Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The bloodshed occurred in Arkabutla, a rural hamlet of fewer than 300 people in Tate County in northern Mississippi, about 40 miles (60 km) south of Memphis, Tennessee. Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott drops plan to cut Social Security, Medicare U.S. Senator Rick Scott on Friday revised his plan to end all federal programs after five years to exclude the popular Social Security and Medicare programs, after enduring weeks of mounting criticism from Democrats and his fellow Republicans.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bard convinces U.S. appeals court to revive medical-injection device patents

Becton Dickinson's C.R. Bard Inc on Friday won a ruling from a U.S. appeals court reinstating three patents related to its PowerPort devices for delivering repeated medical injections. The decision from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revives a long-running infringement lawsuit Bard brought against Pennsylvania-based Medical Components Inc, which makes competing devices.

Six dead as gunman goes on rampage in small Mississippi town

A gunman went on a rampage in a small Mississippi town on Friday, killing his ex-wife and five other people in three locations before sheriff's deputies arrested him, the county sheriff and witnesses said. The bloodshed occurred in Arkabutla, a rural hamlet of fewer than 300 people in Tate County in northern Mississippi, about 40 miles (60 km) south of Memphis, Tennessee.

Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott drops plan to cut Social Security, Medicare

U.S. Senator Rick Scott on Friday revised his plan to end all federal programs after five years to exclude the popular Social Security and Medicare programs, after enduring weeks of mounting criticism from Democrats and his fellow Republicans. Democratic President Joe Biden had been hammering the "Rescue America" agenda, which Scott last year unsuccessfully urged his fellow Republicans to adopt as a midterm election platform. It called for all federal programs to end after five years unless Congress voted to reauthorize them.

Factbox-Abortion battles in U.S. state capitals to watch in 2023

Battles over abortion are heating up in state capitols across the United States as lawmakers wrestle with how much to restrict or expand access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Here is a snapshot of state legislation seeking to ban or protect abortion access in 2023.

U.S. completes recovery of Chinese balloon but other "object" searches called off

The United States said on Friday it had successfully concluded recovery efforts off South Carolina to collect sensors and other debris from a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by a U.S. fighter jet on Feb. 4, and investigators are now analyzing its "guts." But U.S. and Canadian authorities also announced they had called off searches for three unidentified objects shot down over last weekend, without locating any debris.

U.S. senator asks railroad CEOs to answer questions on hazardous shipments

U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said on Friday she was opening an inquiry into railroad hazardous materials safety practices after a Feb. 3 Ohio derailment of a train operated by Norfolk Southern raised new concerns. Cantwell wrote the chief executives of Norfolk Southern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, CSX, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific seeking information to help determine how to improve safety.

Five former Memphis officers plead not guilty in beating death of Tyre Nichols

Five former Memphis police officers on Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from last month's beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose death three days later stirred outrage and fresh calls for reform. Police video captured images of the officers beating and kicking Nichols, hitting him with a baton, spraying him with pepper spray and firing a stun gun at him on Jan. 7 following a traffic stop. The case has renewed a national discussion of race relations and police brutality.

FBI investigates hack of its own computer network

The FBI is investigating a hack of its computer network, in an isolated incident that was now contained, the agency said on Friday. "The FBI is aware of the incident and is working to gain additional information," the agency said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without providing further details.

Far-right Republican groups surge in swing state Michigan

Jon Smith, a local leader in rural Michigan of America First, a far-right Republican faction that denies the results of the 2020 election, wants to shift the entire party to the right - even if it means short-term losses at the ballot box. "We need to redefine what it means to be a Republican," he said in an interview. In pursuit of that aim, Smith and other hardliners deployed armed guards to bar moderate delegates from a county meeting last August, threatening to bring criminal trespassing charges against them, according to an email to the moderates seen by Reuters.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to receive hospice care -statement

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has decided to receive hospice care and "spend his remaining time at home with his family" instead of additional medical intervention, the Carter Center said on Saturday. Carter, 98, who has lived longer after leaving the White House than any former president in U.S. history, was a Democrat who served from January 1977 to January 1981.

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