US Domestic News Roundup: Union seeking to organize Amazon site in New Jersey withdraws petition for vote; Factbox-Where you still need to wear a mask in the United States and more

During a news conference in Detroit, forensic pathologist Werner Spitz and attorneys for the family of Patrick Lyoya said the autopsy found the 26-year-old was shot once and that the police officer held his gun to the back of Lyoya's head. Biden administration will appeal lifting of mask mandate, if CDC agrees U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said on Tuesday it would appeal a judge's ruling ending a mask mandate on airplanes if public health officials deem it necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Union seeking to organize Amazon site in New Jersey withdraws petition for vote

A labor group seeking to represent Amazon.com Inc workers in a small warehouse in New Jersey has withdrawn its petition for a unionization vote, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) said on Tuesday. The move came a day after the NLRB said the group, Local 713 International Brotherhood of the Trade Union, had garnered enough interest from workers at Amazon's small DNK5 facility to hold the vote. The reason for the withdrawal was not immediately clear.

Factbox-Where you still need to wear a mask in the United States

Airlines and airports, the ride-sharing company Uber and national train service Amtrak are now lifting mask mandates that have been in place for more than a year. The shift comes after a judge in Florida ruled against a federal mandate and the Biden administration said it would not enforce one even as COVID-19 infections are rising https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states in the United States, and more than 400 people are dying per day from the airborne disease. But the White House is still urging Americans to wear masks, however, and they are still required in some areas:

'We're done with dead kids': U.S. bars hand out free fentanyl tests

Walking into the Good Hop craft beer bar in Oakland, California, Alison Heller looks like any other patron thirsting for happy hour. But instead of heading to the bar, she goes straight to the bathroom, opens her backpack and pulls out a plastic bag with fentanyl test strips. She puts 25 strips in a jar for anyone to take for free.

Raging wildfire in Arizona forces more than 2,000 residents to flee

Firefighters faced strong winds and bone-dry conditions on Wednesday as they battled a rapidly growing wildfire in central Arizona that has already driven thousands of residents from their homes and destroyed two dozen structures. The blaze, dubbed the Tunnel Fire, covered an area of some 6,000 acres as it sped northeast, 14 miles (23 km) north of Flagstaff, Arizona, fire officials said at a news conference late on Tuesday.

Biden hosts military chiefs as Ukraine crisis intensifies

President Joe Biden will convene top U.S. military leaders on Wednesday in an annual White House gathering that takes on special significance as the war in Ukraine enters a risky new phase and the United States plans more military aid. A "variety of topics" will be discussed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and senior military leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson said. The event includes a formal West Wing meeting as well as a dinner in the president's residence with leaders' spouses afterward.

Johnny Depp to return to stand in defamation case against ex-wife

Actor Johnny Depp is expected to return to the witness stand on Wednesday in a $50 million defamation case he said he brought to expose the truth about his relationship with ex-wife and actress Amber Heard, who has accused him of abuse. In three hours of testimony in a Virginia courtroom on Tuesday, Depp said he and Heard argued, but he never struck her. He wanted to correct the record about his behavior for himself and his children.

America's mask manufacturers take it on the chin

A U.S. judge's ruling this week that the Biden administration's mask mandate for public transportation was unlawful dealt another blow to an industry that built dozens of small U.S. mask factories during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just a year ago, 26 of these upstart producers signed a letter to the administration, urging a crackdown on an influx of low-priced Chinese masks that was undermining their new operations, all of which were opened in response to a health crisis that highlighted U.S. dependence on foreign producers of all types of medical safety gear.

Black man shot in back of head by Michigan police, independent autopsy says

A Black man who was killed by a Grand Rapids, Michigan, police officer during a traffic stop earlier this month, sparking protests in the city, was shot in the back of the head, a forensic pathologist who performed an independent autopsy said on Tuesday. During a news conference in Detroit, forensic pathologist Werner Spitz and attorneys for the family of Patrick Lyoya said the autopsy found the 26-year-old was shot once and that the police officer held his gun to the back of Lyoya's head.

Biden administration will appeal for lifting of the mask mandate if CDC agrees

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said on Tuesday it would appeal a judge's ruling ending a mask mandate on airplanes if public health officials deem it necessary to stem the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to whom the administration was deferring, said that it would continue to study whether the mandates were still needed. The mandates apply to planes, trains and other public transportation and, prior to Monday's ruling, had been due to expire on May 3.

U.S. Chamber urges Senate to wait on FTC nominee Bedoya

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday urged the Senate to delay consideration of President Joe Biden's Federal Trade Commission nominee Alvaro Bedoya, accusing the current FTC leadership of undermining companies' confidence in the agency. The business lobbying group pointed to recent changes under FTC Chair Lina Khan, including action over consumer protection rule-making and a vote over a study of pharmacy benefit managers by the regulator.