US Domestic News Roundup: Explainer-Biden said the pandemic is over. Is it?; Oath Keepers militia trial tests prosecutors in U.S. Capitol riot cases and more

They asked a panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the bankruptcy of J&J's subsidiary LTL Management, saying that LTL is a "concocted" corporation set up solely to stop them from getting their day in court. Factbox-Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy trial in U.S. Capitol attack Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four other defendants linked to the far-right militia group are set to go on trial next week on charges of seditious conspiracy arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Explainer-Biden said the pandemic is over. Is it?

What is the status of COVID-19 now that President Joe Biden has told the CBS 60 Minutes news program the pandemic is over in the United States? HAS THE U.S. FORMALLY DECLARED THE END OF THE PANDEMIC?

Oath Keepers militia trial tests prosecutors in U.S. Capitol riot cases

The trial of Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, is set to begin next week in what could be the biggest test for the U.S. Justice Department in its quest to hold former President Donald Trump's supporters accountable for their Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes and four other Oath Keepers associates are the first defendants in more than 10 years to face federal charges of seditious conspiracy under a Civil War-era statute that is rarely prosecuted in the United States and carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.The Oath Keepers is an anti-government militia whose membership includes current and former U.S. military and law enforcement personnel. Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper and Yale University-educated lawyer, founded the group in 2009.

Texas sheriff opens probe into migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard

A Texas county sheriff is opening a criminal investigation into flights that carried dozens of migrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, from Texas last week, an act that Florida's Republican governor took credit for and which the White House dubbed a political stunt. Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said at a news conference on Monday that around 50 migrants were "lured under false pretenses" on the streets of San Antonio, put up in a hotel, bused to planes and "stranded unceremoniously in Martha's Vineyard," a wealthy vacation island, "for nothing other than a photo op."

Trump lawyers don't want to say if he declassified documents in FBI search

Donald Trump's lawyers resisted revealing whether he declassified materials seized in an FBI search of his Florida home as the judge appointed to review the documents planned his first conference on the matter on Tuesday. Judge Raymond Dearie on Monday circulated a draft plan to both sides that sought details on documents Trump allegedly declassified, as he claimed publicly and without evidence, though his lawyers have not asserted that in court filings.

Jan. 6 attack prompts U.S. House to launch makeover of 1887 law

A 135-year-old federal election law will start getting a makeover in Congress this week in response to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters trying to stop certification of Joe Biden's victory.

Democrat Zoe Lofgren and Republican Liz Cheney, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, on Monday unveiled proposed changes in the 1887 Electoral Count Act that authorizes the House and U.S. Senate to meet every four years, in early January, following November presidential elections.

Trump ally Mike Lindell must face defamation suit over election-rigging claims

MyPillow Inc Chief Executive Mike Lindell must face a defamation lawsuit brought by a voting machine company that the Trump ally falsely accused of rigging the 2020 U.S. election, a Minnesota federal judge ruled on Monday. Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright denied Lindell and MyPillow's motion to dismiss the lawsuit by Smartmatic USA Corp, finding ample evidence that Lindell ignored publicly available information that contradicted his theories.

Biden to make remarks Tuesday on election transparency bill

U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Tuesday about a bill that would require super PACs and certain other groups to disclose donors who contributed $10,000 or more during an election cycle. The bill is slated for a Senate vote this week, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said Monday, as Democrats seek to boost election transparency ahead of the November midterms after failing to pass more ambitious voting rights legislation earlier this year.

Trump may be called to testify at ally's foreign agent trial, judge says

Former President Donald Trump may be called as a witness at the criminal trial of Thomas Barrack, a private equity investor and former Trump fundraiser charged with acting as an unregistered agent for the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. judge said on Monday. U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn told several prospective jurors for Barrack's trial about the prospect of Trump testifying to gauge whether they might be biased against the defendant.

Cancer victims urge court to end J&J bankruptcy roadblock to lawsuits

People suing Johnson & Johnson over the company's talc products urged an appeals court on Monday to revive their claims, saying the profitable company should not be allowed to use a bankrupt subsidiary to block lawsuits alleging the products cause cancer. They asked a panel of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss the bankruptcy of J&J's subsidiary LTL Management, saying that LTL is a "concocted" corporation set up solely to stop them from getting their day in court.

Factbox-Oath Keepers facing seditious conspiracy trial in U.S. Capitol attack

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four other defendants linked to the far-right militia group are set to go on trial next week on charges of seditious conspiracy arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump's supporters. Here is a look at the defendants due to go on trial on Sept. 27 and the charges they face.

(With inputs from agencies.)