Reuters US Domestic News Summary

California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new U.S. epicenters of the pandemic, reporting record increases in COVID-19 cases. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee - 43 Alumni for Biden - to support the former vice president in his Nov. 3 race, three organizers of the group told Reuters.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Americans' concerns about coronavirus jump as cases surge, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows

Americans' anxieties over the spread of the novel coronavirus have risen to the highest level in more than a month, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, as the number of cases surged across the country, pushing the death toll to more than 127,000 people. The June 29-30 public opinion poll found that 81% of American adults said they are "very" or "somewhat" concerned about the pandemic, the most since a similar poll conducted May 11-12. Top U.S. business executives urge Congress to pass bipartisan policing reform

Top business executives in the United Sates are calling on the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan policing reform before its August recess, in the wake of protests against police brutality and racial bias in the criminal justice system. "Congress cannot afford to let this moment pass," Joshua Bolten, the president and chief executive of The Business Roundtable group, said in a statement on Wednesday. New York City passes budget with police cuts, but some say it's not enough

The New York City Council voted to pass the 2021 budget on Tuesday night with cuts to police funding after weeks of fraught negotiations with Mayor Bill de Blasio, but some lawmakers complained it fell short of a $1 billion cut they and protesters demanded. The austere, coronavirus-era budget tightens spending across city agencies, including a cut of nearly $484 million from the New York Police Department's $6 billion operating budget if the department can adhere to new overtime limits, the council said. New York City comptroller tells companies 'to walk the walk' on racial equality

Companies voicing support for racial equality should back up their talk by releasing their workforce diversity data, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer says in letters being sent to 67 companies in the S&P 100 on Wednesday. "We're asking companies that condemned racism to walk the walk," Stringer said in an interview. "It's not enough to condemn racism in words, systemic racism in corporate America is going to require concrete action," he said. U.S. coronavirus cases rise by 47,000, biggest one-day spike of pandemic

New U.S. COVID-19 cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday according to a Reuters tally, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government's top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double. California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new U.S. epicenters of the pandemic, reporting record increases in COVID-19 cases. Exclusive: Hundreds of George W. Bush administration officials to back Biden, group says

Hundreds of officials who worked for former Republican President George W. Bush are set to endorse Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden, people involved in the effort said, the latest Republican-led group coming out to oppose the re-election of Donald Trump. The officials, who include Cabinet secretaries and other senior people in the Bush administration, have formed a political action committee - 43 Alumni for Biden - to support the former vice president in his Nov. 3 race, three organizers of the group told Reuters. Bush was the country's 43rd president. California records highest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases, Reuters tally shows

New COVID-19 cases in California rose by 8,441 on Tuesday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic. The United States as a whole saw its biggest one-day spike in new infections on Tuesday with more than 47,000 cases. California, Texas and Arizona have emerged as new U.S. epicenters of the pandemic. Ex-Atlanta policeman charged in Brooks' death freed from jail - TV

The former Atlanta police officer charged in last month's death of Rayshard Brooks, which touched off days of anti-racism protests, has been released from jail on bail, local television station WSB TV and other media reported. A Georgia County judge on Tuesday set bond for Garrett Rolfe, 27, at $500,000 and added numerous conditions including that he has to wear an ankle monitor and obey a curfew. U.S. Air Force pilot killed in fighter jet crash at South Carolina base

A U.S. Air Force fighter jet crashed during a routine nighttime training mission in South Carolina, killing the pilot, the Air Force said on Wednesday. The Lockheed-Martin F-16CM crashed at Shaw Air Force Base, about 30 miles east of Columbia, South Carolina, on Tuesday at about 11:30 p.m. EDT, (0330 GMT Wednesday), according to a posting on the Shaw Facebook page. Trump 'fully briefed' on Russia bounty report, White House adviser says

President Donald Trump has now been fully briefed on a reported Russian effort to pay the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on Wednesday. O'Brien declined to say whether the information had been included in a written presidential briefing earlier this year.