Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The Democratic-controlled House voted 218-211 largely along party lines to pass the legislation called the Women's Health Protection Act. Just one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted against the proposal. U.S. court upholds hospital employee COVID-19 vaccine rule in test case A federal judge on Friday ruled that a Cincinnati, Ohio-area healthcare provider could require its employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their job, in what appears to be the first ruling of its kind for a private employer in the United States.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden looks to avoid blocking requests for Trump records in Jan 6 probe -White House

President Joe Biden's administration will work to avoid blocking requests for former President Donald Trump's records in an investigation into the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, the White House said on Friday. "The president has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. "And so, we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise."

U.S. House set to debate $1 trillion infrastructure bill Monday -Pelosi

House Democratic leaders said on Friday they intended to forge ahead next week with U.S. President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion social agenda as well as a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. But with Democrats continuing to squabble over details of the social spending, it was unclear when votes would actually occur.

PG&E charged with manslaughter for sparking California wildfire

Prosecutors in Northern California on Friday charged power utility Pacific Gas & Electric with four counts of manslaughter and other felonies, alleging it failed to cut down a sickly tree that fell onto power lines and sparked a deadly wildfire. The company denied it committed a crime.

Former Minneapolis officer in George Floyd case to appeal murder conviction

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has filed notice that he will appeal his conviction and sentence for the murder of George Floyd, arguing that the judge in his case abused his discretion and made multiple errors during the trial.

Chauvin, a white man convicted of killing Floyd by kneeling on the Black man's neck during a 2020 arrest, has no money to hire an attorney and is representing himself, according to court documents filed late on Thursday.

U.S. funds Florida school district after state cuts over mask mandate

The U.S. Department of Education said it has awarded its first funding to a Florida school district that had state funds withheld because it mandated that students wear masks, going against the governor's ban on such mandates. The department has reimbursed the Alachua County school district nearly $148,000, the amount the state government withheld in August, the department and the school board said on Thursday.

White House says millions of government contractors must be vaccinated by Dec. 8

The White House said on Friday that millions of federal contractors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8 and that the administration will add clauses to future government contracts mandating inoculations. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Sept. 9 requiring federal contractors to mandate vaccinations, but many U.S. companies with federal contracts have awaited formal guidance from the White House before moving forward.

Proud Boy known as 'Milkshake' pleads not guilty to U.S. Capitol riot charges

A self-identified member of the far right Proud Boys group nicknamed "Milkshake" pleaded not guilty on Friday to assaulting police and other charges stemming from the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. Daniel Scott, 27, a Florida man who has also lived in the Seattle area, faces a total of 10 criminal charges, including civil disorder and obstructing an official proceeding.

'Huge defeat for Donald Trump': Arizona election review reaffirms Biden win

Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden in Arizona's most populous county, a review of results by his allies in the Republican Party has reaffirmed, capping a widely panned effort spurred by Trump's false claims of voter fraud. Arizona Senate President Karen Fann, the Republican who paved the way for the so-called "full forensic audit" of Maricopa County's ballots, said the review's overall vote tally matched the initial results in November.

U.S. House passes abortion rights bill, outlook poor in Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Friday to protect abortion services against growing Republican-backed state restrictions, including a Texas law that imposes a near-total ban on abortion, but the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate. The Democratic-controlled House voted 218-211 largely along party lines to pass the legislation called the Women's Health Protection Act. Just one Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, voted against the proposal.

U.S. court upholds hospital employee COVID-19 vaccine rule in test case

A federal judge on Friday ruled that a Cincinnati, Ohio-area healthcare provider could require its employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their job, in what appears to be the first ruling of its kind for a private employer in the United States. The employees of St. Elizabeth Healthcare failed to establish that their individual liberties were being violated by the vaccine requirement of the hospital operator, which has the right to set employment terms, said U.S. District Judge David Bunning in Covington, Kentucky.