US News Roundup: U.S. military service member dies from coronavirus; Trump says coronavirus guidelines may get tougher and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

First U.S. military service member dies from coronavirus

The first U.S. military service member has died from the coronavirus, the Pentagon said on Monday, as it reported another spike in the number of infected troops. The service member was a New Jersey Army National Guardsman who tested positive for COVID-19 - the disease caused by the coronavirus - and had been in hospital since March 21. He died on Saturday, the Pentagon said.

U.S. judges stop Texas, Ohio, Alabama from curbing abortions during coronavirus crisis

Federal judges on Monday blocked officials in Texas, Ohio, and Alabama from banning most abortions in those states as part of their orders to postpone surgeries and other procedures deemed not medically necessary during the coronavirus crisis. The rulings came in a series of legal actions aimed at blocking steps by various Republican-led states cracking down on abortion during the pandemic.

Trump says coronavirus guidelines may get tougher; 1 million Americans tested

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that federal social distancing guidelines might be toughened and travel restrictions with China and Europe would stay in place as he urged Americans to help fight the coronavirus with tough measures through April. Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said more than 1 million Americans had been tested for the coronavirus, which he called a milestone.

U.S. panel outlines how doctors should ration care in a pandemic

A panel of advisers issued recommendations for new crisis treatment standards on Monday advising doctors and hospitals on how they should decide which patients with COVID-19 get lifesaving care and which do not. The report from a National Academies of Sciences committee offers a framework for treating patients during the COVID-19 crisis that shifts from saving individual patients to a focus on saving the most individuals possible. It was issued at the request of Admiral Brett Giroir, U.S. assistant secretary for health and Robert Kadlec, U.S. assistant secretary of preparedness and response.

U.S. grocers add plexiglass sneeze guards to protect cashiers from coronavirus

Kroger Co, Walmart Inc, Albertsons, and other grocery sellers are installing plexiglass partitions at checkout counters to protect cashiers from the highly contagious coronavirus. The shields are designed to block virus-containing droplets - released by coughing, sneezing and speaking - that might otherwise hit cashiers, who interact with dozens of customers during their shifts.

Spirit cancels New York, Connecticut, New Jersey flights after CDC warning

Low-cost U.S. carrier Spirit Airlines Inc said on Monday it will cancel all flights to and from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey after U.S. officials warned against travel to the area because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Spirit, which appeared to be the first major U.S. carrier to cancel all flights to the so-called tri-state region, said it was responding to this weekend's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory warning against all non-essential travel to and from the area.

U.S. coronavirus death toll rises past 3,000 on the deadliest day

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed past 3,000 on Monday, the deadliest day yet in the country's mounting crisis, while New York cheered the arrival of a gleaming 1,000-bed U.S. Navy hospital ship as a sign of hope in the city's desperate fight. In a grim new milestone marking the spread of the virus, total deaths across the United States hit 3,017, including at least 540 on Monday, and the reported cases climbed to more than 163,000, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. FDA authorizes the use of a new two-minute test kit for coronavirus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of Bodysphere Inc's test that can detect the coronavirus in nearly two minutes, the privately held company said on Tuesday. The FDA has been rushing to approve tests on an emergency basis and last week approved Abbott Laboratories' test that can deliver results within minutes.

Trump coronavirus guidance on keeping gun stores open draws criticism

Gun control activists on Monday criticized guidance issued by President Donald Trump's administration recommending that states find that gun stores are critical businesses that can stay open during the coronavirus crisis. The new guidance, issued on Saturday by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, offers the administration's views on which workers are essential during the pandemic at a time when state governors have ordered numerous "non-essential" businesses to close to try to limit the spread of the virus. The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Florida megachurch pastor charged with defying coronavirus stay-at-home orders

The pastor of a megachurch in Tampa, Florida, was arrested on Monday on charges of holding prayer services in violation of public health orders temporarily banning such gatherings to limit the spread of coronavirus infections, authorities said. Rodney Howard-Browne, co-founder of the River at Tampa Bay Church, is accused of presiding over two services on Sunday attended by hundreds of parishioners, some of them ferried there by bus transportation his church provided, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.

(With inputs from agencies.)