US Domestic News Roundup: FBI investigating threats made in connection with Whitmer kidnapping trial; United States weighs largest ever draw from emergency oil reserve -sources and more

After finding that Amazon had interfered around that vote, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) called for a re-run. United States weighs largest ever draw from emergency oil reserve -sources The Biden administration is considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of oil over several months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), four U.S. sources said on Wednesday, as the White House tries to lower fuel prices.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

In Alabama, infrastructure dollars revive a 'zombie' highway

North of Birmingham, a gravel road bed slices through a series of steep ridges, part of a stalled effort to carve a 52-mile freeway around the rural fringes of Alabama's largest city. Construction stopped five years ago on the road, dubbed the Birmingham Northern Beltline, after federal funding ran out. Critics have labeled the project a "dinosaur," a "zombie" and a "black hole". Barely a mile of it has been started, and Alabama officials haven't provided the billions it would take to finish it.

FBI investigating threats made in connection with Whitmer kidnapping trial

The FBI searched a home in a Detroit suburb in an investigation into threats made to people involved in the trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the U.S. law enforcement agency said on Wednesday. The FBI's Detroit office is working with law enforcement agencies across the country to identify the source of the threats made in connection with the high-profile trial taking place in a federal court in Grand Rapids, it said in a statement.

Amazon union vote counts slated for Thursday; turnout dropped in Alabama

Labor board officials expect to start counting votes by Amazon.com Inc warehouse workers in New York City and Alabama on Thursday afternoon in separate contests that will decide if Amazon sees a U.S. workplace unionize for the first time. In Bessemer, Alabama, Amazon employees voted in a repeat election after they rebuffed joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) by a more than 2-to-1 margin last year. After finding that Amazon had interfered around that vote, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) called for a re-run.

United States weighs largest ever draw from emergency oil reserve -sources

The Biden administration is considering releasing up to 180 million barrels of oil over several months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), four U.S. sources said on Wednesday, as the White House tries to lower fuel prices. The latest amount of U.S. oil release being considered, which is equivalent to about two days of global demand, would mark the third time the United States has tapped its strategic reserves in the past six months, and would be the largest release in the near 50-year history of the SPR.

Florida reaches $878 million opioid settlements with CVS, Teva, others

Florida has reached more than $878 million in settlements with CVS Health Corp and three drug companies to resolve claims and avert a trial next month over their roles in fueling an opioid epidemic in the third most populous U.S. state. CVS will pay $484 million, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd will pay $194.8 million, Abbvie Inc's Allergan unit will pay $134.2 million and Endo International Plc will pay $65 million, Florida's attorney general Ashley Moody said in a statement on Wednesday.

Biden meets with parents of former U.S. Marine being held in Russia

President Joe Biden met on Wednesday with the parents of Trevor Reed, a former U.S. Marine who is serving a nine-year prison term in Russia, the White House said. Biden reiterated his commitment to continue to work to secure the release of Reed and other Americans "wrongfully held in Russia and elsewhere," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.

White House blasts Trump's request for favor from Putin amid Ukraine war

The White House on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump's request for Russian President Vladimir Putin to release potentially damaging information on U.S. President Joe Biden's son, calling the move particularly poorly timed as war rages in Ukraine. Reporters asked White House spokesperson Kate Bedingfield about the former president's comments on the "Just the News" TV program that raised unsubstantiated questions about Hunter Biden's former business dealings in Russia. Trump said, "I think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it."

Biden gets second booster shot, pushes for more COVID funding

U.S. President Joe Biden rolled up his sleeve for a second COVID-19 booster shot on Wednesday as his administration rolled out efforts to help Americans live with the coronavirus, including a new website and a renewed push for vaccinations and funding. "If we fail to invest, we leave ourselves vulnerable if another wave hits," Biden said in remarks at the White House to launch COVID.gov, a clearinghouse of information aimed at helping people manage the virus as they seek a return to normalcy.

Gender X to appear on U.S. passport applications -State Dept

Americans will be allowed to choose an X for gender on their passport applications beginning on April 11, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday as the Biden administration marked a "Transgender Day of Visibility" amid moves by some states to target transgender people. The State Department in June said U.S. citizens could select their gender on applications without having to submit medical documentation. In October, it issued the first American passport with an "X" gender marker, designed to give nonbinary, intersex and gender-nonconforming people a marker other than male or female on their travel document.

Russia confirms ex-U.S. Marine Reed is on hunger strike

Russia's state prison service told Reuters on Thursday that jailed ex-U.S. Marine Trevor Reed had declared a hunger strike on March 28 to protest disciplinary action against him, but that he had repeatedly tested negative for tuberculosis. The 30-year-old Texan's parents met U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, having raised fears that their son had contracted tuberculosis in a jail in Russia's Mordovia region.

(With inputs from agencies.)