Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US Congress struggling to reach spending deal to avert weekend shutdown

A fractured U.S. Congress struggled behind the scenes on Wednesday to produce a massive spending bill to fund defense, homeland security and other programs that lawmakers must pass before the weekend to avert a partial government shutdown. Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republican leaders said they hope to vote on Friday, leaving the Democratic-majority Senate just hours to meet a midnight deadline by passing legislation that is expected to cover about three-fourths of the $1.66 trillion in discretionary government spending for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.

US FAA relocating control of Newark, NJ, airspace to reduce congestion

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it will relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues and congested traffic in the New York City area. The announcement comes ahead of what could be a record summer travel season. Airlines this week forecast record travel this spring.

US appeals court appears divided over Texas border enforcement law

A U.S. appeals court panel on Wednesday seemed divided over whether to continue blocking a Republican-backed Texas law that would empower state authorities to arrest and prosecute migrants and asylum seekers suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering whether to allow the law known as S.B. 4 to take effect while the state appeals a judge's ruling that prevented it from being enforced pending the outcome of a challenge by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and civil rights groups.

Trump can appeal ruling that kept Georgia prosecutor on case, judge says

A Georgia judge on Wednesday said Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the state's criminal election subversion case could appeal a ruling that let lead prosecutor Fani Willis remain on the case. Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee's decision cleared the way for the former U.S. president and the others to ask a Georgia state appeals court to consider whether Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, should be disqualified over her romantic relationship with a former deputy, Nathan Wade.

Trump campaign pleads for one million donations as cash crunch looms

Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday called for donations from one million of his backers, warning he could lose his New York properties, two days after the former president failed to secure a bond to cover a $454 million judgment in a civil fraud case. "KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF TRUMP TOWER!," reads a message to supporters from a joint fundraising committee that allocates the money it collects to his campaign and a separate political committee that has been paying Trump's legal bills.

Assange team sees no sign of resolving US charges after reported plea deal talks

A lawyer for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said on Wednesday his legal team saw no indication of resolution to U.S. charges against him, following the publication of a Wall Street Journal report on exploration of a guilty plea. The Journal reported that the U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to allow Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information. The newspaper cited people familiar with the matter.

Dozens of former U.S. officials urge Biden to take harder line with Israel

Nearly 70 former U.S. officials, diplomats and military officers on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to warn Israel of serious consequences if it denies civil rights and basic necessities to Palestinians and expands settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. "The United States must be willing to take concrete action to oppose" such practices, the group said in an open letter to Biden, "including restrictions on provision of (U.S.) assistance (to Israel) consistent with U.S. law and policy."

Trump election campaign raised $10.9 million in February

Donald Trump's election campaign reported on Wednesday that it raised $10.9 million in February, according to a financial disclosure submitted to the Federal Election Commission. The fundraising haul was an increase from $8.8 million that Trump's campaign reported for January.

US House panel to ask president to testify in impeachment probe

A House of Representatives committee plans to invite President Joe Biden to testify in Republicans' impeachment probe, the chairman said on Wednesday, the first time the panel has suggested calling him although it was improbable the president would accept. "We need to hear ... from the president himself," James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said at the end of a nearly eight-hour-long hearing into the Biden family's business dealings.

U.S. military aid package 'will get to Ukraine', Jake Sullivan says on Kyiv trip

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a trip to Kyiv on Wednesday that a major U.S. aid package that has been blocked by Republicans for months would "get to Ukraine" and vowed that Washington's support would continue. Vital U.S. aid for Ukraine has been stuck in Congress since late last year, piling more pressure on already outgunned Ukrainian troops fighting a better armed and larger foe two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)