Reuters US Domestic News Summary

The recertification followed a hand recount that was triggered by an audit and a formal recount that was requested by Republican President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, both of which upheld Biden's victory in the state, the press release said.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump says his lawyer Giuliani, hospitalized with COVID-19, does not have fever

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has tested positive for COVID-19, is doing well in the hospital and does not have a fever, the president said on Monday at the White House. "Rudy's doing well," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "No temperature, and he actually called me earlier this morning. Was the first call I got." Georgia recertifies U.S. presidential election results, confirming Biden victory

Georgia recertified the state's results in the Nov. 3 presidential election on Monday, confirming that Democratic President-elect Joe Biden had won the state, according to a press release from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The recertification followed a hand recount that was triggered by an audit and a formal recount that was requested by Republican President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, both of which upheld Biden's victory in the state, the press release said. California becomes biggest U.S. state to launch virus contact-tracing app

California on Monday announced an app to help people track their exposure to the coronavirus, becoming the biggest U.S. state to take advantage of new technology from smartphone software makers Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google. Beginning on Thursday, people in California can activate the exposure notifications tool from the settings menu on iPhones or by downloading the CA Notify App in the Google Play store on Android devices. Quick-thinking lifeguard saves Oregon surfer after shark attack

An off-duty lifeguard's quick thinking may have saved the life of an Oregon surfer who was the victim of a relatively rare shark attack in the state's chilly waters, a spokesman for the coastal city of Seaside said on Monday. The off-duty lifeguard quickly treated the surfer, identified only as an adult male, at the scene of the Sunday afternoon attack. He tied a surfboard leash around his leg to stop the bleeding, Seaside spokesman Jon Rahl said. U.S. CDC reports 281,253 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 14,636,914 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 174,387 from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,118 to 281,253. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Dec. 6 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2K00neM) U.S. announces charges in COVID-19 'puppy scam'

A Cameroon man has been charged by the U.S. government with exploiting the coronavirus pandemic by defrauding people seeking companionship into buying puppies online that were never delivered, the Department of Justice said on Monday. Desmond Fodje Bobga, 27, was arrested last Thursday in Cluj, Romania, where he was attending Babe?-Bolyai University, according to the office of U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh. U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to transgender student accommodations

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday preserved an Oregon public school district's policy of accommodating transgender students, rejecting an appeal challenging a policy that let students use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity. The justices left in place a lower court ruling that threw out a lawsuit against Dallas School District No. 2 in rural western Oregon spearheaded by parents of a small group of students. The plaintiffs had argued that the policy violated students' rights to privacy and religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution as well as a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. Biden names key players to COVID-19 response, plans more Cabinet nominations this week

President-elect Joe Biden picked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for secretary of health and human services on Monday as he prepares his administration's response to the raging coronavirus pandemic. Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, also chose Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to run the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trump adviser Navarro violated law against political activity -federal watchdog

President Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro knowingly and willfully violated federal law by attacking then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden while serving in his official capacity, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said on Monday. The federal watchdog agency explained its conclusion in a 13-page report to Trump, leaving it up the president to determine what it called "appropriate disciplinary action." Many Californians under new pandemic curbs; New York readies fresh restrictions

Much of California on Monday faced a raft of new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, while a ban on indoor restaurant dining loomed in New York City as the United States braced for another surge during the upcoming holidays. The order issued on Thursday by California Governor Gavin Newsom, which does not immediately cover the entire state, kicked in at the regional level in places where fewer than 15% of intensive-care hospital beds remain available.