US Domestic News Roundup: After COVID delay, Sarah Palin's trial against New York Times scheduled to begin; Ex-Trump Justice Dept official appears before U.S. House Jan. 6 committee and more

Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will make the trip in the wake of the funerals of two city police officers who were fatally shot last month while responding to a 911 call. Biden's New York visit a counter-punch to Republican crime jabs President Joe Biden's meeting with New York Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday to discuss combating escalating gun crime signals Democrats want to send a message that they will not cede the issue of public safety to Republicans this election year.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

After COVID delay, Sarah Palin's trial against New York Times scheduled to begin

Sarah Palin and the New York Times are scheduled to go to trial on Thursday as the 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor seeks to hold the newspaper liable for defamation. Palin sued the Times and former editorial page editor James Bennet in 2017 over an editorial that incorrectly linked her political rhetoric to a 2011 Arizona mass shooting that left six dead and U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords seriously wounded.

Ex-Trump Justice Dept official appears before U.S. House Jan. 6 committee

A former high-ranking Justice Department official appeared on Wednesday before the congressional committee probing the assault on the U.S. Capitol for questions about his bid to bolster former President Donald Trump's false claims of election fraud. Jeffrey Bossert Clark was seen by TV cameras entering a room inside a U.S. House of Representatives office building where the select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack takes its depositions. A committee spokesman declined to comment.

Biden to push for gun safety in New York city with police chief

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to New York City on Thursday to highlight his administration’s efforts to curb gun violence and project a united front with Mayor Eric Adams after a series of violent crimes that has rattled the city. Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland will make the trip in the wake of the funerals of two city police officers who were fatally shot last month while responding to a 911 call.

Biden's New York visit a counter-punch to Republican crime jabs

President Joe Biden's meeting with New York Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday to discuss combating escalating gun crime signals Democrats want to send a message that they will not cede the issue of public safety to Republicans this election year. Republicans contend that a pandemic-era spike in homicides and gun crimes in urban areas across the nation is tied to Democratic backing for the “defund the police” movement that arose out of the racial justice protests of 2020 – even though many Democrats, including Biden, have never supported slashing police funds.

Mississippi becomes 37th U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana

Mississippi joined 36 other U.S. states in legalizing marijuana for medical use on Wednesday, as the governor signed legislation permitting cannabis for treatment of severe, debilitating health conditions such as cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. Announcing enactment of the bill, Governor Tate Reeves said the final version passed last week by the Republican-controlled legislature was designed to curb recreational marijuana use, such as by allowing patients to obtain no more than 3 ounces of cannabis per month, or 3.5 grams a day.

Senate to press Raskin on nomination to be Fed's top bank cop

Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Federal Reserve's regulatory work, will tell lawmakers she believes banks need strict oversight, but that it is not her job to tell them where to lend. Raskin will make the case on Thursday for her confirmation as the next Fed vice chair for supervision, a post that oversees the central bank's regulatory agenda, before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. She will testify alongside Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson, two of Biden's nominees to join the Fed as governors.

Hundreds pay tribute to fallen New York police officer

New York City police officer Wilbert Mora was remembered for his love for a job he had wanted since he was a boy, his gentle personality and his heroism during a St. Patrick's Cathedral funeral on Wednesday, two weeks after he was killed responding to a call. Mora, 27, was shot along with officer Jason Rivera after they and a third officer, a rookie, responded to a Jan. 21 disturbance in Harlem in which a woman said she was having a fight with one of her sons. Rivera, 22, also died from his injuries and his funeral service was last week.

Four men charged in actor Michael K. Williams's overdose death, U.S. prosecutor says

Four men have been arrested and charged in last year's overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams, who was best known for playing a shotgun-toting drug dealer in the HBO crime drama "The Wire," the U.S. prosecutor in New York City said on Wednesday. Williams, 54, was found dead in his New York apartment on Sept. 7, police said.

Why Biden has eased up on Facebook over COVID misinformation

When U.S. President Joe Biden accused Facebook of "killing people" by spreading vaccine lies in July, many experts and researchers hoped it marked the beginning of a White House battle against a flood of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic coursing through the United States. Six months later, the deluge of misinformation continues and entities combating harmful information want the White House to do more. COVID-19 deaths recently hit their highest in almost a year, with over 2,600 people dying on average each day. U.S. studies show the unvaccinated are dying at much higher rates than those with jabs and boosters.

FBI says no explosives found at historically Black colleges after bomb threats

The FBI said on Wednesday it has not detected any explosive devices, after several historically Black colleges and universities across the United States reported receiving bomb threats earlier this week. "Although at this time no explosive devices have been found at any of the locations, the FBI takes all threats with the utmost seriousness and we are committed to thoroughly and aggressively investigating these threats," the FBI said.

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