Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The Democratic-controlled House voted 223 to 205, largely along party lines, to prevent states that have limited abortion from obstructing women's ability to seek care elsewhere. Panel probing U.S. Capitol attack to hold July 21 prime-time hearing The congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol announced on Friday that it will hold a hearing at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 21.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. panel probing Capitol attack to ask Secret Service about text deletion

The U.S. congressional panel probing the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the Capitol plans to ask the Secret Service about its alleged deletion of text messages sought by a watchdog investigating the agency's response to the assault, the panel's chairman said. The watchdog on Friday met the House of Representatives panel after accusing the Secret Service of deleting "many" text messages in a letter to lawmakers.

Georgia's second-largest school district allows non-officers to carry guns

Georgia's second-largest school district has approved a policy to allow personnel who are not certified police officers to carry guns, part of its response to the shooting at a Texas school that killed 19 children and two adults two months ago. The Cobb County school board voted 4-2 at a meeting on Thursday to adopt the policy as a way to bolster the number of staff carrying guns at a time when finding new police officers is difficult. The policy would exclude teachers from carrying guns.

Biden abandons plan to nominate anti-abortion judge in Kentucky

U.S. President Joe Biden no longer plans to nominate a Republican who opposes abortion as a federal judge in Kentucky because Republican Senator Rand Paul of that state declined to support him, the White House said on Friday. Biden's decision to drop Chad Meredith from consideration as a district court judge follows objections from progressives in his own Democratic party and abortion-rights supporters.

Haaland races to recover 'brutal' history of U.S. Native American boarding schools

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said on Friday she is racing to uncover as much history as possible about abuses committed within the old Native American boarding school system, which separated many generations of children from their families in order to wipe out Native American culture. These federally funded schools, which operated across the United States from the early 1800s through the 1970s, forcibly assimilated Native American children by forbidding them from speaking their languages or engaging in cultural practices. The scope of abuse that occurred is unknown, including the number of children who died or never returned home.

U.S. House passes bill to protect right to travel for abortion

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed legislation to safeguard the right to travel across state lines to seek an abortion after several states banned the procedure in the wake of last month's Supreme Court ruling. The Democratic-controlled House voted 223 to 205, largely along party lines, to prevent states that have limited abortion from obstructing women's ability to seek care elsewhere.

Panel probing U.S. Capitol attack to hold July 21 prime-time hearing

The congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol announced on Friday that it will hold a hearing at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 21. The hearing, which is aimed at reaching a broad U.S. television audience during prime viewing hours, will be the eighth and final scheduled public one to take place, although the committee has suggested it could hold more in August.

Biden says he will act on climate after talks collapse in Senate

President Joe Biden said on Friday he would act on his own to cut climate emissions and urged his fellow Democrats to pass the few elements of their sweeping domestic policy package they can agree on after talks in the Senate collapsed once again. Biden said he would take unspecified steps to reduce climate emissions after Senator Joe Manchin, a lone Democratic holdout, said he would not back tax hikes and emissions-reductions incentives that have stalled in Congress.

U.S. State Department approves potential arms sales worth $1.5bn - Pentagon

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of HIMARS rocket systems to Estonia, missiles to Norway and torpedoes to South Korea in separate deals that could be worth more than $1.5 billion in all, the Pentagon said on Friday. The sales comes as European countries increase arms purchases after Russia invaded Ukraine, heightening security fears across the region.

Medical examiner says Ivana Trump's death was accidental

Ivana Trump, former U.S. President Donald Trump's first wife who passed away on Thursday, died as a result of an accident after suffering blunt force trauma injuries to her torso, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) said Friday. A police spokesperson said on Thursday that Ivana Trump had been found dead on the stairs inside her apartment and that foul play was not suspected.

U.S. governors vow to boost computer science education at schools after business push

Governors from all 50 U.S. states have committed to funding a computer science curriculum at more schools after hundreds of executives including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates sent a letter this week urging action. The effort, announced on Thursday by the National Governors Association, was organized by the Seattle-based non-profit Code.org, which aims to provide computer science to students and help them seek careers in technology.