US Domestic News Roundup: US govt stops funding for late-stage study of Inovio's COVID-19 vaccine; Sexual assault prosecutions should be taken out and more

It would also nearly double taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million. Republicans unveil $568 billion infrastructure package to counter Biden U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday proposed a $568 billion, five-year infrastructure package as a counteroffer to President Joe Biden's sweeping $2.3 trillion plan, calling their measure a good-faith effort toward bipartisan negotiations.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. govt stops funding for late-stage study of Inovio's COVID-19 vaccine

Drug developer Inovio Pharmaceuticals said on Friday the U.S. government had stopped funding for a late-stage study testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, due to the increasing availability of authorized shots in the country. "This decision is not a reflection of the awardee or product, rather a fast-moving environment associated with the former Operation Warp Speed on decisions related to future products," the U.S. Department of Defense told Inovio, according to a company statement.

Sexual assault prosecutions should be taken out U.S. military chain of command: panel

A commission on sexual assault set up by the Pentagon has recommended that the United States military take the decision to prosecute cases of sexual assault out of the military's chain of command, a U.S. official said on Thursday. If the initial recommendations made by the independent commission are accepted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, it would be a major change in the military.

A smile 'worth a million dollars': Daunte Wright laid to rest after Minnesota police shooting

Hundreds of mourners, wearing face masks and weeping, filled a Minneapolis church on Thursday for the funeral of Daunte Wright, a Black man whose shooting by police after a traffic stop has sparked fresh concerns over the way cops treat people of color. Wright, 20, who was shot by a white police officer in a Minneapolis suburb on April 11, was laid to rest two days after a Minneapolis jury found a white police officer guilty of murdering George Floyd last May, a killing that triggered worldwide protests for racial justice.

U.S. Senate passes bill to fight anti-Asian hate crimes

A hate crimes bill to combat violence against Asian Americans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic passed the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly on Thursday, a rare bipartisan vote in the evenly divided chamber. The bill passed 94-1, with Missouri Senator Josh Hawley the only no vote. It must pass the House of Representatives, where Democrats hold a clear majority. President Joe Biden has called for passage.

U.S. officials hopeful as advisers meet again on J&J COVID-19 vaccine

Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet again on Friday to consider whether it is safe to resume injections of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, as senior U.S. health officials prepare for a green light. The panel last week called for more data about a possible link to rare blood clots in the brain before deciding how and whether to end a "pause" in administration of J&J vaccines called for by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration.

FCC orders U.S. broadcasters to identify foreign-government sponsors of programs

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday it had voted unanimously to adopt rules requiring public disclosure of broadcast television and radio content sponsored or provided by foreign governments. The disclosure would be required at the time of a broadcast if a foreign governmental entity paid a radio or television station, directly or indirectly, to air material. Current rules do not specify when and how foreign government sponsorship should be publicly disclosed.

Biden to float historic tax increase on investment gains for the rich

President Joe Biden will roll out a plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, including the largest-ever increase in levies on investment gains, to fund about $1 trillion in childcare, universal pre-kindergarten education and paid leave for workers, sources familiar with the proposal said. The plan is part of the White House's push for a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax system to make rich people and big companies pay more and help foot the bill for Biden's ambitious economic agenda. The proposal calls for increasing the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% from 37%, the sources said this week. It would also nearly double taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million.

Republicans unveil $568 billion infrastructure package to counter Biden

U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday proposed a $568 billion, five-year infrastructure package as a counteroffer to President Joe Biden's sweeping $2.3 trillion plan, calling their measure a good-faith effort toward bipartisan negotiations. The proposal, which falls below even the range of $600 billion to $800 billion that Republicans floated earlier in the week, focuses narrowly on traditional infrastructure projects and broadband access.

Special Report-Giant U.S. landlords pursue evictions despite CDC ban

Marvia Robinson was dead tired from a week of overnight long-haul trips when she nosed her Greyhound bus into the station in deep predawn darkness. Still, the 63-year-old driver kept a friendly lilt in her voice as she said goodbye to the riders filing past her and stepping off the bus. "Rough night," she said minutes later, walking toward her Toyota Corolla in the parking lot. "I had to put two off in Tallahassee, for drinking, and then another one in Ocala." She longed to go home to sleep.

A cheerleader's Snapchat profanity gets U.S. Supreme Court's attention

Two days after Mahanoy Area High School in Pennsylvania held its cheerleading tryouts, ninth-grader Brandi Levy was still fuming about being passed over for a spot on the varsity squad. While a younger girl had been picked for varsity, Levy was facing another year relegated to the junior varsity cheer squad. That Saturday afternoon in May 2017 - standing not on school grounds but in the Cocoa Hut convenience store in Mahanoy City in the state's coal country - Levy pulled out her cellphone and, along with a friend, raised her middle finger to the camera.