US Domestic News Roundup: U.S. job growth forecast to slow sharply in July; America's toughest sheriff' narrowly defeated in a bid for old job and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. officials now worry about election logistics more than hacking

In a reversal from a few years ago, many officials who oversee U.S. election technology and outside security experts now worry less about hacking in the November elections than about misinformation and logistics such as a shortage of poll workers and slowdowns at the U.S. postal service. Though most computerized voting systems can be hacked, some undetectably, more states have moved away from paperless balloting and more vendors are listening to warnings about software flaws, longtime specialists told the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences this week.

U.S. job growth forecast to slow sharply in July as COVID-19 cases soar

U.S. employment growth likely slowed significantly in July amid a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections, which would provide the clearest evidence yet that the economy's recovery from the recession caused by the pandemic was faltering. The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday could pile pressure on the White House and Congress to speed up negotiations on another aid package. Talks have been dragging over differences on major issues including the size of a government benefit for tens of millions of unemployed workers.

U.S. counterspy chief warns Russia, China, Iran trying to meddle in 2020 election

The top U.S. counterintelligence official on Friday warned that Russia, China, and Iran will all try to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, with Russia already trying to undercut Democratic candidate Joe Biden. In an unusual public statement, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said the three countries were using online disinformation and other means to try to influence voters, stir up disorder and undermine American voters' confidence in the democratic process.

Trump vows to suspend U.S. payroll tax after coronavirus aid talks with Congress break down

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to unilaterally suspend payroll taxes and extend expired coronavirus unemployment benefits after negotiations with congressional Democrats on a broad pandemic aid package collapsed on Friday. Trump told a news conference at his golf club in New Jersey that he will sign an executive order implementing these measures, suspending student loan repayments and rental housing evictions in the coming days if no deal is reached.

Jerry Falwell Jr. takes indefinite leave from Liberty University post

Jerry Falwell Jr., a leading evangelical ally of President Donald Trump, has taken an indefinite leave of absence from his posts as president and chancellor of Liberty University, the Christian school he has run for more than a decade, its board of trustees said on Friday. Falwell's departure, announced in a one-sentence statement from the board, came days after he had posted, then deleted, an Instagram photo of himself standing with his pants unzipped and an arm around a young woman, a drink in his other hand.

U.S. surpasses 160,000 coronavirus deaths as school openings near

U.S. deaths from the coronavirus pandemic exceeded 160,000 on Friday, nearly a quarter of the world's total, according to a Reuters tally, as the country debates whether schools are ready to reopen their doors in the coming weeks. The country with the most coronavirus cases, the United States recorded 160,003 deaths and 4.91 million cases. Coronavirus deaths are rising in 23 states and cases in 20 states, according to a Reuters analysis of data the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.

'America's toughest sheriff' narrowly defeated in a bid for old job

Former lawman Joe Arpaio, the nationally known Arizona sheriff who found common cause with President Donald Trump on a hard-line stance against illegal immigration, narrowly lost his bid to regain his old job, vote tallies showed on Friday. Arpaio, 88, who billed himself as "America's toughest sheriff," trailed his former chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, by 6,280 votes out of 443,056 ballots cast in Tuesday's four-way Republican primary, according to the county elections department.

States urge halt to Trump plan excluding millions of immigrants from representation

Dozens of U.S. states, cities, and counties on Friday urged a federal court to block President Donald Trump from carrying out what they called a "flagrantly unconstitutional" directive to exclude undocumented immigrants when apportioning congressional seats. Led by New York state, the mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs said in a Manhattan federal court filing the July 21 directive should be declared unconstitutional, or that a preliminary injunction is entered against its enforcement.

COVID-stricken Anchorage wins court ruling in diner dispute

As COVID-19 cases spike and hospital bed space dwindle in Alaska's largest city, Anchorage officials on Friday won a key ruling in favor of a ban on indoor restaurant dining after a standoff over the issue moved to court. Anchorage city officials this week sued to halt indoor dining at Kriner's Diner, a popular eatery that defied an emergency ordinance issued on July 31 restricting restaurants to outdoor service and take-out due to a surge in coronavirus infections.

All New York schools meet state standard to open for in-person classes, Governor Cuomo says

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday said that all school districts in his state, once the epicenter of the nation's COVID-19 crisis, could open for in-person learning in the fall based on their current low infection rates of the virus. All New York regions have met the reopening threshold that Cuomo set in July, the governor said on Friday, with infection rates of the disease below 5% over on a 14-day average.