Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol after a fiery speech in which he repeated his false claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, an allegation repeatedly rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump's own administration. U.S. judge signals willingness to appoint special master in Trump search case A federal judge on Thursday appeared sympathetic to former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a special master to review the documents the FBI seized from his home in August, though she declined to issue a ruling immediately on the matter.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. military laments 'tragic' rise in sexual assault

The U.S. military experienced its highest recorded level of sexual assault among women last year, in findings the Pentagon on Thursday described as tragic, disappointing and devastating. The U.S. military, which is already struggling to meet recruiting goals after decades of war, revealed the gloomy data just months after announcing new reforms that critics said were too slow and too limited to resolve the crisis.

California lawmakers extend life of nuclear plant, approve slate of climate bills

California lawmakers on Thursday voted to extend the life of the state's only nuclear power plant by five years, and approved several other measures to bolster the state's already aggressive climate change policies and shore up its fragile power sector. The set of bills mark a victory for Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who had made a push in recent weeks to pass climate legislation that could match Congress' approval last month of the biggest climate change law in U.S. history.

Trump says he will look 'very favorably' on pardons for Capitol rioters

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was giving financial help to some supporters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on Congress and would look very favorably on giving pardons if he were again elected to the White House. Thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol after a fiery speech in which he repeated his false claims that his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, an allegation repeatedly rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump's own administration.

U.S. judge signals willingness to appoint special master in Trump search case

A federal judge on Thursday appeared sympathetic to former President Donald Trump's request to appoint a special master to review the documents the FBI seized from his home in August, though she declined to issue a ruling immediately on the matter. At a hearing in West Palm Beach, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon pressed the Justice Department on why it opposes the appointment of a special master - an independent third party sometimes appointed by a court in sensitive cases to review materials potentially covered by attorney-client privilege to ensure investigators do not improperly view them.

Mississippi capital endures fourth day without water, help trickles in

Seven new distribution sites opened in Mississippi's state capital on Thursday to dispense bottled water to people who have been without clean tap water since the city's long-troubled treatment plant failed four days ago. While residents continued to line up at distribution sites and grocery stores in Jackson for bottled water, the city said "significant gains" had been made overnight in repairing the O.B. Curtis Water Plant. Complications from recent floodwaters knocked the plant offline on Monday night.

U.S. CDC expert panel backs use of redesigned Omicron COVID boosters

Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday voted to recommend the use of COVID-19 booster shots redesigned to target the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants of the coronavirus for people aged 12 years and older. The CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-to-1 in favor of the updated boosters by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Former Trump-era White House lawyers to appear before grand jury probing Jan.6 -sources

The two former top White House lawyers during the Trump administration are expected to appear before a grand jury on Friday that is probing events related to Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, sources familiar with the matter said. Pat Cipollone, the former White House counsel, and former White House Deputy Counsel Pat Philbin will appear as witnesses, after they were previously subpoenaed to answer questions that will assist with the Justice Department's ongoing investigation.

Biden to target 'MAGA forces' as threat to democracy in major speech

U.S. President Joe Biden will ask Americans to fight back against Republican extremism threatening the country's democratic foundations on Thursday in a speech ramping up attacks on politicians aligned with former President Donald Trump. Biden will attack "MAGA forces" - those people devoted to Trump's Make America Great Again agenda - as "determined to take this country backwards" to a time without a right to abortion, privacy, contraception or same-sex marriage, according to excerpts of the speech.

Former NYPD officer gets 10 years in longest U.S. Capitol attack sentence

Former New York City police officer Thomas Webster, who assaulted police in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison, the longest sentence yet handed down in a case related to the attack. "The Defendant is sentenced to concurrent terms of 120 months," according to details of the sentence posted on the online portal page of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

U.S. Capitol riot committee asks former Speaker Gingrich to testify

The U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol asked former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday to provide it with information about what it called his efforts to promote false claims about the 2020 presidential election. There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Gingrich via his Virginia-based company's website.

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