US Domestic News Roundup: South Carolina passes abortion ban; Trump's former fixer Cohen interviewed by Manhattan and more

Biden's attorney general pick Garland to prioritize civil rights, combating domestic terror In 1995, Merrick Garland was tasked with supervising a sprawling U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into the bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

South Carolina passes abortion ban, Planned Parenthood sues

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on Thursday signed into law a ban on almost all abortions in the state and the women's health group Planned Parenthood followed with a lawsuit, arguing the measure was unconstitutional. As one of the most restrictive abortion bans, the so-called "fetal heartbeat" law bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, often at six weeks and before a woman realizes she is pregnant.

Trump’s former fixer Cohen interviewed by Manhattan DA’s office and newly hired litigator

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and a newly hired high-profile litigator interviewed Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on Thursday, as part of a criminal probe of the former president’s business dealings, said two people familiar with the investigation. The interview came after Mark Pomerantz, who has extensive experience in white-collar and organized crime cases, joined District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.’s team investigating the Trump family business. Pomerantz started on Feb. 2 as special assistant district attorney, said Danny Frost, a spokesman for Vance.

Pfizer submits data showing COVID-19 vaccine's stability at higher temperatures

Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE said on Friday they have submitted new data to the U.S. health regulator showing the stability of their COVID-19 vaccine at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers and refrigerators.

Biden's attorney general pick Garland to prioritize civil rights, combating domestic terror

In 1995, Merrick Garland was tasked with supervising a sprawling U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into the bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people. Former colleagues recall that he maintained his composure as he surveyed the crime scene, coordinated the investigation among numerous law enforcement agencies and put together a trial team to bring bomber Timothy McVeigh and his co-conspirator Terry Nichols to justice.

U.S. immigration agents ordered to focus on serious criminals, recent border crossers

The U.S. government issued interim guidance on Thursday sharply limiting who can be arrested and deported by immigration agents, a move that comes as the Biden administration faces growing pressure from activists to scale back deportations. The guidelines instruct Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to focus on immigrants deemed national security and public safety threats and those who entered the United States after Nov. 1, 2020. Agents will need pre-approval from a senior manager if they want to arrest someone who does not fall into one of those categories.

Biden to visit Pfizer factory as Americans clamor for more COVID-19 vaccine supply

President Joe Biden heads to Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Friday to visit the Pfizer Inc manufacturing plant that is churning out COVID-19 vaccines, as state and local governments across the country clamor for more. Biden is due to tour Pfizer's largest manufacturing site and its only facility in the United States making the COVID-19 vaccine at a time when less than 15% of the U.S. population is vaccinated.

'Fragile' Texas energy grid comes back to life, steep challenges remain

A "fragile" energy grid has fully returned to life for frigid Texans who have spent five days dealing with blackouts caused by a historic winter storm, but challenges in finding drinking water and dealing with downed power lines loomed on Friday. All power plants in the state were once again functioning, but about 280,000 homes were still without power early Friday while 13 million people - nearly half of all Texans - have seen water services disrupted.

As U.S. pork plant speeds up slaughtering, workers report more injuries

One of America's leading pig slaughterhouses is running faster than ever as meatpackers hustle to keep pork in grocery stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. Plant worker Hector Ixquier says it's time to slow down. Ixquier said he sought medical treatment in January for tendons he strained in his right arm while draining blood from pigs in a Seaboard Foods pork plant in Guymon, Oklahoma.

Pro-Trump women's group cannot paint mural on NYC streets, judge rules

A conservative women's group cannot paint its own mural on New York City streets even after Mayor Bill de Blasio allowed a yellow "Black Lives Matter" mural to be painted outside Trump Tower, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield said Women for America First, a supporter of Republican former President Donald Trump, did not show that the city violated its First Amendment rights in rejected its mural "Engaging, Inspiring and Empowering Women to Make a Difference!"

U.S. begins admitting asylum seekers blocked by Trump, with thousands more waiting

The United States will on Friday begin rolling back one of former President Donald Trump's strictest immigration policies, allowing in the first of thousands of asylum seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico for their cases to be heard. President Joe Biden pledged while campaigning to immediately rescind the Trump policy, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). Under the program more than 65,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers were denied entry and sent back across the border pending court hearings. Most returned home but some stayed in Mexico in sometimes squalid or dangerous conditions, vulnerable to kidnapping and other violence.

(With inputs from agencies.)