Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Storm dumps more than a foot of snow on parts of US Northeast

A powerful, fast-moving winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of New England on Tuesday after it brought New York City its first significant snowfall in at least two years. Some 13 million people from New York City north into southern New England remained under a winter storm warning until 7 p.m. local time as the Nor'easter pummeled the region with heavy, wet snow and winds of up to 60 miles (96.56 km) per hour, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

New York police seek 3 men for deadly shooting after subway brawl

New York City police were searching on Tuesday for three men suspected of killing one person and wounding five others in a shooting that took place after a brawl broke out between what police called "rival groups" on a subway train in the Bronx. The fighting began as a verbal dispute in a subway car shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday, police said, and it quickly escalated. The first shot was fired inside the train car, then the violence spilled onto the platform at the Mount Eden Avenue subway station in the city's Bronx borough, police said.

US Supreme Court gives special counsel deadline in Trump immunity fight

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the special counsel prosecuting Donald Trump on criminal charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to respond by Feb. 20 to the former president's bid to freeze a judicial decision rejecting his immunity claim. The justices in a brief order told Special Counsel Jack Smith to file a response to Trump's request by next Tuesday at 4 p.m. (2100 GMT). Smith could file his response sooner. He previously asked the justices to resolve Trump's immunity claim before a lower appeals court had weighed in - a request they denied.

Exclusive-Trump adviser proposes new tiered system for NATO members who don't pay up

A leading national security adviser to Donald Trump told Reuters on Tuesday that he would push for changes to NATO if the former president returns to power that could result in some member nations losing protection against an outside attack. Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general and onetime chief of staff of the former president's National Security Council, said in an interview that if a member of the 31-country alliance failed to spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, as agreed, he would support removing that nation's Article 5 protections under the North Atlantic Treaty.

Biden, senators urge House Republicans to take up $95 billion Ukraine bill

Democratic President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of lawmakers including the top U.S. Senate Republican on Tuesday urged the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to take up a $95.34 billion military aid package for Ukraine and other allies. The measure passed the Senate in a 70-29 vote shortly before dawn on Tuesday after a hardline group of Republicans spent the night trying to block it. But it was unclear if House Speaker Mike Johnson would even bring it up for a vote in the chamber his party controls by a narrow 219-212 margin.

Democrats bungle Biden age concerns, some critics say

Joe Biden's advisers knew in 2020 that his age was an issue for Americans but they successfully painted him as a competent leader who would restore normalcy to the White House after Donald Trump's chaotic presidency. Now that Biden is 81, opinion polls show age is even more of a concern for voters ahead of November's election.

U.S. Defense Secretary Austin released from hospital

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from a military hospital on Tuesday and will attend a Ukraine-related virtual meeting the next day, the Pentagon said, as the Pentagon chief struggles in the wake of prostate cancer surgery. It was the second time this year Austin, 70, was hospitalized - this time to address a bladder issue - since a December surgery to treat prostate cancer.

Republicans aim to take a second swing at Mayorkas impeachment

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives will try again on Tuesday to impeach Democratic President Joe Biden's top border official, a week after their first attempt ended in a humiliating legislative defeat for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stands accused by House Republicans of failing to stem record flows of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, in what Donald Trump views as a top issue in his campaign to unseat Biden in the November presidential election.

Democrats seek to regain US House seat vacated by Santos, erode Republicans' majority

Democrats will try to whittle away Republicans' razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in a New York special election on Tuesday to fill the vacancy created by Republican George Santos' ouster from the chamber. Mazi Melesa Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Republican county legislator who served in the Israeli military, and Tom Suozzi, a Democratic former congressman, county executive and mayor, are seeking the seat representing a small corner of New York City and some of its eastern suburbs.

Biden blasts 'dangerous' Trump NATO remarks, urges Ukraine funding

President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted comments about NATO by his likely 2024 election opponent Donald Trump, calling them "dangerous" and "un-American" and saying they raised the stakes for the U.S. Congress to approve new funding to support Ukraine. At the White House, the Democrat sharply rebuked Trump's comment over the weekend calling into question U.S. willingness to support members of the Western defense alliance if they were attacked.