US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Biden for president; Trump rejects reports that he will fire HHS chief Azar and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

New York City needs $7.4 billion in federal aid amid coronavirus: mayor

New York City needs a $7.4 billion in federal aid to offset economic losses from the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday, urging President Donald Trump to push his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate to back more relief funding for states and cities. "The federal government must make us whole for us to be able to be in a position to restart," De Blasio, a Democrat, said in an interview on Fox News. "If New York City is not whole, it will drag down the entire region, and it will hold up the entire national economic restart."

Next wave of U.S. states set to reopen as coronavirus could push jobless rate to 16%

Another wave of states prepared to ease coronavirus restrictions on U.S. commerce this week, despite health experts warning there is still too little diagnostic testing, while the White House forecast a staggering jump in the nation's monthly jobless rate. Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, Montana and Tennessee were set to join several other states in reopening businesses without the means to screen systematically for infected people who may be contagious but asymptomatic, and to trace their contacts with others they might have exposed.

Coronavirus-spurred changes to Ohio's primary raise concerns about November

Ohio will hold its primary election on Tuesday, a virtually all-mail contest that could serve as a test case for voting in the coronavirus era. Citing public health concerns, the state's legislature moved back the date of the primary, originally slated for March 17, to April 28 and sharply curtailed in-person voting.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorses Joe Biden for president

U.S. House Of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has endorsed Joe Biden for president, joining a list of top Democrats, who have recently thrown their support behind the former vice president. Pelosi's endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate follows that of U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, former president Barack Obama and former vice president Al Gore, who all threw their weight behind Biden earlier this month.

Trump administration eyes U.S. factory protocols amid coronavirus: Navarro

The Trump administration is focusing on protocols to keep U.S. factories open as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak, including screening workers for potential cases, White House adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday. "We're trying to figure out the best protocols to keep our factories going," Navarro said in an interview on Fox News. "We're going to have to use appropriate protocols, different social distancing. You're going to have to reconfigure factories. You're going to have to use things like thermoscanners to check fever as they come in."

Trump rejects reports that he will fire HHS chief Azar

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday rejected reports that he was planning to fire Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, saying he was doing an "excellent job." On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal and Politico reported that the Trump administration was considering replacing Azar, because of early missteps in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Death toll reaches 23 from last year's mass shooting in El Paso, Texas

The death toll from a mass shooting last August at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart store has climbed to 23 after the last victim left hospitalized from the rampage succumbed to his injuries over the weekend, the hospital said on Sunday. "After a nearly nine-month fight, our hearts are heavy as we report Guillermo 'Memo' Garcia, our last remaining patient being treated from the El Paso shooting, has passed away," David Shimp, chief executive of Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, said in a statement.

U.S. CDC reports 928,619 coronavirus cases, 52,459 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 928,619 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 32,853 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 2,020 to 52,459. 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 April 25, compared with its count a day earlier.

Democrats urge paycheck scheme coverage for community, minority lenders

Top Democrats have urged the U.S. Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to expand opportunities for community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs) in the Paycheck Protection Program funding. The call from the Democratic Party leaders, highlighted in a publicly released letter to the Treasury and SBA late on Sunday, asked for setting aside at least $10 billion in the next 48 hours for MDIs and CDFIs to make PPP loans amid the coronavirus outbreak.

'Like test dummies': As Colorado reopens, some see too much risk

Royal Rose is reopening her Colorado tattoo studio next week after closing a month ago, not because she wants to but because the bills are piling up and she says she has no choice. "I would stay home if the government encouraged that, but they're not, they're saying 'Hey, the best thing to do is go back to work, even though it might be risky,'" said Rose, 39, sitting inside her salon in a wood-sided building on a leafy street in the farming and oil town of Greeley.