Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million The United States set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than 5 million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country's top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. officials now worry about election logistics more than hacking

In a reversal from a few years ago, many officials who oversee U.S. election technology and outside security experts now worry less about hacking in the November elections than about misinformation and logistics such as a shortage of poll workers and slowdowns at the U.S. postal service. Though most computerized voting systems can be hacked, some undetectably, more states have moved away from paperless balloting and more vendors are listening to warnings about software flaws, longtime specialists told the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences this week. U.S. job growth forecast to slow sharply in July as COVID-19 cases soar

U.S. employment growth likely slowed significantly in July amid a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections, which would provide the clearest evidence yet that the economy's recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic was faltering. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday could pile pressure on the White House and Congress to speed up negotiations on another aid package. Talks have been dragging over differences on major issues including the size of a government benefit for tens of millions of unemployed workers. Trump signs coronavirus relief orders after talks with Congress break down

President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Saturday partly restoring enhanced unemployment payments to the tens of millions of Americans who lost jobs in the coronavirus pandemic, as the United States marked a grim milestone of 5 million cases. Negotiations broke down this week between the White House and top Democrats in Congress over how best to help Americans cope with the heavy human and economic toll of the crisis, which has killed more than 160,000 people across the country. U.S. counterspy chief warns Russia, China, Iran trying to meddle in 2020 election

The top U.S. counterintelligence official on Friday warned that Russia, China and Iran will all try to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, with Russia already trying to undercut Democratic candidate Joe Biden. In an unusual public statement, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said the three countries were using online disinformation and other means to try to influence voters, stir up disorder and undermine American voters' confidence in the democratic process. U.S. sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million

The United States set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than 5 million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country's top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end. With one out of every 66 residents infected, the United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters analysis. The country has recorded more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the world's total. U.S. CDC reports 4,920,369 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 4,920,369 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 62,042 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,340 to 160,220. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on Aug. 7 versus its previous report a day earlier. U.S. surpasses 160,000 coronavirus deaths as school openings near

U.S. deaths from the coronavirus pandemic exceeded 160,000 on Friday, nearly a quarter of the world's total, according to a Reuters tally, as the country debates whether schools are ready to reopen their doors in the coming weeks. The country with the most coronavirus cases, the United States recorded 160,003 deaths and 4.91 million cases. Coronavirus deaths are rising in 23 states and cases in 20 states, according to a Reuters analysis of data the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. 'America's toughest sheriff' narrowly defeated in bid for old job

Former lawman Joe Arpaio, the nationally known Arizona sheriff who found common cause with President Donald Trump on a hard-line stance against illegal immigration, narrowly lost his bid to regain his old job, vote tallies showed on Friday. Arpaio, 88, who billed himself as "America's toughest sheriff," trailed his former chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, by 6,280 votes out of 443,056 ballots cast in Tuesday's four-way Republican primary, according to the county elections department. States urge halt to Trump plan excluding millions of immigrants from representation

Dozens of U.S. states, cities and counties on Friday urged a federal court to block President Donald Trump from carrying out what they called a "flagrantly unconstitutional" directive to exclude undocumented immigrants when apportioning congressional seats. Led by New York state, the mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs said in a Manhattan federal court filing the July 21 directive should be declared unconstitutional, or that a preliminary injunction be entered against its enforcement. All New York schools meet state standard to open for in-person classes, Governor Cuomo says

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said that all school districts in his state, once the epicenter of the nation's COVID-19 crisis, could open for in-person learning in the fall based on their current low infection rates of the virus. All New York regions have met the reopening threshold that Cuomo set in July, the governor said on Friday, with infection rates of the disease below 5% over on a 14-day average.

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