US News Roundup: Biden calls on Trump to send message; U.S. Supreme Court allows South Carolina vote-by-mail restriction and more

Nearly 4 million Americans have already voted, suggesting record election turnout Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the November election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden leading in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden appeared to lead President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania less than a month before the Nov. 3 election, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Monday. The polls showed the former vice president ahead by 5 percentage points in Pennsylvania, matching the poll's credibility interval. Biden led Trump by 6 points in Wisconsin. In both states, Biden improved his position relative to mid-September.

Nearly 4 million Americans have already voted, suggesting record election turnout

Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the November election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden. With four weeks to go before Election Day Nov. 3, more than 3.8 million Americans already have voted, far surpassing about 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the U.S. Elections Project, which compiles early voting data.

Trump faces backlash for removing mask on return to White House

U.S. President Donald Trump faced a fresh backlash on Tuesday for removing his mask when he returned to the White House and urging Americans not to fear the COVID-19 disease that has killed more than 209,000 people in the country and put him in hospital. Trump arrived at the White House on Monday in a made-for-television spectacle in which he descended from his Marine One helicopter wearing a white surgical mask only to remove it as he posed, saluting and waving, on the mansion's South Portico.

U.S. Supreme Court allows South Carolina vote-by-mail restriction

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ensured that a restrictive Republican-backed law in South Carolina that requires voters to have a witness sign mail-in ballots will be in place for the Nov. 3 election. The justices, granting a request by various Republican officials, put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked the restriction. The court, in a brief order, said that ballots already sent would not have to comply with the signature requirement.

After summer of protests, U.S. National Guard puts troops on standby for coming months: officials

After a summer of civil unrest over racial injustice in the United States, the National Guard has put hundreds of military police on standby specifically to help law enforcement deal with any potential violence in the coming months, three U.S. military officials have told Reuters. Officials said the units, consisting of about 600 military police stationed in Arizona and Alabama, were a response to the lessons learned during the violent upheaval after a Black man, George Floyd, died in late May when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Biden calls on Trump to send message: 'Masks matter'

Less than two hours after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House after three days in hospital being treated for coronavirus, challenger Joe Biden criticized the president anew for downplaying the seriousness of the virus. "I would hope that the president, having gone through what he went through – and I'm glad he seems to be coming along pretty well – would communicate the right lesson to the American people: Masks matter," Biden said at a NBC News town hall from Miami, Florida.

Pelosi, Mnuchin talk coronavirus aid as presidential illness complicates picture

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by phone for about an hour on Monday on coronavirus economic relief and were preparing to talk again Tuesday, continuing their recent flurry of activity working towards a deal on legislation. "The two discussed the justifications for various numbers and plan to exchange paper today in preparation for another phone call tomorrow," Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill wrote on Twitter.

AMC Entertainment to keep most theaters open

AMC Entertainment, the largest theater chain in the world, said on Tuesday most of its theaters in the United States and Europe would remain open, with several releases lined up for October and November. The move comes a day after rival Cineworld , the world's second-biggest cinema operator, said it would close all its screens in the United States and Britain after studios delayed major releases such as the latest James Bond film.

Pence-Harris VP debate to draw outsized attention after Trump's coronavirus diagnosis

This week's vice presidential debate has taken on an outsized and perhaps unprecedented significance, with questions about President Donald Trump's health now looming over the U.S. election less than a month away. Vice President Mike Pence's sole face-off against Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden's running mate, on Wednesday in Salt Lake City comes as the Trump campaign reels from a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected not only the Republican president but several in his inner circle.

Major hurricane brews in Gulf of Mexico, threatens Louisiana-Florida

Tropical Storm Delta, the 25th named Atlantic storm this year, is moving toward the Gulf of Mexico and expected to take aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast this week as a major hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said. If Delta strikes the U.S. Gulf Coast, it would break a record that dates to 1916 for the most named storms to hit the United States, another milestone in a year marked by repeated natural disasters ranging from floods, to wildfires to tornados.