US Domestic News Roundup: Analysis-FDA vaccine advisers face thorny question: Are COVID-19 boosters needed?; South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down city's school mask mandate and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Analysis-FDA vaccine advisers face thorny question: Are COVID-19 boosters needed?

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are expected to discuss two key questions when they meet on Sept. 17 to consider a COVID-19 vaccine booster campaign this fall: Is protection from the initial shots waning, and will boosters help? The debate will likely be heated following the Biden Administration's announcement last month - before the experts could weigh in - that the U.S. plans to start booster doses Sept. 20 if regulators approve them.

South Carolina Supreme Court strikes down city's school mask mandate

South Carolina's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a school mask mandate in the state's capital city in the midst of its largest surge in COVID-19 cases since last winter. In the latest of several such legal cases across a nation where cultural and political clashes have erupted over the COVID-19 response, the court ruled 5-0 to issue a declaratory judgment for South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who brought the case against the city of Columbia.

Biden warns of 'unconstitutional chaos' due to Texas abortion ban

A Texas law imposing a near-total ban on abortion that the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to stand will cause "unconstitutional chaos" by infringing on a right that women have exercised for almost a half-century, President Joe Biden warned on Thursday. The court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, also raised questions about how it will rule on a more sweeping upcoming case that could curb abortion rights nationwide, as it left in place the ban on abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.

Former Georgia district attorney indicted for obstruction in Arbery case

A Georgia grand jury indicted a former district attorney on Thursday on two charges stemming from her delay in charging suspects captured on video fatally shooting a Black man as he was out jogging in the coastal city of Brunswick. The men accused of the Feb. 23, 2020, killing of Ahmaud Arbery were not arrested until weeks after the release of the video, which sparked outrage across the country. Civil rights activists said it marked another example of a targeted attack on a Black man.

U.S. Supreme Court's rightward lurch put Roe v. Wade on the brink

During a 2016 presidential debate, then-candidate Donald Trump made a statement that seemed brash at the time: If he were elected and got the chance to nominate justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion would be overturned. By this time next year, with the court having tilted further to the right thanks to Trump's three appointments to the nation's highest court, his prediction could come true.

As COVID surges, more Florida school districts revolt against governor's mask ban

In a scene replayed across the United States, angry parents and activists streamed into a meeting of Florida's Lake County school board on Thursday where it considered whether to mandate mask-wearing for students and staff due to COVID. Some opponents of the mask proposal brandished signs that read "Let Our Children Breathe." Even with Florida seeing a record number of coronavirus cases, one attendee called the pandemic "overblown." Another was escorted out by deputies after yelling at board members.

Drought forces North American ranchers to sell off their future

When Canadian rancher Dianne Riding strides across her brown pasture, sidestepping cracks and popping grasshoppers, she has less company than usual. Record-setting heat and sparse rain left Riding with too little grass or hay to feed her cattle near Lake Francis, Manitoba. She sold 51 head at auction in July, about 40% of her herd. The sales included 20 heifers, young cows that have not given birth, that were potential breeding stock.

Former U.S. Cardinal McCarrick to be arraigned on charges he molested teen

Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is set to be arraigned on Friday on charges that he molested a 16-year-old boy in 1974, a case that makes him the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official to be prosecuted for sexually abusing a minor. McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, D.C., is expected to appear in a state court in Dedham, Massachusetts, after he was charged in July with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older.

Biden to visit Louisiana to see Hurricane Ida damage, New Jersey death toll rises

U.S. President Joe Biden travels to Louisiana on Friday to get a first-hand look at the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida, the monster storm that devastated the southern portion of the state and left 1 million people without power. Biden is to meet Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and local officials about the hurricane, which is providing the president with a tough test just after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.

Ida's record rain floods New York-area homes, subways; at least 44 dead

Flash flooding killed at least 44 people in four Northeastern states as remnants of Hurricane Ida unleashed torrential rains that swept away cars, submerged New York City subway lines, and grounded airline flights, officials said on Thursday. Across large swaths of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, residents spent the day coping with water-logged basements, power outages, damaged roofs, and calls for help from friends and family members stranded by flooding.

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