Reuters US Domestic News Summary

"I urge the Congress to eliminate these restrictions as soon as possible," Biden said in a statement, referring to a provision barring the use of funds to transfer certain detainees into the United States. Arctic blast, blizzards disrupt U.S. travel ahead of holidays Arctic cold extended its grip over much of the United States on Friday, combining with snow, ice and howling winds from a major winter storm roaring out of the Great Lakes to disrupt energy supplies and thwart travel for millions of Americans ahead of the holiday weekend.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. awards defense contract of over $1 billion to Lockheed Martin

The U.S. awarded defense contracts to companies on Friday, including one of over a billion dollars to Lockheed Martin Corp, the Department of Defense said in a statement. "This contract procures long lead time materials, parts, components, and efforts necessary to maintain on-time production and delivery of 118 Lot 18 aircraft F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-U.S Department of Defense participants, and Foreign Military Sales customers," the department said on the $1.05 billion Lockheed contract.

President Biden and first lady meet with patients at Children's National Hospital

U.S President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited the Children's National Hospital in Washington on Friday and met with pediatric patients, their families and hospital staff. "For all you parents, be strong. We spend a lot of time in children's hospitals, with patients too. It's going to be okay," Biden told a group of patients gathered for a book reading.

Capitol riot panel's final report sets out case to try Trump

The congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol released its final report late on Thursday, outlining its case that former U.S. President Donald Trump should face criminal charges of inciting the deadly riot. The House of Representatives Select Committee also made public the transcripts of a number of its interviews and witness testimonies earlier on Thursday and on Wednesday.

Factbox-Jan. 6 report adds to Trump's mounting legal problems

A congressional panel investigating Donald Trump and his supporters' role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress issued its final report this week, urging federal prosecutors to charge the former president with four crimes, including obstruction and insurrection. Additionally, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee this week said some of Trump's tax records showed his income and tax liability fluctuated dramatically in recent years, raising questions about the legitimacy of some of his deductions and about the Internal Revenue Services' presidential audit program.

Biden signs Defense Authorization Act, but voices concerns

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday signed the Defense Authorization Act, but he voiced concerns about several of its provisions, including one that he said could hamper the administration's prosecution of Guantanamo Bay detainees. "I urge the Congress to eliminate these restrictions as soon as possible," Biden said in a statement, referring to a provision barring the use of funds to transfer certain detainees into the United States.

Arctic blast, blizzards disrupt U.S. travel ahead of holidays

Arctic cold extended its grip over much of the United States on Friday, combining with snow, ice and howling winds from a major winter storm roaring out of the Great Lakes to disrupt energy supplies and thwart travel for millions of Americans ahead of the holiday weekend. The extreme winter weather was blamed for at least four deaths on Friday.

Airlines cancel 5,000 U.S. flights Friday amid fierce winter storms

Airlines canceled over 5,000 U.S. flights on Friday as massive winter storms snarled airport operations around the United States and frustrated tens of thousands of holiday travelers. The cancellations followed nearly 2,700 canceled flights on Thursday and almost 500 flights have already been canceled for Saturday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

Omicron subvariant XBB jumps to 18% of U.S. COVID cases - CDC

The highly-contagious Omicron subvariant XBB has surged to more than 50% of COVID-19 cases in the northeastern United States and risks spreading fast as millions of Americans begin holiday travel on Friday. In the week ended Dec. 24, XBB was estimated to account for 18.3% of the COVID-19 cases in the United States, up from 11.2% in the previous week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday (CDC).

Extreme cold weather stretches U.S. homeless shelters' capacity

City officials and outreach workers across the United States were rushing to get people off the streets this week, turning sites such as libraries and arenas into shelters to mitigate a humanitarian crisis caused by freezing weather and an influx of migrants. Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services opened libraries and police stations as warming stations, while shelters in cities as far south as Baton Rouge, Louisiana, expanded hours and bed capacity as temperatures were expected to sink to the teens in Fahrenheit (below -10 degrees Celsius) on Friday night.

U.S. Congress passes $1.66 trillion funding bill, Biden to sign

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a $1.66 trillion government funding bill that provides record military funding and sends emergency aid to Ukraine, hours before a midnight deadline. The spending bill for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 was approved on a largely party-line vote of 225-201, following Senate passage the previous day.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)