US Domestic News Roundup: Pfizer promises to double supply as Biden pushes for quicker vaccine rollout; Biden plans Texas visit, pushes for speedy disaster funds in winter storm crisis nad more

U.S. unwinds Trump 'remain in Mexico' program, mulls flights for asylum seekers A group of 25 asylum seekers was allowed into the United States on Friday, a United Nations official said, the start of efforts to unwind one of former President Donald Trump's most restrictive immigration policies, which forced thousands to wait in Mexico for their U.S. cases to be heard.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Cold, lack of water overwhelm Texas hospitals more than COVID-19 did

Texas doctor Natasha Kathuria has practiced medicine in 11 countries, worked through the 2014 "Snowmageddon" storm that ground Atlanta to a halt, and survived the past year's COVID-19 pandemic crush. But Kathuria and some other doctors in Texas are saying they have never seen a more harrowing week than this one.

U.S. House Democrats advance $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid bill

President Joe Biden's push for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill took a step forward on Friday as a U.S. House of Representatives committee unveiled the legislation Democrats hope to pass by late next week. The 591-page bill, stitched together by the House Budget Committee, would carry out Biden's proposals to provide additional money for COVID-19 vaccines and other medical equipment.

U.S. charges nine Oath Keepers with conspiring to storm Capitol

A federal grand jury indicted nine associates of the "Oath Keepers" militia on Friday for conspiring to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory, adding to a list of defendants with ties to the far-right anti-government group. In a superseding indictment, the U.S. charged six people allegedly connected to Oath Keepers - Ohio residents Sandra Ruth Parker, 60, and her husband Bennie Alvin Parker, 70, Graydon Young, 54, of Florida, Kelly Meggs, 52, and his 59-year-old wife Connie Meggs, also of Florida, and Laura Steele, 52, of North Carolina.

Biden plans Texas visit, pushes for speedy disaster funds in winter storm crisis

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he will approve a disaster declaration for Texas, clearing the way for more aid in a crippling winter storm as he weighed a trip to survey the federal response. Millions of residents in the United States' biggest oil and gas producer have dealt with power outages, and nearly half of Texans struggled on Friday with disrupted water service. Nearly two dozen deaths have been attributed to the storm and a cold snap.

Voting rights advocates decry 'devastating' Georgia measure limiting ballot access

Democrats and voting rights groups condemned on Friday a broad proposal by Georgia Republicans to limit absentee and in-person voting in the state, the latest salvo in a national fight over efforts to place new restrictions on casting a ballot. Republicans said the sweeping measure was needed to bolster confidence in election integrity after former President Donald Trump disputed November's results that saw Joe Biden become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in 28 years.

Pfizer promises to double supply as Biden pushes for quicker vaccine rollout

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday secured a commitment from Pfizer Inc to double the COVID-19 vaccine it churns out in the coming weeks, putting his goal to fill the country's inoculation stockpile by summer insight. The drugmaker's chief executive, Albert Bourla, used a visit by the U.S. president to the company's largest manufacturing facility to announce that he expects to more than double the around 5 million doses per week the company currently provides to the U.S. government.

Japan air force officer, U.S. instructor killed in U.S. plane crash

A Japanese air force officer and a U.S. Air Force instructor pilot were killed in a crash in Alabama, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force said on Saturday. The Japanese second lieutenant and the U.S. instructor crashed around 8 a.m. Japan time on Saturday (5 p.m. CST, 2300 GMT on Friday) as their T-38 was about to land at the Montgomery airport, the Japanese force said in a statement.

Exclusive: New York City tax agency subpoenaed in Trump criminal probe

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has subpoenaed a New York City property tax agency as part of a criminal investigation into Donald Trump's company, the agency confirmed on Friday, suggesting prosecutors are examining the former president's efforts to reduce his commercial real-estate taxes for possible evidence of fraud. The subpoena issued to the New York City Tax Commission is the latest indication that Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. is looking at the values Trump assigned to some commercial properties in tax filings and loan documents.

Texas water shortages persist; 'fragile' power grid returns to life

In the latest fallout from a crippling winter storm, more than 14 million Texans on Friday had to endure disrupted water service, leaving many longing for a hot shower just as the state's power grid jerked back to life after five days of blackouts. All the state's power plants were functioning again, although more than 195,000 homes remained without electricity on Friday morning, and residents of 160 of Texas' 254 counties had water service disruptions, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

U.S. unwinds Trump 'remain in Mexico' program, mulls flights for asylum seekers

A group of 25 asylum seekers was allowed into the United States on Friday, a United Nations official said, the start of efforts to unwind one of former President Donald Trump's most restrictive immigration policies, which forced thousands to wait in Mexico for their U.S. cases to be heard. The U.S. government has also expressed interest in funding flights that would bring back certain people who were blocked by the Trump policy and who are no longer at the border, the U.N. official said in an interview with Reuters on Friday.