US Domestic News Roundup: Trump fundraising with Republican National Committee to benefit group paying legal fees; Trump fundraising with Republican National Committee to benefit group paying legal fees and more

"There's something on President Trump that the enemy fears: It's called the anointing." The Nebraska pastor, who was speaking on cable news show "FlashPoint" last summer, is among several voices in Christian media pressing a message of Biblical proportions: The 2024 presidential race is a fight for America's soul, and a persecuted Trump has God's protection. US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trln spending bill, midnight deadline looms The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate on Friday will scramble to beat a midnight government shutdown deadline by passing a $1.2 trillion bill keeping the government funded through September.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

No charges to be filed in death of Oklahoma nonbinary teen

Prosecutors on Thursday announced that no criminal charges would be filed in the death of nonbinary Oklahoma teenager Nex Benedict, who died one day after a fight at school that may have followed bullying due to Benedict's gender identity. The Oklahoma medical examiner on March 13 ruled that Benedict died by suicide from ingesting antidepressants and antihistamines, while also finding nonlethal wounds from the fight on Benedict's nose and mouth.

Mississippi 'Goon Squad' torture defendants get prison terms of 10 to 40 years

A federal judge in Mississippi on Thursday wrapped up the sentencing of six white former law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to the "Goon Squad" torture and sexual abuse of two Black men, leaving the defendants each facing from 10 to 40 years in prison. The six men still face sentencing on state charges for their roles in the home invasion assault, which has stood out among dozens of racially charged U.S. police misconduct cases in recent years for the chilling nature of its calculated brutality.

A New York roller derby team's newest opponent: an order restricting trans athletes

For years, New York's Long Island Roller Rebels have welcomed transgender women to strap on skates and body padding and join their women's roller derby team. Now, under an executive order issued this month by Nassau County on Long Island, if they want to book a county-run park or athletics facility they must ask each member what sex was marked on their original birth certificate, and expel any teammates who were not designated female.

Trump fundraising with Republican National Committee to benefit group paying legal fees

A fundraising group that has spent tens of millions of dollars on Donald Trump's legal fees stands to benefit from a new fundraising tie-up with the Republican National Committee, according to media reports on Thursday. Since clinching the Republican presidential nomination earlier this month, Trump can now raise money with the RNC ahead of the Nov. 5 election rematch against Democrat Joe Biden.

Philadelphia man released after 44 years in prison may face new trial

William Franklin, recently released after serving 44 years in prison, could walk from a Philadelphia courtroom an exonerated man on Friday, or he may face another trial for a 1976 murder he says he did not commit. His 1980 conviction based on tainted testimony was overturned after the lone eyewitness against him recanted. His conviction dates to a high-crime era when police and prosecutors were so intent to sew up unsolved homicides that they coerced vulnerable witnesses to fabricate stories and frame innocent Black men.

'God gave us Trump': Christian media evangelicals preach a messianic message

"This is really a battle between good and evil," evangelical TV preacher Hank Kunneman says of the slew of criminal charges facing Donald Trump. "There's something on President Trump that the enemy fears: It's called the anointing." The Nebraska pastor, who was speaking on cable news show "FlashPoint" last summer, is among several voices in Christian media pressing a message of Biblical proportions: The 2024 presidential race is a fight for America's soul, and a persecuted Trump has God's protection.

US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trln spending bill, midnight deadline looms

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate on Friday will scramble to beat a midnight government shutdown deadline by passing a $1.2 trillion bill keeping the government funded through September. If they succeed, it will end a more-than-six-month battle over the scope of Washington's spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. If they fail, federal agencies will begin a partial shutdown, furloughing thousands of workers nationwide and abroad.

Hardline Republicans' hopes dashed as US Congress pushes funding bill forward

U.S. Representative Chip Roy, one of the most prominent hardline Republicans in Congress, pulls no punches when it comes to how frustrated he is about the $1.2 trillion spending package that lawmakers are working to pass before midnight on Friday. "Everyone that I know and trust about the border, about overall spending, see it as a complete and total failure and a capitulation by Republicans. And (Republican) leadership worked the deal, so it's on leadership," Roy told reporters.

Factbox-Who are the candidates running in the 2024 US presidential election?

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face each other in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 in what looks set to be a divisive, closely fought contest. Several third-party hopefuls are also running. Here is a list of the candidates:

Factbox-'Bloodbath,' 'vermin,' 'animals': Trump's rhetoric on the trail

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made a series of inflammatory and racist statements on the U.S. campaign trail since declaring his candidacy in November 2022. In some cases, he has used violent imagery to lambaste immigrants and opponents. He has warned that the United States is on the verge of collapse, and his rhetoric has raised concerns that he might flout democratic norms by using the power of the state to target perceived enemies if he is elected.

(With inputs from agencies.)