Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Americans are spending coronavirus checks on rent and groceries

When Jessica Rosner saw the $1,200 coronavirus relief payment from the U.S. government was deposited into her bank account Wednesday morning, the furloughed behavioral therapist knew immediately how she would spend the cash. The unemployment benefits she applied for two weeks ago have yet to come through. And Rosner, 23, who lives near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, still owed nearly $1,500 for April's rent and about $200 for car insurance. New York coronavirus deaths, hospitalizations lowest in more than one week

The number of people hospitalized for the novel coronavirus and related deaths fell to their lowest levels in more than a week, evidence that the hardest-hit state was controlling its spread, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday. Cuomo also told a daily briefing that he would extend an order closing businesses and schools by two weeks until at least May 15 in coordination with other states in the region. Exclusive: As the U.S. shut down, Trump's legal fight to build wall ramped up

Even as the Trump administration was struggling to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, it was ramping up efforts to seize land along U.S. southern border to build a wall and fulfill a major campaign promise, a Reuters review of federal court records shows. Donald Trump made building the wall a central promise of his 2016 campaign, but those efforts have been plagued by delays and false promises. Late last year, the administration got more aggressive, pledging to use the federal courts to seize large swaths of private land, mostly in Texas. Scattered protests push back on U.S. coronavirus stay-at-home orders

As sweeping stay-at-home orders in 42 U.S. states to combat the new coronavirus have shuttered businesses, disrupted lives and decimated the economy, some protesters have begun taking to the streets to urge governors to rethink the restrictions. A few dozen protesters, many with young children, gathered in Virginia's state capital of Richmond on Thursday in defiance of Democratic Governor Ralph Northam's mandate, the latest in a series of demonstrations this week around the country. Seven governors in U.S. Midwest to work together to reopen their economies

Governors in seven U.S. Midwest states said they will work in close coordination to reopen the economy in their regions. The governors for Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky have formed a partnership to work together on restarting the economies in their states, they said in a statement. Key U.S. Congressman offers remote voting proposal amid coronavirus relief haggling

A leading member of the U.S. House of Representatives recommended on Thursday a voting system to allow lawmakers to authorize other lawmakers to vote for them during the coronavirus pandemic. The recommendation from the chairman of the powerful House Rules committee came as members of Congress argued about what the next coronavirus rescue package should include, while a program to help small businesses ran out of money and the economy continued to struggle from a monthlong shutdown. Pence says more than 5 million Americans will have been tested for coronavirus by end of April

Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday that he expects more than 5 million Americans will have been tested for the novel coronavirus by the end of April. "We'll continue to scale those resources," Pence said at a news conference. "Testing and medical supplies will continue to be an ongoing partnership with our states, and we want our healthcare workers and people all across the country to know of our commitment to that." Senator Warren takes Treasury, Fed to task over 'little oversight' of stimulus programs

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren chastised the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department on Thursday over their rollout of massive stimulus programs designed to help businesses weather the global coronavirus pandemic, saying they were failing to protect workers. Warren, a former Democratic presidential candidate, raised her criticism in a pair of letters sent to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Trump unveils three-stage process for states to end coronavirus shutdown

U.S. President Donald Trump proposed guidelines on Thursday under which U.S. state governors could act to revive the U.S. economy from its coronavirus shutdown in a staggered, three-stage process. Speaking at his daily briefing on the coronavirus, which has killed more than 32,600 Americans in a matter of weeks, Trump argued that a prolonged shutdown could be deeply harmful to the U.S. economy and society. Trump to push for reopening U.S. as millions more seek unemployment aid

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday plans to announce new guidelines to reopen the economy after a monthlong shutdown over the coronavirus outbreak, despite concerns from health experts, governors and business leaders about a resurgence in cases without more testing and protocols in place. Trump announced his decision to push states to lift stay-at-home and other restrictions that were imposed last month to halt the spread of the highly contagious disease as the number of deaths in the United States approached 31,000 on Wednesday - more than any other nation.