Reuters US Domestic News Summary

More than 4 million Americans have already voted, suggesting record turnout Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden widening lead over Trump in Michigan, tied in North Carolina

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden expanded his lead over President Donald Trump in battleground Michigan and the two candidates were locked in a toss-up race in North Carolina, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Tuesday. 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. Coronavirus aid hopes vanish as Trump ends talks with U.S. Democrats

Prospects for more aid for Americans struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. airlines seeking to avert a wave of layoffs crumbled on Tuesday when President Donald Trump ended negotiations with Congress over a large coronavirus bill. "I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business," Trump wrote on Twitter a day after emerging from a hospital stay for COVID-19 treatment. U.S. Postal Service asks judge to clarify ruling it says could undermine election mail

The U.S. Postal Service has asked a federal judge to clarify a ruling on election mail, saying the decision could hinder the agency's ability to make prompt mail deliveries before the Nov. 3 elections. Four U.S. judges have issued preliminary injunctions barring the Postal Service from making service reductions before the vote. Many more voters than usual are expected to cast their ballots by mail instead of in person because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but President Donald Trump has repeatedly said, without providing evidence, that mail voting would lead to widespread fraud. More than 4 million Americans have already voted, suggesting record turnout

Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. With four weeks to go before Election Day, more than 4 million Americans already have voted, more than 50 times the 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the United States Elections Project, which compiles early voting data. Six U.S. states report record COVID hospitalizations, new restrictions in place

Six states reported record numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including Wisconsin, where officials on Tuesday issued a new order limiting the size of indoor public gatherings. The surge of COVID hospitalizations and new cases in some states coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump and several members of his White House staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Trump's doctors on Tuesday said he was not displaying any acute symptoms after he left the Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was treated for three days. 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. Biden campaign takes extra steps to keep him safe from COVID-19

When Jill Biden noticed her husband standing too close to journalists for her comfort while taking questions on Monday, she walked up and pulled the 77-year-old U.S. presidential candidate back. People surrounding Democratic nominee Joe Biden are taking heightened measures to protect the self-described "tactile politician" from a pandemic that has reached the White House, infecting President Donald Trump himself. With Trump's health in question, Pence-Harris VP debate to draw outsized attention

Wednesday'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 face-off against Senator Kamala Harris, Democrat Joe Biden’s running mate, on Wednesday in Salt Lake City comes as the Trump campaign continues to reel from a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected the Republican president and a growing number of people in his inner circle. St. Louis couple indicted for brandishing guns at protesters

A St. Louis, Missouri grand jury on Tuesday indicted a couple with unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence, more than three months after they brandished guns at protesters marching outside their home, their attorney said. Personal injury lawyers Mark McCloskey, 63, and his wife Patricia McCloskey, 61, have said they were frightened for their lives on June 28 when demonstrators protesting against police violence marched by their mansion. Eddie Van Halen, guitar god in rock band named after him, dies at 65

Eddie Van Halen, one of rock music's greatest guitar players and a founding member of the hard-rocking, top-selling band named after him and his drummer brother, died of cancer on Tuesday. He was 65. Van Halen's death was announced on Twitter by his 29-year-old son, Wolfgang, himself a bass player who joined the band in later years. Representatives for Eddie Van Halen directed Reuters to his son's statement.