Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

'Rust' to be completed with Baldwin in lead role, lawyer says

Western movie "Rust" will continue filming with Alec Baldwin in the lead role, a lawyer for the production said Monday, days after prosecutors said they would charge the actor in the fatal shooting of the movie's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin will continue to play grandfather Harland Rust while Joel Souza will return as "Rust" director following his wounding in the October 2021 shooting, said Melina Spadone, an attorney for Rust Movie Productions.

Ex-FBI official worked for sanctioned Russian oligarch, prosecutors say

A former top FBI official was charged on Monday with working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, as U.S. prosecutors ramp up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their alleged enablers. Charles McGonigal, who led the FBI's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts including sanctions violations and money laundering at a hearing in Manhattan federal court.

Democrat Ruben Gallego to challenge Arizona U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema

Democratic U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona on Monday launched a run for the U.S. Senate in 2024, challenging independent incumbent Krysten Sinema, in a race that could be pivotal for determining control of the upper chamber. Sinema, who switched from Democrat to independent in December, had been a maverick within the Democratic Party, voting against several of President Joe Biden's priorities over the past two years. That angered many Democrats, some of whom had encouraged primary challengers even before Sinema left the party.

Two students and adult fatally shot at Iowa school program

Two students were killed on Monday and an adult was seriously wounded in a "targeted" shooting at a nonprofit educational center for at-risk youth in Des Moines, Iowa, local police said. The students died at a hospital, while a staff member of Starts Right Here, a learning facility for young people, was in surgery, Sargent Paul Parizek said at a press conference. No further details were released.

U.S. FDA proposes shift to annual COVID vaccine shots

The U.S. health regulator on Monday proposed one dose of the latest updated COVID-19 shot annually for healthy adults, similar to the influenza immunization campaign, as it aims to simplify the country's COVID-vaccine strategy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration also asked its panel of external advisers to consider the usage of two COVID vaccine shots a year for some young children, older adults and persons with compromised immunity.The regulator proposed the need for routine selection of variants for updating the vaccine, similar to the way strains for flu vaccines are changed annually, in briefing documents ahead of a meeting of its panel on Thursday.

Fatal Memphis traffic stop reminiscent of Rodney King assault, attorney Crump says

The video of Memphis police beating a Black man who died after a traffic stop on Jan. 7 reminded civil rights attorney Ben Crump of the assault on Rodney King, Crump said after viewing the police bodycam recording with the man's family on Monday. Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old father of a 4-year-old boy, died in the hospital on Jan. 10 of injuries he sustained during his arrest by five officers, all of whom have been fired.

U.S. energy chief says Biden would veto House Republican bill on oil reserve

President Joe Biden will veto a bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday. In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president's authority to tap the nation's oil reserves would undermine national security, cause crude oil shortages, and raise gasoline prices.

Four Oath Keepers guilty of seditious conspiracy in U.S. Capitol attack

Four more members of the far-right Oath Keepers were found guilty on Monday of seditious conspiracy for taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump, in another big win for federal prosecutors. The verdict marks the end of the second major sedition trial against members of the extremist group, who were among the hundreds who attacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump, a Republican, in the 2020 presidential election.

White House: DOJ searched Biden home after 'voluntary, proactive offer' by lawyers

The White House said on Monday that a search by the Justice Department of President Joe Biden's home on Friday had been carried out after a "voluntary, proactive offer" by his personal lawyers to the department. The White House Counsel's Office also said it was reviewing recent record requests from the Republican-led House Oversight Committee and pledged to respect legislative oversight but warned its cooperation may be limited by executive privilege and an ongoing Department of Justice investigation.

Death toll from California massacre rises to 11 as police look for motive

An 11th victim died from injuries on Monday after an elderly gunman's deadly rampage at a Los Angeles-area dance hall, California police said, as authorities were still searching for a motive behind one of the state's worst mass shootings. Police identified 72-year-old Huu Can Tran as the suspect in the massacre, which took place during a Lunar New Year celebration at Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, a dance hall popular with older patrons of Asian descent.

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