Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. In grim milestone, United States logs world's highest coronavirus death toll

The United States surpassed Italy on Saturday as the country with the highest reported coronavirus death toll, recording more than 20,000 deaths since the outbreak began, according to a Reuters tally. The grim milestone was reached as President Donald Trump mulled over when the country, which has registered more than half a million infections, might begin to see a return to normality. Warehouse workers risk COVID-19 to ship Gucci shades, face cream, sofas

As U.S. authorities ordered shutdowns of non-essential businesses to fight coronavirus, retailer Nordstrom Inc closed hundreds of stores and gave in-store workers three weeks’ pay, calling their safety its top priority. That benefit did not extend to Meagan Christensen, 34, an Iowa warehouse worker who packs online orders of Birkenstock sandals, swimsuits and $60 face cream. The facility recently closed for cleaning after a co-worker contracted COVID-19, but it reopened 36 hours later. Pentagon awarding contract to boost N95 mask production capacity by 39 million

The Pentagon said Saturday it is using its authority under the Defense Production Act to boost the supply of N95 masks, which are essential for protecting healthcare professionals from the coronavirus and are in short supply in many places. The American military will spend $133 million to increase U.S. domestic N95 mask production by over 39 million over the next 90 days, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews said in a statement. Another 103 sailors from U.S. carrier test positive for coronavirus

Another 103 crew members on the U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt have tested positive for the coronavirus, the Navy said on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases from the ship to 550. In a statement on its website, the Navy said 92% of the carrier's crew members had been tested for the virus, with 550 positive and 3,673 negative results. It said 3,696 sailors had moved ashore. Empty pews, empty collection baskets: coronavirus hits U.S. church finances

St. Anselm Roman Catholic Church in New York's Brooklyn borough is used to limping along, month after month, at a budget deficit of several thousand dollars a week. But the church that sits in the city that is the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic could always count on Easter. Last year, its Easter pew collection brought in $11,651. That was more than twice an average Sunday and, coupled with the church's online Easter donations of $2,500, enough to cover its weekly operating expenses of $13,000, according to church records. Food trucks start feeding big rig drivers at Interstate rest stops

Big rig driver Tanuya White was running essential products from Chicago to Shreveport, Louisiana, on Saturday when she stopped to sample food truck fare at a rest stop on Interstate 30 near Social Hill, Arkansas. It was a welcome respite for White, who like other U.S. truck drivers is scrambling to find food - as well as bathrooms, showers and protective gear - after millions of businesses closed to help contain the spread of COVID-19 infections. New York City mayor orders public schools shut for rest of school year; Cuomo says it's his call

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Saturday public schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year as the city battles the novel coronavirus outbreak. "Having to tell you that we cannot bring our schools back for the remainder of this school year is painful, but I can also tell you it is the right thing to do," he told a news conference. Trump likes virus briefings, some advisers worry he likes them too much

Cooped up in the White House, President Donald Trump sees the coronavirus briefings as his main outlet of the day, a reminder for Americans that he is in charge of managing the greatest crisis of a lifetime. Plus, the ratings are good. Some advisers, however, would prefer a less-is-more approach. They have quietly recommended he not spend so much time at the briefings to avoid being distracted from the challenge at hand and bickering with reporters. Congressional Republicans nix Democratic bid for broader coronavirus relief

The two top Republicans in the U.S. Congress vowed on Saturday to oppose Democrats' demands to match a $250 billion proposal to aid small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic with the same amount for hospitals and state and local governments. The statement from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy came a day after top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin planned to hold bipartisan talks on the bill next week. Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen out of solitary confinement

Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney to U.S. President Donald Trump, has been removed from solitary confinement in a federal prison where he is serving time for violating campaign finance laws, his attorney told Reuters on Saturday. Cohen was transferred on Wednesday to a Special Housing Unit at the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in New York state, a disciplinary section of the prison, Reuters reported this week.