Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Biden to unveil coronavirus vaccine distribution plan as cases soar President-elect Joe Biden will on Friday outline his plan to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 as he prepares to take office amid soaring infection rates and an early rollout by the Trump administration he called "a dismal failure." Biden has promised to take more serious action to curb the virus than his predecessor, President Donald Trump, and get 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans during his first 100 days in office.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Biden to unveil coronavirus vaccine distribution plan as cases soar

President-elect Joe Biden will on Friday outline his plan to ramp up vaccinations against COVID-19 as he prepares to take office amid soaring infection rates and an early rollout by the Trump administration he called "a dismal failure." Biden has promised to take more serious action to curb the virus than his predecessor, President Donald Trump, and get 100 million vaccine shots into the arms of Americans during his first 100 days in office. Some U.S. nursing home residents face delays for COVID-19 vaccines despite extreme risk

A former Arkansas health official is sounding alarms about the pace of coronavirus vaccines being administered to residents of long-term care facilities under a U.S. plan that puts major pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens in charge of many of the shots. Fewer than 10% of doses allocated to those Arkansas seniors have been administered, according to the state health department. The two pharmacies are working with about 40% of the state's facilities. Some of those were told that they were scheduled for February or March, said Dr. Joe Thompson, former Arkansas surgeon general and chief executive of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement Eyes on Pelosi as Trump impeachment trial timing up in the air

The timing of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial could come into clearer focus on Friday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to take questions about her next steps at a morning news conference at the U.S. Capitol. The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted 232-197 on Wednesday to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement one week after his supporters rampaged in the Capitol following a speech in which the outgoing Republican president urged them to fight Democrat Joe Biden's Nov. 3 election victory. For Los Angeles-area ambulance crews, the COVID-19 calls never stop

For Southern California ambulance crews, the shifts feel never-ending and the calls to pick up COVID-19 patients seem endless. "In 30 years, I've never seen a call volume like this," said Eileen Cegarra, 56, an ambulance dispatch center supervisor for Care Ambulance Service, one of the largest ambulance companies in the Los Angeles area, which has become the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic. Biden chooses ex FDA chief Kessler to help lead U.S. vaccine drive - NYT

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has chosen David Kessler, the ex-head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to help lead the COVID-19 vaccine push Operation Warp Speed, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing transition officials. The news came as Biden was due to outline his plans to ramp up vaccinations amid soaring infections and an early rollout by the Trump administration that Biden has called "a dismal failure." Biden taps former deputy CIA director David Cohen for spy agency again

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Friday continued to fill out top roles for his administration, naming former Deputy CIA Director David Cohen to reprise his role at the U.S. intelligence agency and choosing New York City's emergency coordinator to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Biden's transition team, in a statement, also named deputy level officials for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget. Inside Trump’s final days: Aides struggle to contain an angry, isolated president

“We are going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue,” President Donald Trump exhorted his screaming supporters before they marched on the U.S. Capitol last week, saying he’d go with them. He did not – and what unfolded was a deadly breach of the citadel of American democracy that has left Trump's world crumbling in the final days of his presidency. Trump had wanted to join the thousands of hardcore followers who assembled at Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. He told aides in the days leading up to the rally that he planned to accompany them to demonstrate his ire at Congress as it moved to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s November election victory. On guns, abortion and voting rights, Trump leaves lasting mark on U.S. judiciary

When a U.S. appeals court declared that Florida could make it harder for convicted felons to vote - a ruling decried by civil rights activists - the impact of President Donald Trump's conservative judicial appointments was plain to see. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was divided 6-4 in the September ruling, with five Trump appointees in the majority. It reversed a decision by a federal judge who found that the Republican-governed state's effort to require felons after their sentences are completed to pay fines, restitution and legal fees before they could cast ballots violated their voting rights under the U.S. Constitution. U.S. says Capitol rioters meant to 'capture and assassinate' officials - filing

Federal prosecutors offered an ominous new assessment of last week's siege of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump's supporters on Thursday, saying in a court filing that rioters intended "to capture and assassinate elected officials." Prosecutors offered that view in a filing asking a judge to detain Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man and QAnon conspiracy theorist who was famously photographed wearing horns as he stood at the desk of Vice President Mike Pence in the chamber of the U.S. Senate.

Biden's inauguration rehearsal postponed over security concerns, Politico says A rehearsal for U.S President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration scheduled for Sunday has been postponed because of security concerns, Politico reported late on Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the decision. The rehearsal is now planned for Monday, according to the report.