Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. CDC reports 1,324,488 coronavirus cases, 79,756 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 1,324,488 cases of the coronavirus, and said the number of deaths had risen to 79,756. Over the weekend, the CDC updated its case count to 1,300,696 and said 78,771 people had died across the country, but said the numbers were preliminary and had not been confirmed by individual states. South Dakota governor threatens tribes with legal action on checkpoints

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on Monday threatened to take legal action against two Native American tribes who have set up vehicle checkpoints in an attempt to contain the coronavirus that has impacted other Native American reservations. The Republican said during a news conference that she will seek legal clarity in a lawsuit against the nine checkpoints set up by the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes that she claims have restricted the travel of essential services. U.S. Supreme Court conservatives lean toward shielding religious schools from suits

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled sympathy on Monday toward a bid by two Catholic elementary schools in California to avoid discrimination lawsuits by former teachers in a case that could make it harder to hold religious institutions liable in employment disputes. In more than 90 minutes of arguments heard by teleconference due to the coronavirus pandemic, the justices struggled over how courts can determine when a religious entity must face an employee's civil rights lawsuit and when it is immune because of protections previously recognized by the high court. White House directs staff to wear masks after officials contract coronavirus

The White House on Monday directed all people entering the West Wing, where the daily operations of President Donald Trump's administration are carried out, to wear masks after two aides tested positive for the coronavirus, administration officials said. The new guidelines, released in a memo to the president's staff on Monday afternoon, reflect a tightening of procedures at the highest levels of the U.S. government over fears that Trump and Vice President Mike Pence could be exposed to the virus. New York governor says some areas outside New York City ready to reopen this week

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that several regions of the state outside New York City could start reopening their economies this weekend after meeting criteria related to hospitalizations and testing for the coronavirus, demonstrating that they are "ready to go." Cuomo said that the Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier regions in central and western New York meet the seven criteria to reopen, including a two-week decline in hospital deaths and enough people to trace the contacts of new cases. Workers in U.S. auto industry return to jobs amid concerns of second virus wave

Factory workers began returning to assembly lines in Michigan on Monday, paving the way to reopen the U.S. auto sector but stoking fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections as strict lockdowns are eased across the country. With millions of Americans out of work and much of the economy at a virtual standstill, a growing number of states are ending tough restrictions on commerce and social life put in place to slow the outbreak. U.S. Supreme Court weighs Oklahoma tribal authority dispute

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday wrestled with the potentially broad consequences of a rape case that could lead to huge swathes of Oklahoma being deemed tribal territory, with Justice Neil Gorsuch emerging as a potential decisive vote. The nine justices heard about 90 minutes of arguments by teleconference in a member of a Native American tribe's challenge to his conviction of raping, molesting and sodomizing a 4-year-old girl in 1996. The man, Jimcy McGirt, argues that state prosecutors in Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction because the crime occurred on what historically should be considered tribal land. Trump wades into Pennsylvania coronavirus plan, governor pushes back

President Donald Trump accused Democrats of moving to reopen U.S. states from coronavirus lockdown measures too slowly for political advantage on Monday, as Pennsylvania's governor hit back against Republicans pushing a faster timetable. The Republican president, who is running for re-election in November, is working to reopen the crippled economy quickly against recommendations from health experts to move more cautiously to avoid a resurgence of the virus that has so far killed more than 80,000 people in the United States. Justice Department weighs hate crime charges in death of Ahmaud Arbery

The U.S. Justice Department is weighing whether to file hate crime charges against the white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed black man who was gunned down while jogging in the small coastal town of Brunswick, Georgia, department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said on Monday. “The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia have been supporting and will continue fully to support and participate in the state investigation. We are assessing all of the evidence to determine whether federal hate crimes charges are appropriate," Kupec said in a statement. Washington, D.C. expected to waive bus fares until spring 2021

The Washington, D.C.-area transit system said on Monday it plans to extend its system of waiving bus fares, likely until spring 2021, as it begins plans for a gradual return to service from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. transit systems have been hard hit by stay-at-home orders and seen a massive falloff in passenger use. Congress has approved $25 billion to help transit systems across the country and the U.S. Transportation Department awarded the U.S. capital region $1.02 billion in April.