Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The two-day poll comes as the United States and its allies ramp up plans to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine and as a senior Russian official warned the West should not underestimate the elevated risk of nuclear conflict. Trump's $10,000-a-day fine for ignoring subpoena kicks in -NY judge Former President Donald Trump must pay a fine of $10,000 per day starting on Tuesday until he complies with a subpoena to hand over material about his business practices to New York's attorney general, a New York judge said, adding that the clock was ticking on completing the probe.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Identity check contractor ID.me fires dozens on fraud team as Congress probes

A major U.S. government contractor of identity verification technology that is under investigation by Congress has fired 39 employees over the past week for inappropriate communications, the company told Reuters. The company, ID.me, gutted about half of its fraud review team but said the firings were unrelated to a probe U.S. lawmakers opened last week over "serious concerns" about the efficacy, privacy and security of its technology, including facial recognition.

Pfizer, BioNTech seek U.S. authorization of COVID-19 booster shot for younger kids

Pfizer Inc and its partner BioNTech SE said on Tuesday that they had submitted an application to the U.S. health regulator for the authorization of a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years. The companies earlier this month reported data from a mid-to-late stage study showing a third dose of their shot increased protection against the original coronavirus version and the Omicron variant among children in the age group.

White House pushes back at critics of U.S.-Mexico border security plan

The Biden administration on Tuesday outlined its plan to tackle border security, pushing back against criticism that it is unprepared for a late-May deadline to lift COVID-19 restrictions that have blocked asylum seekers and other migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border since early 2020. While the end of the restrictions were thrown into doubt this week by a federal court, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden said it was still preparing for an increase in the already historic number of border crossings.

Walgreens, drugmakers blame others for San Francisco's opioid crisis

Pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance and other defendants on Tuesday said they were not to blame for the opioid crisis in San Francisco, and that they acted responsibly when providing legal medications to patients in pain. "Almost all of those prescriptions were written by good, well-meaning doctors," Walgreens attorney Kate Swift said during opening statements in a trial in San Francisco federal court. "It was appropriate for good pharmacists to fill those prescriptions."

Three in four Americans back arms shipments to Ukraine -Reuters/Ipsos

Seventy-three percent of Americans support U.S. efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia invaded its neighbor in February, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday. The two-day poll comes as the United States and its allies ramp up plans to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine and as a senior Russian official warned the West should not underestimate the elevated risk of nuclear conflict.

Trump's $10,000-a-day fine for ignoring subpoena kicks in -NY judge

Former President Donald Trump must pay a fine of $10,000 per day starting on Tuesday until he complies with a subpoena to hand over material about his business practices to New York's attorney general, a New York judge said, adding that the clock was ticking on completing the probe. The state judge, Arthur Engoron, on Monday held Trump in civil contempt for "repeated failures" to hand over materials to Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation launched three years ago into the whether the Trump Organization improperly valued assets to obtain financial benefits.

Blinken to address U.S. national security strategy related to China in coming weeks

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he will address in the coming weeks a long-awaited national security strategy to deal with the emergence of China as a great power. "I will have an opportunity I think, very soon in the coming weeks to speak publicly and in some detail about the about the strategy," Blinken said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

U.S. Senate confirms Brainard as Fed's next vice chair

Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard won confirmation in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to be the U.S. central bank's next vice chair, a week ahead of a key Fed meeting where policymakers are expected to ramp up their battle against inflation with a big interest-rate hike and the start of a balance sheet reduction. The vote was 52-43 as several Republicans joined Democrats to meet the 51-vote minimum for confirmation, the first of U.S. President Joe Biden's four Fed nominees to clear that hurdle.

Republican McCarthy feared GOP members would incite more violence after Jan. 6 - NYT

Top U.S. House Republican Kevin McCarthy told colleagues he feared members of his party, including Representatives Matt Gaetz and Mo Brooks, would put other lawmakers at risk with their comments following the assault on the U.S. Capitol. McCarthy on a call with other Republican leaders days after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot expressed his concerns about comments made by members closely aligned with Donald Trump after the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol, according to audio obtained by the New York Times.

Vice President Harris tests positive for COVID-19, not symptomatic

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday but is not exhibiting symptoms, a spokesperson said, at a time when there has been an increase in cases among White House staffers. Harris has not been in close contact with President Joe Biden or first lady Jill Biden due to their travel schedules, her press secretary Kirsten Allen said. Harris will isolate and return to the White House when she tests negative, Allen said.

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