Reuters US Domestic News Summary

As part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day D.C. Peace Walk, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups strode across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge calling on President Joe Biden's Democrats to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate. '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.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Texas synagogue hostages had offered their captor tea

Worshippers invited a stranger into a Texas synagogue when he knocked on their door and offered him tea before he brandished a gun and held them hostage in a 10-hour siege the FBI called a "terrorism-related matter, in which the Jewish community was targeted." Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, who was among the four congregants taken captive on Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, told CBS on Monday that he and others managed to escape after he threw a chair at the hostage-taker and then rushed for an exit door.

Snowstorm strands motorists, grounds planes in eastern U.S., Canada

A winter snowstorm creeping up the East Coast of the United States into Canada on Monday was expected to dump more than two feet (60 cm) of snow in some areas, grounding planes and stranding motorists. More than 4,200 flights in the United States were canceled or delayed on Monday, according to FlightAware. Nearly 90,000 homes and businesses between Georgia and Maine lacked electricity, according to PowerOutage.US.

Top U.S. general Milley tests positive for COVID-19: spokesman

U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is experiencing very minor symptoms while isolating and working remotely, a spokesman said on Monday. Milley's most recent contact with President Joe Biden was on Jan. 12 at the funeral of retired General Raymond Odierno, the spokesman said.

U.S. FAA clears 45% of commercial plane fleet after 5G deployed

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Sunday it had cleared an estimated 45% of the U.S. commercial airplane fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many airports where 5G C-band will be deployed starting Wednesday. The FAA has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive airplane instruments such as altimeters and make an impact on low-visibility operations.

MLK family, Vice President Harris urge U.S. Senate act to bolster right to vote

The family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and their supporters, some shouting, “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Voter suppression has got to go,” marched in Washington on Monday urging passage of a law to protect voters from racial discrimination. As part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day D.C. Peace Walk, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups strode across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge calling on President Joe Biden's Democrats to pass a bill in the U.S. Senate.

'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.

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.

Lawsuit against Amazon filed in tornado swarm that left 6 dead in Illinois warehouse

The family of an Amazon.com delivery truck driver in Illinois who died in December when a warehouse was destroyed by a swarm of tornadoes that killed six people there, filed a lawsuit against the online retailer on Monday over his death. The suit, the first against the company stemming from the disaster, was brought in state court by the Chicago firm, Clifford Law Offices, on behalf of the family of driver Austin McEwen, 26. It was filed in Third Judicial Circuit in Madison County, Illinois.

Another midterm worry for Biden White House: probes and impeachment attempts

The U.S. midterm elections are some 10 months away, but President Joe Biden's administration and allies already foresee a possible scenario in which Republicans take the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both, and launch a series of investigations and attempts to impeach the president. Lawmakers, congressional staffers and strategists predict a slew of investigations targeting the Biden administration, particularly if Republicans loyal to former President Donald Trump gain important committee seats in Congress.

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.