US News Roundup: Four dead, one injured in apartment building fire; Trump urges Florida to welcome cruise ship and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. says two locally employed staff at foreign missions died of the coronavirus

Two locally employed staff at U.S. foreign missions, one in Indonesia and one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have died of the coronavirus, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, its first pandemic-related losses among staff. The employees were based in U.S. embassies in Jakarta and Kinshasa, a representative for the State Department said.

Pentagon says coronavirus outbreak on carrier doesn't warrant evacuation

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday it was not time to evacuate a U.S. aircraft carrier reeling from an outbreak of coronavirus, adding that he had not read in detail a letter from the commander of the ship pleading for help. Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday about a letter from Captain Brett Crozier, the commanding officer of the Theodore Roosevelt, calling for removing over 4,000 sailors from the ship and isolating them.

Four dead, one injured in apartment building fire in the Bronx, New York

Four women died and one person was injured after a fire broke out in an apartment building in the Bronx, New York, police and media said late on Tuesday. The fire broke out on the sixth floor of an apartment and four women from two nearby apartments of the same building were taken to BronxCare Health System, where they were pronounced dead, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said.

U.S. emergency medical stockpile nearly out of protective gear as demand rises - officials

An emergency stockpile of medical equipment maintained by the U.S. government has nearly run out of protective gear that could be useful to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to two officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The near-exhausted supply includes masks, respirators, gloves, gowns and face shields, the officials said. A small amount of gear has been set aside for federal first responders, according to one of the officials, both of whom requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

Trump urges Florida to welcome cruise ship with deadly coronavirus outbreak

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Florida officials to open an Atlantic Coast port to a Dutch cruise ship stuck at sea with a deadly coronavirus outbreak onboard, urging the governor to drop his opposition. Weighing in on the fate of Holland America Line's MS Zaandam during a White House briefing, Trump said he would call Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has declared the vessel unwelcome to prevent its sick passengers from being "dumped" on his state.

U.S. Army Corps to build hundreds of temporary hospitals for coronavirus crisis

U.S. officials want to build hundreds of temporary hospitals across the country to cope with the thousands of new coronavirus cases being diagnosed daily after the United States endured its deadliest day yet on Monday with 575 fatalities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which converted a New York convention center into a 1,000-bed hospital in the space of a week, is searching for hotels, dormitories, convention centers, and large open space to build as many as 341 temporary hospitals, the chief of corps said on Tuesday.

For Americans, pandemic takes the fun out of April Fools' this year

With life in most of the United States grinding to a halt and the economy set to tip into a recession or worse, Americans appear to have no appetite for April Fools' Day this year. By tradition, pranksters stretch the limits of believability on April 1, creating fictitious news stories or products, often on social media, in the hopes of tricking the gullible and generating laughs.

Coronavirus delays leave thin slate of Democratic presidential contests in April

The coronavirus pandemic has dramatically reshaped the Democratic presidential nominating calendar, forcing many states to curtail in-person voting or delay primary contests to May or June in an attempt to limit the health risks. As a result, April will be a lighter month than expected in the race to pick a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump for the November general election. The outbreak has knocked Democratic front-runner Joe Biden and rival Bernie Sanders off the campaign trail in recent weeks.

New York City to probe Amazon firing of warehouse worker

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Tuesday he had ordered the city's human rights commission to open an investigation into the dismissal of a worker at an Amazon.com warehouse who participated in a walkout. Amazon has denied wrongdoing in the matter, saying it fired the worker because he had put the safety of others at risk.

U.S., South Korea scramble to seal defense cost-sharing deal as thousands put on unpaid leave

The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea on Wednesday called for negotiators to quickly resolve a cost-sharing dispute that has put more than 4,000 local workers on unpaid leave, with South Korean officials suggesting an agreement could come soon. About half of the nearly 9,000 South Koreans employed by the U.S. military command were placed on unpaid leave starting on Wednesday after the two countries failed to agree on a new pact months after the last agreement expired at the end of 2019.