Reuters US Domestic News Summary

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced eight members of the committee investigating the events leading up to and on Jan. 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Biden from being certified the winner of last November's presidential election against Republican Trump. White House prepares for COVID-19 outbreaks due to highly contagious Delta variant The White House on Thursday said it would send out special teams to hot spots around the United States to combat the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant amid rising case counts in parts of the country where vaccination rates remain low.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. Attorney General imposes moratorium on federal executions

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday imposed a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department continues its review of the death penalty, the department said in a statement. "The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely," Garland said in a statement. "That obligation has special force in capital cases."

Trump Organization, CFO are charged in 'sweeping' 15-year tax fraud

Donald Trump's namesake company and longtime financial chief pleaded not guilty on Thursday to what a New York prosecutor called a "sweeping and audacious" tax fraud, arising from a probe into the former U.S. president's business and its practices. The indictment against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg is the first in a nearly three-year investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, which New York Attorney General Letitia James joined in May.

High levels of cancer-causing chemical found in parts of Houston -report

High levels of a cancer-causing chemical have been detected in air monitors in Houston neighborhoods near the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, according to a report issued on Thursday by Houston health officials and environmental groups. The report https://bit.ly/3hqafvk by the Houston Health Department and One Breath Partnership said concentrations of formaldehyde were found at levels 13 times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s minimum level for health threats.

Mini Statue of Liberty retraces her big sister's steps to New York Harbor

A scaled-down replica of the Statue of Liberty that has retraced the journey made over a century ago by its big sister was erected on Ellis Island in New York Harbor on Thursday. The replica, which stands 9.3 feet (2.8 meters) tall, began its trip from France to the United States on the back of a flat-bed truck last week.

Pelosi roils Republicans; names Liz Cheney to U.S. panel probing Jan. 6 attack

Some of former President Donald Trump's most prominent critics, including Republican Representative Liz Cheney and the Democrats who led the two impeachments against him, were named on Thursday to serve on a special congressional panel probing the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced eight members of the committee investigating the events leading up to and on Jan. 6, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Biden from being certified the winner of last November's presidential election against Republican Trump.

White House prepares for COVID-19 outbreaks due to highly contagious Delta variant

The White House on Thursday said it would send out special teams to hot spots around the United States to combat the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant amid rising case counts in parts of the country where vaccination rates remain low. The speedy U.S. vaccination campaign has dramatically reduced COVID-19 cases among residents. The peak seven-day-average of more than 250,000 cases per day in January fell to around 11,000 in mid-June.

In Florida, Biden woos Trump ally DeSantis in unity pitch

Sitting next to one of his fiercest critics on Thursday, President Joe Biden managed to find a silver lining in the grave tragedy that brought them together. "You know what's good about this?" Biden asked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, not waiting for an answer. "We're letting the nation know we can cooperate."

One trapped, several hurt in Washington building collapse

Search and rescue crews were attempting on Thursday to free a construction worker trapped inside a partially-built five-story building that collapsed during a rain storm in Washington. Four other construction workers were removed from the debris shortly after the building in the U.S. capital came down at about 3:30 pm (1930 GMT), said John Donnelly, assistant chief of D.C. Fire and EMS.

Family of four, economics student, police chief's mother among Florida condo victims

Authorities have listed 18 casualties of the Florida condominium collapse as of Thursday, 16 of whom have been identified, while 145 people were still missing. Those recovered from the rubble in the oceanside town of Surfside and identified by police included the wife and two young daughters of a sales manager whose body was already found, the mother of a local police chief, a Costa Rica-born accountant and a young Puerto Rican graphic artist who refused to let a disability dampen his spirits.

Women make up 60% of White House staff, diversity total at 44%

Women make up 60% of the White House staff appointed by President Joe Biden, while people from racially or ethnically diverse communities account for 44%, the White House on Thursday as it released an annual personnel report to Congress. The White House said the report - which includes the names, titles and salaries of all political appointees - showed that the Biden administration was the most diverse in U.S. history, in line with the Democratic president's commitment to build an administration that looks like America.