements such as white nationalists since the 1980s.

Trump, Biden trade salvos in Georgia face-off

A defiant and bitter Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the state where he faces criminal charges for undermining the 2020 U.S. presidential election, looking to win the battleground of Georgia as a stepping-stone to taking back the presidency. Trump was stumping in Georgia on the same day as President Joe Biden, who campaigned in nearby Atlanta, signifying the critical role the state will play in November's general election.

Biden raises $10 million in 24 hours after his State of the Union speech

President Joe Biden's re-election campaign said on Sunday it raised $10 million in the 24 hours following a fiery State of the Union address, where he accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy and torpedoing a bill to tackle U.S. immigration woes. In a 68-minute address to Congress on Thursday, Biden also charged Trump, his Republican challenger in the Nov. 5 election, with burying the truth about the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol and bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden signs spending bill to avert partial government shutdown, White House says

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a spending bill that averted a partial government shutdown, the White House said in a statement. Biden acted after the U.S. Senate on Friday approved spending legislation for several government agencies just hours before current funding was due to expire.

Judge blocks tighter Washington state oversight of immigration detention center

A federal judge blocked Washington state from enforcing most of a law intended to boost oversight and improve living conditions at the state's only privately-run, for-profit immigration detention facility. Friday's decision by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle will benefit Geo Group, the owner of the Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center in Tacoma.

Packaging billionaires to help fund Trump campaign, FT reports

Conservative billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein will help fund Donald Trump’s campaign, giving the former president financial support as he seeks to catch a fundraising lead built by President Joe Biden, the Financial Times said on Saturday. The Uihleins, who founded the Uline shipping and packaging company from their basement in 1980, had donated to the Republican primary campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out of the race in January.

Alaska Airlines cooperates with DOJ in Boeing 737 MAX blowout probe

Alaska Airlines said on Saturday it is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice after a criminal investigation was opened into the Boeing 737 MAX blowout on its flight in January. "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation," Alaska Airlines said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Biden regrets using "illegal" to describe immigrant in speech

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he regretted using the term "illegal" in a recent speech to describe an undocumented immigrant who allegedly murdered a student, which drew fire from Democrats and immigration advocates who see the word as dehumanizing. During his State of the Union address on Thursday, Biden was goaded by Trump-allied Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and went off script to address the case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from the U.S. state of Georgia, who was allegedly murdered last month by an undocumented immigrant who had been released on parole.