Reuters US Domestic News Summary

NBC News said the girlfriend, whose name was withheld, and her lawyer were seen entering a federal courthouse in Orlando, Florida, but that the lawyer, Tim Jansen, declined to comment. White House will double COVID-19 tests for schools The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new set of measures to keep classes open, including doubling COVID-19 testing capacity in schools with 10 million more tests, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly through the United States https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11. The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11, shattering the global record for daily cases in any one country.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

White House encouraged by rejection of Facebook request to dismiss antitrust lawsuit

The White House said on Wednesday it was encouraged by a U.S. judge's decision not to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust lawsuit against Facebook. "Certainly we are encouraged by the district court's decision", White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "We've been clear and he (President Joe Biden) has been clear we need more competition in the tech industry."

U.S. congressman Gaetz's ex-girlfriend testifies in sex-trafficking probe -reports

Republican Representative Matt Gaetz's former girlfriend testified before a federal grand jury on Wednesday amid an ongoing probe into whether the lawmaker trafficked a minor for sex, U.S. media outlets reported. NBC News said the girlfriend, whose name was withheld, and her lawyer were seen entering a federal courthouse in Orlando, Florida, but that the lawyer, Tim Jansen, declined to comment.

White House will double COVID-19 tests for schools

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a new set of measures to keep classes open, including doubling COVID-19 testing capacity in schools with 10 million more tests, as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly through the United States https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11.

The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11, shattering the global record for daily cases in any one country. Omicron is now estimated to account for 98.3% of total new cases circulating in the country, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) says.

Labor talks begin Thursday on national U.S. refinery workers contract

Negotiators for the United Steelworkers union and Marathon Petroleum Corp, which is representing oil refiners and chemical makers, are scheduled to begin talks on Thursday on a new contract for 30,000 workers across the United States. The talks come as oil demand has nearly returned to 2019 levels before the coronavirus pandemic hit. The decline in demand contributed to refineries halting operations. U.S. petroleum and liquid fuels consumption this year is projected to surpass 2019 levels.

U.S. states restricting voting rights would disappoint Martin Luther King, daughter says

Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter says she believes the slain civil-rights leader would have been disappointed with efforts playing out in some parts of the United States to restrict voting rights. "What's going on right now would not surprise him, it would disappoint him, " said Bernice King, who serves as chief executive of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.

Exclusive-Biden weighing cuts to 2022 ethanol blending mandate proposal -sources

The Biden administration is considering lowering the 2022 ethanol blending mandate below the proposed 15 billion gallons amid backlash from the oil refining lobby and unions arguing the shrinking U.S. ethanol industry can no longer support the target, according to two sources familiar with the administration’s thinking. U.S. President Joe Biden vowed to bring some normalcy back to laws requiring refiners to blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol into the nation’s gasoline pool after his predecessor, Donald Trump, took unprecedented steps to relieve refiners from the requirement.

Biden judicial nominee grilled amid objections by GOP home state senators

Senate Republicans on Wednesday criticized the White House for failing to sufficiently consult two Tennessee GOP senators about President Joe Biden's nomination of a lawyer from their state to sit on a federal appellate court over their objections. Andre Mathis, a Memphis lawyer at the law firm Butler Snow, was the first Biden appellate pick to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee who lacked his home state senators' support, creating a test for the president's push to rapidly seat judges.

Biden to urge Senate Democrats to unify to pass voting-rights bill

President Joe Biden on Thursday will make a personal plea to U.S. Senate Democrats to unite to change the chamber's rules to pass voting-rights reform, a day after the Senate's top Republican launched a blistering attack on the initiative. Passions are high in Washington as former President Donald Trump's false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of fraud inspire a wave of new restrictions on voting in Republican-controlled states.

U.S. House panel seeks testimony from Republican leader about Jan. 6 Capitol attack

The U.S. congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol asked House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday to voluntarily answer questions about Donald Trump's actions on the day of the riot. In a letter https://january6th.house.gov/sites/democrats.january6th.house.gov/files/2022-1-12.BGT%20Letter%20to%20McCarthy.pdf to McCarthy released publicly, the House of Representatives Select Committee requested he sit for an interview in early February.

Americans grapple with prolonged testing woes amid Omicron surge

Long lines snake around entire city blocks as Americans scramble to get tested for COVID-19. At-home testing kits fly off the shelves at pharmacies and drug stores. Demand that surged before the holidays has yet to subside in the new year. As the Omicron variant pushed infections to record levels and the Biden administration unveiled plans to double testing capacity in schools, people across the country voiced frustration on Wednesday with the paucity of tests.