Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who like Biden is a Democrat, told the Senate the bipartisan infrastructure bill https://www.reuters.com/world/us/whats-us-senates-12-trillion-infrastructure-plan-2021-06-24 would face an initial procedural floor vote on Wednesday, but some Republicans working on the bill raised doubts they could meet the deadline. I wouldn't 'do a coup' with Milley, Trump says of top U.S. general Former President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the top U.S. general he had appointed after allegations in a new book that senior uniformed military leaders were deeply concerned about the potential for a coup after the November election and had discussed a plan to resign.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden says U.S. reviewing European travel ban, sees update in coming days

President Joe Biden said on Thursday the United States is reviewing when it can lift restrictions that ban most-non U.S. citizens from traveling to the United States from much of Europe after German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue. "It's in process now," Biden said of discussions about when restrictions could be lifted. He said he expects to be able to answer "within the next several days what is likely to happen... I'm waiting to hear from our folks in our COVID team as to when that should be done."

Oregon wildfire displaces 2,000 residents as blazes flare across U.S. West

Hand crews backed by water-dropping helicopters struggled on Thursday to suppress a huge wildfire that displaced roughly 2,000 residents in southern Oregon, the largest among dozens of blazes raging across the drought-stricken U.S. West. The Bootleg fire has charred more than 227,000 acres (91,860 hectares) of desiccated timber and brush in and around the Fremont-Winema National Forest since erupting on July 6 about 250 miles (400 km) south of Portland.

U.S. Senate scrambles to finish infrastructure bill ahead of vote

The U.S. Senate majority leader pressed lawmakers on Thursday to make progress on President Joe Biden's agenda, setting up a vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and demanding Democrats back a larger $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who like Biden is a Democrat, told the Senate the bipartisan infrastructure bill https://www.reuters.com/world/us/whats-us-senates-12-trillion-infrastructure-plan-2021-06-24 would face an initial procedural floor vote on Wednesday, but some Republicans working on the bill raised doubts they could meet the deadline.

I wouldn't 'do a coup' with Milley, Trump says of top U.S. general

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the top U.S. general he had appointed after allegations in a new book that senior uniformed military leaders were deeply concerned about the potential for a coup after the November election and had discussed a plan to resign. According to excerpts obtained by CNN from the upcoming book "I Alone Can Fix It," written by two Washington Post journalists, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and other senior U.S. military leaders discussed resigning in the event they received orders they considered illegal or dangerous.

Biden sees U.S. child tax credit as 'giant step' to counter poverty

Some 35 million American families have received their first monthly payout from the U.S. government in an expanded income-support program that President Joe Biden said on Thursday could help end child poverty. Under the Child Tax Credit program that was broadened under Biden's COVID-19 stimulus, eligible families collect an initial monthly payment of up to $300 for each child under six years old and up to $250 for each older child.

AG revives immigration judges' power to postpone deportation cases

Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a ruling on Thursday restoring the ability of immigration judges to postpone deportation cases while awaiting rulings in related proceedings, which had been eliminated by Trump-era AG Jeff Sessions. Garland in a four-page opinion https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1412451/download said Sessions' 2018 ruling in Matter of Castro-Tum, which has been rejected https://www.reuters.com/business/legal/3rd-circuit-backs-immigration-judges-power-close-deportation-cases-2021-05-05/#:~:text=(Reuters)%20-%20A%20U.S.%20appeals,era%20Attorney%20General%20Jeff%20Sessions by three federal appeals courts, improperly parted from decades of practice by concluding that no federal law or regulation authorized so-called "administrative closure."

Ray-Ban maker Luxottica accused of anti-union behaviour at U.S. Georgia plant

U.S. and international unions have accused Ray-Ban maker Luxottica, the Italian arm of eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica, of violating workers' right to unionise at a U.S. plant in Georgia and asked the Italian, French and U.S. governments to mediate. In a statement sent to Reuters, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), together with the AFL-CIO and two other workers' groups, alleged that managers of the Luxottica plant in McDonough, near Atlanta, Georgia, unleashed an "aggressive and fear-inducing" campaign to discourage its 2,000 employees from seeking union membership.

Biden supports Senate push on military justice overhaul, Gillibrand says

President Joe Biden is "110 percent" behind a legislative push to overhaul the military justice system to better serve victims of sexual assault and other major crimes, the bill's champion, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, said on Thursday. Gillibrand's remarks to defense reporters came nearly two weeks after Biden endorsed a key component of her legislation: taking decisions about prosecuting sexual assault away from military commanders and giving them to independent prosecutors.

U.S. House committee advances China bill without Republican backing

A U.S. House of Representatives committee advanced legislation on Thursday intended to boost competitiveness with China, without support from Republicans who objected to some climate-related provisions and said it was too soft on Beijing. The "Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement Act," or Eagle Act, passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 26-20, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans opposed.

Mask mandate returns to Los Angeles as coronavirus cases rise

Los Angeles County will reimpose its mask mandate this weekend in the latest sign that public health officials are struggling with an alarming rise in coronavirus cases tied to the highly contagious Delta variant. The county, home to 10 million people and the nation's second-largest city, Los Angeles, is one of several jurisdictions to recommend or mandate wearing masks or other pandemic restrictions in recent days as cases rise to worrisome levels in many parts of the United States.