Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Meta in January said it would lift Trump's suspension "in the coming weeks" and would institute heightened penalties of a suspension between one month and two years if the former president violated its content policies again. FBI says Chinese balloon analysis effort is in early stages The FBI has only recovered very limited physical evidence from a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down into the ocean on Saturday, and it has not yet been able to get enough information to assess its capabilities, senior bureau officials familiar with the operation said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. officials prepping legislation to revamp asylum system

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is developing a sweeping bill that would revamp the country's asylum system to speed up the resolution of claims in large-scale processing centers at the border with Mexico, two U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told Reuters. The effort emerged from ongoing Biden administration discussions to reimagine asylum as border crossings have reached record highs and immigration courts face steep backlogs, said the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. U.S. officials traveled to Europe last month, including a stop in the Netherlands, to examine systems there, they said.

Ukrainian family of cinematographer sue Baldwin over 'Rust' shooting

The Ukrainian parents and sister of Halyna Hutchins filed a civil lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin and others over the cinematographer's 2021 death in New Mexico during the filming of the Western "Rust," the family's lawyer said on Thursday. The announcement comes after a Santa Fe prosecutor on Jan. 31 criminally charged Baldwin with involuntary manslaughter, accusing him of reckless disregard for safety when a revolver he was holding fired a live round that killed Hutchins and injured "Rust" director Joel Souza.

Missouri decides not to ban unsupervised minors from carrying guns on public property

A proposal to ban minors from carrying some guns on public property without a 21-year-old present failed to advance this week, as Republican lawmakers decided not to include the proposed amendment in a broader crime bill. The proposal had been recommended by a bipartisan working group in the legislature, but was removed last week amid opposition from Republicans in the state House of Representatives, who said people who do not intend to commit crimes should not be penalized for carrying guns.

U.S. may target Chinese entities linked to spy balloon

The United States will explore taking action against entities connected to China's military that supported the flight of a Chinese spy balloon into U.S. airspace last week, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. Washington is confident that the manufacturer of the Chinese balloon, shot down by the U.S. military last weekend off the U.S. East Coast, has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official said in a statement.

Meta restores Donald Trump's access to Facebook, Instagram

Meta Platforms Inc has restored former U.S. President Donald Trump's access to Facebook and Instagram, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed on Thursday, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Meta in January said it would lift Trump's suspension "in the coming weeks" and would institute heightened penalties of a suspension between one month and two years if the former president violated its content policies again.

FBI says Chinese balloon analysis effort is in early stages

The FBI has only recovered very limited physical evidence from a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down into the ocean on Saturday, and it has not yet been able to get enough information to assess its capabilities, senior bureau officials familiar with the operation said on Thursday. "It's very early for us in this process, and the evidence that has been recovered and brought to the FBI is extremely limited," one of the officials told reporters in a briefing about its role in processing the wreckage of the balloon.

Minnesota congresswoman Angie Craig assaulted in Washington, her office says

U.S. Representative Angie Craig was assaulted on Thursday in the elevator of her apartment building in Washington, her office said in a statement. Her chief of staff, Nick Coe, said that Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota suffered bruising, but was "otherwise physically OK." Coe added that there was no evidence to suggest the attack was politically motivated.

U.S. judge extends FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's bail restrictions

A U.S. judge on Thursday extended a ban on FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried's ability to contact employees of companies he once controlled and use encrypted messaging technology while out on bail awaiting trial on fraud charges. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Feb. 1 had temporarily barred Bankman-Fried from contacting any current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research, his hedge fund, after prosecutors raised concerns that the 30-year-old former billionaire may be trying to tamper with witnesses.

In Florida, Biden aims at seniors with Social Security message

U.S. President Joe Biden traveled on Thursday to Florida and positioned his Democratic party as the sole protector of Social Security and Medicare in an aim to reclaim the state, which has a large population of retirees who rely on the programs. Speaking to a group of supporters in a battlground state that has leaned Republican in recent years, Biden outlined a list of achievements, such as allowing the federal government to negotiate Medicare drug prices and impose price caps on insulin. He said Republicans are fighting to roll back those efforts while also seeking cuts to popular social safety net programs.

Former VP Pence, ex-Trump official subpoenaed in special counsel probes - reports

Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former national security adviser Robert O'Brien have been subpoenaed by the special counsel leading probes into classified documents found at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence and efforts to overturn the 2020 election result, according to media reports on Thursday. Pence was issued a subpoena by special counsel Jack Smith, though the nature of the request was not immediately known, ABC News reported, citing sources. The action follows months of negotiations involving federal prosecutors and Pence's lawyers.

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