Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The not-guilty pleas by Tarrio and co-defendants Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola came during a virtual court hearing in Washington, just hours before the Democratic-led U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot will hold its first in a series of planned public hearings to reveal its findings. Two men charged with murder in weekend Philadelphia shooting Two men were arrested and charged with murder for a shooting over the weekend in a busy Philadelphia nightlife quarter in which two men and a woman were killed, authorities said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Capitol riot hearings to argue that U.S. democracy at risk

The hearings on the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters will spotlight testimony by the former president's top aides and family as a congressional committee seeks to show that the riot was, as its chairman put it, a "conspiracy to thwart the will of the people." After almost a year of investigation, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack enters a new phase on Thursday with a prime-time hearing that will include videotaped testimony from senior Trump White House officials and campaign officials, committee aides said.

Ex-Proud Boys head Tarrio, two others plead not guilty to seditious conspiracy

Former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio and two other members of the far-right group on Thursday pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy charges that were filed against them earlier this week in connection with their alleged roles in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The not-guilty pleas by Tarrio and co-defendants Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola came during a virtual court hearing in Washington, just hours before the Democratic-led U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot will hold its first in a series of planned public hearings to reveal its findings.

Two men charged with murder in weekend Philadelphia shooting

Two men were arrested and charged with murder for a shooting over the weekend in a busy Philadelphia nightlife quarter in which two men and a woman were killed, authorities said on Thursday. Quadir Dukes Hill and Nahjee Whittington, both 18, were arrested by federal U.S. marshals in Richmond, Virginia, and are being extradited to Philadelphia to be held without bail, officials in the city's district attorney's office said at a news conference. Both men live in or near Philadelphia;

Gunman opens fire at Maryland factory, killing three

A gunman opened fire at a manufacturing facility in northern Maryland on Thursday, killing at least three people and critically wounding a fourth before being taken into custody after a shootout with police. The assailant, who was not immediately identified, was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a Maryland state trooper, a Washington County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. Both the suspect and trooper were taken to a local hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds.

U.S. Supreme Court allows counting of undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania

A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the counting of undated mail-in ballots in an undecided 2021 election for a Pennsylvania judgeship in a case that again revealed the tensions among the justices over voting rights. The decision by the justices against David Ritter, a Republican candidate for a judgeship on the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas, means that Pennsylvania officials can count 250 mail-in ballots in that election that lacked a handwritten date. Ritter had sued the county board of elections over concerns he would lose the race if those votes were counted.

Gun legislation talks in U.S. Senate yield no breakthrough

Democratic and Republican negotiators in the U.S. Senate said they were not able to reach a deal on Thursday on a bipartisan response to recent U.S. mass shootings but vowed to continue their efforts. A group of lawmakers led by Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Republican Senator John Cornyn are trying to iron out a plan that would bolster school security, address gaps in the U.S. mental health system and keep guns away from criminals and individuals deemed to be a danger to the public or themselves.

U.S. launches civil rights probe into Louisiana State Police

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights probe into the Louisiana State Police, department officials said on Thursday, more than three years after the deadly arrest of black motorist Ronald Greene in the state in 2019. The so-called pattern-or-practice investigation is the latest federal probe into potential systematic patterns of abuse at police departments and jails across the country. The Justice Department has also launched probes into Georgia state prisons, Texas juvenile detention facilities and police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, among others.

U.S. House to weigh more Supreme Court security next week, Pelosi says

The U.S. House of Representatives will weigh legislation next week to boost security for Supreme Court justices, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday, one day after an armed man was arrested near Brett Kavanaugh's home and charged with attempted murder. Authorities said the man, identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Roske, was upset over expected Supreme Court rulings on abortion access and gun rights.

White Michigan policeman charged with murdering African immigrant after traffic stop

A white police officer was charged with second-degree murder on Thursday for the fatal shooting of a Black man during an altercation after a traffic stop two months ago in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in a case that sparked racial justice protests in the city. The criminal case against officer Christopher Schurr in the April 4 killing of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, came just over seven weeks after an independent autopsy found Lyoya was shot in the back of the head at point-blank range.

Police waiting to confront Texas school gunman knew of wounded inside -NYT

Law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, waited over an hour to storm into the two elementary school classrooms where a gunman was holed up, even though on-scene supervisors knew that some victims were trapped alive inside, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Citing its review of video footage and other material gathered by investigators, the Times said more than a dozen of the 33 children and three teachers who were originally in the two adjoining classrooms remained alive from the time gunfire began inside to when officers entered and killed the suspect one hour and 17 minutes later.