Reuters US Domestic News Summary

One year later, those goals remain unfulfilled after Biden officials spent much of his first year in office grappling with record-breaking border arrests, unfavorable court decisions on immigration, Republican opposition in Congress and internal divisions https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-children-insight-idCAKBN2C21FH between liberals and moderates within his own administration. U.S. drops criminal case against MIT professor over China ties The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday dropped charges against a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor accused of concealing his ties to China when seeking federal grant money, in the latest setback for a crackdown on Chinese influence on American research.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump campaign officials, including Giuliani, oversaw 2020 fake electors' plan -CNN

Officials on Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, led by his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, oversaw efforts to put forward illegitimate electors from seven states that the former president lost, CNN reported on Thursday, citing three sources. There were multiple planning calls between campaign officials and Republican Party state operatives with Giuliani being involved in at least one call, one source said, in efforts to stop Joe Biden's victory when Congress met on Jan 6, 2021.

Bipartisan U.S. Senate group discusses scaled-back elections bill

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is discussing a scaled-back law focused on safeguarding election results and protecting election officials from harassment following Democrats' twin defeats https://www.reuters.com/world/us/voting-rights-brawl-takes-center-stage-us-senate-2022-01-19 on a voting-rights bill. Lawmakers led by Republican Senator Susan Collins and including conservative Democrats Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, are due to meet virtually on Friday to discuss reform of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, sometimes called the ECA, which allows members of Congress to dispute presidential election results.

U.S. to require COVID vaccines for essential workers crossing borders

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing Thursday it is requiring that non-U.S. essential workers such as truck drivers and nurses who are crossing land borders be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, effective Saturday. The Biden administration first announced in October that effective Nov. 8 it would again allow non-essential foreign visitors to travel from Canada and Mexico into the U.S. across land borders if they were vaccinated.

Biden's immigration goals fade after setbacks at the U.S.-Mexico border

Days after U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, two of his top immigration advisors outlined bold plans, including a major immigration reform bill, a 100-day deportation moratorium, and a strategy to restore protections for asylum seekers that were degraded under former President Donald Trump. One year later, those goals remain unfulfilled after Biden officials spent much of his first year in office grappling with record-breaking border arrests, unfavorable court decisions on immigration, Republican opposition in Congress and internal divisions https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-children-insight-idCAKBN2C21FH between liberals and moderates within his own administration.

U.S. drops criminal case against MIT professor over China ties

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday dropped charges against a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor accused of concealing his ties to China when seeking federal grant money, in the latest setback for a crackdown on Chinese influence on American research. Federal prosecutors in Boston in a court filing https://tmsnrt.rs/3rwAjKl said new information had emerged concerning Chinese-born mechanical engineer and nanotechnologist Gang Chen's alleged omissions that undercut the wire fraud and other charges he faced.

Georgia prosecutor requests special grand jury in Trump election probe

The prosecutor for Georgia's biggest county on Thursday requested a special grand jury with subpoena power to aid her investigation into then-President Donald Trump's efforts to influence the U.S. state's 2020 election results. In a letter to Fulton County's chief judge, first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, District Attorney Fani Willis wrote that multiple witnesses being probed have refused to cooperate absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.

Biden approval rating drops to 43%, lowest of his presidency: Reuters/Ipsos poll

U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency this week as Americans appeared exhausted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic toll, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The national poll, conducted Jan. 19-20, found that 43% of U.S. adults approved of Biden's performance in office, while 52% disapproved and the rest were not sure. The prior week's poll had put Biden at a 45% approval rating and 50% disapproval.

U.S. House Speaker Pelosi says banning member stock trades possible

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday signaled her willingness to advance legislation that could ban lawmaker stock trades, if her rank-and-file Democrats support such a move. At her weekly news conference, Pelosi was asked about tightening controls on stock transactions. She responded: "If members (of the House) want to do that, I'm OK with that."

Judge orders detention for Oath Keeper charged with U.S. Capitol riot sedition

A judge on Thursday refused to release from jail a member of the far-right Oath Keepers group charged with seditious conspiracy https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-arrests-far-right-militia-group-oath-keepers-leader-jan-6-probe-nyt-2022-01-13 over allegations he helped plan the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Edward Vallejo, one of 11 people prosecutors have linked to the Oath Keepers and accused of seditious conspiracy, lost an attempt to be released from jail while he awaits trial.

U.S. panel probing Jan. 6 attack seeks interview with Ivanka Trump

The U.S. House of Representatives' panel investigating the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday requested an interview with former U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and White House aide Ivanka Trump. In a letter to Ivanka Trump, lawmakers said they were seeking her voluntary cooperation as part of their ongoing probe and would limit their questions to issues related to events surrounding that day, including activities leading up to or influencing it and her role in the White House at that time.

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