US News Roundup: Chevron pulls some staff from offshore U.S. ahead of Tropical Storm Zeta; Trump, Biden in final full week of campaigning as virus looms large and more

Trump, Biden in final full week of campaigning as virus looms large President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Monday are down to the final full week of campaigning before the Nov. 3 election, as surging coronavirus cases and a COVID-19 outbreak within Vice President Mike Pence's staff keep the focus of the race on the pandemic.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Chevron pulls some staff from offshore U.S. ahead of Tropical Storm Zeta

Chevron Corp said it was withdrawing non-essential staff from its U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore facilities as Tropical Storm Zeta took aim at the Gulf. Zeta, the 27th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, was strengthening rapidly and is forecast to become a hurricane on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

Trump, Biden in final full week of campaigning as virus looms large

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Monday are down to the final full week of campaigning before the Nov. 3 election, as surging coronavirus cases and a COVID-19 outbreak within Vice President Mike Pence's staff keep the focus of the race on the pandemic. Trump claimed progress in combating the disease even as the United States set records in recent days for daily infections, while Pence forged ahead with campaigning on Sunday despite close aides testing positive.

Special Report: U.S. jails are outsourcing medical care — and the death toll is rising

Matthew Loflin was coughing up blood, struggling to breathe and losing consciousness in his cell while awaiting trial on drug-possession charges in this historic Southern city. “I need to go to the hospital,” he told his mother in a jailhouse phone call. “I’m gonna die in here.”

Trump asks Supreme Court to block deadline extension for North Carolina ballot

President Donald Trump's campaign again asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday to block North Carolina's plan for counting absentee ballots that arrive after the Nov. 3 Election Day, the latest legal tussle in a wide-ranging fight over mail-in voting. The campaign initially filed the application on Thursday after a U.S. federal appeals court decision last week left in place North Carolina's plan, dealing a setback to Trump's re-election campaign.

Four in ten supporters of Biden, Trump would not accept election defeat: Reuters/Ipsos poll

More than four in ten supporters of both President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, said they would not accept the result of the November election if their preferred candidate loses, Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The survey, conducted from Oct. 13-20, shows 43% of Biden supporters would not accept a Trump victory, while 41% of Americans who want to re-elect Trump would not accept a win by Biden.

First Black American cardinal is outspoken civil rights advocate

Wilton Gregory, the first African American to be named as cardinal and known as a refined diplomat, made headlines when he blasted President Donald Trump’s photo opportunity hoisting a Bible at a Washington church after police used tear gas to clear demonstrators in June. Gregory, who was among 13 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on Sunday, was installed as the first Black archbishop of Washington, D.C. in 2019. He turns 73 just days after the naming ceremony for new cardinals next month.

Coal baron Murray, a Trump ally who fought environmental regulation, dead at 80

U.S. coal baron Robert Murray, an ally of President Donald Trump and a leading industry voice who called global warming a hoax, died on Sunday at age 80, U.S. media reported. Murray retired on Oct. 19 after 63 years in the coal business, shortly after applying for federal benefits to treat his black lung disease, according to report by West Virginia public radio.

Super spooky: Halloween trick-or-treating amid COVID-19

On a typical Halloween, Sarah Schwimmer would answer her door and put candy in the outstretched hands of costumed trick-or-treaters, but this year she will be shooting their sweets through a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) pipe rigged up as her COVID-19 socially distanced delivery system. "The kids - everything has changed for them, so anything we can do to keep that joy is important," said Schwimmer, 54, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Senate likely to confirm Barrett to U.S. Supreme Court, cementing conservative majority

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate is expected on Monday to confirm President Donald Trump's nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, as the next justice to the Supreme Court, a move that will tilt the country's highest court further to the right for years to come. No nominee to the Supreme Court has ever been confirmed by the Senate this close to a presidential election, with more than 58 million ballots already cast ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Meet the 'QAnon' caucus: Conspiracy buffs on path to U.S. Congress

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to condemn the pro-President Donald Trump online conspiracy theory known as "QAnon." But multiple QAnon-friendly lawmakers may soon be taking seats in the House chamber. More than two dozen candidates for Congress in the Nov. 3 elections have endorsed or given credence to QAnon or promoted QAnon content online, the non-profit watchdog group Media Matters says. Two are independents; the rest are Republicans.

(With inputs from agencies.)