Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Biden orders assessment of domestic extremism risk, White House says President Joe Biden has directed his administration to conduct a full assessment of the risk of domestic terrorism in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, the White House said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Biden orders assessment of domestic extremism risk, White House says

President Joe Biden has directed his administration to conduct a full assessment of the risk of domestic terrorism in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, the White House said on Friday. The assessment will be carried out by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in coordination with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. U.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee Austin as defense secretary

The U.S. Senate on Friday voted overwhelmingly to confirm retired Army General Lloyd Austin as President Joe Biden's defense secretary, making him the first Black American to serve in the role. The vote was 93-2 in the 100-member chamber, far more than the simple majority needed. Biden, citing 'economic imperative,' orders faster relief checks, more food aid

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday ordered the faster issuance of pandemic stimulus checks to needy families and increased food aid for children who normally rely on school meals, an effort to ease Americans' burdens while Congress negotiates over his proposed $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package. In the opening days of his administration, Biden is emphasizing that the government must tackle the coronavirus crisis with urgency after his predecessor Donald Trump largely played it down. More than 150 National Guard in Washington for inauguration test positive for coronavirus

Between 150 and 200 National Guard deployed to Washington, D.C., to provide security for President Joe Biden's inauguration have tested positive for the coronavirus, a U.S. official said on Friday. The U.S. government imposed unprecedented security measures in the city following the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, including fences topped with razor wire and checkpoints manned by National Guard. 'I want to feel safe again': Americans lament slow pace of U.S. COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Jerry Shapiro, a 78-year-old pharmacist from Los Angeles, is at the top of the list of Californians now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, but more than a month after the state began inoculations, he has yet to receive one. Shapiro said he has spent hours calling multiple health agencies and making fruitless computer searches, an experience familiar to many people across the United States, as the days-old administration of President Joe Biden races to bring the country's slow, chaotic vaccine rollout up to speed. Texas attorney general files lawsuit to block Biden's deportation freeze

The Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit on Friday that seeks to block U.S. President Joe Biden's move to pause certain deportations for 100 days, a controversial opening-move by the Democratic president that has provoked blowback from some Republicans. In the filing, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the state would face "irreparable harm" if the deportation moratorium was allowed to go into effect. Special Report: How U.S. CDC missed chances to spot COVID's silent spread

In early February, 57 people arrived at a Nebraska military base, among the first Americans evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak. U.S. health officials knew very little then about the mysterious new virus, and the quarantined group offered an early opportunity to size up the threat. The federal government sought help from a team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, including Dr. James Lawler, an experienced infectious disease specialist. Lawler told Reuters he immediately asked the world-renowned U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for permission to test the quarantined group, deeming it crucial to know whether people without symptoms were infected and could spread the deadly pathogen. California opens civil rights probe into Los Angeles Sheriff's Department

California's top prosecutor opened an investigation on Friday into the scandal-plagued Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, probing accusations the agency had engaged in a long pattern of excessive force, illegal shootings and abuse of jail inmates. The civil rights probe follows years of allegations that the nation's largest local law enforcement agency was rife with abuse throughout its ranks that top supervisors tolerated and in some cases covered up. Slim majority of Americans want Senate to convict Trump: Reuters/Ipsos poll

A slim majority of Americans say former President Donald Trump should be convicted by the Senate of inciting an insurrection and barred from holding public office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed a sharp partisan divide over the issue. The national public opinion poll, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, found that 51% of Americans think Trump should be found guilty for inciting the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. His trial in the Senate is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Biden's Oval Office swaps Andrew Jackson, military flags for family photos, civil rights leaders

U.S President Joe Biden has decorated his new office with busts of civil rights and labor leaders, nods to other presidents who faced great crises, and side-by-side portraits of American founders who famously disagreed. The military flags displayed during the Donald Trump presidency have been replaced by just an American flag and one with the Presidential Seal, and a collection of family photos.

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