US Domestic News Roundup: 1,000 missing in California's wildfire; DeSantis secures Florida governor's seat; New Jersey viral outbreak

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Evacuation plan 'out the window' when fire hit California town

When a "megafire" engulfed Paradise, California, officials and residents had to abandon their evacuation plans and improvise new ways to save lives, learning lessons that could help the growing number of U.S. communities at risk to wildfires. As strong winds sent flames roaring into Paradise at 2 miles per minute, emergency personnel and locals realized their escape plans, crafted after a 2008 blaze, would not work.

Teams search for 1,000 missing in California's deadliest wildfire

Forensic recovery teams searched for more victims in the charred wreckage of the northern California town of Paradise on Saturday as the number of people listed as missing in the state's deadliest wildfire topped 1,000. Remains of at least 71 people have been recovered in and around the small Sierra foothills town 175 miles (280 km) north of San Francisco. It was home to nearly 27,000 residents before it was largely incinerated by the blaze on the night of Nov. 8.

Judge eases Reagan shooter Hinckley's release conditions

A federal judge on Friday eased travel and other restrictions on the activities of John Hinckley, who shot former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in a 1981 assassination attempt. Hinckley, 63, has been living with his mother, who is in her 90s, in Williamsburg, Virginia since his September 2016 release from a Washington psychiatric hospital.

U.S. prosecutors talking with accused Russian agent to resolve case

U.S. prosecutors and lawyers for accused Russian agent Maria Butina are engaging in negotiations, both sides said in a court filing on Friday, raising the possibility the case could be resolved with a plea deal. Butina, a former graduate student at American University in Washington who has publicly advocated for gun rights, was charged in July with acting as an agent of the Russian government and conspiracy to take actions on behalf of Russia.

Abrams admits defeat in hard-fought Georgia governor race

Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams admitted defeat in her effort to become the first black female U.S. governor on Friday, but said she planned to sue the state over voting problems and "gross mismanagement" of the election. Abrams' announcement effectively hands victory to Republican Brian Kemp in a bitter race that has drawn national attention both for her historic campaign and for Kemp's role as the state's top election administrator.

Republican DeSantis secures Florida governor's seat after rival Gillum concedes

Democrat Andrew Gillum, who had sought to become Florida's first black governor, conceded on Saturday, after a recount showed he had no way of catching his Republican rival Ron DeSantis, an ally of President Donald Trump. Gillum, the 39-year-old liberal mayor of Tallahassee, had initially conceded the race on the night of the Nov. 6 election to DeSantis, a conservative former congressman. But Gillum later withdrew that concession when the results showed the two were close enough to trigger an automatic recount.

U.S. judge orders White House to restore press pass to CNN's Acosta

A U.S. judge on Friday ordered the White House to temporarily restore CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass, which was revoked after a contentious news conference last week with President Donald Trump. The White House withdrew Acosta's credentials on Nov. 7 in an escalation of the Republican president's attacks on news organizations, who he has called enemies of the people.

Rainstorms could bring more misery for California fire evacuees

Thousands of people displaced by California's most destructive wildfire, including hundreds living in tents and cars, face heavy rains next week that could trigger dangerous floods and mudslides while helping douse the flames. At least 300 people who fled the Camp Fire were sheltering on Friday in the flood-prone parking lot of a Walmart in Chico, about 15 miles (24 km) west of where the blaze consumed the mountain town of Paradise on Nov. 8.

Labour unions file pension lawsuit against Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico violated a law meant to safeguard the pensions of its public-sector workers who have been unable to invest the more than $300 million they contributed to a new retirement plan, according to a lawsuit filed against the U.S. commonwealth's government and others by two labour unions on Thursday. The litigation, filed in U.S. District Court in San Juan, joins a long list of adversary cases in a form of bankruptcy Puerto Rico's federally created oversight board initiated in May 2017 to restructure the island's $120 billion of debt and pension obligations.

Eleventh child dies from viral outbreak at New Jersey facility

An 11th child has died in less than four weeks at a New Jersey rehabilitation centre, one of 34 young patients with compromised immune systems to have been infected by a viral outbreak, state health officials said on Friday. The child, who died late Thursday, and the others at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in the town of Haskell, became ill with adenovirus between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, the state's Department of Health said in a statement.

(With inputs from Reuters)