US Domestic News Roundup: Breonna Taylor's boyfriend settles lawsuits over botched police raid; U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok and more

Democratic U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson told reporters at the Capitol that the report would be posted online on Dec. 21. Biden says inflation going down but do not take anything for granted President Joe Biden on Tuesday said inflation in the United States was coming down and he hopes prices will be back to normal by the end of next year.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Breonna Taylor's boyfriend settles lawsuits over botched police raid

Louisville will pay $2 million to settle two lawsuits filed by the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed by police during a no-knock raid at her apartment in the Kentucky city two years ago, the Washington Post reported. Kenneth Walker filed the lawsuits against the city in state and federal court claiming that plainclothes officers violated his rights when they burst into Taylor's apartment while the couple was asleep and killed her on March 13, 2020, during the botched raid.

U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok

Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced bipartisan legislation to ban China's popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance Ltd amid U.S. fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content. The legislation would block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, Rubio's office said in a news release, adding that a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

U.S. Supreme Court to review murder-for-hire conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal by a North Carolina man serving life in prison after being convicted of taking part in a plot to murder a woman in the Philippines at the behest of the head of a multinational criminal organization. The justices agreed to consider whether Adam Samia's constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him at trial was violated when prosecutors introduced part of a co-defendant's post-arrest statement admitting to the 2012 murder.

Ten years after Sandy Hook shooting, Connecticut town spends a day in reflection

Ten years after one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, residents of the Connecticut town where it took place will mark the anniversary on Wednesday by attending vigils, paying respects at a new memorial and reflecting in private with loved ones. The rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 - when a heavily armed gunman killed 20 young children and six educators - shocked the country and forever linked the name of this picturesque New England town with the epidemic of mass shootings that has wracked the United States in recent years.

Biden signs marriage equality act to tune of Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors'

U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday at a jubilant celebration that featured U.S. singer Cyndi Lauper performing "True Colors" in front of thousands of supporters on the White House lawn. The new law provides federal recognition to same-sex marriages, a measure born out of concern that the Supreme Court could reverse its legal support of such relationships.

Explainer-U.S. pandemic border entry limits on migrants due to end next week. Will they?

Pandemic-era border restrictions that have blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border are set to end on Dec. 21 following a U.S. judge's ruling that found the limits unlawful, but an ongoing legal battle could delay that timeline. WHY ARE MIGRANTS BLOCKED AT THE BORDER UNDER COVID RULES?

U.S. Congress negotiators say reach gov't funding deal

Negotiators in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday said they had reached agreement on funding the government through the end of its current fiscal year, as lawmakers scampered to meet a midnight Friday deadline when existing funds expire. They did not say how much money they had agreed on, providing no details in statements from three key appropriations negotiators, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, Republican Senator Richard Shelby and Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro.

U.S. House Jan. 6 committee to meet Dec. 19 for vote on referrals, report

The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold a public meeting on Dec. 19 to vote on its report and criminal referrals, before releasing the report on Dec. 21, the panel's chairman said on Tuesday. Democratic U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson told reporters at the Capitol that the report would be posted online on Dec. 21.

Biden says inflation going down but do not take anything for granted

President Joe Biden on Tuesday said inflation in the United States was coming down and he hopes prices will be back to normal by the end of next year. U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected for a second straight month in November, resulting in the smallest annual increase in inflation in nearly a year and giving the Federal Reserve cover to start scaling back the size of its interest rate increases.

U.S. senator Manchin says Treasury should limit commercial EV tax credit use

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat who chairs the chamber's energy panel, asked the Treasury Department on Tuesday not to allow a commercial electric vehicle tax credit to be used for consumer leasing, rental cars or ridesharing vehicle sales, rejecting a broad interpretation of the credit. Reuters first reported last week the push by South Korea and some automakers that asked the Treasury Department to allow use of the commercial electric vehicle tax credit to boost consumer EV access as well as for the purchase of ride share and rental car vehicles.