US Domestic News Roundup: Bard convinces U.S. appeals court to revive medical-injection device patents; Six dead as gunman goes on rampage in Mississippi town and more

Andrew Ferguson, a former aide to Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, was recommended to the White House for the role by McConnell, the report said. Five former Memphis officers plead not guilty in beating death of Tyre Nichols Five former Memphis police officers on Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from last month's beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose death three days later stirred outrage and fresh calls for reform.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Bard convinces U.S. appeals court to revive medical-injection device patents

Becton Dickinson's C.R. Bard Inc on Friday won a ruling from a U.S. appeals court reinstating three patents related to its PowerPort devices for delivering repeated medical injections. The decision from the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revives a long-running infringement lawsuit Bard brought against Pennsylvania-based Medical Components Inc, which makes competing devices.

Six dead as gunman goes on rampage in Mississippi town

A gunman went on a rampage in a small Mississippi town on Friday, killing six people in four locations before sheriff's deputies arrested him, local media and witnesses reported. The bloodshed occurred in Arkabutla, a rural hamlet of less than 300 people in Tate County in northern Mississippi, about 40 miles (60 km) south of Memphis, Tennessee.

Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott drops plan to cut Social Security, Medicare

U.S. Senator Rick Scott on Friday revised his plan to end all federal programs after five years to exclude the popular Social Security and Medicare programs, after enduring weeks of mounting criticism from Democrats and his fellow Republicans. Democratic President Joe Biden had been hammering the "Rescue America" agenda, which Scott last year unsuccessfully urged his fellow Republicans to adopt as a midterm election platform. It called for all federal programs to end after five years unless Congress voted to reauthorize them.

Factbox-Abortion battles in U.S. state capitals to watch in 2023

Battles over abortion are heating up in state capitols across the United States as lawmakers wrestle with how much to restrict or expand access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Here is a snapshot of state legislation seeking to ban or protect abortion access in 2023.

U.S. military completes recovery of Chinese balloon, now analyzing its 'guts'

The United States said on Friday it had successfully concluded recovery efforts off South Carolina to collect sensors and other debris from a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon shot down by a U.S. fighter jet on Feb. 4, and investigators are now analyzing its "guts." The last of the debris fro the Chinese balloon, which was downed by a Sidewinder missile, is heading to an FBI laboratory in Virginia for analysis, the U.S. military's Northern Command said in a statement.

White House to consider Andrew Ferguson as U.S. FTC commissioner -Bloomberg News

The White House is considering naming Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson as a Republican commissioner for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Andrew Ferguson, a former aide to Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, was recommended to the White House for the role by McConnell, the report said.

Five former Memphis officers plead not guilty in beating death of Tyre Nichols

Five former Memphis police officers on Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from last month's beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose death three days later stirred outrage and fresh calls for reform. Police video captured images of the officers beating and kicking Nichols, hitting him with a baton, spraying him with pepper spray and firing a stun gun at him on Jan. 7 following a traffic stop. The case has renewed a national discussion of race relations and police brutality.

White House defends Ohio train derailment response

The Biden administration on Friday defended its response to a Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio that caused a fire and sent a cloud of smoke over the town, saying it was sending more federal resources. The White House said the Health and Human Services Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are deploying a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing and assessments. Federal Railroad Administration chief Amit Bose will visit the site next week, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting additional soil testing near the derailment, officials said.

FBI investigates hack of its own computer network

The FBI is investigating a hack of its computer network, in an isolated incident that was now contained, the agency said on Friday. "The FBI is aware of the incident and is working to gain additional information," the agency said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without providing further details.

Far-right Republican groups surge in swing state Michigan

Jon Smith, a local leader in rural Michigan of America First, a far-right Republican faction that denies the results of the 2020 election, wants to shift the entire party to the right - even if it means short-term losses at the ballot box. "We need to redefine what it means to be a Republican," he said in an interview. In pursuit of that aim, Smith and other hardliners deployed armed guards to bar moderate delegates from a county meeting last August, threatening to bring criminal trespassing charges against them, according to an email to the moderates seen by Reuters.