Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.
U.S. layoffs hit two-year high in Jan. as tech slashed thousands of jobs - report
Layoffs in the United States hit a more than two-year high in January as technology firms cut jobs at the second-highest pace on record to brace for a possible recession, a report showed on Thursday. The layoffs impacted 102,943 workers, a more than two-fold jump from December and an over five-times surge from a year earlier, according to the report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Factbox-Possible U.S. debt-ceiling workarounds to avoid default
As Democratic President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy gird for a protracted battle over raising the United States' $31.4 debt ceiling, some observers have suggested possible workarounds to avoid disaster if the two sides do not reach a deal. Here are some of their proposals:
Republican U.S. lawmaker meets with TikTok, but unpersuaded
U.S. Republican Representative Mike Gallagher met with TikTok on Wednesday about the Chinese-owned short video app's U.S. data security plans but still plans to seek to ban TikTok in the United States, a spokesperson for the lawmaker said. Gallagher, the Republican chair of a U.S. House of Representatives select committee on China, met with TikTok officials led by TikTok's head of public policy for the Americas Michael Beckerman.
Biden revamp of Democratic primary faces final vote at DNC convention
President Joe Biden's plan to reshape the Democratic Party's presidential nominating contest faces its final test this week in a Democratic National Committee vote where officials from two key states staunchly oppose the effort. Biden wants the DNC to oust Iowa as the first in the nation in the party's nominating calendar - a position it has held since 1972 - and replace it with South Carolina, a state with significantly more Black voters, and one that saved his 2020 presidential campaign.
Mourners call for end to police violence at Tyre Nichols funeral
The relatives of Black people killed by police in cities across the United States came to Tyre Nichols' funeral in a Memphis church on Wednesday to offer comfort to the family of the Black 29-year-old, who was fatally beaten by officers last month. Speaking over a flower-bedecked casket at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, preachers recalled a young man who loved photography and skateboarding, and demanded justice for Nichols.
Explainer-Spilt milk? Why are the U.S. and Canada fighting over dairy?
The United States on Tuesday said it was seeking a second trade dispute settlement panel over Canada's dairy import quotas, accusing Canada of not meeting obligations to open its market to American producers. The move is the latest salvo in longstanding tensions between the trade partners over Canada's protected dairy industry. HOW DOES CANADA'S DAIRY SYSTEM WORK?
McCarthy: We can find 'common ground' with Biden over U.S. debt ceiling
President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held initial talks on Wednesday about raising U.S. government borrowing limits in a first test of how the two will work together, with both sides agreeing to talk more. The White House said after the meeting that Biden told McCarthy he was eager to work with Republicans "in good faith." McCarthy said the two men could find common ground. But, as expected, there was no sign of an immediate breakthrough.
Biden attorney: no classified documents found in search of Delaware beach house
The U.S. Justice Department did not find documents with classified markings during a three-and-a-half hour search of President Joe Biden's beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware, on Wednesday but did take some materials for further review, Biden's attorney said. The morning search by FBI agents appeared to represent an expansion of the probe into Biden's handling of classified documents.
Democratic senator urges Apple, Google to kick TikTok out of app stores
TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, should be removed from app stores run by Apple Inc and Alphabet's Google because the short video social media app poses a risk to national security, Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said in a letter dated Thursday. The app, which Congress has already banned from federal government devices, has come under increasing criticism because of concern that China's government could use it to harvest data on Americans or advance Chinese interests.
Biden calls for expanding federal workers' access to leave
U.S. President Joe Biden will call on Thursday for government agencies to expand federal workers' access to paid and unpaid leave as he joins with former President Bill Clinton to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act. The law, the first Clinton signed after taking office, guarantees that certain workers may take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave without losing their jobs or health insurance benefits. The law applies to public agencies, schools and private sector employers with at least 49 employees.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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