US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. Defense chief backs Navy decision to oust U.S. ship commander; Louisiana church holds services, defying coronavirus stay-at-home order and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Louisiana church holds services, defying coronavirus stay-at-home order

The pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church near Baton Rouge held services on Sunday in defiance of a stay-at-home order issued by Louisiana because of the coronavirus pandemic, telling worshippers they had "nothing to fear but fear itself." Pastor Tony Spell, who was arrested last week for holding services, summoned his faithful again, three weeks after the state's governor, John Bel Edwards, banned gatherings of 10 people or more.

Trump hopes virus leveling-off in hot spots; advisers take tempered view

President Donald Trump expressed hope on Sunday that the United States was seeing a "leveling-off" of the coronavirus crisis in some of the nation's hot spots, but some of his top medical advisers took a more tempered view. New York, the hardest-hit state, reported on Sunday that for the first time in a week, deaths had fallen slightly from the day before, but there were still nearly 600 new fatalities and more than 7,300 new cases.

U.S. Defense chief backs Navy decision to oust U.S. ship commander

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday defended the U.S. Navy's controversial decision to remove the commander of a coronavirus-stricken U.S. aircraft carrier, saying it was a "tough call" but that ultimately it was "a chain of command issue." Acting U.S. Navy Secretary Thomas Modly on Thursday relieved Captain Brett Crozier of his command of the Theodore Roosevelt after Crozier's scathing letter calling on the Navy to do more to halt the spread of the virus aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was leaked to the media.

New York state reports 594 coronavirus deaths in past 24 hours

New York state reported 594 deaths from the coronavirus and 8,327 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, increasing the numbers to 4,159 dead and 122,000 cases since the outbreak began, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday. But he said there was good news in that the number of people discharged from the hospital was three times as great as the number of newly hospitalized people, relieving stress on the healthcare system.

Citing coronavirus, Wisconsin mayors urge postponement of Tuesday's election

Nine Wisconsin mayors, including those representing the state's five largest cities, on Sunday urged the state's top public health official to postpone Tuesday's primary election due to the coronavirus pandemic. The mayors of Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay and six others asked Wisconsin Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm in a letter to use emergency powers under the state constitution to postpone in-person voting and avoid "putting hundreds of thousands of citizens at risk."

U.S. enters 'hardest, saddest' week in coronavirus crisis

The United States enters one of the most critical weeks so far in the coronavirus crisis with the death toll exploding in New York, Michigan and Louisiana and some governors calling for a national order to stay at home. New York is the hardest-hit state with more than 40% of all U.S. deaths and nearly 115,000 reported cases on Saturday.

Top U.S. watchdog vows 'aggressive' oversight of Trump administration after intel firing

The top U.S. federal watchdog vowed on Saturday to continue to conduct "aggressive" independent oversight of government agencies, after President Donald Trump fired the inspector general of the U.S. intelligence community late Friday night. Michael Horowitz, chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an independent agency in the executive branch and the inspector general at the Department of Justice, said in a statement that Michael Atkinson was known for his "integrity, professionalism, and commitment to the rule of law and independent oversight."

New York governor sees 'return to normalcy' with rapid coronavirus testing

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday he believed there needed to be a mass rollout of rapid testing in order to achieve a "return to normalcy" after the peak of the novel coronavirus crisis passes in the United States in the coming weeks and months. Cuomo, whose state is the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, said New York was part of an effort to develop a program that would identify people who are both negative and not in a vulnerable category, allowing them to go back to work.

U.S. Forces Japan declares health emergency for bases in Kanto region

The U.S. Forces Japan commander declared on Monday a public health emergency for its military bases in eastern Japan's Kanto region including Tokyo, which has seen a jump in the number of new coronavirus infections. "Due to the steady increase in COVID-19 cases in the Tokyo area, I have implemented a Public Health Emergency for the Kanto Plains region," Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, U.S. Forces Japan commander said in a statement. "This order covers all Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine installations and facilities in the area."

Tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo tests positive for coronavirus

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the first known case of a human infecting an animal and making it sick, the zoo's chief veterinarian said on Sunday. Nadia, the 4-year-old Malayan tiger that tested positive, was screened for the COVID-19 disease after developing a dry cough along with three other tigers and three lions, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, said in a statement. All of the cats are expected to recover, it said.