Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Republican lawmakers paralyzed by Trump's false fraud claims On Jan. 6, right after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, 147 Republican lawmakers voted the way then-president Donald Trump and the rioters had demanded - to overturn his election loss, after months of Trump’s baseless claims that the election had been stolen.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Special Report: Stolen election? Republican lawmakers paralyzed by Trump's false fraud claims

On Jan. 6, right after the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, 147 Republican lawmakers voted the way then-president Donald Trump and the rioters had demanded - to overturn his election loss, after months of Trump’s baseless claims that the election had been stolen. A month later, the Republican party remains paralyzed by that false narrative. Fully 133 of those lawmakers, or 90%, are now declining to either endorse or repudiate Trump’s continuing insistence that he was cheated by systemic voter fraud, according to a Reuters survey of all 147 lawmakers and a review of public statements they made to explain their votes against certifying the Electoral College results. Berlin welcomes freeze of U.S. troop reduction in Germany

The German government welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement that his administration would suspend any planned troop withdrawals from Germany in another sign of thawing relations between Washington and Berlin. "We have always been convinced that the deployment of American troops in Germany serves European and transatlantic security," Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told a regular news conference on Friday, adding that the decades-long cooperation with U.S. forces was highly valuable. U.S. House punishes Republican congresswoman over incendiary remarks

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of two high-profile committee assignments on Thursday, punishing the Republican congresswoman for incendiary remarks that included support for violence against Democrats. In a test of unity for a House Republican caucus riven by division, nearly 95 percent of Republicans voted to oppose the punishment after Greene expressed regret for remarks made before she entered office but failed to apologize. U.N. chief names Michael Bloomberg climate envoy to rally action

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reappointed former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as his special envoy on climate ambition and solutions on Friday "to mobilize stronger and more ambitious climate action" ahead of a global summit in November. Bloomberg was previously the U.N. special envoy for climate action between March 2018 and November 2019. He stepped down shortly before announcing his bid for the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination. He dropped out of the race in March 2020. U.S. Senate passes budget plan to advance Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID aid package

The U.S. Senate early on Friday passed a budget plan that would allow for passage of President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package in coming weeks without Republican support. Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie by casting a vote in favor of the Democratic measure, sending it to the House of Representatives for final approval. Trump rejects call to testify at his impeachment trial

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers on Thursday rejected a request from Democrats to testify at his impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate next week, dismissing their invitation as a "public relations stunt." Democrats in the House of Representatives accuse Trump of inciting insurrection when he urged supporters to "fight" his election defeat before they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, fought with police and sent lawmakers scrambling for safety. Laugh, but not too hard: New Super Bowl advertisers keep it light in pandemic

In a teaser ad Uber Eats released ahead of the Super Bowl, actor Mike Myers, reprising his role as Wayne from “Wayne’s World,” tells sidekick Garth what is on everybody’s mind: “2020, man, that was a great year...not.” The food delivery app and other brands doing well during the pandemic including electronics brand Logitech and gardening company Scotts Miracle-Gro, will replace long-time advertisers during Sunday's Super Bowl LV telecast. 'America is back' - Biden touts muscular foreign policy in first diplomatic speech

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday promised a new era after the scattershot foreign policy of his predecessor, Donald Trump, declaring "America is back" on the global stage in his first diplomatic address as president. In his speech, Biden signaled aggressive approaches to China and Russia, urged Myanmar's military leaders to halt their coup, and declared an end to U.S. support for a Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen. One U.S. company's risky effort to build a new mask factory during COVID

Dan Izhaky is betting $4 million that the pandemic will change what Americans are willing to pay for high quality face masks from his new factory here in this suburb of Los Angeles. It’s a risky wager. U.S. FDA gearing up for rapid review of potential COVID-19 booster shots

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is planning a rapid review process for quick turnaround of new COVID-19 booster shots if variants of the coronavirus emerge against which the vaccines do not provide protection, the agency's top official said on Thursday. Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said that if new variants of the coronavirus emerge that require booster shots or changes to vaccines, the agency will not require the type of large trials that were required for emergency use authorization or approval.