US Domestic News Roundup: Westminster Kennel Club show open in NY; Trump proposes 21% cut in U.S. foreign aid and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Isle of Dogs: Westminster Kennel Club show opens in New York

Thousands of dogs from 20 countries will compete in this year's annual Westminster Kennel Club show in New York, which opens Sunday and culminates with the crowning of "Best-in-Show," the most coveted prize for pedigree dogs in the United States. This year's 3-day competition will showcase the skills and good looks of more than 2,600 dogs from 49 U.S. states and 19 other countries, including Japan, Australia, and Thailand.

Exclusive: Trump proposes 21% cut in U.S. foreign aid in budget proposal - officials

President Donald Trump will propose cutting billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid in his fiscal 2021 budget while seeking an increase in funds to counter developing economic threats from China and Russia, senior administration officials told Reuters. Trump, a Republican, sought in his budget proposal last year to slash foreign aid but faced steep resistance from Congress and did not prevail.

Blue collar boom? College grads, baby boomers big winners in Trump's economy

U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out an eye-catching statistic in his State of the Union address Tuesday: the wealth held by the poorest half of American households increased three times as fast as the wealth held by the "1%" since he became president. That's true, according to Federal Reserve data.

Gunman wounds NYC police officer inside station hours after ambushing patrol officers

A gunman opened fire inside a New York City police station on Sunday, striking a lieutenant in the arm, some 12 hours after he had ambushed a patrol van in the same neighborhood, wounding an officer, police said. The gunman was arrested at the police station. The two officers were being treated in hospital and were expected to fully recover from their wounds, officials said at a news conference.

Deal reached to cut bankrupt Puerto Rico's debt by $24 billion

Puerto Rico would shed about $24 billion of debt and move closer to exiting bankruptcy under an agreement with bondholders announced on Sunday by the U.S. commonwealth's federally-created financial oversight board. The deal cuts $35 billion of bonds and claims to about $11 billion and increases the ranks of general obligation (GO) and Public Buildings Authority bondholders that signed onto a plan to restructure core government debt and more than $50 billion in pension obligations that the board filed in U.S. District Court in September.

How Bernie Sanders’ passionate base revitalized his campaign

When Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suffered a heart attack in October, what upset his long-time supporter Craig Althof the most was the way it was covered by the media. In the opinion of 65-year-old Althof, who had a similar procedure to Sanders to prop open an artery, journalists were too quick to write Sanders' political obituary, speculating that the 78-year-old’s second White House run was likely over.

On the 2020 trail: Sanders blasts Buttigieg for taking billionaire bucks

Democratic presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg traded jabs over money and message on Sunday, two days before New Hampshire voters pick their choice to take on Republican President Donald Trump in November. The rivals, who emerged from last week's Iowa caucuses essentially tied, offer stark alternatives for the top of the Democratic ticket. Sanders, 78, is a U.S. senator and impassioned progressive who has spent almost three decades in Congress, while Buttigieg, 38, is a moderate military veteran who served two terms as mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Pompeo urges U.S. state governors to be cautious in business with China

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged governors of U.S. states and territories on Saturday to adopt a "cautious mindset" when engaging in business with China, saying Beijing was seeking to use U.S. openness to undermine the United States. In a speech to the National Governors Association in Washington Pompeo said China was pursuing a policy of exploiting U.S. freedoms to "gain advantage over us at the federal level, the state level, and the local level."

New York threatens to sue Trump administration over access to traveler programs

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday threatened to sue the Trump administration over its decision to restrict New Yorkers' access to some programs that allow faster security checks at ports of entry, part of a dispute about the state's limits on cooperation with current U.S. immigration policy. U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican who was born and raised in New York, has criticized the Democratic-run state and other states and cities his administration deems "sanctuary jurisdictions" because of their policies limiting information sharing between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

Trump to propose cuts in foreign aid and social safety nets in budget: officials

U.S. President Donald Trump will propose on Monday a 21% cut in foreign aid and slashes to social safety net programs in his $4.8 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2021, according to senior administration officials. The budget will seek an increase in funds to counter developing economic threats from China and Russia, but will also raise funds by targeting $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs in the United States. The budget assumes revenues of $3.8 trillion.

(With inputs from agencies.)