US Domestic News Roundup: At Jan. 6 Capitol riot hearing, election officials tell of harassment by Trump supporters; Biden asks Congress to pause gas tax amid record pump prices and more

In a letter filed with a New York state court in Manhattan, a lawyer for James said affidavits filed by employees of Trump businesses appeared sufficient to lift an April 25 contempt order, which led to Trump paying a $110,000 fine. Takeaways from fourth day of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot hearings The fourth day of the hearings in the U.S. Congress on the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters featured testimony by election officials from the states of Arizona and Georgia.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

At Jan. 6 Capitol riot hearing, election officials tell of harassment by Trump supporters

U.S. state election officials on Tuesday recounted how supporters of Donald Trump threatened, insulted and harassed them, sometimes turning up at their homes, after they refused to help the former president overturn his 2020 election defeat. The congressional committee investigating the deadly Jan 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters heard how a flood of calls and emails paralyzed operations of the Arizona House of Representatives speaker's office.

Biden asks Congress to pause gas tax amid record pump prices

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on Congress to pass a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline tax to help combat record pump prices and provide temporary relief for American families this summer. The president also urged states to temporarily suspend state fuel taxes, which are often higher than federal rates, the official said, and will challenge major oil companies to bring ideas on how to bring back idled refining capacity when they meet with his energy secretary later this week.

Former Justice Dept officials to testify Thursday at a hearing of House Jan 6 panel

Three officials from ex-President Donald Trump's Justice Department will testify on Thursday at a hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the panel said in a statement.

Former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue and former Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel will testify at the hearing, which had been postponed from last week. The committee did not give a reason for the postponement.

Texas shooting: Robb Elementary School to be demolished - Uvalde mayor

The elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, where a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers last month will be demolished, the city's mayor said on Tuesday. The mayor's announcement came several hours after a senior Texas official said the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School was "an abject failure" in which a commander put the lives of officers over those of the children.

Trump-backed Britt wins Republican nomination for Alabama Senate seat

Former President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Senate in Alabama, Katie Britt, won the Republican nomination on Tuesday, defeating Mo Brooks, the firebrand congressman whom Trump had originally backed before changing his mind, Edison Research projected. Britt, a former chief of staff for the man she is running to succeed, retiring Republican Senator Richard Shelby, earned Trump's endorsement this month.

Fox News parent must face defamation lawsuit over election coverage

A Delaware judge on Tuesday rejected a motion by the parent of Fox News Network to dismiss Dominion Voting Systems Inc's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit over the network's 2020 presidential election coverage. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who last December said Dominion could sue Fox News Network, said the voting machine company can also sue Fox Corp on a theory it was directly liable for statements on the network.

U.S. Senate advances first significant gun legislation in decades

The U.S. Senate took an initial step towards passing the country's first major gun-control legislation in decades on Tuesday, galvanized by two mass shootings in a nation that has long struggled to curb chronic gun violence. Senators voted to speed passage of a bipartisan package of measures to toughen federal gun laws. The Senate is expected to vote on the 80-page bill this week before a two-week recess.

Bill Cosby found liable in civil case for sexual assault in 1975

A California jury in a civil case ruled on Tuesday that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted a woman at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was a teenager and ordered the comedian to pay her $500,000 in damages for emotional distress from the incident. Judy Huth had testified that the comedian invited her and a friend to the mansion when she was 16, and he was 37, and forced her to perform a sex act.

Donald Trump likely no longer in contempt, New York attorney general says

Donald Trump is likely no longer in contempt of court for failing to comply with a subpoena in a New York civil probe into the former U.S. president's business practices, the office of state Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday. In a letter filed with a New York state court in Manhattan, a lawyer for James said affidavits filed by employees of Trump businesses appeared sufficient to lift an April 25 contempt order, which led to Trump paying a $110,000 fine.

Takeaways from fourth day of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot hearings

The fourth day of the hearings in the U.S. Congress on the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by former President Donald Trump's supporters featured testimony by election officials from the states of Arizona and Georgia. Here are five takeaways from the fourth of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6's hearings this month: