US Domestic News Roundup: Trump will sign executive orders on lowering drug prices on Friday; Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen expected to leave prison for home confinement and more

Trump, who had previously urged lawmakers to rein in drug costs, will deliver remarks and sign the executive orders at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Friday, according to the president's schedule issued by the White House on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump will sign executive orders on lowering drug prices on Friday: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump will sign executive orders on lowering drug prices on Friday, the White House said. Trump, who had previously urged lawmakers to rein in drug costs, will deliver remarks and sign the executive orders at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Friday, according to the president's schedule issued by the White House on Thursday.

Trump's ex-lawyer Cohen expected to leave prison for home confinement

U.S. President Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen will return to his Manhattan apartment on Friday to finish his criminal sentence after a judge found he was imprisoned two weeks ago as retaliation for planning to publish a book about Trump. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered Cohen to be released by 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) from prison in Otisville, New York, about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City.

U.S. admits making false statements in New York' Trusted Traveler' suit

The U.S. government admitted late Thursday it had made false statements in a lawsuit brought by New York state and told a court it would immediately lift a ban on New York residents participating its Trusted Traveler Program. The disclosure came hours after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had said it would reinstate New Yorkers in the program, which allows participants faster passage between the United States and either Canada or Mexico.

Trump cancels Republican convention in Florida after coronavirus spike

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would no longer hold part of the Republican Party's nominating convention in Florida in August because of a spike in coronavirus cases in the state. Trump already moved part of the convention from North Carolina to Florida because of restrictions on gathering due to the virus, but the surge in cases had led some Republicans to pull out of attending the Florida event.

Georgia's governor and Atlanta's mayor ordered to mediate coronavirus mask fight

A Georgia judge on Thursday ordered the governor and Atlanta's mayor to enter mediation over the governor's lawsuit aimed at stopping the city from enforcing its requirement that people wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic. Fulton Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick ordered Governor Brian Kemp and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to attend mediation with another judge and try to resolve the dispute before an emergency hearing scheduled in the case for Tuesday.

U.S. coronavirus deaths top 1,100 for a third day in a row

The United States on Thursday recorded more than 1,100 deaths from COVID-19, marking the third straight day the nation passed that grim milestone as the pandemic escalates in southern and western U.S. states. Fatalities nationwide were recorded at 1,118 on Thursday. Deaths were 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday.

Explainer: Why Election Day could be just the start of a long battle over the U.S. presidency

President Donald Trump's refusal this week to say if he would accept the results of November's election, and his repeated assertions that the vote will be "rigged" because of mail-in ballots, have raised the specter of a disputed election that could take weeks, or even months, to resolve. Even absent allegations of fraud, the deluge of mail ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic could take weeks totally, making it less likely a winner is declared on Election Day in the contest between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. The former vice president currently leads Trump in opinion polls.

U.S. Senate passes $740 billion defense bill, bucking Trump on Confederate names

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, a $740 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon that President Donald Trump has threatened to veto over a provision removing Confederate names from military bases. The vote was 86-14, one of the few times the Republican-led Senate has broken from the president and could pave the way for a fight later this year with the White House.

The wealthy Republicans who want to oust Trump in November's election

Jimmy Tosh, who runs a multi-million dollar hog and grain farm in Tennessee, is a lifelong Republican. He is pro-gun, supports lower taxes, and agrees with most of Republican President Donald Trump's agenda. He is also spending his money to help defeat Trump in November's election.

Federal agents fire tear gas again at Portland protesters

Federal agents fired tear gas canisters at Black Lives Matter demonstrators in downtown Portland early on Friday in a 56th straight day of protests, amid growing scrutiny over the use of border patrol officers in the city. Positioned behind a steel fence, agents began firing tear gas after a small group of protesters, many helmeted and wearing face masks, lit a fire at the entrance of the building shortly after midnight.