Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. coronavirus outbreak could peak this week, CDC director says

The coronavirus outbreak could reach its peak in the United States this week, a top U.S. health official said on Monday, pointing to signs of stabilization across the country. The United States, with the world's third-largest population, has recorded more fatalities from COVID-19 than any other country, more than 22,000 as of Monday morning according to a Reuters tally. 'Everything's gone': Tornadoes rip U.S. South, kill at least 26

Rescue workers and homeowners across the U.S. South on Monday sifted through what remained of hundreds of structures destroyed by a series of tornadoes that killed at least 26 people, as the deadly weather system churned up the East Coast. Nearly 51 million people from Florida to New England were in the path of the system, with National Weather Service forecasters warning of strong winds, torrential rain and possibly more tornadoes on Monday afternoon. Trump administration to unveil $15.5 billion first phase of coronavirus farm aid: sources

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend up to $15.5 billion in the initial phase of its plan to bolster the nation's food supply chain against the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The plan, which could be announced this week, marks the Trump administration's first big push to ensure the pandemic doesn't trigger consumer food shortages as meat packers shutter, dairy producers dump milk, and farmers struggle to find workers to harvest, plant and deliver crops. U.S. appeals court blocks Texas curbs on medication abortion

A U.S. appeals court on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing curbs on medication-induced abortions as part of the Republican-governed state's restrictions aimed at postponing medical procedures not deemed urgent during the coronavirus pandemic. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a federal judge's decision blocking the state from applying restrictions to abortions induced through medication to go into effect. Cuomo says if Trump ordered New York to reopen, he 'wouldn't do it'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday he would not abide by any order that U.S. President Donald Trump might give to reopen his state in an unsafe manner during the coronavirus outbreak. "If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state, I wouldn't do it," Cuomo said in an interview with CNN. Reasons for hope: the drugs, tests and tactics that may conquer coronavirus

With much of the world living in lockdown, the spread of the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that was first detected in China late last year is beginning to slow in some places. As of April 12, 1.8 million had been infected and 115,000 killed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. While a safe, effective vaccine is still more than a year away, researchers are rushing to repurpose existing drugs and non-drug therapies as well as testing promising experimental drugs that were already in clinical trials. Coronavirus drives U.S. political protest off the streets and into online forums

At any other time, a divisive U.S. president dealing with a national crisis that is causing severe economic dislocation might bring throngs of demonstrators to the streets of Washington and state capitals across the country. But the spread of the novel coronavirus, which had killed more than 23,560 people in the United States and infected 584,293 as of Monday night and shut down all but essential travel and businesses, has made physical protests nearly impossible. Explainer: Why vote by mail triggered a partisan battle ahead of November's election

The drive to expand vote-by-mail options during the coronavirus pandemic has emerged as the centerpiece of a growing political fight ahead of November's election. President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have attacked the idea of expanding mail balloting, arguing it is vulnerable to fraud and openly worrying that easier voting would hurt their party's chances in November. 42 dead in coronavirus outbreak at Virginia nursing home, more expected

Forty-two residents of a Virginia nursing home near Richmond have died from the COVID-19 disease pandemic in one of the worst clusters of the new coronavirus in the United States, and officials expect more deaths to come. At least 127 elderly people out of the 163 residents of the Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Henrico County have tested positive for the new coronavirus in recent weeks, said its medical director Dr. James Wright. News reports say the latest two people died in the last three days. As virus tears through reservation, Navajos give lifeline to elders and families

To the sound of birdsong on rolling grassland, a pickup truck crawls up a dirt track to bring firewood and food to a Navajo family of seven whose father died of the coronavirus hours earlier. Five young relief workers, wearing masks and gloves, unload the provisions at the door for the now quarantined family. It is the first death the mostly female volunteers said they had been called to in this northern area of the nation, the largest Native American reservation in the United States. The family, who live on the plains south of Shiprock, asked that their names and location not be used.