US News Roundup: New U.S. COVID-19 cases surge 25 percent; How to control college costs in the age of COVID-19 and more

U.S. seeks to widen nuclear arms deal with Russia The United States wants to broaden its main nuclear arms control agreement with Russia to include all their atomic weapons, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday after talks with Moscow on a new accord.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

New U.S. COVID-19 cases surge 25% last week; Arizona, Florida and Texas set records

The United States saw a 25% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 21 compared to the previous seven days, with Arizona, Florida and Texas experiencing record surges in new infections, a Reuters analysis found. Twenty-five U.S. states reported more new cases last week than the previous week, including 10 states that saw weekly new infections rise more than 50%, and 12 states that posted new records, according to the analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

Seattle plans to dismantle occupied protest zone after shootings

Seattle authorities, alarmed by two weekend shootings, plan to start dismantling six blocks of streets in a part of the city occupied by activists protesting against police brutality and racial inequality across the United States. A teenager was killed and at least two other people were wounded in the shootings in what is known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone.

How to control college costs in the age of COVID-19

Tina Smets had long thought about getting a college degree, but that seemed impossible. As a mom of three kids, waitressing nights at a local restaurant in Kearney, Nebraska, the 31-year-old did not want to saddle her young family with tons of student debt.

Trump urges arrests after statue targeted near White House

U.S. President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress on Tuesday angrily decried efforts to remove statues and other memorials that activists consider racist, a movement that has gained momentum as part of wider national protests over racial injustice and police brutality. Trump early on Tuesday announced an authorization "effective immediately" to arrest anyone caught destroying or vandalizing a commemoration to a former member of the armed services on federal land, citing the Veterans Memorial Act, which has been law for 17 years.

U.S. seeks to widen nuclear arms deal with Russia

The United States wants to broaden its main nuclear arms control agreement with Russia to include all their atomic weapons, a U.S. envoy said on Tuesday after talks with Moscow on a new accord. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea also said Washington would keep pressing China to join the talks on replacing the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) which expires in February.

Protesters fail to bring down Andrew Jackson statue near White House

Protesters tried tearing down a statue of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, in a park near the White House on Monday, scrawling "killer scum" on its pedestal and pulling on the monument with ropes before police intervened. The confrontation unfolded in Lafayette Square, where crowds peacefully protesting the death of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer were forcibly displaced three weeks ago to make way for staged photos of President Trump holding up a bible in front of a nearby church.

Rayshard Brooks to be mourned at Atlanta funeral after fatal police shooting

Mourners are expected to fill the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon for the funeral of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who was shot and killed by police outside an Atlanta fast-food restaurant almost two weeks ago. While Brooks will be remembered at an invitation-only service, the funeral will be broadcast on the church's internet site, starting about 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT).

Videos of alleged police misconduct went viral. Then what happened?

Some U.S. authorities have moved with unusual speed to fire, suspend or charge police officers caught on video hitting and pushing peaceful protesters and targeting them with pepper spray during nationwide protests in recent weeks, a Reuters review of 44 videos recorded during the demonstrations found. Police investigations into alleged officer misconduct rarely result in discipline, law enforcement experts said. And it is not uncommon for fired officers to be reinstated through arbitration or to be hired by other police agencies. Nationwide data on police discipline is limited, the experts said. AOC, other progressive U.S.

Democrats fight to expand influence with Tuesday primaries

New York state holds primary elections on Tuesday to determine the fate of progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other U.S. House members, testing the strength of the Democratic Party's left wing after moderate Joe Biden became the presumptive presidential nominee. Ocasio-Cortez, the 30-year-old progressive firebrand better known as AOC, faces a challenge in her New York City district from former CNBC television anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, 44, backed by the conservative-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Amid coronavirus, reduced voting sites in Kentucky, elsewhere a 'recipe for disaster'

Kentucky, New York, and four other states face another possibly messy day of voting on Tuesday amid the coronavirus outbreak, as officials try to balance a crush of absentee mail ballots with a reduced number of in-person polling locations. That combination has led to long lines, delays and confusion during primaries in other states, including Wisconsin and Georgia, offering a preview of possible problems if the Nov. 3 general election is conducted under the threat of COVID-19 infections.