US Domestic News Roundup: Biden to speak 'truth' on Jan 6 anniversary; Trump cancels event; Tree touching PG&E power line sparked California's Dixie wildfire, investigation finds and more

Early efforts by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have focused primarily on authorizing billions of dollars to help businesses including restaurants, performance venues, gyms and minor league sports teams, the report said, citing four people familiar with the matter. Fed's Powell, Brainard to get Senate hearings next week; Biden promises diversity Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will make his first public appearance of 2022 next week as lawmakers consider him for a second four-year term, while President Joe Biden weighs his picks for three other Fed Board seats with an eye to diversity.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Biden to speak 'truth' on Jan 6 anniversary; Trump cancels event

President Joe Biden will mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's followers with a speech on Thursday warning of the threats to democracy, while Trump abandoned plans for a news conference that day as he reprised his attacks on Democrats and the media. The White House said Biden would push back against Trump's false claims, adopted by many of his followers, that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, as well as attempts to downplay the violence of the worst assault on the Capitol since the War of 1812.

Tree touching PG&E power line sparked California's Dixie wildfire, investigation finds

California's second largest-ever wildfire, which scorched just under 100,000 acres last year, was sparked by a tree coming in contact with cables operated by Pacific Gas and Electric power utility, state authorities said on Tuesday. The cause of the fire was identified west of Cresta Dam, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a statement to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.

U.S. jury's mixed Theranos verdict complicates Holmes' potential appeal -experts

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is likely to appeal her conviction for defrauding investors in the blood-testing company, but four legal experts say the fact that the jury acquitted her or failed to reach a verdict on several counts could work against her. Holmes on Monday was found guilty of defrauding investors in the once high-flying Silicon Valley blood-testing startup, but she was acquitted of deceiving patients. The guilty verdict on four of 11 counts came after a months-long trial.

U.S. lawmakers weigh new COVID-19 stimulus funding -report

U.S. lawmakers are discussing another possible round of COVID-19 stimulus spending for businesses, seeking to blunt the impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Early efforts by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have focused primarily on authorizing billions of dollars to help businesses including restaurants, performance venues, gyms, and minor league sports teams, the report said, citing four people familiar with the matter.

Fed's Powell, Brainard to get Senate hearings next week; Biden promises diversity

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will make his first public appearance of 2022 next week as lawmakers consider him for a second four-year term, while President Joe Biden weighs his picks for three other Fed Board seats with an eye to diversity. The Senate Banking Committee will consider Powell's renomination on Jan. 11 at 10 a.m. Eastern (1500 GMT), the panel said on its website Tuesday. It will hold a separate hearing on Jan. 13 to consider the nomination of Fed Governor Lael Brainard to be vice-chair.

Boy Scouts fall short in support for $2.7 billion abuse settlement - WSJ

The Boy Scouts of America fell short of winning the support it sought from sex-abuse victims for a near $2.7 billion settlement that could bring the organization out of bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing a preliminary vote count. The proposed settlement of 82,200 claims of childhood sexual abuse earned the support of just over 73% of those who cast votes, falling short of the 75% the Boy Scouts were targeting, the newspaper said.

Pandemic-wary U.S. Supreme Court to weigh Biden vaccine mandates

The U.S. Supreme Court, which has restricted its own operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, is preparing to decide whether to block President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates for large businesses and healthcare workers in a test of presidential powers to address an unyielding public health crisis. The court will hear in-person arguments on Friday on emergency requests in two separate cases by challengers including business groups, religious entities and various Republican-led U.S. states for orders blocking the vaccine requirements, with rulings expected in short order. The challengers maintain that Biden and his administration have overstepped their authority.

Riot shields and metal detectors are a reminder of deadly U.S. Capitol assault

A year after then-President Donald Trump's supporters launched a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, signs of heightened security are visible everywhere, from police riot shields ready near doorways to metal detectors outside the House of Representatives chamber. Miles of steel fencing that ringed the Capitol complex after the riot came down in July. The thousands of armed National Troops deployed immediately after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack have long gone home.

Manchin's reluctance leaves Democrats' U.S. voting rights bill at risk

U.S. Democrats' efforts to pass voting rights legislation in Congress appeared in jeopardy on Tuesday, as a centrist Democratic senator said he had little interest in a strategy that would allow the party to bypass Republican opposition. Senator Joe Manchin told reporters that it was his "preference" to line up Republican support for a rule change that would allow Democrats to pass a voting rights bill on a party-line vote. That could spell doom for the legislation, which Republicans oppose.

Some Ghislaine Maxwell jurors initially doubted accusers, juror says

During jury deliberations after the trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, some jurors initially doubted the accounts of two of her accusers, one member of the jury said on Tuesday night. This juror, who asked to be identified only by his first and middle names, said some of the jurors had issues with the credibility of witnesses known as Jane and Carolyn, two of the four women who testified that Maxwell set them up with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein as teenagers.