Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Larry Kramer, author known for his AIDS activism, dead at age 84

Larry Kramer, an author, playwright and film producer who helped shape U.S. healthcare policy with his early advocacy of a national response to AIDS when it first emerged in the 1980s, died on Wednesday at 84. Kramer, who co-founded the ACT UP movement that made AIDS a national issue, died of pneumonia after enduring illness for much of his life, including his own battle with the immunodeficiency disease, his close friend, Will Schwalbe, said by phone. Disney theme park, Las Vegas casinos plan reopening; U.S. mourns 100,000 dead

Walt Disney World in Florida on Wednesday announced plans to reopen and MGM Resorts said guests could soon return to Las Vegas casino hotels, as more Americans emerging from the coronavirus lockdown marked a somber milestone of 100,000 dead. The death toll rose from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, even as the daily average has declined, businesses have reopened and stay-at-home orders have ended across the country. Weather postpones SpaceX's first astronaut launch from Florida

SpaceX, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's private rocket company, was forced by foul weather to scrub a planned launch on Wednesday of two Americans into orbit from Florida, a mission that would be the first spaceflight of NASA astronauts from U.S. soil in nine years. The countdown was halted 16 minutes and 54 seconds before the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was due to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, propelling Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on a 19-hour ride to the International Space Station. Mission managers cited "a number of weather violations" for scrubbing the flight. Sister of Minneapolis black man who died after arrest calls for justice

The sister of an African-American man who died shortly after a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him down with a knee to the neck called for justice on Wednesday, saying the firing of four policemen over the deadly incident was not enough. The four officers were dismissed from the force on Tuesday, a day after the death of George Floyd, 46, who lived in suburban St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Video taken by a bystander showed Floyd lying face down in the street, gasping for air and groaning, "I can't breathe" on Monday evening. Money pours into North Carolina as battle for U.S. Senate heats up

Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is used to being in a tight spot in campaigns in the swing state of North Carolina, having come from behind in the polls six years ago to clinch his post. With his home state figuring prominently in Democrats' effort to try to wrest control of the Senate this year, the 59-year-old is back in the hotseat. Tillis' re-election race against Democratic U.S. Army veteran Cal Cunningham is widely considered a toss-up, and millions of dollars are pouring in. U.S. state of Arizona files consumer fraud lawsuit against Google

Arizona on Wednesday filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's Google alleging that the company used "deceptive" and "unfair" practices to obtain the location data of users. "Google collects detailed information about its users, including their physical locations, to target users for advertising. Often, this is done without the users' consent or knowledge", Attorney General Mark Brnovich said https://twitter.com/GeneralBrnovich/status/1265770310508466183 in a tweet on Wednesday. Factbox: Where states stand as U.S. reaches 100,000 coronavirus deaths

Less than four months after a 57-year-old California woman died and was later found to be the country's first COVID-19 fatality, the coronavirus U.S. death toll topped 100,000 people on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally. The grim milestone is by far the largest of any country, although by population, several Western European countries, led by Belgium, have much higher death rates. Biden on 100,000 coronavirus deaths: 'To those hurting, the nation grieves with you.'

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden released a video message on Wednesday marking the grim milestone of 100,000 American lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic, telling the bereaved: "The nation grieves with you." Biden spoke after various tallies of COVID-19 deaths, including one compiled by Reuters, showed that the novel coronavirus has killed over 100,000 people in the United States, even as the slowdown in deaths encouraged businesses to reopen and Americans to emerge from more than two months of lockdowns. U.S. states sue Trump administration over fuel efficiency rollback

A group of 23 U.S. states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging a Trump administration decision to weaken Obama-era fuel efficiency standards. In March, the administration issued final rules requiring 1.5% annual increases in vehicle fuel efficiency through 2026 - far weaker than the 5% increases set under former President Barack Obama. The Trump administration also abandoned its August 2018 proposal to freeze requirements at 2020 levels through 2026. U.S. coronavirus deaths top 100,000 as country reopens

The novel coronavirus has killed more than 100,000 people in the United States, according to a Reuters tally on Wednesday, even as the slowdown in deaths encouraged businesses to reopen and Americans to emerge from more than two months of lockdowns. About 1,400 Americans have died on average each day in May, down from a peak of 2,000 in April, according to the tally of state and county data on COVID-19 deaths. (Reuters interactive: https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T)