US Domestic News Roundup: Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan denied parole by California governor; Exhausted parents navigate a patchwork of U.S. school COVID-19 policies and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan denied parole by California governor

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday he has denied parole to Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian refugee serving a life prison sentence for assassinating U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Newsom made the announcement after a California review board in August recommended Sirhan be released from prison, subject to review by the board's legal staff and by the governor himself. Sirhan had previously been denied parole 15 times.

Exhausted parents navigate a patchwork of U.S. school COVID-19 policies

Jennifer Pierre speaks for millions of American parents when she sums up how it feels to navigate a patchwork of school COVID-19 policies as the pandemic enters a third year. "It's so exhausting," the Sacramento, California, mother said this week.

Biden to lift spending on bridges as part of infrastructure drive

President Joe Biden will trumpet his administration's plans to spend $27 billion fixing thousands of U.S. bridges on Friday, the latest roll-out associated with the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Biden plans the remarks as his larger economic package, Build Back Better, has stalled in the Senate and his poll numbers have sagged as concerns have mounted over the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.

U.S. Senator Sinema sinks Democrats' hopes for passing voting rights reform

U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema rejected President Joe Biden's plea to jettison the Senate's filibuster https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-senate-democrats-mull-ending-filibuster-pass-voting-rights-reform-2022-01-11 rule to allow Democrats to pass a voting-rights bill, all but ensuring the bill's failure. Sinema called the measure a critical tool to tamp down the nation's deepening political divisions, while fellow centrist Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said removing the guardrail would allow simple majorities to ram through extreme legislation.

Biden voting rights push scotched by Democrats Sinema, Manchin

President Joe Biden's attempt to rally Democrats on Thursday to alter Senate rules and pass voting-rights legislation was stymied, even before he arrived at the U.S. Capitol, by opposition from a key moderate lawmaker. U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday - less than an hour before Biden's lunchtime arrival - that the "filibuster rule" that allows a minority of senators to block legislation was necessary to prevent worsening political divisions in the country.

Founder of far-right Oath Keepers to face seditious conspiracy charges in court

The founder and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers group, Stewart Rhodes, is due in a federal court in Plano, Texas, on Friday to face seditious conspiracy charges for his alleged role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes and 10 other associates or members of the group were accused by the Justice Department in an indictment unsealed on Thursday of plotting to storm the Capitol by force, in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

Analysis-U.S. built 'textbook' case of sedition charges for Capitol attack -legal experts

U.S. prosecutors appear to have proceeded carefully in bringing sedition charges against 11 people linked to a far-right militia who took part in the deadly 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and are likely to obtain convictions, legal experts said. An indictment https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1462481/download was released on Thursday against the founder of Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, and 10 purported members of the group, accusing them of conspiring to forcefully oppose the transfer of power between then-President Donald Trump, a Republican, to his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.

Biden looks to reshape Fed with historically diverse slate

U.S. President Joe Biden has picked former Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin for the Fed's key regulatory post and two Black economists - Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson - to serve on its board in what would represent a landmark demographic overhaul of the world's most powerful central bank. The White House sent the nominations to the Senate late on Thursday, according to two sources familiar with the process.

U.S. suicide hotline 988 is set to go live, but many states may not be ready

In just six months, 988 goes live as the shortcut to call or text the U.S. suicide hotline at a time when the pandemic is ramping up the need for mental health services. But many states are lagging on the rollout, and some were struggling to cope with pleas for help even before the three-digit number was envisioned. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, 800-273-8255, will remain in effect alongside 988. More than 2.1 million callers dialed 800-273-8255 in 2020. A number as easy to remember as 911 is expected to mean more calls, so implementing 988 requires expanding call center capacity, boosting crisis response and spreading the word about the number.

Republican Party could skip traditional U.S. presidential debates

The U.S. Republican Party on Thursday said its future presidential candidates might not participate in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates due to concerns about fairness, upending decades of tradition. In a letter https://bit.ly/3I0DPmB to the nonprofit commission known as the CPD, which has run presidential debates since 1988, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party was considering amending its rules to ensure its candidates do not attend the debates because of concerns about "whether the CPD credibly can provide a fair and impartial forum for presidential debates."

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