Reuters US Domestic News Summary

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday signed a bill making Juneteenth the 11th federally recognized holiday, just over a year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited nationwide protests for racial justice and for ending police brutality. U.S. NTSB to probe highway crash that killed 10 in Alabama The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sunday it would investigate a highway crash in Alabama that killed nine children and a young father when a van and other vehicles slammed together during Tropical Storm Claudette.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

'So happy': Honduran asylum-seeker celebrates rejoining family in U.S.

There was one word that rolled off migrant Andy Molina's tongue as he spoke about plans to soon reunite with his wife and son in the United States after two years of separation: "happy."

The 27-year-old from Honduras and his 10-year-old daughter Eleana Victoria spent more than a year in Mexico while waiting to be able to apply for asylum in the United States, held back by a Trump-era program that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for court cases.

U.S. senators haggle over funding of $1 trillion infrastructure compromise

A bipartisan infrastructure plan costing a little over $1 trillion, only about a fourth of what President Joe Biden initially proposed, has been gaining support in the U.S. Senate, but disputes continued on Sunday over how it should be funded. Biden told reporters last week that he will have a response to the plan as soon as Monday after reviewing it. Twenty-one of the 100 U.S. senators - including 11 Republicans, nine Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats - are working on the framework to rebuild roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure that sources said would cost $1.2 trillion over eight years.

Bidens announce death of 'first dog' Champ

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Saturday announced the passing of their German shepherd Champ, who they called a "constant, cherished companion" for 13 years. "In our most joyful moments and in our most grief-stricken days, he was there with us, sensitive to our every unspoken feeling and emotion. We love our sweet, good boy and will miss him always," the Bidens said in a statement.

U.S. administers more than 317 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 317,117,797 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 379,003,410 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 316,048,776 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by June 18 out of 377,935,390 doses delivered.

Cheers and quiet reflection as U.S. crowds mark Juneteenth

Marching bands sparked loud cheers and quieter reflections about racial justice from crowds gathered on Saturday to mark Juneteenth as a new U.S. federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday signed a bill making Juneteenth the 11th federally recognized holiday, just over a year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis ignited nationwide protests for racial justice and for ending police brutality.

U.S. NTSB to probe highway crash that killed 10 in Alabama

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Sunday it would investigate a highway crash in Alabama that killed nine children and a young father when a van and other vehicles slammed together during Tropical Storm Claudette. The NTSB said a team of 10 investigators would focus on the role of vehicle technologies like forward collision warning systems, fuel tank integrity, motor carrier operations and occupant survivability.

Nine children, one adult killed in Alabama highway crash

Nine children and a young father were killed when a van and other vehicles slammed together on a rain-drenched Alabama highway during Tropical Storm Claudette, authorities said on Sunday. A nine-month-old girl and her 29-year-old father died in the Saturday afternoon pileup of about 18 vehicles, including an Alabama Sheriffs Youth Ranches vehicle carrying eight other children aged 4 to 17, who were killed, Butler County Sheriff Danny Bond said.

American Airlines to cut 1% of July flights as travel rebound strains operations

American Airlines on Sunday said it would cancel around 1% of its flights in July to serve a surprise uptick in travel demand at a time when the airline struggles with unprecedented weather and a labor shortage at some of its hubs. American Airlines said the move would bring additional resilience and certainty to its summer operations.

U.S extends travel restrictions at Canada, Mexico land borders through July 21

U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least July 21, the U.S. Homeland Security Department said on Sunday. The 30-day extension came after Canada announced its own extension on Friday of the requirements that were set to expire on Monday and have been in place since March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

One dead after driver crashes into crowd at Pride Parade in Florida

One person died and another was injured after a pickup truck ran into a crowd of spectators at a Pride parade in south Florida on Saturday, local authorities said. Police have apprehended the truck driver responsible for the crash at the festival in Fort Lauderdale, Mayor Dean Trantalis told https://bit.ly/35FiWwq Miami television station WSVN.

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