Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Navy wants to reinstate fired captain of coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier, sources say

In an extraordinary reversal, the U.S. Navy has recommended reinstating the fired captain of the coronavirus-hit aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, whose crew hailed him as a hero willing to risk his job to safeguard his sailors, officials said on Friday. The Navy's leadership made the recommendation to reinstate Captain Brett Crozier to Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday, just three weeks after Crozier was relieved of command after the leak of a letter he wrote calling on the Navy for stronger measures, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Unions denounce Las Vegas mayor's call to re-open casinos

The powerful United Auto Workers union on Friday criticized Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman's call to re-open casinos despite the continued risk of coronavirus, the latest labor organization to weigh in on her remarks. UAW president Rory Gamble, whose union represents casino workers in Las Vegas along with automobile workers across the United States, called on Nevada politicians to denounce Goodman at a time when states are looking at how to re-open businesses in ways that keep workers safe. Trump's COVID-19 disinfectant ideas horrify health experts

U.S. President Donald Trump's musings on whether injecting disinfectants might treat COVID-19 horrified medical professionals on Friday and raised fresh concerns that his stream-of-consciousness briefings could push frightened people to poison themselves with untested treatments. An international chorus of doctors and health experts urged people not to drink or inject disinfectant after Trump on Thursday suggested that scientists should investigate inserting the cleaning agent into the body as a way to cure COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus. As U.S. coronavirus death toll tops 51,000, handful of states move toward reopening

With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from President Donald Trump and medical experts. Fitness clubs, hair salons, tattoo parlors and some other workplaces were allowed to open their doors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, disregarding warnings from public health officials that easing restrictions too soon could lead to more infections and deaths. Coronavirus came to New York from Europe, not China, governor says

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday pointed to research showing that strains of the novel coronavirus entered his state from Europe, not China, and said that travel bans enacted by U.S. President Donald Trump were too late to halt its spread. Cuomo cited research from Northeastern University estimating that more than 10,000 New Yorkers may have contracted the disease by the time the state had its first confirmed case on March 1. He said he believed Italy was the likely source. Fight over next coronavirus aid bill kicks into high gear in U.S. Congress

After passing $3 trillion of coronavirus relief in a rare run of bipartisanship, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Congress girded for a new battle over federal assistance to states and local governments grappling with the deadly outbreak. Spurred on by governors and local officials, Democrats have put out the word they want to provide a sizable rescue package as part of a broader bill - one that could total at least $2 trillion in coming weeks. U.S. Supreme Court refuses to block Trump immigration policy during pandemic

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a long-shot bid by New York and two other states to suspend during the coronavirus pandemic a Trump administration immigration policy that denies legal permanent residency to certain immigrants deemed likely to require government assistance in the future. The court turned away New York's request, which was joined by the states of Connecticut and Vermont as well as New York City, with none of the nine justices publicly dissenting. U.S. warship heads to port after coronavirus outbreak

At least 18 sailors aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, U.S. officials said on Friday, dealing another blow to the military as it faces fallout over its handling of an outbreak on an aircraft carrier last month. The Navy confirmed a Reuters report on the outbreak aboard the Kidd, a destroyer that was on a counter-narcotics mission, and said the number of those infected with the virus on the vessel was expected to rise. Explainer: How the U.S. is handling immigration enforcement during the coronavirus crisis

U.S. President Donald Trump made a hardline immigration agenda central to his 2020 re-election campaign and his administration has pushed ahead with a wide-ranging crackdown even as the United States has become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak worldwide. While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dialed back arrest operations and agreed to review cases of some at-risk immigrants in custody, it is still detaining tens of thousands and proceeding with deportation flights. Protesters demand Wisconsin governor to reopen state as coronavirus cases rise

A rally outside Wisconsin's capitol building in Madison on Friday drew hundreds of protesters who demanded Democratic Governor Tony Evers reopen the state even as it reported its largest single day jump of new coronavirus cases. The reopening of shuttered businesses in states across the country has become a political hot-button issue as the shutdowns to curb the spread of the virus have hammered the U.S. economy.