US Domestic News Roundup: Biden to sharpen attack on Trump in Jan. 6 anniversary speech; Mask mandates return at some US hospitals as COVID, flu jump and more

The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 10 related to the impeachment allegations with witnesses to be announced in the coming days, it said in a press release. Trump takes Colorado ballot disqualification to US Supreme Court Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court disqualified him from the state's Republican primary ballot for engaging in insurrection leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

US Senator Sinema says Senate negotiators 'closing in' on border security deal

Independent U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema said on Wednesday that Senate negotiators were "closing in" on a bipartisan border security deal, which Congress could couple with new emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel. "We're closing in" on a deal, Sinema told reporters following a two-hour negotiating session.

Factbox-How US House Republican-proposed spending cuts would hit Black Americans

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans are working to rein in government spending in ways that would affect many federal social programs and could have a disproportionate impact on Black Americans. Here is a rundown on some of House Republicans' spending proposals that will be discussed as Congress attempts to avert a partial government shutdown later this month and next:

US House Republicans plan impeachment hearing for Biden's border chief

A Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives committee next week will advance an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over allegations he has been derelict in his duty of managing the U.S.-Mexico border, the committee announced on Wednesday. The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 10 related to the impeachment allegations with witnesses to be announced in the coming days, it said in a press release.

Trump takes Colorado ballot disqualification to US Supreme Court

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court disqualified him from the state's Republican primary ballot for engaging in insurrection leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, is contesting the Dec. 19 Colorado Supreme Court decision that disqualified him under a constitutional provision barring anyone who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from holding public office.

Black Americans would feel the sting of Republican budget cut proposals

When Charla Plaines saw the toll lead paint took on her granddaughter, she was able to get the hazardous substance scrubbed from her home thanks to a federally funded program that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives want to cut. Black Americans, including Plaines, a 66-year-old grandmother in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, would be disproportionately hit by this and many other cuts lawmakers are pushing as Congress faces a government shutdown deadline this month.

Trump's Colorado appeal may force US Supreme Court to rule on his future

Former President Donald Trump's appeal of a Colorado ruling barring him from the ballot may force the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in directly on his 2024 election prospects, a case that legal experts said will likely pull its nine justices into a political firestorm. That state was the first, followed by Maine, to rule that Trump was disqualified from seeking the Republican presidential nomination due to his actions ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an unprecedented legal decision that the nation's top court could find too pressing to avoid.

Mask mandates return at some US hospitals as COVID, flu jump

Hospitals in at least four U.S. states have reinstated mask mandates amid a rise in cases of COVID, seasonal flu and other respiratory illness. Healthcare facilities in New York, California, Illinois and Massachusetts have made masks mandatory among patients and providers.

Biden to sharpen attack on Trump in Jan. 6 anniversary speech

President Joe Biden will mark the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S Capitol with a political speech the day before to make the case that Republican Donald Trump poses an existential threat to democracy, Biden's re-election campaign said on Wednesday. Biden's campaign said he will speak near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where George Washington established headquarters during the Revolutionary War. The speech site, Montgomery County Community College, is about 15 miles away.

For DeSantis' 2024 campaign, Iowa brings a make-or-break moment

If Ron DeSantis wants to capture the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, it all likely comes down to the next 12 days. On Wednesday, the Florida governor began a breakneck stretch of campaign events in the run-up to Iowa's Jan. 15 caucuses, which will offer the first signal of whether Republican voter preferences match public polling that shows former President Donald Trump as the party's runaway frontrunner.

Consumer Reports finds 'widespread' presence of plastics in food

Consumer Reports has found that plastics retain a "widespread" presence in food despite the health risks, and called on regulators to reassess the safety of plastics that come into contact with food during production. The non-profit consumer group said on Thursday that 84 out of 85 supermarket foods and fast foods it recently tested contained "plasticizers" known as phthalates, a chemical used to make plastic more durable.