Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Cheney, of Wyoming, is the most high-profile of the nine congressional Republicans that former President Trump is trying to drive from office after they rejected his false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud. U.S. naval engineer charged with submarine espionage due in court for plea hearing A former U.S. Navy engineer charged with attempting to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power will appear in court for a plea hearing on Monday, a likely indication that he intends to plead guilty.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. senators say CIA data collection has been hidden from public, lawmakers

Two U.S. senators claim the Central Intelligence Agency is running a secret program aimed at scooping up massive amounts of data and has been shielding it from Congressional oversight, they said in a letter released on Friday. In the letter dated April 13, 2021, Senators Ron Wyden, of Oregon, and Martin Heinrich, of New Mexico, warned top U.S. intelligence officials that an unspecified "bulk collection" program was operating "entirely outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection."

U.S. energy department advances $6 billion nuclear plant program

The U.S. Department of Energy said on Friday it is seeking input from utilities, communities and advocates as it develops its new program to boost struggling nuclear power plants with $6 billion in credits. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year tasked the DOE with creating the Civil Nuclear Credit Program to distribute the credits to nuclear plants.

Phoenix shooting leaves suspect dead, female victim and police officers injured

A shooting at a Phoenix residence left one suspect dead and a woman in critical condition and sent five officers to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the city's police department said on Friday. An infant was also rescued from the home and another adult male was detained in an incident that may have stemmed from a domestic dispute. It escalated after the suspect barricaded himself in the property, prompting the city's SWAT unit to get involved, the Phoenix Police Department said.

Jury to decide if New York Times defamed Sarah Palin or made 'honest mistake'

Sarah Palin's defamation case against the New York Times is heading to a jury, after her lawyer accused the newspaper of falsely associating her in a 2017 editorial with a mass murder, a link that a Times lawyer said was an honest mistake. In his closing argument in federal court in Manhattan, Palin's lawyer Kenneth Turkel said the Times and its former editorial page editor, James Bennet, turned a "blind eye" to the facts as it smeared the reputation of Palin, a former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate.

U.S. poultry producers harden safety measures as bird flu spreads

U.S. poultry producers are tightening safety measures for their flocks as disease experts warn that wild birds are likely spreading a highly lethal form of avian flu across the country. Indiana on Wednesday reported highly pathogenic bird flu on a commercial turkey farm, leading China, South Korea and Mexico to ban poultry imports from the state. The outbreak put the U.S. industry on edge at a time that labor shortages are fueling food inflation.

In a first, former prisoner takes seat in New York State Assembly

As far as Eddie Gibbs knows, he is the first person elected to the New York State Legislature who previously served time in prison, but shortly before his inauguration on Thursday he recalled wondering if he could ever shake the stigma of his manslaughter conviction more than 30 years ago. Gibbs, 53, won handily as the Democratic candidate in the Jan. 18 special election in the state Assembly's 68th District to represent East Harlem, the New York City neighborhood where he was raised by a single mother in public housing.

Surge of out-of-state donors boost Trump critic Cheney's campaign -but cannot vote for her

When Idaho nurse Joan West received a fundraising mailer from U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, she saw a way to address her regret for having voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and her worry about the future of U.S. democracy: She wrote a $500 check. Cheney, of Wyoming, is the most high-profile of the nine congressional Republicans that former President Trump is trying to drive from office after they rejected his false claims that his 2020 election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.

U.S. naval engineer charged with submarine espionage due in court for plea hearing

A former U.S. Navy engineer charged with attempting to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power will appear in court for a plea hearing on Monday, a likely indication that he intends to plead guilty. In a short order issued on Friday, a magistrate judge in Martinsburg, West Virginia, said Jonathan Toebbe will appear in court on Monday at 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) for a plea hearing.

Suspect in deadly Wisconsin parade attack pleads not guilty

A man accused of driving his vehicle into a traditional Christmas parade near Milwaukee late last year, killing six people and injuring dozens others, pleaded not guilty on Friday to multiple criminal charges. Darrell Brooks, 39, entered the pleas to 77 charges, including six counts of homicide and several counts of reckless endangerment, in a court appearance.

Thousands of unvaccinated New York municipal workers could lose jobs Friday

Thousands of unvaccinated New York City municipal workers are up against a deadline on Friday to get a COVID-19 shot or get fired, with Mayor Eric Adams apparently determined to carry out the terminations despite an outcry from union leaders. Fewer than 4,000 of the city's 370,000 workers were facing termination at the end of January as a result of the mandate, according to the mayor's office, which said it expected to have an updated number of affected city employees on Monday.

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