US Domestic News Roundup: Protests 'to change the whole wide world' following Floyd's funeral; U.S. says consulate in China's Wuhan to reopen in near future and more

Protests 'to change the whole wide world' following Floyd's funeralProtesters will take to the streets across the United States again on Wednesday one day after the funeral of George Floyd, whose death in police custody has ignited the biggest surge of anti-racism activism since the civil rights era of the 1960s.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Protests 'to change the whole wide world' following Floyd's funeral

Protesters will take to the streets across the United States again on Wednesday one day after the funeral of George Floyd, whose death in police custody has ignited the biggest surge of anti-racist activism since the civil rights era of the 1960s. Hundreds of protesters in the west coast city of Seattle filled City Hall into early Wednesday calling for the mayor to resign and for police reforms.

George Floyd's brother to address U.S. House panel on police reforms

One of the brothers of George Floyd, whose death in Minneapolis sparked protests around the world, is due to speak to a Democratic-led congressional panel on Wednesday as lawmakers take on the twin issues of police violence and racial injustice. Philonise Floyd, 42, of Missouri City, Texas, near Houston, will testify before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, along with family attorney Ben Crump and 10 others at the first congressional hearing to examine the social and political undercurrents that have fueled weeks of protests nationwide and overseas.

Long lines, voting machine problems fuel investigations in U.S. state of Georgia

Voters encountered long lines and problems with voting machines on Tuesday during a chaotic day of in-person balloting in Georgia, the latest state to struggle to conduct elections amid the health worries of the coronavirus pandemic. State Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the difficulties, and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office would investigate problems in two counties that are Democratic strongholds in an effort to resolve the issues before the November general election.

Little evidence of antifa links in U.S. prosecutions of those charged in protest violence

The U.S. Justice Department moved swiftly to bring federal charges against 53 individuals accused of violence during nationwide protests that swept across the United States calling for an end to police brutality. Attorney General William Barr promised a crackdown on members of the anti-fascist movement known as antifa and other "extremists" he blamed for helping to drive the violence.

Special Report: Pandemic exposes systemic staffing problems at U.S. nursing homes

One night in April, as coronavirus swept through the Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, Robyn Esaw, a double amputee, signaled for help with her bedpan. She said she hit the bedside button that turns on a red hallway light. None of the few remaining staff showed up - and one of them turned the light off. Esaw only got help, eventually, by wheeling herself to the nursing station and yelling. On another night in another room of the New Jersey home, Barbara Grimes noticed her roommate sitting in a puddle of urine, which seeped into a wound on her tailbone. No one checked on the roommate for three hours. The woman, Grimes said, had given up on calling for help.

U.S. says consulate in China's Wuhan to reopen in near future

The United States will soon resume operations at its consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus outbreak began late last year, the U.S. Embassy said on Wednesday. U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, "intends to resume operations in Wuhan in the near future", Frank Whitaker, minister counselor for Public Affairs at the embassy, said in an email to Reuters, without giving a specific date.

Tim Scott, the U.S. Senate's only black Republican, leads police reform push

South Carolina's U.S. Senator Tim Scott, the chamber's only black Republican, was thrust into the center of the national debate on policing when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put him in charge of the caucus's response to protests over racial inequality and the use of force by law enforcement. In announcing that Scott would lead the party's effort to craft legislation, McConnell evoked the long fight for racial equality, and Scott's life as a black American.

California, Southwest face new coronavirus woes as U.S. economy reopens

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are spiking in parts of California and the U.S. Southwest, prompting Arizona to reactivate its emergency plan for medical facilities and California to place counties where half its population lives on a watch list. The uptick in cases, which could lead authorities to reimpose or tighten public health restrictions aimed at slowing the virus' spread, complicates efforts to reopen the U.S. economy, which has been devastated by shelter-at-home rules.

Retired judge to argue government shouldn't drop case against Trump ex-adviser Flynn

A retired judge on Wednesday is due to file his arguments for why a federal court in Washington should not allow the Justice Department to dismiss its criminal case against President Donald Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The U.S. district judge hearing the case, Emmet Sullivan, last month tapped retired colleague John Gleeson to serve as a "friend of the court," after the Justice Department abruptly asked the court to dismiss the criminal charge against Flynn.

A picture and its story: A shooting in Seattle

Stunned protesters surround a car that has driven into their ranks. A man is lying on the ground nearby. Another man exits the driver's side of the vehicle brandishing a gun. The protesters back away from him and he runs off and melts into the crowd as medics rush to help the wounded man. The dramatic scenes of a drive-by shooting on the streets of Seattle were captured by Reuters photographer Lindsey Wasson during protests against police brutality and racism that have rocked the city - and many other places across the United States - in recent days.