Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Prosecutors offer plea bargain to Jan. 6 riot suspect on pre-trial detention

Federal prosecutors have offered a plea bargain to a defendant facing felony charges related to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot who worked at a security guard at a U.S. Navy base, a judge was told on Friday. Without providing details, prosecutor Katharine Fifield told U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden that a plea offer had been extended to Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a 35-year-old resident of Colt's Neck, New Jersey who worked at a Naval Weapons Station as a private security guard and also served in the National Guard for around 11 years.

U.S. resumes fast-track deportation flights of Central American migrant families

The United States on Friday resumed fast-track deportation flights for migrant families that recently arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, amid a sharp increase in the number of migrants at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the flights would transport Guatemalan, Honduran and Salvadoran migrant families who could not be immediately expelled under a coronavirus-related public health policy and did not have a legal basis to stay in the country.

In one-two punch to Trump, Justice Dept OK's release of taxes, memo

Former President Donald Trump suffered twin setbacks on Friday when the Justice Department cleared the way to release his tax records and disclosed a memo showing he had urged top officials last year to falsely claim his election defeat was "corrupt." The department, reversing course from the stance it took when Trump was in office, told the Internal Revenue Service to provide the Republican businessman-turned-politician's tax records to congressional investigators - a move he has long fought.

Disney makes vaccination mandatory for on-site U.S. employees

Walt Disney Co said on Friday it was making vaccination mandatory for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases. "Employees who aren't already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions," Disney said.

With bipartisan vote, U.S. Senate advances Biden's infrastructure bill

The U.S. Senate voted by a wide margin on Friday to take up a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, as Republicans and Democrats alike advanced President Joe Biden's top priority of renovating roads and bridges. The 66-28 vote was hailed by lawmakers of both parties as a sign that Washington was capable of working through sharp partisan differences on a package that would boost the economy and restore vital but aging transportation links that Americans depend upon.

U.S. Justice Dept says IRS must provide former President Donald Trump's tax returns to Congress

The U.S. Justice Department on Friday ordered the Internal Revenue Service to hand over former President Donald Trump's tax returns to a House of Representatives committee, saying the panel has offered "sufficient reasons" for requesting the material. The department's Office of Legal Counsel reversed course and declared that the department erred in 2019 when Trump was still in office when it found that the request for his taxes by the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee was based on a "disingenuous" objective aimed at exposing them to the public.

U.S. commuters uneasy as Delta variant threatens return to workplaces

The fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus is worrying some U.S. commuters who are already back on crowded buses and subway cars as corporate America attempts a greater return to the workplace after more than a year of pandemic disruption. For New York City resident Bernice Donkor, whose subway commute takes more than one hour each way, it is already hard to snag a seat.

Most COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts outbreak among vaccinated, says CDC

Three-quarters of people infected with COVID-19 at July public events in a town on Cape Cod in Massachusetts were fully vaccinated, a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed. The study, published on Friday, suggested the Delta variant of the virus was highly contagious. The outbreak occurred in Provincetown on Cape Cod, according to Barnstable County health authorities.

Republicans trigger review of election officials in Georgia

Georgia Republicans on Friday triggered a formal review of election officials in Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta, the first step in a process that could lead to their removal and allow the Republican-controlled state legislature to take control of local election operations. Republican House lawmakers from Fulton County released a letter calling for a performance review of the county's election officials, where Democratic President Joe Biden won heavily in the 2020 election, propelling his surprise victory over former President Donald Trump in the battleground state.

U.S House fails to renew COVID-19 residential eviction ban

The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned late Friday without extending a government moratorium on residential evictions that has been in place for 11 months set to expire on Saturday -- a decision that could put millions at risk of being forced out of their homes. House Democratic leaders, lacking sufficient support, did not put the issue to a vote and instead unsuccessfully made a last-minute bid to win unanimous consent to extend the moratorium until Oct. 18 but that was blocked by Republican Representative Patrick McHenry.