US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. Representative Fortenberry, found guilty of lying, to resign; Grocery workers vote to strike if needed in southern California for higher wages and more

Biden's "Billionaire Minimum Income Tax" would set a 20% minimum tax rate on households worth more than $100 million, in a plan that would mostly target the United States' more than 700 billionaires, according to a White House fact sheet released on Saturday. Key Democratic senator Manchin to vote for Supreme Court nominee Jackson Democratic Senator Joe Manchin on Friday said he would vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, with the support from the influential moderate signaling that she will have the votes to overcome widespread Republican opposition.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. Representative Fortenberry, found guilty of lying, to resign

Republican U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry, who was convicted of lying to FBI investigators about illegal contributions to his 2016 re-election campaign, said on Saturday that he would be resigning from Congress. Following a trial in Los Angeles federal court, the jury found Fortenberry, who represents Nebraska, guilty of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts, along with two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.

Grocery workers vote to strike if needed in southern California for higher wages

Around 48,000 grocery workers voted to strike if needed when seeking higher wages from stores owned by Kroger Co and Albertsons Companies Inc in Southern California, the UFCW 770 union said on Saturday. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) has been seeking significantly higher and equal pay, sufficient staffing and enough working hours in their negotiations with the grocers, which began on Jan. 28.

Biden to propose minimum tax on billionaires as part of 2023 budget

U.S. President Joe Biden will propose a minimum tax on billionaires as part of the fiscal 2023 budget that is expected to be unveiled on Monday, a document released by the White House showed. Biden's "Billionaire Minimum Income Tax" would set a 20% minimum tax rate on households worth more than $100 million, in a plan that would mostly target the United States' more than 700 billionaires, according to a White House fact sheet released on Saturday.

Key Democratic senator Manchin to vote for Supreme Court nominee Jackson

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin on Friday said he would vote to confirm U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, with the support from the influential moderate signaling that she will have the votes to overcome widespread Republican opposition. Manchin's announcement is further evidence that Democrats are united on supporting President Joe Biden's nominee to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. With a simple majority needed for confirmation and the Senate divided 50-50 between the parties, Jackson would get the job even if no Republicans vote for her.

U.S. to close, scale back four immigrant detention centers

The United States will close a troubled detention center in Alabama and significantly scale back the number of beds contracted at three other facilities, citing concerns about conditions. According to an internal document seen by Reuters, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will discontinue use of the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, as it had "long been a facility of serious concern, due to the quantity, severity, diversity and persistence of deficiencies." ICE confirmed the planned closure, which was first reported by Reuters, in a statement on Friday.

With U.S. approval, Trump name to come down from landmark Washington hotel

The U.S. government on Friday said it would allow former President Donald Trump's company to sell the rights to a luxury hotel in Washington to a Hilton affiliate, clearing the way for Trump's name to come down off a building that served as a flashpoint during his presidency. The U.S. General Services Administration, which acts as the federal government's landlord, said it approved the deal between the Trump Organization and CGI Merchant Group, a Miami investment firm that plans to operate the building as a Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Minneapolis teachers reach tentative deal to end weeks-long strike

Minneapolis teachers reached a tentative deal on Friday to end a strike over pay, class sizes and other issues that has kept some 30,000 students out of classes for more than two weeks. School officials said the agreement, which must still be ratified by the teachers union's full membership, paves the way for students to return to school on Monday.

U.S. FAA safety official Billy Nolen named acting administrator

The Biden administration on Saturday named the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) safety chief as the acting leader of the agency effective Friday. Billy Nolen, who in December was named the FAA's associate administrator for aviation safety, had previously been vice president for safety, security and quality for WestJet Airlines in Canada.

Racial justice activists awarded $14 million in landmark case against Denver police

A federal court jury on Friday awarded $14 million to a dozen activists who sued Denver police, claiming excessive force was used against peaceful protesters during racial injustice demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in 2020. The city of Denver has previously settled several civil complaints stemming from the police response to the Floyd protests, but the lawsuit decided Friday was the first such case in the nation to go to trial, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents several of the plaintiffs.

Nursing grievances over 2020, Trump returns to Georgia seeking allies

In a test of his enduring influence over the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump returned to Georgia on Saturday to stump for allies who support his ongoing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him - starting with Georgia. At a rally in Commerce, a small city northeast of Atlanta, Trump spent the first 20 minutes of his speech repeating falsehoods about the outcome, calling Governor Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, a "turncoat" and "coward" for failing to reverse the results.

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