US Domestic News Roundup: Republicans block probe of U.S. Capitol riot; Biden's defense budget aims to curb China and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. health agency eases masking guidance for summer camps where all are vaccinated

The top U.S. health agency on Friday relaxed guidance for mask-wearing at summer camps, saying that camps do not need to require children to wear masks or physically distance if all participants have been fully vaccinated. The new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention settles a question that has been top of mind for the parents of tens of millions of children who attend camp each summer in the United States.

In victory for Trump, Republicans block probe of U.S. Capitol riot

Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday derailed a bipartisan inquiry into the deadly assault on the Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters, despite a torrent of criticism the lawmakers were playing down the violence. Democrats and some moderate Republicans had called for a commission to probe the events up to and including Jan. 6, when hundreds of supporters of Trump, a Republican, stormed the Capitol, fighting with police, urging violence against lawmakers and delaying the formal certification of President Joe Biden's election victory. The violence left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer.

U.S. government seeks to dismiss suit against Trump, Washington Post says

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed against former President Donald Trump, former Attorney General William Barr, and other officials over the forceful pushing back of peaceful protesters at a White House demonstration last year, the Washington Post reported. Trump and other U.S. officials should be considered immune from civil lawsuits over police actions taken to protect a president and to secure his movements, the Justice Department lawyers said, according to the Post.

U.S. movie theaters remove mask mandate for vaccinated people

Masks are no longer required at the three main movie theater chains in the United States for people who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to updated guidelines on Friday. AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, and Regal Cinemas said on their websites that moviegoers who are not fully vaccinated will be asked to continue wearing masks and that other social-distancing measures and cleaning protocols will remain in place.

Biden's defense budget aims to curb China, gives troops 2.7% raise

U.S. President Joe Biden's $715 billion Department of Defense budget includes a 2.7% pay raise for troops and shifts billions in spending from old systems to help pay to modernize the nuclear arsenal to deter China. The defense spending request for fiscal 2022, which was sent to Congress on Friday, invests in troop readiness, space, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative aimed at countering China's military build-up in Asia, and nuclear weapons technology.

U.S. agency says employers can mandate COVID-19 vaccination

U.S. companies can mandate that employees in a workplace must be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said on Friday. The EEOC, in a statement posted on its website explaining its updated guidance, said employees can be required to be vaccinated as long as employers comply with the reasonable accommodation provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws.

Idaho governor repeals mask ban that political rival signed in his absence

Idaho's governor on Friday repealed a ban on COVID-19 mask mandates that his lieutenant governor signed while he was out of state, calling his fellow Republican's actions "tyranny" and a "self-serving political stunt." A day after Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin authorized an executive order forbidding mask mandates, Governor Brad Little issued his own executive order reversing what he called a power grab.

California governor orders review of death row inmate's conviction

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday ordered an independent investigation into the high-profile clemency petition of death row inmate Kevin Cooper, who maintains he is innocent of the 1983 quadruple murder for which he was convicted. Newsom's action to mount a comprehensive new inquiry into the case came 2 1/2 years after his predecessor and fellow Democrat, Jerry Brown, ordered four key pieces of evidence be retested for DNA that might exonerate Cooper, now aged 63.

Biden budget drops Hyde Amendment to allow public funding of abortion

U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed 2022 budget omits a ban on federal funding for most abortions that have been part of government spending bills for decades. The budget, released Friday, makes no mention of the "Hyde Amendment," first passed in 1976, which has been included in federal spending bills since.

Money is cheap, let's spend it - White House $6 trillion budget message

The White House on Friday sent Congress a $6 trillion budget plan that would ramp up spending on infrastructure, education and combating climate change, arguing it makes good fiscal sense to invest now, when the cost of borrowing is cheap, and reduce deficits later. The first comprehensive budget https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget offered by Democratic President Joe Biden faces strong opposition from Republican lawmakers, who want to tamp down U.S. government spending and reject his plans to hike taxes on the rich and big corporations.

(With inputs from agencies.)