US Domestic News Roundup: 2017 Michigan airport stabbing; Trump impact on FBI; California wildfire

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Iowa senator says expect fewer biofuel waivers from Wheeler's EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may issue fewer biofuel waivers to small refineries under Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler than it did under its previous leadership, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa said on Tuesday. "I sense that Wheeler has a feeling that (former Administrator Scott Pruitt) was very liberal on his issuing of waivers," Grassley told a conference call.

Teams 'look for skulls' in ashes of California's deadliest wildfire

White-clad forensic teams with cadaver dogs fanned out across a ghostly landscape strewn with ash and charred debris searching on Tuesday for more human remains left from a blaze that killed at least 42 people in California's deadliest wildfire disaster. The intensified effort to locate victims came on the sixth day of a blaze that incinerated over 7,000 homes and other buildings, including most of the town of Paradise in the Sierra foothills of rural Butte County about 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco.

House Democrats to probe Trump impact on FBI, Justice: lawmaker

The incoming Democratic chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee intends to investigate President Donald Trump's impact on the integrity of the Justice Department and the FBI, according to a letter sent to top federal law enforcement officials on Tuesday. Representative Jerrold Nadler, now the panel's top Democrat, gave acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and FBI Director Christopher Wray until Dec. 31 to respond to more than 100 letters House Democrats have already sent concerning Trump's behavior toward U.S. law enforcement, including verbal attacks on senior officials.

U.S. top court to review Virginia voting districts in race case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will review for a second time whether Republican legislators in Virginia drew electoral districts in the state in a way that unlawfully diluted the clout of black voters. The high court will hear an appeal by the Republican-led state House of Delegates of a June ruling by a federal three-judge panel that said the 11 state House districts in question all violated the rights of black voters to equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

U.S. anti-Semitic hate crimes spiked 37 per cent in 2017: FBI

Hate crimes in the United States jumped 17 percent in 2017, with a huge 37 percent spike in anti-Semitic attacks, marking the third year in a row that such attacks have increased, according to FBI data released on Tuesday. The release of the data comes just weeks after a gunman burst into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shot dead 11 worshippers while shouting "All Jews must die."

El Chapo is a scapegoat for drug lord who bribed Mexico's president: lawyer

A lawyer for accused Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman told a New York jury in opening remarks that his client was a scapegoat for the real leader of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. "He's blamed for being the leader while the real leaders are living freely and openly in Mexico," attorney Jeffrey Lichtman said on the first day of Guzman's trial for drug smuggling in Brooklyn federal court, which is expected to last up to four months. "In truth he controlled nothing. Mayo Zambada did."

Ohio lays murder charges in deaths of eight people in rural family feud

Four members of one family were charged on Tuesday with the April 2016 execution-style shooting deaths of eight members of another rural Ohio family, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced. Four members of the Wagner family were charged with murdering seven members of the Rhoden family and a fiancée of one of the victims, DeWine said by Twitter.

U.S. judge to hold hearing on CNN White House lawsuit

A federal judge said he would hold a hearing on Wednesday on CNN's lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking the speedy reinstatement of press credentials for White House correspondent Jim Acosta, a frequent target of President Donald Trump. In its lawsuit filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, the cable news network said the White House violated the First Amendment right to free speech as well as the due process clause of the Constitution providing fair treatment through a judicial process. The network asked for a temporary restraining order.

U.S. court orders Georgia to continue review of governor's race

Georgia voters will wait until at least Friday for the final word on who will be their next governor after a U.S. federal judge ordered state election officials to review provisional ballots cast in last week's election. In an order late on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg urged county election officials to conduct a "good faith" or "independent" review of ballots cast by voters on a provisional basis in the race between Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican and former Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp.

Man convicted on terrorism charge in 2017 Michigan airport stabbing

A man accused of stabbing a police officer at a Michigan airport last year was convicted in U.S. federal court on Tuesday of charges including terrorism, a court official said. A jury in Flint, Michigan, found Amor Ftouhi guilty on charges of committing an act of violence at an international airport, interference with airport security and committing an act of terrorism, the court said.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)