US Domestic News Roundup: US VP Harris gathers Fat Joe and people pardoned for marijuana convictions to discuss reforms; US prosecutor says classified document report does not exonerate Biden and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden's Hur transcripts: An ugly meme, Corvette repairs, staff boxes

U.S. President Joe Biden sat for hours of questioning with Special Counsel Robert Hur over two days in early October, related to his handling of classified documents. The transcripts, released by Congress Tuesday, give a rare candid view of Biden who has not granted many long interviews while in office and often delivers carefully scripted remarks, .

US House to vote to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the U.S. assets of the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban. The vote is expected around 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) under fast-track rules that require support by two-thirds of House members for the measure to pass. It is widely expected to pass, according to both proponents and opponents.

Biden, Trump clinch nominations, kicking off bruising presidential rematch

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both clinched their parties' nomination on Tuesday, kicking off the first U.S. presidential election rematch in nearly 70 years.

Biden needed 1,968 delegates to win the nomination, and he passed that number on Tuesday night as results began to come in from the primary contest in Georgia, Edison Research said. Results were also coming in from Mississippi, Washington state, the Northern Mariana Islands and Democrats living abroad.

Biden heads to Midwest after clinching Democratic nomination

U.S. President Joe Biden heads to the political battleground state of Wisconsin on Wednesday after clinching the Democratic Party's nomination, where he will focus on securing the votes of suburban women, Black voters and Latinos across the Midwest. Biden's campaign issued a new video entitled "Let's Go" after voters in Georgia helped the 81-year old incumbent president secure the last of the 1,968 delegates needed for the nomination, teeing up what would be the first U.S. presidential rematch in nearly 70 years.

Defamation lawsuit against Meghan Markle by half-sister dismissed by judge

A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Meghan Markle, the wife of Britain's Prince Harry, rejecting claims that the actress had made "disparaging, hurtful and false" claims about her half-sister. Markle's half-sister Samantha, with whom she shares a father, had alleged that Markle's statements in a Netflix documentary series and a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey had implied Samantha was a "deceptive fame-seeking imposter with avaricious intentions."

Fatal police shooting of autistic boy in California investigated

Relatives of an autistic boy fatally shot by police while holding a garden tool outside his home are calling for greater transparency by California authorities investigating the incident, the family's lawyer said on Tuesday. Ryan Gainer, 15, who was Black and described by loved ones as a cross-country running enthusiast who aspired to study engineering, was killed on Saturday afternoon in Apple Valley, a Mojave Desert community about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

US House to vote on TikTok crackdown; fate uncertain in Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would give TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the short-video app used by about 170 million Americans or face a ban. The vote is expected around 10 a.m. under fast-track rules that require support by two-thirds of House members for the measure to pass.

US prosecutor says classified document report does not exonerate Biden

A U.S. prosecutor said on Tuesday his investigation of President Joe Biden over his handling of classified documents didn't exonerate the president despite declining to charge him, after setting off a political firestorm by saying Biden had a "poor memory." Former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur faced a grilling from the Republican-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which has been one of the panels conducting an impeachment inquiry into the 81-year-old Democratic president. Hur - who was appointed as the former top federal prosecutor in Maryland by Biden's predecessor and election rival, Republican Donald Trump - said he "did not exonerate" the president. He noted that the investigation uncovered evidence that Biden knowingly kept secret documents after leaving the vice presidency in 2017.

Uvalde police chief resigns days after report into school shooting

The police chief of Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman in 2022 invaded a school and killed 19 children and two teachers, said on Tuesday that he was resigning. The resignation, effective April 6, of police chief Daniel Rodriguez, who was not in Uvalde the day of the shooting at Robb Elementary school, comes just days after the Uvalde City Council released an independent investigation into the shooting it commissioned that exonerated responding officers.

US VP Harris gathers Fat Joe and people pardoned for marijuana convictions to discuss reforms

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday plans to gather rapper Fat Joe and several people pardoned by the Biden administration for marijuana-related convictions for a White House public discussion about criminal justice reform. The meeting comes as Harris, a Democrat, is tasked with convincing people of color and young voters to give President Joe Biden and her a second, four-year term amid fears that voters dissatisfied with sluggish policy reforms may sit out November's election.

(With inputs from agencies.)