US News Roundup: U.S. administers 52.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, CDC says; SolarWinds hack was 'largest and most sophisticated attack' ever and more

With Trump impeachment trial over, wounded Washington grapples with divisions Former President Donald Trump's acquittal on charges of inciting a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol left Democrats and Republicans deeply divided on Sunday even as his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, sought to move on with his political and economic agenda.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. administers 52.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, CDC says

The United States has administered 52,884,356 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and delivered 70,057,800 doses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines as of 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Sunday, the agency said.

SolarWinds hack was 'largest and most sophisticated attack' ever: Microsoft president

A hacking campaign that used a U.S. tech company as a springboard to compromise a raft of U.S. government agencies is "the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen," Microsoft Corp President Brad Smith said. The operation, which was identified in December and that the U.S. government has said was likely orchestrated by Russia, breached software made by SolarWinds Corp, giving hackers access to thousands of companies and government offices that used its products.

Acquitted again by Senate, Trump still a powerful force in Republican politics

It is still Donald Trump's Republican Party - at least for now. The vote by 43 of the 50 Republican senators to acquit Trump on the charge of inciting last month's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, with only seven voting for conviction, highlights just how powerful a grip he has on the party he remade in his image over the past five years.

Icy weather chills Texas wind energy as deep freeze grips much of U.S.

Ice storms knocked out nearly half the wind-power generating capacity of Texas on Sunday as a rare deep freeze across the state locked up turbine towers while driving electricity demand to record levels, the state's grid operator reported. Responding to a request from Governor Greg Abbott, President Joe Biden granted a federal emergency declaration for all 254 counties in the state on Sunday, authorizing U.S. agencies to coordinate disaster relief from severe weather in Texas.

New York police arrest suspect in deadly 'subway slasher' attacks

New York City police have arrested a suspect in connection with a spate of stabbing attacks on the city's subway that left two people dead, authorities said on Sunday. Rigoberto Lopez is charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of second-degree attempted murder, the New York Police Department said on Twitter.

Biden, reflecting on Senate acquittal of Trump, says 'democracy is fragile'

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the Senate's acquittal of former President Donald Trump for inciting an insurrection was a reminder that democracy was fragile, and every American had a duty to defend the truth. "This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile," Biden said in a statement issued hours after the Senate failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump.

With Trump impeachment trial over, wounded Washington grapples with divisions

Former President Donald Trump's acquittal on charges of inciting a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol left Democrats and Republicans deeply divided on Sunday even as his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, sought to move on with his political and economic agenda. Democrats said they looked to the courts for possible civil and criminal charges against the former Republican president over the assault by his supporters on Jan. 6, which left five people dead.

CDC chief warns it's too soon in U.S. to lift COVID-19 mask mandates

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday it is "absolutely" too soon to lift mask mandates, citing daily COVID-19 case numbers that despite recent declines remain more than double the levels seen last summer. Dr. Rochelle Walensky's warning that face-covering requirements are still critical came just days after governors in Iowa and Montana lifted long-standing mask mandates in their states.

Appeals court halts construction at ConocoPhillips Alaska project

An appeals court has blocked construction of ConocoPhillips' $2 billion-plus Willow crude oil project in Alaska, putting on hold plans for one of the biggest oil projects in North Slope history. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a weekend order sided with environmental and Native plaintiffs who challenged the Trump administration's go-ahead for ConocoPhillips' Willow project. Trump made oil-and-gas drilling a priority during his four-year term, but his successor, Joseph Biden, has taken several steps to restrict fossil fuel development.

Texas starts rolling power outages to cope with deep freeze

The state of Texas continued to reel under a deep freeze, leaving utilities scrambling to meet record power demand and forcing the state's grid operator to enforce rotating blackouts early on Monday. Apart from Texas, much of the United States from the Pacific Northwest through the Great Plains and into the mid-Atlantic states has been in the grip of bone-chilling weather over the weekend, featuring snow, sleet and freezing rain.

(With inputs from agencies.)