Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Charge dropped against woman who made false claim to cops about Black man in Central Park A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed a misdemeanor charge against a white New York City woman who became an internet video sensation last spring when she falsely claimed a Black man threatened her in Manhattan's Central Park, prosecutors said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump lashes out at McConnell in deepening feud between top Republicans

Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday, signaling a growing feud between the two most senior Republican voices after the party lost the White House and control of the Senate. "Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again," Trump said in a statement just three days after McConnell excoriated him following the former president's second impeachment trial, on a charge of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. faithful mark Ash Wednesday from a distance, celebrate Purim with drive-through carnivals

Kimberly Hendricks will usher in the somber Christian period of Lent on Ash Wednesday from the parking lot of her Sacramento church instead of its sanctuary thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. She and the other congregants of St. John's Lutheran Church in California will listen to the familiar prayers from their car radios before marking their own foreheads with a cross using ash and oil they mixed themselves. Charge dropped against woman who made false claim to cops about Black man in Central Park

A New York judge on Tuesday dismissed a misdemeanor charge against a white New York City woman who became an internet video sensation last spring when she falsely claimed a Black man threatened her in Manhattan's Central Park, prosecutors said. Amy Cooper was arraigned in New York in October on a charge of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. Prosecutors said she also falsely accused the man of trying to assault her. New COVID-19 cases in U.S. fall for fifth week in a row

The United States last week reported a 23% drop in new cases of COVID-19 and a 16% fall in the number of people hospitalized with the virus, with both figures declining for a fifth week in a row. The progress against the virus, however, is threatened by several new variants, experts said, adding that face masks and social distancing measures were still very much needed. With Trump's impeachment trial over, Biden pushes his agenda in televised town hall

President Joe Biden expressed optimism on Tuesday that most U.S. schools would be open by late spring and vowed to continue accelerating the country's COVID-19 vaccination program, as he sought to elevate his agenda now the drama of Donald Trump's impeachment trial is over. In a wide-ranging televised town hall that touched on the pandemic, economic relief, China-U.S. relations and race and policing, Biden also aimed to build public support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, which is awaiting congressional action. COVID school closures may slightly stunt U.S. economic growth: Fed paper

U.S. school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic may end up stunting U.S. economic growth over the long term by reducing the number of college-educated workers and increasing the number of high-school dropouts, according to a paper published Monday by the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank. The educational sector is a huge engine https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-schools-analys/u-s-public-schools-focus-of-debate-on-reopening-are-unsung-economic-force-idUSKCN24F2AZ of jobs for the U.S. economy, with a workforce of about 8 million Americans before the pandemic. Schools in large swaths of the United States are currently operating online, or only partially in-person. The new Biden administration has been pushing to return students to the classroom, noting the toll that school closures have taken on education and family life. Biden suggests more police funding, no jail for drug offenders

President Joe Biden outlined changes he hopes to make to criminal justice and policing in the United States during a town hall Tuesday night, highlighting issues that his administration may tackle after COVID-19 relief. Asked how United States law enforcement could protect citizens in high crime neighborhoods while training officers to police compassionately, Biden answered "By number one, not defunding the police." Texans shiver through night, as Arctic cold keeps energy offline

Millions of people in Texas awoke on Wednesday without heat again, as power failures continued to plague the state following a historic winter storm that has killed 21 people so far. Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other top officials in the state, the country's second largest, are demanding answers from operators and leaders at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot), an energy cooperative responsible for 90% of the state's electricity. New York attorney general sues Amazon over COVID-19 shortfalls

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Amazon.com Inc on Tuesday over its handling of worker safety issues around the COVID-19 pandemic at two warehouses, just days after the retailer filed its own lawsuit seeking to block her case. In a complaint filed in a New York state court in Manhattan, James said Amazon's drive for faster growth and higher profits led to its "flagrant disregard" of steps needed to protect workers from the coronavirus at a Staten Island fulfillment center and a Queens distribution center, both in New York City. U.S. court dismisses case against Turkey's Halkbank by victims of Iran-linked attacks

A U.S. judge on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a case against Turkish state lender Halkbank filed by victims of attacks by groups linked to Iran, on the condition that the sides reach an agreement to carry on with the case in Turkey. Halkbank has been at the centre of a major dispute between Ankara and Washington. It was indicted in a separate case in New York in 2019, accused of helping Iran evade American sanctions.