Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Mosby, elected state's attorney in 2015, said she was the victim of a "ploy" by political adversaries seeking to unseat her and was determined to "fight with every ounce in my being and to clear my name." FBI storms Texas synagogue to release hostages, gunman dead An FBI Hostage Rescue Team stormed a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday night to free three remaining hostages of a gunman who had disrupted a religious service and began a standoff with police more than 10 hours earlier.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Proud Boys leader freed from Washington jail, served time for burning banner at Black church

A leader of the right-wing Proud Boys group, Enrique Tarrio, was released from jail on Friday after serving four months and a week for burning a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic African American church in Washington in December 2020.

Tarrio was among a group of Proud Boys who stole the banner during a demonstration in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. Tarrio then set it on fire, according to comments he made afterward. He pled guilty in July, was sentenced in August and began serving his jail sentence in September.

Airlines cancel over 2,700 U.S. flights as winter storm hits U.S. East Coast

Airlines canceled over 2,700 U.S. flights on Sunday as a winter storm combining high winds and ice was poised to hit the U.S. East Coast over the holiday weekend. The flights canceled by 12:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) on Sunday included over 2,700 entering, departing from or within the United States, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com. Over 1,500 flights were delayed, the data showed.

DirecTV loss could cripple rightwing One America News

The largest satellite provider in the United States said late Friday it will drop One America News, a move that could financially cripple the rightwing TV network known for fueling conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. The announcement by DirecTV, which is 70% owned by AT&T, comes three months after a Reuters investigation revealed that OAN’s founder testified that AT&T inspired him to create the network. Court testimony also showed that OAN receives nearly all of its revenue from DirecTV.

'Upside down again': Omicron surge roils U.S. small businesses

Phillip Howard pointed toward a stack of black ski pants piled atop a counter in his winter sports shop as evidence of the hurdles small business owners still face as the pandemic drags on. The pants were supposed to arrive by August at Troy's Ski Lubbock shop in west Texas - well before his five-month hot season of selling that kicks off in October. Instead, they came from China the first week of January, delayed by supply-chain failures.

U.S. CDC urges Americans to wear 'most protective mask you can'

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday revised its guidance for Americans on wearing masks to protect against COVID-19, recommending donning "the most protective mask you can" while stopping short of advocating nationwide usage of N95 respirators. The CDC, an agency critics have accused of offering shifting and confusing guidance amid the pandemic, clarified on its website "that people can choose respirators such as N95s and KN95s, including removing concerns related to supply shortages for N95s."

Pioneering Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee dies at 102

Retired Brigadier General Charles McGee, part of the pioneering all-Black Tuskegee Airmen during World War Two and one of its most decorated pilots, died on Sunday at the age of 102, his family said in a statement. McGee, who flew 409 combat missions spanning World War Two, Korea and Vietnam, died in his sleep Sunday morning, a family spokesperson said. "He had his right hand over his heart and was smiling serenely," his youngest daughter Yvonne McGee said in a statement released by the spokesperson.

Baltimore prosecutor asserts innocence after perjury indictment

Baltimore's top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, said on Friday she was innocent of wrongdoing, a day after she was indicted on federal charges of perjury and filing false loan applications related to the purchase of two Florida vacation homes. Mosby, elected state's attorney in 2015, said she was the victim of a "ploy" by political adversaries seeking to unseat her and was determined to "fight with every ounce in my being and to clear my name."

FBI storms Texas synagogue to release hostages, gunman dead

An FBI Hostage Rescue Team stormed a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas on Saturday night to free three remaining hostages of a gunman who had disrupted a religious service and began a standoff with police more than 10 hours earlier. All the hostages were safely released on Saturday night and the gunman was dead, Colleyville Police Chief Michael Miller told a news conference.

Biden to continue push for voting rights bill as he honors King's legacy

U.S. President Joe Biden traveled to Philadelphia on Sunday to honor the legacy of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., as he continues to press for voting rights legislation and concerted action to combat rising extremism. Biden's visit to the "City of Brotherly Love" comes hours after an FBI hostage rescue team https://www.reuters.com/world/us/police-colleyville-texas-involved-standoff-synagogue-media-2022-01-15 stormed a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, to free three hostages after a more than 10-hour standoff. Another hostage had been freed earlier.

Texas synagogue hostage taker was a British citizen, FBI says

The FBI identified a hostage taker killed at a Texas synagogue as a British citizen, after U.S. President Joe Biden earlier on Sunday said the gunman had used weapons he got off the street to commit "an act of terror." The FBI identified the man as Malik Faisal Akram, 44, who was killed after the safe release of his four hostages on Saturday night from the synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.