Reuters US Domestic News Summary

That, in turn, will allow for 85 million more tests to be produced per month, the official said. U.S. health officials say COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations 'comparatively' low despite Omicron surge COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations are "comparatively" low as the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday as cases in the United States reached a record high.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Ten key moments from Ghislaine Maxwell's sex abuse trial

A jury on Wednesday convicted British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of recruiting and grooming four teenagers for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse.

Here are 10 key moments from the trial:

Purdue bankruptcy judge extends temporary litigation shield for Sacklers

A bankruptcy judge has extended temporary protections against opioid-related litigation for the Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma until Feb. 1 after another judge overturned the OxyContin maker’s bankruptcy settlement this month. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New York, extended the litigation shield on Wednesday, giving Purdue and the Sacklers time to discuss a path forward. The judge in September had approved Purdue’s reorganization plan and underlying settlement that aimed to resolve widespread litigation accusing the company and the Sacklers of fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic through deceptive marketing.

U.S. CDC chief says hopes to decide on COVID boosters for 12-15 year-olds soon

Approval of a third COVID-19 vaccine dose for U.S. children aged 12-15 could be days or weeks away, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. Asked when children in that age group could receive a booster shot, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said: "So the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is looking at that right now. Of course, the CDC will swiftly follow as soon as we hear from them, and I'm hoping to have that in the days to weeks ahead."

Former U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid dies at 82

Harry Reid, the pugnacious son of a Nevada hard-rock miner who rose from poverty to become the U.S. Senate majority leader and earned a reputation as a fierce partisan fighter during an era of political gridlock in Washington, died on Tuesday. He was 82. Reid, a former amateur boxer who represented Nevada in the U.S. Congress as a Democrat for more than three decades, died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, his wife of 62 years, Landra, said in a statement.

Biden asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear 'Remain in Mexico' case

The Biden administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court whether it needed to continue to implement a Trump-era policy that has forced tens of thousands of migrants to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their U.S. asylum cases.

Democratic President Joe Biden attempted to scrap his Republican predecessor's policy - often referred to as "Remain in Mexico" - soon after taking office in January. But after Texas and Missouri sued, a federal judge ruled it had to be reinstated and an appeals court earlier this month agreed.

Appeals court puts part of ruling against New York Times coverage of Project Veritas on hold

A New York state appeals court on Tuesday put on hold part of a trial judge's decision blocking the New York Times from reporting on documents prepared by a lawyer for the conservative activist group Project Veritas. Justice William Ford of the Appellate Division in Brooklyn said the Times does not have to turn over or destroy its copies of documents prepared by Project Veritas' in-house lawyer Benjamin Barr while it appeals the coverage ban.

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of recruiting teenage girls for Epstein sex abuse

Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty by a U.S. jury on Wednesday of helping the late financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, sealing a remarkable fall from grace for the British socialite. Maxwell, 60, was accused of recruiting and grooming https://www.reuters.com/world/us/opening-statements-ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-case-set-begin-2021-11-29 four teenagers between 1994 and 2004 for Epstein, her former boyfriend who killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges of his own.

Biden inks $137 million contract to boost supply of key material for COVID tests -source

The Biden administration plans to announce on Wednesday a $137 million contract for Millipore Sigma, a unit of Germany's Merck KGaA, to boost production capacity of a highly constrained component of rapid coronavirus tests, a senior administration official told Reuters. The money will allow the company over three years to build a new facility to produce nitrocellulose membranes, the paper that displays test results, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. That, in turn, will allow for 85 million more tests to be produced per month, the official said.

U.S. health officials say COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations 'comparatively' low despite Omicron surge

COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations are "comparatively" low as the highly infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday as cases in the United States reached a record high. "In a few short weeks Omicron has rapidly increased across the country, and we expect will continue to circulate in the coming weeks. While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," she said, referring to overall cases.

Analysis-No tests, no problem? Experts question new U.S. CDC policy on COVID isolation period

New government rules that halve the isolation period for asymptomatic coronavirus infections lack safeguards that could result in even more infections as the United States faces a record surge driven by the Omicron variant, disease experts said. This week the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the recommended isolation period for people with asymptomatic COVID to five days, down from 10, after which they are asked to wear masks for an additional five days. The agency cited the extremely rapid spread of Omicron, which could force many more workers across industries to remain home in the coming weeks, even if they are not ill or infectious.