Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Cuomo acknowledges withholding New York nursing home pandemic death toll from lawmakers, public New York Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged on Monday that his office should not have withheld data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths from state lawmakers, the public and press - falling short of an apology a senior aide made to lawmakers last week.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Cuomo acknowledges withholding New York nursing home pandemic death toll from lawmakers, public

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo acknowledged on Monday that his office should not have withheld data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths from state lawmakers, the public and press - falling short of an apology a senior aide made to lawmakers last week. Cuomo said at a press conference that "lessons were learned' in not releasing the data and that things "should have been done differently." George Floyd's family 'outraged' after reports of LAPD Valentine-themed image: attorney

The attorney who represented the family of George Floyd over his death at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer issued a statement on Monday following media reports that Los Angeles Police Department members had circulated an image of Floyd with the phrase, "You take my breath away." Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man whose May 25 arrest was captured on video, pleaded for his life and said he could not breathe as Derek Chauvin, a white officer, knelt on his neck. His death sparked protests against police brutality in the United States and abroad and renewed debate about racism. 'Hard to bring tears out:' Stunned by pandemic, some Americans struggle to grieve

Fiana Tulip lost her mother to COVID-19 on the Fourth of July. Like so many others, she was not able to see her or say goodbye. For Tulip, 41, that was the only beginning of an avalanche of personal and financial loss and hardship brought on by a pandemic that has now claimed the lives of nearly half a million people in the United States alone. The heavy emotional toll was just too much to process, short-circuiting her ability to grieve. CDC chief warns it's too soon in U.S. to lift COVID-19 mask mandates

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday it is "absolutely" too soon to lift mask mandates, citing daily COVID-19 case numbers that despite recent declines remain more than double the levels seen last summer. Dr. Rochelle Walensky's warning that face-covering requirements are still critical came just days after governors in Iowa and Montana lifted long-standing mask mandates in their states. Biden to pitch stimulus bill in Wisconsin, U.S. state hard hit by pandemic

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Wisconsin on Tuesday to press his case for a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in the political battleground state that helped secure his victory in last year's presidential election. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said last week that Biden would do a CNN town hall with voters while visiting the state, hard hit by the pandemic and its economic fallout. U.S. Operation Warp Speed's Slaoui joins newly formed drug developer as lead scientist

Moncef Slaoui, formerly the chief scientific adviser for the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed COVID-19 vaccine development program, has joined newly formed Centessa Pharmaceuticals as its chief scientific officer. He will oversee and advise Centessa on its drug development programs, which focus on areas including hemophilia, cancer and kidney disease. Slaoui has been a partner since 2017 at Medicxi, the investment firm that founded Centessa by merging 10 of its portfolio companies. U.S. lawmakers will set up commission to probe Jan. 6 attack on Capitol: Pelosi

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday lawmakers will establish an outside, independent commission to review the "facts and causes" related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Pelosi said in a letter to lawmakers that the commission would be modeled on a similar one convened after the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York and the Pentagon. Pelosi said the panel will also look at the "facts and causes relating to the preparedness and response of the United States Capitol Police and other federal, state, and local law enforcement." Bristol-Myers, Sanofi ordered to pay Hawaii $834 million over Plavix warning label

A judge in Hawaii on Monday ordered Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Sanofi SA to pay more than $834 million to the state for failing to warn non-white patients properly of health risks from its blood thinner Plavix. Judge Dean Ochiai in Honolulu concluded the companies engaged in unfair and deceptive business practices from 1998 to 2010 by failing to change the drug's label to warn doctors and patients despite knowing some of the risks. Cold snap leaves one dead, over 4 million without power in Texas

At least one person was dead and more than 4 million were without power in Texas after a rare deep freeze forced the state's electric grid operator to impose rotating blackouts because of higher power demand. The cause of the death of the person was suspected to be exposure to "extreme low temperatures", Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said on Twitter. North Carolina Republican leaders vote to censure Burr over impeachment vote

North Carolina Republican leaders on Monday voted to censure Senator Richard Burr over his vote to convict former U.S. President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial. Burr, a third-term North Carolina Republican who has said he does not plan to seek reelection in 2022, was one of just seven out of 50 Republican senators to vote to convict Trump for inciting his supporters' Jan. 6 attack on Congress, which left five people dead.