US Domestic News Roundup: Unruly airline passenger incidents fall amid fines, but still high -U.S. FAA; White House analysis says wealthy Americans pay far less in taxes than others and more

He is pushing a $3.5 trillion bill that would expand federal efforts to fight climate change, reduce the cost of child care and decrease poverty by getting the super rich and corporations to pay more taxes. Haitian migrants face crucial choices as expulsion flights ramp up A migrant camp in Texas near the Mexican border where as many as 14,000 Haitians amassed in recent days has shrunk to less than half that size amid expulsion flights and detentions, even as some stay, committed to trying to remain in the United States.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Unruly airline passenger incidents fall amid fines, but still high -U.S. FAA

The rate of unruly airline passenger incidents has dropped sharply since regulators moved to impose fines in January but remains twice as high as last year, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday. The incidents were occurring six times per 10,000 flights as of last week - a 50% drop from early 2021 when the agency moved to a "zero-tolerance policy" against fliers lashing out, it said in a statement.

White House analysis says wealthy Americans pay far less in taxes than others

The White House on Thursday published a new economic analysis that showed how the wealthiest Americans pay far less in taxes than others - an effort to bolster President Joe Biden's push to increase taxes on the rich to fund his economic agenda. "I'm sick and tired of the super-wealthy and giant corporations not paying their fair share in taxes," Biden wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. He is pushing a $3.5 trillion bill that would expand federal efforts to fight climate change, reduce the cost of child care and decrease poverty by getting the super rich and corporations to pay more taxes.

Haitian migrants face crucial choices as expulsion flights ramp up

A migrant camp in Texas near the Mexican border where as many as 14,000 Haitians amassed in recent days has shrunk to less than half that size amid expulsion flights and detentions, even as some stay, committed to trying to remain in the United States. The United States has returned 1,401 migrants from the camp at Del Rio, Texas, to Haiti and taken another 3,206 people into custody, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said late on Wednesday.

Florida to consider near-ban on abortion similar to Texas' new law

A Florida Republican lawmaker has filed a bill that would ban abortions after six to eight weeks and allow members of the community to sue doctors for terminating pregnancies in what may be the first effort to mirror a similar new law in Texas. The bill by state Representative Webster Barnaby would ban abortions after regular cardiac contractions are detected in an embryo, known as a fetal heartbeat even though the heart has not yet developed, about six to eight weeks into pregnancy. That is before many women know they are pregnant.

California governor signs legislation to protect warehouse workers

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a bill that limits warehouse employers like Amazon.com Inc from setting productivity quotas, the first legislation of its kind in the United States. The new provisions require all companies using warehouse labour to disclose productivity quotas to employees and government agencies and bar use of algorithms that prevent employees from taking rests and bathroom breaks, thereby endangering their health and safety, the governor's office said.

Search for Gabby Petito's fiance in Florida wilderness enters sixth day

The exhaustive search for slain travel blogger Gabby Petito's fiance in a vast Florida wilderness entered a sixth day on Thursday as the mystery deepened around a case that has engrossed Americans. A team of divers joined police and FBI agents using boats and helicopters looking for Brian Laundrie, 23, in the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve on Wednesday, but a spokesman said at nightfall that they had found "nothing" to show for their efforts.

Biden administration takes aim at climate warming gas

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday finalized a rule that will slash the use of a potent climate-warming gas commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners by 85% over the next 15 years, a move that will help halve greenhouse gas emissions this decade. The rule aims to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 85% in a range of common appliances and carries out legislation passed with bipartisan support in Congress last year. It would make the U.S. compliant with the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a global treaty to reduce HFCs that the U.S. has not yet ratified.

Alaska, overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, adopts crisis standards for hospitals

Alaska, which led most U.S. states in coronavirus vaccinations months ago, took the drastic step on Wednesday of imposing crisis-care standards for its entire hospital system, declaring that a crushing surge in COVID-19 patients has forced rationing of strained medical resources. Governor Mike Dunleavy and health officials announced the move as the tally of newly confirmed cases statewide reached another single-day record of 1,224 patients amid a wave of infections driven by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant among the unvaccinated.

Judge dismisses cases against Ohio State University over sex abuse

A federal judge has dismissed cases brought by several former students against Ohio State University tied to the sexual abuse they said they suffered against former university athletics team doctor Richard Strauss. Judge Michael Watson said it was indisputable that Strauss - who committed suicide in 2005 - had abused hundreds of young men.

U.S. special envoy for Haiti resigns amid deportations -report

The U.S. special envoy for Haiti, Ambassador Daniel Foote, has resigned amid mass deportations of Haitian refugees who fled recent political turmoil and natural disasters at home, a PBS reporter said in a Twitter post on Thursday. "I will not be associated with the United States' inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs in control of daily life," Foote said in his resignation, according to the report.