Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. could cover travel, healthcare for migrant families separated under Trump

The United States could help pay for transportation, healthcare, legal services, and career and educational programs for migrant families separated under former President Donald Trump's "zero tolerance" border strategy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden outlined guidance for its family reunification task force as it seeks to reunite migrant children and parents separated by Trump's border policy. The costs could also be covered by non-profit organizations and the private sector, but not the migrant families, DHS said in a press statement. U.S. Supreme Court questions patent tribunal's constitutionality

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled they may rein in the power of in-house judges serving on a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal who have the ability to cancel patents in a case involving a dispute between surgical device makers. Justices raised questions during arguments in the case about the constitutionality of the agency's selection of the judges and grappled over how to address the issue. Their ruling, due by the end of June, could jeopardize the work of a tribunal called the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that adjudicates the validity of hundreds of patents annually. Strong winds could cause power outages on U.S. East Coast

Damaging winds are expected to thrash the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and New England on Monday and into Tuesday, potentially blowing down trees and electrical lines and causing widespread power outages, forecasters said. Some 70 million people living in the region stretching from Maryland into New York and Pennsylvania and north through Maine were under wind warnings as gusts were expected to reach 60 miles per hour (96 kph) Monday evening through Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. U.S. Supreme Court to examine Puerto Rico's exclusion from benefits program

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide the legality of a decades-old congressional decision to exclude Puerto Rico from a federal program that provides benefits to low-income elderly, blind and disabled people. The justices took up a U.S. government appeal originally filed by Republican former President Donald Trump's administration of a lower court ruling that found the exclusion unlawful. New York Governor Cuomo hires defense lawyer after sexual harassment accusations

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, under investigation for alleged sexual harassment and under fire for misreporting the COVID-19 death toll at the state's nursing homes, has hired a criminal defense lawyer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Elkan Abramowitz, a former federal prosecutor now working as a prominent white-collar defense attorney in New York City, said he would defend the governor and his top aides in both scandals, the Journal reported. Scheduling COVID vaccinations is still too tough in certain places: White House

White House COVID response coordinator Jeff Zients said on Monday that scheduling coronavirus vaccination appointments remains too difficult in many places. In a press briefing by the White House COVID-19 Response Team and other public health officials, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said she was "really worried" about states rolling back measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over half a million Americans. U.S. faces 'unprecedented assault on democracy,' White House says, backing election reform bill

The Biden administration backed Democrats' efforts to overhaul voting rules and turn over the process of drawing congressional districts to independent commissions on Monday, weighing in on a political fight that is likely to dominate Washington in coming years. The United States is facing an "an unprecedented assault on our democracy, a never before seen effort to ignore, undermine, and undo the will of the people, and a newly aggressive attack on voting rights taking place right now all across the country," President Joe Biden's Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. Senate to debate on COVID-19 bill this week after Democrats backpedal on minimum wage

The U.S. Senate will start debating President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday after Democrats backed down from an effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 as part of it. The backpedaling did not end hopes of addressing the minimum wage issue in Congress. Democrats and some Republicans have voiced support for the idea of raising the federal minimum wage, now at $7.25 an hour, for the first time since 2009, although they disagree on how much. U.S. FTC tells e-cigarette firms JUUL, NJOY, others to submit sales, ad data

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Monday it has ordered five e-cigarette companies including JUUL Labs and NJOY to turn over sales and advertising data. The regulatory agency said it sent orders to JUUL Labs, Inc; R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company; Fontem US, LLC; Logic Technology Development LLC; and NJOY, LLC seeking information from 2019 and 2020 including annual data on sales and giveaways of e-cigarettes and characteristics of their e-cigarette products such as flavors. California reaches deal to fund school reopening for youngest children

California's governor said on Monday he and Democratic lawmakers had reached a deal to fund the reopening of schools for the state's youngest students, up to second grade, as the number of new COVID-19 cases drop to their lowest this year. A Reuters tally shows that COVID-19 infections are decreasing in the United States, with 68,240 new infections reported on average each day, or 27 percent of the peak daily average reported on Jan. 7. The United States has recorded 28,681,793 infections and 513,721 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.

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