Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Postal union endorses Biden candidacy as 'survival' of USPS at stake The 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers said on Friday that the union's executive council had endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, warning "the very survival" of the U.S. Postal Service is at stake.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Postal union endorses Biden candidacy as 'survival' of USPS at stake

The 300,000-member National Association of Letter Carriers said on Friday that the union's executive council had endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, warning "the very survival" of the U.S. Postal Service is at stake. The union criticized Republican President Donald Trump and his administration for refusing "to provide the necessary financial relief that would strengthen the agency during this pandemic." Another American ritual the pandemic has warped: college arrivals

Brandon Vergel stood outside his new student dormitory at Texas Tech University, grappling with the bittersweet nature of yet another American rite of passage warped by the COVID pandemic -parents dropping their kids off at college. Under a scorching afternoon sun, Vergel lugged his earthly belongings into the Hulen Hall residence he would now call home, nervously excited at the freedom of college life that awaited, but confronting an age-old conundrum: a mom that doesn't want to let go. Trump says ready to move on coronavirus aid, blames Democrats for holdup

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is ready to move stimulus money into a U.S. economy hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, but blamed Democrats for holding up a deal in talks that broke down a week ago. The Republican-led Senate and Democratic-controlled House of Representatives went into an informal recess after last week's negotiations ended with the parties $2 trillion apart. However, the leaders of both parties said they could recall their members with 24 hours notice if a deal emerged. LA mayor embraces shift in COVID-19 testing strategy: simplicity and speed

The mayor of the second-largest U.S. city has joined a growing clamor among health experts and politicians for a radical shift in the nation's coronavirus testing strategy - from an emphasis on the utmost accuracy to a focus on speed and simplicity. The concept envisions mass production and distribution of low-cost, do-it-yourself diagnostic kits based on paper-strip designs that can be used frequently and produce results in minutes, similar to home pregnancy tests. No lab equipment or special instruments would be required. Exclusive: UPS, FedEx warn they cannot carry ballots like U.S. Postal Service

United Parcel Service and FedEx on Friday shot down social media calls that they step in to deliver mail-in ballots from the U.S. Postal Service, which is warning states of potentially "significant" delays. "State ballots must be postmarked to be considered valid and only the USPS has lawful postmarking status. Therefore UPS, FedEx and other private parties cannot technically be involved in shipping ballots," UPS told Reuters in a statement. 'Extreme' California wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate

Firefighters scrambled to protect thousands of homes from a wildfire racing through brush-covered mountains north of Los Angeles on Friday that caused hundreds of evacuations and burned 21 structures. The blaze, dubbed the Lake Fire, swelled to over 17,000 acres (6,880 hectares), forcing up to 1,500 people from their houses after erupting on Wednesday afternoon in the Angeles National Forest. U.S. Postal Service watchdog to probe service woes as worries rise about mail ballots

The U.S. Postal Service's internal watchdog is investigating cost cutting that has slowed delivery and alarmed lawmakers ahead of a presidential election when up to half of U.S. voters could cast ballots by mail, a congressional aide said on Friday. The Postal Service's inspector general also will examine possible conflicts of interest involving new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has donated $2.7 million to President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans, according to Saloni Sharma, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who requested the investigation. School cancelled in Arizona area after 'sick out' over reopening

An Arizona school district that ignored state safety guidelines and voted to begin in-person learning on Aug. 17 has had to cancel classes after staff said it was unsafe to return and called in sick. Greater Phoenix's J.O. Combs Unified School District cancelled all instruction for Monday due to "insufficient staffing," days after its board disregarded state benchmarks on when students can safely return to classes during the pandemic. Hispanics, African Americans hit hard in U.S. COVID-19 hotspot counties, says CDC

U.S. coronavirus hotspots had disproportionately high numbers of cases among communities of color, according to an analysis on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report adds to a growing body of evidence that long-standing health and social inequities have resulted in increased risk for infection and death from COVID-19 among communities of color, the CDC said https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6933e1.htm?s_cid=mm6933e1_w. California encouraged by trends even as it passes 600,000 coronavirus cases, most in U.S.

California became the first U.S. state to surpass 600,000 cases of COVID-19 on Friday and the Midwest saw several record one-day rises as some states struggled to contain the pandemic even as a few welcomed students back to school campuses. California went over 603,000 novel coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, although Governor Gavin Newsom said he was encouraged to see that hospitalizations have declined 20% over the past two weeks and admissions to ICU wards were down 14% in the same period.