US Domestic News Roundup: Donald Trump's company sentenced to pay $1.61 million penalty for tax fraud; Top U.S. lawmaker objects to potential F-16 sale to Turkey and more

Bauer will serve as Biden's personal lawyer during a probe by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland who was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday to examine whether classified documents had been improperly removed or retained. New Mexico Democrats fight town's abortion ban New Mexico towns would be prohibited from restricting access to abortion under legislation proposed on Friday by Democratic lawmakers in a state where the procedure remains legal after Roe v.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Donald Trump's company sentenced to pay $1.61 million penalty for tax fraud

A New York judge on Friday sentenced Donald Trump's namesake real estate company to pay a $1.61 million criminal penalty after it was convicted of scheming to defraud tax authorities for 15 years. Justice Juan Merchan of the Manhattan criminal court imposed the sentence, the maximum possible under state law, after jurors found two Trump Organization affiliates guilty of 17 criminal charges last month.

End to storms is near but California braces for two more atmospheric rivers

California's parade of atmospheric rivers may be nearing an end but not before at least two more of the rainstorms are due to drench the waterlogged state starting on Saturday, forecasters said. A series of atmospheric rivers rarely seen in such frequent succession has pounded the state since Dec. 26, killing at least 19 people and bringing floods, power outages, mudslides, evacuations and road closures.

Top U.S. lawmaker objects to potential F-16 sale to Turkey

The Biden administration has told Congress it is preparing the potential $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday, sparking an immediate objection from a senior U.S. lawmaker who has long opposed the deal. The State Department sent the informal notice to Congress on Thursday, three sources said, informing committees overseeing arms sales in the Senate and House of Representatives of its intention to proceed with the proposed deal.

Judge rejects as 'absurd' Trump bid to dismiss rape accuser's lawsuit

A U.S. judge on Friday rejected as "absurd" former President Donald Trump's effort to dismiss writer E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit accusing him of defamation and battery after he denied raping her in the mid-1990s. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said there was no merit to Trump's argument that Carroll's battery claim under New York's Adult Survivors Act must be dismissed because the law denied him due process under the state's constitution.

Nine dead, more casualties expected after tornadoes rip through U.S. Southeast

At least nine people died in tornadoes that destroyed homes and knocked out power to tens of thousands in the U.S. Southeast, local officials said on Friday, and the death toll in hard-hit central Alabama was expected to rise. The storms on Thursday stretched from Mississippi to Georgia. At least five tornadoes touched down in central Alabama, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jessica Laws. One of those twisters potentially tracked about 150 miles (241 km) from southwest Selma, Alabama, to the Georgia-Alabama state line, she said.

U.S. strongly committed to Japan defense, Biden tells Kishida, hails military boost

President Joe Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday the United States was "fully, thoroughly, completely" committed to Japan's defense and praised Tokyo's security build up, saying the nations had never been closer. Kishida is in Washington on the last stop in a tour of the G7 industrial powers and has been seeking to bolster long-standing alliances amid rising concern in Japan, and the United States, about mounting regional security threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

Analysis-U.S. House Republicans favor message over substance in early legislation

Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives wasted no time this week using their new majority to pass political messaging bills that appeal to conservative voters on hot-button issues, but often involved more hyperbole than substance. After a historic struggle to elect Kevin McCarthy as their speaker, House Republicans used their first legislative week to pass bills on taxes, abortion and energy security that have little to no chance of getting through the Democratic-controlled Senate or being signed into law by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Who is Robert Hur, special counsel on Biden classified document probe?

Robert Hur, who was named special counsel to investigate whether President Joe Biden had improperly handled sensitive government documents, is a former high-ranking Justice Department official with experience in sensitive leak investigations. Tapped for the role by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, Hur was the U.S. attorney in Maryland during the Trump administration and most recently served as a litigation partner at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

Biden taps problem-solver Bob Bauer as personal lawyer in document probe

President Joe Biden is turning to a longtime Democratic problem-solver, lawyer Bob Bauer, to manage his response to a U.S. special counsel's investigation into his handling of classified material after the discovery of documents at his private office and home. Bauer will serve as Biden's personal lawyer during a probe by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland who was tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday to examine whether classified documents had been improperly removed or retained.

New Mexico Democrats fight town's abortion ban

New Mexico towns would be prohibited from restricting access to abortion under legislation proposed on Friday by Democratic lawmakers in a state where the procedure remains legal after Roe v. Wade was struck down. The move comes after a New Mexico town near the Texas border passed an ordinance designed to ban abortions as part of a national push by anti-abortion activists into Democratic-controlled states.

(With inputs from agencies.)