US Domestic News Roundup: Five ex-Memphis policemen charged with civil rights violations in Tyre Nichols death; Biden approval edges up to highest level since March - Reuters/Ipsos poll and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Five ex-Memphis policemen charged with civil rights violations in Tyre Nichols death

Five former Memphis policemen were charged in federal court on Tuesday with violating the civil rights of Black motorist Tyre Nichols by beating him to death after a traffic stop and engaging in a cover-up. The officers, in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury, are accused of obscuring body-camera recordings of the assault and lying to their superiors.

Biden approval edges up to highest level since March - Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating edged up this month to 42%, its highest level since March, bolstered by support from members of his Democratic Party even as House Republicans launch a formal impeachment inquiry, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The three-day poll, which ended on Sunday, showed a marginal increase in Biden's popularity from last month, when 40% of respondents said they approved of his performance since taking office in January 2021.

Biden's climate act to cut US emissions by 2030 by 35-43% -EPA

The U.S. economy is on track to spew between 35% and 43% less carbon dioxide by 2030 from 2005 levels as a consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a U.S. government report released on Tuesday showed. President Joe Biden's IRA, which took effect in August 2022, provides billions of dollars in tax credits to help consumers buy electric vehicles and companies produce renewable energy.

Migrants 'from all over the globe' gather between California border barriers

Hundreds of migrants, including families, from Africa, Asia and Latin America gathered on Tuesday between the two massive border barriers that separate the United States and Mexico near San Diego, a scene reminiscent of an earlier gathering in May. Aid workers and advocates handed out food to people between the reddish-brown metal slats and prioritized feeding the children, while they waited to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Pennsylvania fugitive recaptured after weeks-long manhunt

A convicted murderer who escaped from a Pennsylvania jail last month was recaptured on Wednesday after eluding an expanding manhunt for weeks and unnerving residents in the suburbs west of Philadelphia, state police said on social media.

Danelo Cavalcante, 34, broke out of Chester County Prison, about 30 miles (50 km) west of Philadelphia, on Aug. 31 by climbing between two walls that formed a narrow corridor in the jail house yard and scrambling onto the roof.

ICON to partner with US govt agency to test COVID vaccine candidates

Contract research firm ICON Plc said on Wednesday it is partnering with the U.S. government for a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of next generation COVID-19 vaccine candidates. As part of the collaboration with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, ICON will conduct a mid-stage trial of 10,000 participants to assess the efficacy of a next generation COVID-19 vaccine relative to currently available shots.

McCarthy faces threat as US House speaker despite impeachment move

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will confront a fractured caucus on Wednesday, with his role as the top Republican in Congress under threat from the far right, despite giving hardline conservatives the impeachment inquiry they wanted. McCarthy conceded to weeks of pressure from hardliners and allies of former President Donald Trump by launching a formal probe of Democratic President Joe Biden. The move sidestepped as many as 20 House of Representatives Republicans opposed to the action by avoiding a floor vote that would likely have failed.

Explainer-Can Trump be disqualified from the presidency over Jan. 6?

Former President Donald Trump is barred from returning to the White House, say some opponents who argue his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack amounts to supporting an "insurrection" as defined by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Here's a look at the legal theory and its long-shot chances of blocking the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination from the November 2024 ballot.

Musk, Zuckerberg, Gates to join US senators for AI forum

The U.S. Senate's top Democrat is bringing U.S. technology leaders including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to Capitol Hill on Wednesday for a closed-door forum on how Congress should set artificial intelligence safeguards. "For Congress to legislate on artificial intelligence is for us to engage in one of the most complex and important subjects Congress has ever faced," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.

US CDC recommends broad use of updated COVID-19 vaccines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director on Tuesday signed off on broad use of updated COVID-19 vaccines approved by the government - covering ages 6 months and up - as the country prepares to start a vaccination campaign within days. The final recommendation from director Mandy Cohen comes after a panel of advisers to the agency voted 13-1 to recommend the shots made by Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE as well as Moderna.