Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. Supreme Court to hear presidential Electoral College dispute

The Supreme Court is set on Wednesday to consider a dispute involving whether "electors" in the complex Electoral College system that decides the winner of U.S. presidential elections are free to disregard laws directing them to back the candidate who prevails in their state's popular vote. If enough electors do so, it could upend an election. Pence keeping his distance from Trump for a few days: White House

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is keeping his distance from President Donald Trump for a few days in the wake of his press secretary testing positive for the coronavirus, White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Tuesday. Pence was not at Trump's Rose Garden news conference on Monday nor at a White House meeting with U.S. military and national security officials on Saturday after Katie Miller received the test result last week. California cancels fall university classes as Fauci warns of reopening too soon

California's state university system, the largest in the United States, canceled classes on Tuesday for the fall semester because of the coronavirus, while Los Angeles County said its stay-at-home order was likely to be extended by three months. The announcements on the West Coast came after the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told Congress that lifting the sweeping lockdowns could touch off new outbreaks of the illness, which has killed nearly 81,000 Americans and devastated the economy. U.S. Supreme Court wary of presidential 'harassment' in Trump finances fight

In a major showdown over presidential powers, U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared divided over President Donald Trump's bid to prevent congressional Democrats from obtaining his financial records but seemed more open toward a New York prosecutor's attempt to secure similar records. The court's conservative majority signaled concern about improper "harassment" of Trump - who is seeking re-election on Nov. 3 - by three Democratic-led House of Representatives committees seeking his records. In the New York case, the conservative justices joined the court's liberals in indicating skepticism toward broad arguments by Trump's lawyer for complete immunity from criminal investigation for a sitting president. Researchers revise U.S. COVID-19 death forecast upward again

A newly revised coronavirus mortality model predicts more than 147,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 by early August, up nearly 10,000 from the last projection, as restrictions for curbing the pandemic are relaxed, researchers said on Tuesday. The latest forecast http://www.healthdata.org/covid/updates from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) reflects "key drivers of viral transmission like changes in testing and mobility, as well as easing of distancing policies," the report said. Former Trump campaign aide Manafort released to home confinement: ABC News

U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort has been released to serve his prison term at home due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, ABC News reported on Wednesday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Manafort, who is serving a 7-1/2 year term on various federal charges stemming from the U.S. special counsel's Russia investigation into the 2016 election, last month asked to move from a Pennsylvania federal prison to his Virginia home, saying his pre-existing health conditions increased his risk of complications from the highly contagious virus. Bagpiper plays 'Amazing Grace' on California beach to remember coronavirus victims

Every evening, as the sun is setting over the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California, the mournful notes of a bagpipe playing "Amazing Grace" ring out across the beach. Andrew McGregor, dressed in a kilt and sporran, with a tartan face mask when he is not playing, says he wants to honor the victims of the coronavirus with his rendition of the traditional hymn. Urban air quality improves as coronavirus empties U.S. highways: NOAA

U.S. air quality has improved since the coronavirus crisis emptied the roads of traffic, giving the country a futuristic glimpse of the clearer skies that could come with an electric vehicle fleet, according to preliminary findings by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration labs. Using satellites, airplanes and ground monitors, NOAA researchers say they have observed a 25% to 30% reduction in smog-causing nitrogen oxide emissions along with big cuts in volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gases in both the heavily populated U.S. Northeast and in Colorado’s urban cluster. CDC reports 1,342,594 coronavirus cases, 80,820 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 1,342,594 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 18,106 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,064 to 80,820. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 11, compared with its count a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/2SGLijD) Republican leads in California vote to replace U.S. House member who quit after scandal

Republicans moved closer to recapturing a seat in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday as Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot endorsed by President Donald Trump, led in preliminary results from a special election north of Los Angeles. With about 140,000 votes counted, Garcia was ahead of Democratic California state legislator Christy Smith by 55.9% to 44.1% in the state's 25th congressional district, preliminary results from the California Secretary of State's office said.