US News Roundup: Trump impeachment trial faces challenge from Republican Senator Paul; U.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee Blinken as secretary of state and more

Biden's immigration changes too late for grandfather deported on Inauguration Day As U.S. President Joe Biden took the oath of office last Wednesday, Felipe Ortega sat in a van handcuffed and chained at the waist and feet, headed toward Mexico and the end of his 30-year life in the United States.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump impeachment trial faces challenge from Republican Senator Paul

The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly Capitol siege could draw its first challenge on Tuesday, with a Republican senator arguing that trying a former president would violate the U.S. Constitution. Trump is the only president to have been impeached by the House of Representatives twice and is the first to face a trial after leaving power, with the possibility of being disqualified from future public office if convicted by chamber's 100 senators serving as jurors.

The trial is expected to begin on Feb. 9. Wisconsin pharmacist to plead guilty to trying to spoil COVID-19 vaccine doses

A Wisconsin pharmacist has agreed to plead guilty to purposely trying to spoil hundreds of doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine in a bid to render them ineffective, the U.S. Justice Department said. Steven Brandenburg, 46, is charged with two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products and with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be placed in danger of death or bodily injury, according to the statement by the Justice Department.

In early action, Biden tries to make good on pledge to heal America's racial divide

President Joe Biden on Tuesday issued a firm call to heal America's racial divide, taking several steps and promising more to confront racism and inequality that he said has plagued the United States for far too long. Racial tensions simmered during the turbulent four-year presidency of Donald Trump and in issuing several executive orders, Biden noted that the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters was carried out by "thugs, insurrectionists, political extremists and white supremacists."

U.S. Senate confirms Biden nominee Blinken as secretary of state

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee, veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, to serve as secretary of state. The 100-member Senate backed Blinken 78-22, meaning he could be sworn in as the nation's top diplomat later in the day. A simple majority was needed in the Democratic-controlled chamber for his confirmation. U.S. private prison revenue under pressure from new Biden rules

CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two of the largest U.S. private prison companies, could lose as much as a quarter of their revenue, about $1 billion a year between them, under new limits on the sector from President Joe Biden. Shares in GEO Group and CoreCivic took a hit on Tuesday after Biden signed an executive order to roll back the U.S. government's use of private prisons, a part of what he called an initiative to tackle systemic racism. 'Crazy and evil': Bill Gates surprised by pandemic conspiracies

Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates says he has been taken aback by the volume of "crazy" and "evil" conspiracy theories about him spreading on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, but said on Wednesday he would like to explore what is behind them. In an interview with Reuters, Gates said the millions of online posts and "crazy conspiracy theories" about him and about top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had likely taken hold in part because of the combination of a frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media. Biden administration aims to have enough vaccine for most Americans by summertime

The United States aims to acquire an additional 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, enough to inoculate most Americans by summertime, as he races to curb a pandemic he warned could still get worse. Biden's administration will purchase 100 million doses each of the vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, and Moderna Inc, increasing the overall total doses to 600 million, with delivery expected by summer. Chicago teachers to defy order to return to classroom due to COVID-19 concerns

Chicago teachers are poised to defy an order to return to classrooms on Wednesday, claiming the school system has failed to put in place COVID-19 protocols necessary for a safe reopening of in-person learning after a year-long hiatus. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), which represents the city's 25,000 public school educators, has been locked in negotiations with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) for months over a gradual reopening of schools for the system's 355,000 students. Biden's immigration changes too late for grandfather deported on Inauguration Day

As U.S. President Joe Biden took the oath of office last Wednesday, Felipe Ortega sat in a van handcuffed and chained at the waist and feet, headed toward Mexico and the end of his 30-year life in the United States. A day earlier, the 58-year-old grandfather of eight U.S. citizens was on his way to work when immigration agents surrounded his car in Midland, Texas, just blocks from his home. They told Ortega he had an outstanding deportation order from 15 years ago. Biden to suspend federal drilling, strengthen environmental justice in new climate orders

The Biden administration will announce on Wednesday a new batch of executive actions aimed at combating climate change that will pause new oil and gas leases on federal land and strengthen measures to protect poor and minority neighborhoods from pollution, according to sources familiar with the matter. The orders will set the direction for newly sworn-in President Joe Biden's climate change and environmental agenda and mark a drastic reversal from his predecessor Donald Trump, who sought to maximize the country's oil, gas and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews.