Reuters US Domestic News Summary

As U.S. COVID-19 deaths near 200,000, a nation grapples with grief Anthony and Rosemary Terio, married for 65 years, died five days apart in separate New York hospitals last spring, two lives among the nearly 200,000 that the United States has now lost to the coronavirus pandemic. 30, House Democrats announced Monday they had filed the stopgap funding legislation, but angered Republicans by leaving out new money that President Donald Trump wanted for farmers.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden ahead in Wisconsin, a close race in Pennsylvania

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden appears to be leading President Donald Trump among likely voters in Wisconsin, while the two are about even in Pennsylvania, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Monday. Reuters/Ipsos is polling likely voters in six states - Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona - that will play critical roles in deciding whether Trump wins a second term in office or if Biden ousts him in the November election. Trump officials rush to make it tougher for skilled foreign workers to gain visas

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is racing to toughen the process for U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers before the end of the year, changes top Trump officials argue will preserve jobs for Americans amid high unemployment and be politically difficult to reverse. With just weeks to go until the Nov. 3 election, the White House budget office is reviewing a fast-track regulation that would narrow the definition of a “specialty occupation” eligible for a skilled-worker visa under the H-1B program, according to the budget office website and administration officials. As U.S. COVID-19 deaths near 200,000, a nation grapples with grief

Anthony and Rosemary Terio, married for 65 years, died five days apart in separate New York hospitals last spring, two lives among the nearly 200,000 that the United States has now lost to the coronavirus pandemic. "This pain will never go away for me," said one of their daughters, Lisa Terio-Heath, who, because of the pandemic, had to remain at her home in Greensboro, North Carolina, and witness her family's loss from afar. Trump to reveal Supreme Court pick by Saturday in bid to fill seat before election

President Donald Trump raced on Monday to cement a conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court before the Nov. 3 election, telling reporters he planned by Saturday to reveal his pick to succeed liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he was zeroing in on one or two candidates among five who are under consideration. He called on the Senate, controlled by his fellow Republicans, to vote on confirmation before the election in which he is seeking a second term. Private equity executive pleads guilty in U.S. college admissions scandal

An insurance and private equity executive pleaded guilty on Monday to participating in a vast U.S. college admissions fraud and bribery scheme in which he agreed to pay $40,000 to rig his daughter's ACT college entrance exam. Mark Hauser, 59, entered his plea during a hearing before a federal judge in Boston held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming the latest wealthy parent to admit wrongdoing in the college admissions scandal. Biden bashes Trump's leadership on pandemic, Trump attacks Biden on trade

Democrat Joe Biden slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and Trump criticized Biden's record on trade on Monday as the White House contenders battled for votes in key Midwestern battleground states. With U.S. deaths from COVID-19 approaching 200,000, Biden said on a campaign stop in Wisconsin that Trump "froze" when faced with the enormous challenge posed by the health crisis and was not capable of the leadership needed to confront it. U.S. charges New York City police officer with acting as illegal agent of China

A New York City police officer who also serves as a U.S. Army reservist has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the government of China, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Baimadajie Angwang, 33, was arrested earlier Monday at his home on Long Island and was due in court in Brooklyn later in the day, the U.S. Department of Justice said in announcing the charges. U.S. nears grim milestone of 200,000 COVID-19 deaths

The death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the United States was approaching over 200,000 on Monday, by the far the highest number of any nation. The United States, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according to a Reuters tally. That is down from a peak of 2,806 daily deaths recorded on April 15. Nevada judge tosses Trump campaign lawsuit over mail-in ballots

A federal judge in Nevada has dismissed a lawsuit by President Donald Trump's re-election campaign that sought to block the state from sending mail-in ballots to every registered voter, a legal victory for Democrats ahead of November's election. The order adds to wins for Democrats in battleground states, including in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, where courts this month ruled that mailed ballots arriving within certain time periods after Nov. 3's Election Day must still be counted. House Democrats file bill to fund U.S. government but leave out new farm money

The U.S. Congress this week considers legislation to fund the federal government through mid-December, but a dispute over farm aid raised questions about whether lawmakers can avoid a government shutdown amid a pandemic just weeks before the Nov. 3 elections. With government funding lapsing on Sept. 30, House Democrats announced Monday they had filed the stopgap funding legislation, but angered Republicans by leaving out new money that President Donald Trump wanted for farmers. The House will take up the bill on Tuesday, a Democratic aide said. The Senate could then act later this week.