US Domestic News Roundup: US House ethics panel launches investigation into Gaetz; Trump tells Republican donors and more

He said his congressional offices will remain open but apologized to constituents for being "pretty much off the grid for the next few weeks." 'This is their blood': Civil rights lawyer Crump fights for George Floyd's family As the world follows the often-emotional testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd, members of Floyd's family watch a live feed in a separate room in the courthouse.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. House ethics panel launches investigation into Republican Gaetz

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee said on Friday it has opened an investigation into Republican congressman Matt Gaetz involving allegations including possible sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. The panel's Democratic chairman and top Republican said in a joint statement they had become "aware of public allegations" that Gaetz, one of former President Donald Trump's most prominent supporters in Congress, may have violated "House rules, laws or other standards of conduct."

Trump tells Republican donors he'll help win Congress in 2022

Former President Donald Trump vowed to help Republicans win seats in Congress in 2022 elections but lashed out at two top party figures, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and former Vice President Mike Pence, at a donor retreat on Saturday. At a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago Club for Republican National Committee donors in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump made clear he is still irked at his inability to hang on to the White House despite losing the Nov. 3 election to Democrat Joe Biden, who is now president.

Doctor who performed George Floyd autopsy stands by homicide conclusion

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on George Floyd after last May's deadly arrest explained how he concluded the death was a homicide at the hands of police in testimony on Friday at former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin's murder trial. As jurors studied graphic autopsy photographs, Dr. Andrew Baker, Hennepin County's chief medical examiner, said he stood by the cause of death he determined last year as protests in Floyd's name against police brutality spread around the world.

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general and human rights activist, dead at 93

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who helped shape U.S. civil rights law during the Johnson administration but went on to travel the globe to fight human rights abuses by his own country as he saw them, has died at age 93. Clark, one of the architects of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Civil Rights Act of 1968, died on Friday, family member Sharon Welch said, according to media outlets including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Thousands of low-level U.S. inmates released in pandemic could be headed back to prison

For Kendrick Fulton, the COVID-19 pandemic opened the door to an unexpected opportunity to rebuild his life in Round Rock, Texas, after serving 17 years behind bars for selling crack cocaine. As officials scrambled last year to stem the spread of the coronavirus in prisons, the Justice Department let Fulton and more than 23,800 inmates like him serve their sentences at home.

Former U.S. Navy Seal to take leave from Congress after eye surgery

U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy Seal who lost his right eye in an explosion in Afghanistan, said on Saturday he will take a month-long leave of absence from Congress after emergency surgery for a detaching retina in his other eye. "The surgery went well, but I will be effectively blind for about a month," the Texas Republican wrote in a statement on Twitter. He said his congressional offices will remain open but apologized to constituents for being "pretty much off the grid for the next few weeks."

'This is their blood': Civil rights lawyer Crump fights for George Floyd's family

As the world follows the often-emotional testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of murdering George Floyd, members of Floyd's family watch a live feed in a separate room in the courthouse. Frequently by their side is civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump, who heads the family's legal team.

U.S. has administered 183.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, CDC says

The United States had administered 183,467,709 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and distributed 237,791,735 doses as of Saturday morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 178,837,781 doses the CDC said had been administered by April 9, out of 233,591,955 doses delivered.

Armed man fires shots in Hawaii hotel, barricades himself inside room - report

A hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii was placed on lockdown after an armed man fired shots through the door of a guest room and barricaded himself inside, but there were no reports of any injuries, Hawaii News Now reported https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/04/11/police-surround-kahala-hotel-following-reports-armed-man-barricading-himself-room late Saturday. Guests and staff at the Kahala Resort & Hotel were sheltering in place, and guests in rooms near the incident had been evacuated, the news site added.

Biden's budget meets criticism from right and left on Pentagon spending

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress to sharply hike spending on climate change, cancer and underperforming schools, but his first budget wishlist on Friday drew howls of bipartisan concern over military spending. The $1.5 trillion budget, reflecting an 8% increase in base funding from this year, marks a sharp contrast with the goals of Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump.

(With inputs from agencies.)