Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
Two Atlanta poll workers settle defamation lawsuit against One America
Two Georgia election workers who were the target of vote-rigging conspiracy theories have reached a settlement agreement with the far-right One America News Network in their defamation lawsuit against the outlet, according to court papers filed on Thursday. Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a voter registration officer in Fulton County, and Ruby Freeman, Moss’s mother and a temp worker for the 2020 election, sued OAN officials along with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer Rudy Giuliani for allegedly spreading lies about them in their efforts to overturn Trump’s election loss.
New Jersey gets high on its own supply as legal weed sales begin
Last year, Xavier Rodriguez got two convictions for marijuana possession expunged from his record, thanks to a new law legalizing the drug in New Jersey. On Thursday, the 28-year-old was among the initial wave of New Jerseyans waiting in long lines to buy marijuana lawfully, as 13 dispensaries around the state began selling to all residents 21 and older for the first time.
U.S. warns doctors to look for hepatitis in children as probe widens
U.S. health officials have sent out a nationwide alert warning doctors to be on the lookout for symptoms of pediatric hepatitis, possibly linked with a cold virus, as part of a wider probe into unexplained cases of severe liver inflammation in young children. The warning follows investigations in the United States and Europe of clusters of hepatitis in young children.
U.S. extends COVID vaccine requirements for non-citizens at land borders
The United States government said on Thursday it was extending a requirement that non-U.S. citizens crossing land or ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders must be vaccinated against the coronavirus. The requirements were first adopted in November as part of reopening the United States to land crossings by foreign tourists after the borders had been closed to most visitors since March 2020. The vaccination requirements had been set to expire on Thursday https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/24/2022-01403/notification-of-temporary-travel-restrictions-applicable-to-land-ports-of-entry-and-ferries-service unless they were extended.
Florida Republicans pass congressional map after sit-in protest by Black lawmakers
Republicans in Florida’s House on Thursday approved a new congressional map backed by Governor Ron DeSantis that gives the party a major advantage in November’s elections while eliminating two majority-Black districts. After passage by the state Senate on Wednesday, the new district boundaries only await DeSantis’ signature to go into effect.
Florida set to strip Disney of self-governing status in dispute over LGBTQ law
Florida lawmakers gave legislative approval on Thursday to a bill stripping Walt Disney Co of its designation as a self-governing entity in an apparent response to its opposition to a new state law limiting discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. Approval from Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 Republican presidential nominee who fiercely backs the ban on classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for children under age 9, is the final step to the bill’s enactment.
U.S. dance champion says she has not heard from Ukraine family since March 2
The last time U.S. ballroom dance champion Antonina Skobina spoke to her mother in Mariupol, Ukraine, the family had no heating or electricity. That was March 2. Skobina has not heard from them since.
U.S. judge temporarily blocks enforcement of Kentucky’s new abortion law
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Kentucky officials from enforcing a sweeping new abortion law that Planned Parenthood said would force abortion clinics to stop offering the procedure until they can meet certain requirements.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings in Louisville issued a temporary restraining order https://tmsnrt.rs/3OrRFTg at Planned Parenthood’s request a week after the Republican-led legislature overrode a veto by the state’s Democratic governor to enact the law.
Leader of push to fund Trump’s border wall pleads guilty to fraud, tax charges
A decorated U.S. Air Force veteran who helped lead a fundraising campaign to build former President Donald Trump’s promised wall along the U.S.-Mexican border pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to defraud donors. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Brian Kolfage told prospective donors he would “not take a penny” as he raised more than $25 million for the “We Build the Wall” campaign, yet took more than $350,000 and spent money on a boat, a luxury SUV, a golf cart, jewelry and cosmetic surgery.
Donald Trump Jr. agrees to meet with House panel probing Jan. 6 Capitol attack -New York Times
Donald Trump Jr. has agreed to meet in the near future with the U.S. House of Representatives panel that is probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing a source. Trump, the eldest son of former President Donald Trump, is set to meet with the House committee under his own will and without the threat of a subpoena, the outlet said without reporting when the testimony was scheduled.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)