Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The panel's lawmakers on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts A second Colorado woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding relatives of the dead as part of a scheme in which a funeral home sold body parts without permission, a practice exposed by a 2018 Reuters investigative report.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Former senior U.S. official John Bolton admits to planning attempted foreign coups

John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former White House national security adviser, said on Tuesday that he had helped plan attempted coups in foreign countries. Bolton made the remarks to CNN after the day's congressional hearing into the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The panel's lawmakers on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.

Second plea in U.S. funeral home scheme to sell body parts

A second Colorado woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding relatives of the dead as part of a scheme in which a funeral home sold body parts without permission, a practice exposed by a 2018 Reuters investigative report. Shirley Koch, 69, pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court in Grand Junction, Colorado. Under a plea deal, Koch agreed not to contest a sentence of five to six years in prison. Koch worked with her daughter, Megan Hess, who operated a funeral home and body parts business from the same building in Montrose, Colorado.

Trump phone call to Jan. 6 witness prompts DOJ referral

Donald Trump called a witness who has yet to appear before a congressional committee investigating the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, Representative Liz Cheney said on Tuesday, raising concerns the former president might be illegally trying to influence witness testimony. Speaking at the end of a three-hour hearing, Cheney, one of two members from Trump's Republican Party on the nine-member panel, announced that it had referred the matter to the U.S. Justice Department.

Texas newspaper posts video of police responding to Uvalde shooting

A Texas newspaper on Tuesday posted video of police and federal agents responding to the shooting at an Uvalde elementary school in May, footage at the center of a debate among state and local officials as they investigate the actions of law enforcement in the shooting. The video, posted by the Austin-American Statesman on their website, shows the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, crash his pickup truck and enter Robb Elementary School carrying a semi-automatic rifle. The sound of AR-15 gunfire is then heard for more than two minutes.

Three men charged over stolen lyrics for Eagles' 'Hotel California'

Three men have been criminally charged in Manhattan with possessing about 100 pages stolen from the singer Don Henley of handwritten notes and lyrics for the Eagles' blockbuster 1976 album "Hotel California." Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski were accused on Tuesday of trying to sell the materials, worth more than $1 million, and lying to auction houses, prospective buyers and law enforcement about how they obtained them.

U.S. Senate confirms Biden's pick to head firearms bureau

The U.S. Senate voted to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Tuesday, making career prosecutor Steve Dettelbach only the second person to be confirmed as the agency's director in 16 years. Dettelbach, a former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio and currently a partner at the law firm BakerHostetler, was confirmed in a 48-46 vote, with Republicans Susan Collins and Rob Portman joining with Democrats to support his nomination.

Biden approval rating rises modestly from record low - Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating rose three percentage points this week to 39%, rebounding from a week earlier when it matched the lowest level of his presidency, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll completed on Tuesday found. The two-day national poll found that 55% of Americans disapprove of Biden's job performance.

Trump incited Jan. 6 attack after 'unhinged' White House meeting, panel told

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of inciting a mob of followers to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a last-ditch bid to remain in power fueled by a chaotic meeting with some of his most ardent supporters. The House of Representatives committee also produced evidence that aides and outside agitators knew before the riot that Trump would urge thousands of his supporters to march on the Capitol that day.

S. Carolina lawyer expected to be charged in murders of wife, son - NY Times

The South Carolina attorney previously charged with allegedly orchestrating a plot to have himself shot last year in an insurance scheme is expected to be indicted later this week on murder charges in the death of his wife and son, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing one of the man's lawyers. Alex Murdaugh, already facing dozens of state charges including embezzlement, could be charged in the June 2021 deaths of wife Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and son Paul Murdaugh, 22, the New York Times reported, citing his lawyer Jim Griffin.

U.S. Justice Dept launches task force to protect women's reproductive rights

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday unveiled a new task force that aims to protect women's reproductive healthcare freedom, after the Supreme Court last month overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which recognized women's constitutional right to abortion. The task force, which will be chaired by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, will monitor and evaluate state legislation and enforcement actions that threaten to "infringe on federal legal protections" related to reproductive healthcare, the department said.