US Domestic News: 'Wicked betrayal,' Atlanta shooting suspect; 14 to 74 years in prison for healthcare fraud and more

U.S. shipped 22 million COVID-19 shots this week: White House A White House official on Friday said the U.S. government has distributed 22 million COVID-19 shots to locations across the United States this week, as it pushes to deliver enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of May. U.S. President Joe Biden has urged states to offer shots to all adults in May and said there will be enough doses for every adult who wants a shot by the end of that month.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Atlanta shooting suspect's church decries killings as 'wicked betrayal'

The Baptist church where the suspect in this week's Atlanta-area spa killings was a member issued a statement on Friday decrying the attack as a wicked betrayal of faith and describing the eight victims, who included six women of Asian descent, as blameless. Robert Aaron Long, 21, has been charged with eight counts of homicide in Tuesday's fatal shooting of four people at two day spas in Atlanta and four others at another spa in Cherokee County, about 40 miles (64 km) north of the state capital.

U.S. sentences 14 to combined 74 years in prison for healthcare fraud

U.S. authorities on Friday sentenced 14 defendants to a total of more than 74 years in prison for steering patients to a defunct hospital in Texas in a $200 million kickback scheme. Defendants in the case disguised kickbacks as "consulting fees" calculated as a percentage of surgeries each doctor referred to the defunct hospital, the Forest Park Medical Center, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

New U.S. trade 'czar' Tai vows to promote equitable growth, give workers more say

New U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai vowed on Friday to leverage trade to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus crisis by focusing on policies that promoted more equitable growth and benefited American workers. Tai, the first woman of color to lead the agency, was sworn in on Thursday - her birthday - after winning confirmation by the U.S. Senate in a rare unanimous vote.

Tears and outrage: Victims of Georgia spa killings remembered by loved ones

Clutching a bouquet of flowers, Jami Webb wept alongside her fiance Kevin Chen at a makeshift memorial set up in front of Young's Asian Massage for the victims of this week's shooting rampage at three Atlanta-area spas. Most of those who stopped and prayed in front of the flowers, burning candles and signs condemning racism and violence were strangers to the eight victims. But for Webb, 29, and her family, the visit was personal and deeply painful.

Biden steps up family expulsions as U.S.-Mexico border arrivals keep climbing

The United States is expelling migrants to Mexico far from where they are caught crossing the border, according to Reuters witnesses, in a move that circumvents the refusal of authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas who stopped accepting the return of migrant families with younger children. The practice is a sign that President Joe Biden is toughening his approach to the growing humanitarian crisis on the U.S.-Mexican border after his administration's entreaties for Central American migrants to stay home have failed to stop thousands from heading north.

'I'm scared right now': U.S. migrants excluded from stimulus aid fret

Many Americans have seen stimulus checks hit their bank accounts in recent days, but some, including many migrants living in the United States illegally, are excluded from receiving the aid. In New York, immigrant advocate groups like the New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC) and Make the Road are pushing for the state to pass a $3.5 billion fund to help them.

U.S. Representative Tom Reed accused of sexual misconduct -Washington Post

Republican U.S. Representative Tom Reed, who has been mulling a challenge to Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has been accused of sexual misconduct by a former insurance company lobbyist, the Washington Post reported on Friday. Nicolette Davis, who now serves in the U.S. military, told the newspaper that in 2017 Reed inappropriately placed his hand on her during a "networking trip" in Minneapolis.

Current Cuomo staffer accuses NY governor of suggestive comments, ogling

A current aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has accused him of ogling her body and subjecting her and a female colleague to a series of unwanted, sexually suggestive remarks, the New York Times reported on Friday. Alyssa McGrath, 33, became the latest of at least eight women who have publicly alleged sexual misconduct by Cuomo and the first who is currently employed in the office of the third-term governor to do so.

Killings of Asian women renew push for tougher U.S. hate crime laws

The killings of six women of Asian descent in Georgia this week have prompted fresh calls to pass hate crime laws in the handful of states without them and for law enforcement elsewhere to invoke protections already in place. U.S. hate crime laws vary widely by state, and prosecutors do not always use them. But experts say such laws - which establish tougher penalties for crimes that are motivated by racial, gender or other types of hatred - offer important protections.

U.S. shipped 22 million COVID-19 shots this week: White House

A White House official on Friday said the U.S. government has distributed 22 million COVID-19 shots to locations across the United States this week, as it pushes to deliver enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of May. U.S. President Joe Biden has urged states to offer shots to all adults in May and said there will be enough doses for every adult who wants a shot by the end of that month.