Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden thinks bar is too high for convicting violent cops

President Joe Biden thinks "the bar is too high" for convicting violent U.S. police officers and will use his speech to Congress next week to push for reform, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. "He believes the bar for convicting officers is too high," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. "It needs to be changed."

Bipartisan group of senators presses forward on U.S. policing reform talks

One day after a former police officer was convicted of murdering George Floyd, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers was in talks on a policing reform bill, but the issue of qualified immunity for officers accused of excessive force remained a sticking point. Republican Senator Tim Scott and Democratic Senator Cory Booker said on Wednesday that talks were making progress. Democratic Representative Karen Bass, whose George Floyd Justice in Policing Act passed the House of Representatives earlier this year, has also been involved.

Ohio probes police shooting of Black teenage girl caught on camera

State investigators in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday were probing the fatal police shooting of a Black teenage girl in a confrontation caught on body-camera video that appeared to show her holding a knife and lunging at two people. The girl, identified by police as 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, was shot on Tuesday around the same time a Minneapolis jury convicted a white former police officer of murdering George Floyd last year by kneeling on his neck.

Five years after the death of Prince, fans gather at his Paisley Park estate

Draped in shades of purple, fans of the late artist Prince huddled in a line outside his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, waiting to enter the museum to remember the musician's life on the fifth anniversary of his death. "We came to pay our respects to the best, greatest, most, amazing musician ever. You know, we've been fans forever. We're family. We've made family from all over the world through this man ... It was important for us to be here," said Barbara Rodgers, who traveled to Minnesota from Florida with her husband Ali and her friend Sara.

White House backs tech bill boosting U.S. supply chains - spokeswoman

The White House on Wednesday threw its support behind a legislative effort to address Chinese competition, saying U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the bipartisan bill aimed at strengthen U.S. supply chains. "We look forward to working with Congress to further shape this legislation to renew America’s global leadership in science and technology and to make sure we develop and manufacture the technologies of the future," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Divided U.S. Senate confirms Vanita Gupta to No. 3 job at Justice Department

A divided U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Vanita Gupta as the first woman of color to serve in the No. 3 job at the Justice Department, a role at the forefront of the department's renewed efforts to combat systemic racism in policing. Gupta won confirmation as President Joe Biden's associate attorney general in a final vote of 51-49. Only one Republican - Lisa Murkowski of Alaska - voted to confirm her, saying she felt Gupta was personally committed to combating injustice.

Minneapolis police face U.S. bias probe after Floyd murder verdict

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a sweeping civil investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis following a jury's verdict that former city police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd. The probe is the first major action of Attorney General Merrick Garland, after President Joe Biden vowed to address systemic racism in the United States. It will consider whether the department engages "in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests," he said.

Nineteenth U.S. death tied to Takata air bag reported in South Carolina

Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it had confirmed the 19th U.S. death tied to a ruptured Takata air bag inflator since 2009 -- and the 16th in one of its vehicles. The Japanese automaker said that following a joint inspection, the company and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that a defective Takata driver’s air bag inflator ruptured in the crash of a 2002 Honda Accord on Jan. 9, 2021, in Lancaster County, South Carolina.

'I feel sadness': Family and friends view body of Daunte Wright

Mourners gathered at a Minneapolis church on Wednesday to view the body of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man whose fatal shooting by a police officer in a nearby suburb set off protests that had cast a shadow over the trial for the death of George Floyd. The public viewing comes as activists against racism and police violence celebrate the guilty verdict delivered on Tuesday to Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering Floyd. But Wright's death in the middle of the three-week trial has dampened the mood.

At Black-owned and activist bookstores, talk of the next chapter in U.S. civil rights

The histories, poems and novels were all there, lining the shelves of some of the best known Black-owned and activist bookstores in the United States. And the talk filling cultural hubs like Busboys and Poets in Washington on Wednesday was about the latest chapter in U.S. civil rights: the murder conviction of a white police officer for killing a Black man.