Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Microsoft: Foreign hackers are targeting Biden and Trump camps Hackers linked to Russia, China, and Iran are trying to spy on people tied to both U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Microsoft Corp said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Ex-New York Jets player Josh Bellamy charged with coronavirus-relief fraud: Justice Department

Former New York Jets player Josh Bellamy has been charged with participating in a scheme to fraudulently receive coronavirus-relief loans, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. Bellamy, 31, allegedly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan of $1.2 million for his company, Drip Entertainment, and used the money to purchase over $104,000 in luxury goods, the department said. Exclusive: Trump administration considers postponing refugee admissions, U.S. official says

U.S. officials are weighing whether to postpone or further cut refugee admissions in the coming year amid legal fights over President Donald Trump's refugee policy and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said. The possible postponement - one of several options under discussion - would mean some or all refugee admissions could be frozen until a legal challenge to a 2019 Trump order on refugees is resolved "with some greater degree of finality," the official told Reuters. Exclusive: Microsoft believes Russians that hacked Clinton targeted Biden campaign firm - sources

Microsoft Corp recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers, according to four people briefed on the matter. The hacking attempts targeted staff at Washington-based SKDKnickerbocker, a campaign strategy and communications firm working with Biden and other prominent Democrats, over the past two months, the sources said. U.S. Senate defeat of 'skinny' coronavirus aid bill puts it on 'dead-end street'

The U.S. Senate on Thursday killed a Republican bill that would have provided around $300 billion in new coronavirus aid, as Democrats seeking far more funding prevented it from advancing. By a vote of 52-47, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed in the 100-member chamber to advance the partisan bill toward passage, leaving the future of any new coronavirus aid in doubt. Scores of wildfires scorch U.S. West Coast, killing at least nine

Dozens of extreme wind-driven wildfires burned through forests and towns in U.S. West Coast states on Thursday, destroying hundreds of homes and killing at least nine people, authorities said. In the past 48 hours, four people died from fires in California, while four were killed in Oregon and a 1-year-old boy died in Washington state, police reported. Thousands faced evacuation orders in the three states. Americans splurged over Labor Day weekend. That's the good news

People flocked to stores - and back to restaurants - over Labor Day weekend in the United States, setting post-pandemic highs for retail foot traffic and seated dining but also posing a puzzle. The upturn may be a sign that consumer confidence is returning alongside a fall in new coronavirus infections. Or it could be a one-time bright spot in a slow economic recovery that remains challenged by massive joblessness and a persistent health crisis, one many fear will intensify in coming weeks. Judge delays trial of Jeffrey Epstein's ex-jail guards charged with falsifying records

A federal judge on Thursday delayed the scheduled trial of two Manhattan jail guards charged with covering up their failure to monitor Jeffrey Epstein on the night he killed himself. Tova Noel and Michael Thomas now face a June 14, 2021 trial date, five months later than previously planned, after pleading not guilty last November to falsely certifying they conducted inmate counts during Epstein's final hours. U.S. blacklists Ukrainian accused of meddling in 2020 election

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker linked to Republican efforts to dig up dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, accusing him of trying to interfere in the U.S. election. In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said it had blacklisted Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who it accused of being "an active Russian agent for over a decade," using "manipulation and deceit" in his effort to influence elections in the United States and around the world. U.S. judges reject Trump plan to exclude many immigrants from representation

A panel of judges on Thursday declared unlawful a directive from President Donald Trump to exclude people who are in the United States illegally from representation when apportioning congressional seats. The decision by a three-judge panel, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a victory for the 38 states, cities and counties, plus several immigrants rights nonprofits, that sued over the July 21 directive. Microsoft: Foreign hackers are targeting Biden and Trump camps

Hackers linked to Russia, China, and Iran are trying to spy on people tied to both U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Microsoft Corp said on Thursday. The report came as Reuters revealed one of Biden's main campaign advisory firms had been warned by the software giant that it was in the crosshairs of the same Russian hackers who intervened in the 2016 U.S. election.