US News Roundup: Trump to spend days at military hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis; Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tests positive and more

After Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, Biden says masks not about being a 'tough guy' Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis shows the importance of taking the pandemic seriously, telling Americans that wearing masks is more important than being a "tough guy." Biden's remarks as he campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan hours after testing negative twice for the virus, served as an implicit criticism of the Republican president.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Judge rejects Trump administration plan to end U.S. census count early

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to continue counting for the 2020 U.S. census until the end of October rather than end it as it had planned on Monday. In a ruling late on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of California called Census Bureau messages sent out late last month announcing that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had announced Oct. 5 as the target date to end the count an "egregious violation" of an earlier order she made.

'Anyone can get it,' Trump supporters shocked at diagnosis, unwavering in support

As Americans digested the news on Friday that President Donald Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, some of his backers expressed surprise that he hadn't been safe from infection and said their support for him was not diminished. "It was shocking," said Maranda Joseph, 43, of Warren, Ohio, who has 12 Trump flags in her front yard festooned with skeletons and other Halloween decorations. "To see he has it wakes you up a bit. Anyone can get it, even the president."

Worries behind the scenes at White House after Trump COVID diagnosis

White House officials sought to project an air of business as usual on Friday despite President Donald Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, but aides privately expressed concern about the presidential election and showed signs of rising worry about the coronavirus. "The business of government continues," economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters after Trump disclosed on Twitter early in the day that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

No quarantine for U.S. Vice President Pence, whose COVID-19 test was negative; next in line to Trump

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, next in line for the Oval Office, tested negative for COVID-19, hours after President Donald Trump announced that he was infected and went into quarantine, Pence's spokesman said on Friday. Trump's test result cast a spotlight on Pence, a Christian conservative former lawmaker who has been one of the few constants in the Republican president's tumultuous administration, a little more than a month before the pair seek re-election to a second term.

Trump to spend days at military hospital after COVID-19 diagnosis

U.S. President Donald Trump was in a military hospital on Saturday for treatment after testing positive for COVID-19, an extraordinary development that upended the presidential race a month before the Nov. 3 election. Roughly 17 hours after he made his diagnosis public, Trump walked slowly from the White House to a waiting helicopter to be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He wore a mask and business suit and did not speak to reporters.

Former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway tests positive for COVID-19

Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to U.S. President Donald Trump, on Friday said she had tested positive for COVID-19. "My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I'm feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians," Conway tweeted.

After Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, Biden says masks not about being a 'tough guy'

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said on Friday that President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis shows the importance of taking the pandemic seriously, telling Americans that wearing masks is more important than being a "tough guy." Biden's remarks as he campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan hours after testing negative twice for the virus, served as an implicit criticism of the Republican president. Trump has played down the deadliness of the virus for months, frequently eschews masks and has held campaign rallies of thousands with little social distancing.

Trump's positive test underscores that this is the Coronavirus Election

President Donald Trump's positive test for COVID-19 confirmed what most voters already knew: This is the Coronavirus Election. During the closing stretch of the presidential race, Trump had worked furiously to shift public attention away from the virus and his handling of the pandemic, urging more states to open up fully and claiming the worst was over.

Explainer: How Mike Pence could temporarily assume control if Trump becomes incapacitated

Like two U.S. presidents before him, Donald Trump could temporarily hand over power to his vice president should he become incapacitated, for example while undergoing a medical procedure as treatment for the coronavirus. Trump said on Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was going into quarantine to begin the recovery process immediately.

Relying on testing to ward off COVID put Trump White House at risk

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. President Donald Trump put his faith in a toaster-sized machine that could spit out test results in a matter of minutes. In late March, Trump hailed the launch of Abbott Laboratories' ID NOW test at a Rose Garden event and embraced its widespread use at the White House to keep the deadly virus at bay. The president often skipped his own administration's public health recommendations on mask wearing and social distancing, explaining that "everyone's tested" around him using the Abbott device.