US News Roundup: U.S. surpasses 2,000 COVID deaths in a day with hospitals already full; Severe storm in Arlington, Texas causes damage to property and more

The state on Tuesday at Trump's request began tallying its 5 million ballots for a third time, which officials expect will again confirm Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's statewide victory. Health authorities currently recommend a 14-day quarantine in order to curb transmission of the virus but an official said Tuesday that there is evidence that the period could be shortened if patients are tested for the virus during their quarantine.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. surpasses 2,000 COVID deaths in a day with hospitals already full

Daily U.S. deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 for the first since May and with hospitals across the country already full, portending a surge in mortalities to come as the coronavirus pandemic casts a shadow over the holiday season. The death toll reached 2,157 on Tuesday - one person every 40 seconds - with another 170,000 people infected, numbers that experts say could grow with millions of Americans defying official warnings and traveling for Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday.

With Senate on the line, Trump's claims of election fraud put Georgia Republicans in bind

President Donald Trump's baseless attacks on the U.S. election may be endangering Republican chances of keeping control of the Senate, as Republican candidates in twin January runoffs in Georgia try to drive voters to the polls while amplifying Trump's claim that the system is rigged. The state on Tuesday at Trump's request began tallying its 5 million ballots for a third time, which officials expect will again confirm Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's statewide victory. That has Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler threading the needle on the campaign trail, calling themselves a last bastion against Democratic priorities without explicitly admitting Trump lost the Nov. 3 election.

As COVID-19 cases soar, U.S. families weigh risks of welcoming college kids home

Nina Jain was regularly checking the nation's COVID-19 data and holding out hope that her son Antonio, a sophomore who attends college in Iowa, could come home to Sacramento, California, for Thanksgiving this week. Jain, who works in a government office, had her hopes dashed when she saw U.S. COVID-19 cases rise by an average of more than 168,000 per day last week. Antonio canceled his flight on Friday, hours before it was scheduled to depart, heeding public health warnings that a nationwide dispersal of college students heading home for the holidays could fuel a deadly wave of infections.

Severe storm in Arlington, Texas causes damage to property

Authorities in Arlington, Texas were responding to reports of collapsed buildings and flying debris after strong winds swept through the southern U.S. state on Tuesday night. "Our units are currently assessing the structures, triaging potential patients, and moving to other reported locations," the city's fired department said, while the police were determining the extent of damages.

Biden Cabinet picks may face rough Republican reception in Senate

Republican members of the U.S. Senate fired warning shots to President-elect Joe Biden that they may be prepared to stand in the way of his Cabinet appointments, despite the long-held tradition of a new president having the right to choose who will run government agencies. The threats, from senators including Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton, highlighted the importance of a pair of runoff elections in Georgia in early January that will determine whether Republicans keep majority control of the Senate, or cede it to Democrats after six years in the minority.

Space oddity? Monolith in Utah desert mystifies helicopter crew

They were on a mission to count sheep when they found something they had not counted on. As a Utah helicopter crew buzzed over the southeastern part of the state looking for bighorn sheep last week, sitting beneath them in the middle of the desert was a bright shiny monolith, the stuff of sci-fi sagas.

Biden to discuss coronavirus response as Thanksgiving holiday nears

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden will give a speech on Wednesday highlighting the challenges facing Americans as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and the nation faces a surge in coronavirus infections and a wave of unpopular health restrictions. The address is meant to encourage Americans and focus on the sacrifices they are making during the holiday season, his office said, as officials across the country plead with Americans to stay at home and avoid large gatherings that can spread COVID-19.

Explainer: Can Trump's lawyers be disciplined for making false claims?

In the weeks since U.S. President Donald Trump lost the election, his lead lawyer Rudy Giuliani has repeatedly made baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and the campaign brought a flurry of lawsuits challenging the results, many of which were dismissed. Representative Bill Pascrell, a Democrat, on Friday called for Giuliani and other members of the legal team to be stripped of their law licenses for bringing "frivolous" lawsuits and allegedly attempting to help Republican Trump steal the Nov. 3 vote from President-elect Joe Biden.

Special Report: To reopen or not to reopen - That is the fraught question for U.S. schools

After a two-week deluge of calls and messages from parents - and at least one death threat - the school board in Chandler, Arizona, called a special meeting this fall. The board would revisit its decision, prompted by the coronavirus, to temporarily close local campuses and offer all classes online.

CDC may shorten COVID-19 quarantine period guidelines

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon shorten the length of self-quarantine period recommended after potential exposure to the coronavirus, a top official said on Tuesday. Health authorities currently recommend a 14-day quarantine in order to curb transmission of the virus but an official said Tuesday that there is evidence that the period could be shortened if patients are tested for the virus during their quarantine.

(With inputs from agencies.)