Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Trump is on trial in the U.S. Senate on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters who stormed the seat of Congress in Washington to stop lawmakers from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a police officer.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Delay in U.S. census data could muddle 2022 congressional elections

U.S. census data used once a decade to redraw legislative districts will not be made available until September, officials said on Friday, a delay that could make it difficult for states to finish new maps in time for the 2022 congressional elections. In announcing a new release date of Sept. 30, the Census Bureau cited lingering delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the bureau to shut down many of its data collection operations last spring as lockdowns swept the country. Biden launches review of Guantanamo prison, aims to close it before leaving office

President Joe Biden's aides have launched a formal review of the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, reviving the Obama-era goal of closing the controversial facility with the aim of doing so before he leaves office, the White House said on Friday. Aides involved in internal discussions are considering an executive action to be signed by Biden in coming weeks or months, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, signaling a new effort to remove what human rights advocates have called a stain on America’s global image. Pilloried in Washington, Marjorie Taylor Greene is loved back home

From the pulpit this past Sunday, Pastor Brian Crisp prayed for President Joe Biden and delivered a passionate sermon on loving one’s neighbor. But away from church, the Baptist preacher was steeling for battle. This rural stretch of northwest Georgia is Marjorie Taylor Greene country. The freshman congresswoman won this district in a landslide in November. Voters here aren’t happy that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Feb. 4 stripped Greene of her committee assignments - diluting her influence - for, among other things, advocating violence against Democratic lawmakers on social media before she was elected. Trump lawyers portray impeachment trial as Democratic score-settling

Donald Trump's lawyers said on Friday Democrats had provided no evidence the former president incited last month's deadly U.S. Capitol riot and had used his second impeachment trial to settle political scores. Trump is on trial in the U.S. Senate on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection by supporters who stormed the seat of Congress in Washington to stop lawmakers from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. Snow, freezing rain forecast for U.S. heartland on Valentine's Day weekend

A fresh wave of wintry weather will keep a vast swath of the United States in a deep chill over Valentine's Day weekend, forecasters said on Friday, an outlook that should encourage pandemic-weary Americans to stay home and snuggle up around a fireplace. Snow and freezing rain could fall from Seattle to Washington, D.C., and from North Dakota to Louisiana, said meteorologist Marc Chenard at the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. U.S. CDC recommends schools reopen with masks and rigid health protocols

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued new guidance for U.S. schools to reopen, recommending universal mask-wearing and physical distancing as key COVID-19 mitigation strategies to get children back in the classroom quickly. The guidelines https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/index.html, which also emphasize the need for facility-cleaning, personal hygiene and contact tracing, are intended to give school districts a road map to bring the nation's 55 million public school students back to classrooms without sparking COVID-19 outbreaks. U.S. Congress panel to hear Postal Service officials on finances

Top postal officials are scheduled to testify before a U.S. congressional panel on Feb. 24, as lawmakers consider how to repair U.S. Postal Service finances. The hearing "will examine legislative proposals to place the Postal Service on a more sustainable financial footing," said Representative Carolyn Maloney, the Deocrat who chairs the committee, and top Republican Representative James Comer. White House suspends press aide who reportedly threatened journalist

The White House said on Friday it temporarily suspended a press aide after he reportedly threatened a reporter who was working on a story about his romantic relationship with another journalist. Vanity Fair reported on Friday that White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo had made threats - including "I will destroy you" - to a Politico correspondent who was reporting a piece about Ducklo's recently disclosed relationship with an Axios reporter, Alexi McCammond. Republican enthusiasm for second Trump term lags as impeachment trial nears end

Senate Republicans, while likely to acquit former President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial, showed little enthusiasm this week for a possible second White House bid in 2024 after reliving his supporters' deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol. Following days of graphic videos of the melee presented by House managers, Republicans expressed concern about his post-election behavior, including his repeated false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him - even as they insisted that his trial on a charge of inciting insurrection is unconstitutional. Biden makes first trip to the rustic mountain retreat of Camp David

U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, are spending their first weekend at Camp David, the storied retreat in the mountains of western Maryland that many predecessors found to be a rustic getaway from the political battles of Washington. Nestled in the Catoctin Mountains, the heavily guarded compound operated by the U.S. Navy provided a refuge for Jimmy Carter to fish and George W. Bush to ride his mountain bike.