Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. reports over 10,000 coronavirus deaths last week The United States recorded 10,000 coronavirus deaths and over 1.1 million new cases last week, although state and health officials have said the Thanksgiving holiday likely caused numbers to be under-reported.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Vaccines may be ready for Christmas as U.S. braces for post-Thanksgiving virus surge

After a Thanksgiving weekend when the number of people traveling through U.S. airports reached its highest since mid-March, a top government official said on Monday some Americans could begin receiving coronavirus vaccinations before Christmas. U.S. Health Secretary Alex Azar said Pfizer Inc's COVID-19 vaccine could be authorized and shipped within days of a Dec. 10 meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration tasked with reviewing trial data and recommending whether it warrants approval. Biden names economic team to address U.S. pandemic recovery; two more states confirm vote

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden named several women to his top economic policy team on Monday, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary nominee, setting the stage for diversity and a focus on recovery from the pandemic. The advisers, several of whom would need to be approved by the U.S. Senate, come from liberal research organizations and worked in previous Democratic administrations. Their aim will be to set policies that can help people and businesses recover from the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 267,000 people in the United States and cost millions of jobs. U.S. reports over 10,000 coronavirus deaths last week

The United States recorded 10,000 coronavirus deaths and over 1.1 million new cases last week, although state and health officials have said the Thanksgiving holiday likely caused numbers to be under-reported. New cases fell 3.8% in the week ended Nov. 29, while deaths fell 3.9%, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports. Many testing centers were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and some private labs had reduced staffing or were closed on Friday, according to state and health officials. Wisconsin confirms result handing state's presidential contest to Biden

The Wisconsin Elections Commission's chair on Monday confirmed the election result in the state following a recount in two counties, bringing Democratic President-elect Joe Biden closer to an official Electoral College victory in the key swing state. Georgia probing voter-registration groups ahead of critical U.S. Senate races

Election authorities in Georgia have opened investigations into progressive groups trying to sign up new voters in advance of twin January elections that will determine control of the U.S. Senate, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Monday. Raffensperger, a Republican, said his office was examining registration efforts by America Votes, Vote Forward and the New Georgia Project. He said some groups had been encouraging people who lived outside Georgia to register to vote in the state. New California stay-home order weighed as COVID hospitalizations surge

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday he may impose tougher coronavirus restrictions over the next two days, including a possible stay-at-home order, to counter surging COVID-19 hospitalizations that threaten to overwhelm intensive care units. Newsom said projections show ICU admissions are on track to exceed statewide capacity by mid-December unless public health policies and social behavior patterns are altered to curb the spread of the virus. Conservative justices wary of blocking Trump immigrant census plan

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared reluctant to block a vaguely defined plan by President Donald Trump's administration to exclude immigrants living in the United States illegally from the population totals used to allocate congressional districts to states. The court's conservatives, who hold a 6-3 majority, signaled such a ruling might be premature based on the administration's admission that it does not yet know how or if it will be able to implement the proposal, a facet of Trump's hardline policies on immigration being pursued in his final weeks in office. U.S. Congress races to avoid December government shutdown amid pandemic

The U.S. Congress on Monday began a two-week sprint to rescue the federal government from a possible shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, the first major test since the election of whether Republicans and Democrats intend to cooperate. Government funding for nearly all federal agencies expires on Dec. 11. Congressional negotiators have made progress on how to divvy up around $1.4 trillion to be spent by Sept. 30, 2021, the end of the current fiscal year, according to a House of Representatives Democratic aide. President-elect Joe Biden suffers fractures in foot

President-elect Joe Biden suffered hairline fractures in his foot while playing with one of his dogs and will probably have to wear a protective boot for several weeks, his personal physician said on Sunday. The incident happened on Saturday, Biden's office said in a statement, with the 78-year-old Democrat visiting an orthopedist on Sunday for x-rays and a CT scan. U.S. agency screened 1.18 million airline passengers on Sunday

The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 1.18 million airline passengers on Sunday, the highest number since mid-March but still about 60% lower than the comparable day last year. The number of passengers screened on the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year was 2.88 million, the highest ever recorded by the agency.