US Domestic News Roundup: NY attorney general describes possible fraud at Trump family business; One person killed, 9 hurt in row house blast and fire in New York's Bronx and more

Democrats argue the legislation, backed by civil rights groups, is needed to counter a Republican-led drive to make it more difficult to vote at the state level, especially for Black and other minority voters. Giuliani, other pro-Trump lawyers hit with subpoenas over Jan. 6 attack The congressional committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas on Tuesday to three lawyers who joined former President Donald Trump's unsuccessful attempt to overturn his election defeat: Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

NY attorney general describes possible fraud at Trump family business

New York Attorney General Letitia James said late on Tuesday that former U.S. President Donald J. Trump's family business misrepresented the value of its assets to obtain loans and other financial benefits, citing "significant" new evidence of fraudulent or misleading practices. James made the accusations in a filing to compel Trump and his adult children Donald Trump Jr and Ivanka Trump to testify in her civil probe into the Trump Organization's financial dealings.

One person killed, 9 hurt in row house blast and fire in New York's Bronx

An explosion and fire, apparently triggered by a gas leak, demolished several row house apartment units in New York City's Bronx borough on Tuesday, killing one resident and injuring nine other people, authorities said. Five of those injured were police officers who raced into the burning structure to help usher residents to safety, and one was a woman who was rescued from her dwelling by police, officials said.

Biden administration unveils plan to combat worsening US wildfires

The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled a 10-year plan to treat and maintain millions of additional acres of forests in the western United States to reduce the severity of seasonal wildfires. “We’re not going to stop fires,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at a press event in Arizona alongside Forest Service chief Randy Moore. “But what we can do is begin the process of reducing the catastrophic nature of those fires.”

Biden to address skeptics as presidency nears one-year mark Wednesday

U.S. President Joe Biden is likely to face a flurry of questions on relations with Russia, the country's bumpy COVID-19 response, and the future of American democracy as his first year in office comes to a close Wednesday. Biden is expected to host 30 reporters in the East Room at the White House for the rare extended back-and-forth at 4 p.m. Eastern time (2100 GMT). It is the second solo formal press conference of his presidency at the White House. He has taken questions regularly at other events.

U.S. Supreme Court weighs Senator Cruz's campaign finance challenge

The latest conservative attack on a major campaign finance law goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in Senator Ted Cruz's bid to undo a provision limiting the amount of money candidates can be reimbursed for personal loans to their own campaigns - a cap proponents call an anti-corruption measure. Cruz, backed by fellow Republicans, has argued that the $250,000 loan repayment cap violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech by unjustifiably burdening political expression.

U.S. Democrats set voting rights showdown with no clear path to victory

President Joe Biden's Democrats took their push to protect U.S. voting rights to the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, where legislation is roundly expected to fail in the face of united Republican opposition. Democrats argue the legislation, backed by civil rights groups https://www.reuters.com/world/us/family-martin-luther-king-jr-lead-washington-march-voting-rights-2022-01-17, is needed to counter a Republican-led drive to make it more difficult to vote at the state level, especially for Black and other minority voters.

Giuliani, other pro-Trump lawyers hit with subpoenas over Jan. 6 attack

The congressional committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol issued subpoenas on Tuesday to three lawyers who joined former President Donald Trump's unsuccessful attempt to overturn his election defeat: Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis. The House of Representatives committee demanded the pro-Trump lawyers hand over documents and sit for depositions on Feb. 8.

U.S. to make 400 million N95 masks available for free to fight COVID-19 pandemic -official

The U.S. government will make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks from its strategic national stockpile available for free to the public starting next week, a White House official said, marking the Biden administration's latest effort to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The face masks will be shipped to pharmacies and community health centers this week, the official said, and available for pickup late next week.

Voting rights brawl takes center-stage in U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate as early as Wednesday could kick off a pair of votes on an election reform bill that is a top Democratic priority but faces dim prospects against a united front of Republican opposition. If Republicans defeat the bill, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to try to change the Senate's filibuster rule requiring 60 of the 100 senators to agree on most legislation -- a maneuver likely to be blocked by at least two members of his own party opposed to changing Senate rules.

Texas rejects hundreds of mail ballot applications under new voting limits

Texas election officials have rejected hundreds of mail-in ballot applications, abiding by a new Republican-backed law just weeks before a March 1 primary kicks off this year's U.S. election cycle. "My friends, this is what voter suppression looks like," Democrat Dana DeBeauvoir, the Travis County clerk, told reporters on Tuesday.

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