Reuters US Domestic News Summary

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy instead asked Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call lawmakers back from an August break to consider legislation that he said would prevent a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan until all Americans are out of the country. Biden says he has coordinated with governors, electric utilities on Hurricane Ida U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he has spoken to governors of states in the Gulf of Mexico region and has coordinated with electric utilities in preparation for Hurricane Ida, the powerful storm expected to make landfall late Sunday.


Reuters | Updated: 29-08-2021 05:24 IST | Created: 29-08-2021 05:24 IST
Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. administers 367.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines - CDC

The United States has administered 367,911,870 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 439,428,235 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Those figures are up from the 366,838,484 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Aug. 27 out of 437,567,285 doses delivered.

U.S. Gulf Coast residents flee 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane Ida

Hurricane Ida on Saturday intensified over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, prompting tens of thousands to flee coastal areas, while President Joe Biden pledged aid to help states quickly recover once the storm has passed. Forecasters said Ida could make a U.S. landfall on Sunday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, generating winds of 140 miles per hour (225 kph), heavy downpours and a tidal surge that could plunge much of the Louisiana shoreline under several feet of water.

Parole recommended for convicted RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan

A California review board on Friday recommended that Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian refugee serving a life sentence for assassinating U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, be released from prison on parole. Sirhan, 77, has previously been denied parole 15 times.

Theranos founder claims abuse by ex-boyfriend in fraud trial -court filings

Theranos Inc founder Elizabeth Holmes has accused her former boyfriend, who was president of the blood-testing startup, of abusing her, court documents unsealed on Saturday showed, hinting at a possible defense strategy with jury selection in her fraud trial set to start next week. In court filings submitted more than 18 months ago, Holmes' lawyers said they planned to present evidence that Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani abused her emotionally and psychologically in a relationship that spanned more than a decade. That includes the period when the company claimed its technology could enable a wide array of medical tests with a few drops of blood.

Congress demands Facebook, YouTube and others turn over Jan. 6-related documents

The congressional committee probing the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol on Friday asked major social media companies including Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google to turn over records of messages related to the assault by Donald Trump's supporters. The House of Representatives Select Committee asked for records connected to the violence and the days leading up to it, including the spread of misinformation and efforts to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's election.

U.S. Republicans blast Biden over Afghanistan deaths

The top Republican in the House of Representatives lashed out at President Joe Biden on Friday over the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in Afghanistan but stopped short of joining calls from other Republicans for the Democratic president to resign or face impeachment. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy instead asked Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call lawmakers back from an August break to consider legislation that he said would prevent a U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan until all Americans are out of the country.

Biden says he has coordinated with governors, electric utilities on Hurricane Ida

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said he has spoken to governors of states in the Gulf of Mexico region and has coordinated with electric utilities in preparation for Hurricane Ida, the powerful storm expected to make landfall late Sunday. "We've prepositioned food, water, generators and other supplies in the area. Power restoration and mobile communications support teams are also en route. We've also closely coordinated with the electric utilities to restore power as soon as possible," Biden said at a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Biden administration urges localities to block evictions after court ruling

The Biden administration has written to state and local officials urging that they block unnecessary residential evictions, after the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ended a federal moratorium aimed at keeping people housed during the COVID-19 pandemic. A copy of the letter was seen by Reuters on Friday.

Analysis: Biden's Supreme Court losses prompt more 'shadow docket' scrutiny

President Joe Biden's administration was dealt a double blow by the conservative-majority Supreme Court this week, raising new questions about how the justices handle cases brought via an emergency process known as the "shadow docket." The court in recent years has increasingly made substantive decisions on major issues via the shadow docket https://www.reuters.com/article/legal-us-usa-court-shadow-video/the-shadow-docket-how-the-u-s-supreme-court-quietly-dispatches-key-rulings-idUSKBN2BF16Q, deciding quickly and sometimes late at night in a process that critics from across the ideological spectrum say lacks transparency.

Thousands march in Washington, U.S. cities for voting rights

Thousands of protesters rallied in Washington and other U.S. cities on Saturday to demand protections for voting rights, aiming to pressure lawmakers to pass legislation to counter a wave of ballot restrictions in Republican-led states. Held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic 1963 March on Washington, organizers of the "March On For Washington And Voting Rights" stressed that the moves to curb voting access would disproportionately affect people of color.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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