US Domestic News Summary: U.S. panel sets deadline for Trump to decide participation in impeachment hearings

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. panel sets deadline for Trump to decide participation in impeachment hearings

A U.S. congressional panel on Friday gave President Donald Trump one week to say whether his legal counsel intends to introduce evidence and call witnesses in upcoming impeachment proceedings that could lead to formal charges of misconduct within a few weeks. The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee, which is due to begin weighing possible articles of impeachment against Trump next week, sent a two-page letter to the president setting a deadline of 5 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) on Dec. 6 for the president's counsel to specify intended actions under the committee's impeachment procedures. Two children dead, one missing in Arizona floods as winter storm blankets U.S.

Two children were found dead and another was missing in Arizona on Saturday after the vehicle they were in became stuck while crossing a storm-swollen forest creek outside Phoenix, part of a post-Thanksgiving winter storm that pummeled wide swathes of the country. The storm system has been slowly moving eastward across the United States, clogging the Midwest with snow and disrupting flights on the busiest travel weekend of the year. Evacuation lifted for Texas towns rattled by chemical plant blast

Residents of four Texas communities menaced by a petrochemical fire began returning to their homes on Friday after authorities declared the blaze contained, said an official for Jefferson County, and as federal and state investigators began scouring for clues to its origin. The blaze at the TPC Group petrochemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, was contained by firefighters and the threat of further explosions greatly reduced, said country official Allison Getz. Black Friday shoppers stay away from stores, make $7 billion-plus splurge online

U.S. shoppers made more purchases online on Black Friday than in the mall - hurting traffic and sales at brick-and-mortar stores, according to data that offered a glimpse into what is still one of the busiest shopping days of the year. For the first time in several years, however, store traffic on Thanksgiving evening grew - indicating a shift in when consumers are leaving their homes to shop. It is also a sign of how Thursday evening store openings have continued to hurt what has traditionally been a day that kicked off the U.S. holiday season. Chicago police officer suspended for slamming man to ground during arrest

A Chicago police officer was suspended this week after video recorded by a bystander showed him hurling a man forcefully onto the sidewalk during an arrest, in footage described by Mayor Lori Lightfoot as "highly disturbing." The incident took place on Thursday, the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, when police approached a 29-year-old man drinking alcohol in the afternoon at a bus stop on Chicago's South Side, CBS News reported. Police said the man became agitated, threatened an officer and spat on his face, leading to the body slam filmed by a passerby, the report said. U.S. Supreme Court weighs challenge to New York gun transport limits

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear its first major gun rights case in nearly a decade on Monday in a challenge backed by the National Rifle Association over a now-amended New York City handgun regulation that had prevented licensed owners from taking their handguns outside the city. The nine justices will hear arguments in an appeal by three handgun owners and the New York state affiliate of the NRA - the gun rights group closely aligned with President Donald Trump and other Republicans - who say the regulation violates the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Fiat Chrysler reaches tentative labor deal with United Auto Workers

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday announced a tentative agreement for a four-year labor contract, a boost for the automaker as it works to merge with France's Groupe PSA. Italian-American Fiat Chrysler and PSA, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen, last month announced a planned $50 billion merger to create the world's fourth-largest automaker. South Dakota plane crash kills 9, injures 3: AP, citing authorities

Nine people were killed and three were injured in an airplane crash in the U.S. state of South Dakota, the Associated Press reported late on Saturday, citing authorities. The aircraft, a Pilatus PC-12, carrying 12 people on board, was bound for Idaho from South Dakota before it crashed around noon on Saturday, the news agency said, citing National Transportation Safety Board's Peter Knudson.