Reuters US Domestic News Summary

U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump to wind down census early The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump's administration to wind down population counting for the 2020 U.S. census earlier than originally planned, in a blow to civil rights groups concerned about an undercount, particularly of racial minorities.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Trump's Supreme Court nominee to face tough scrutiny from Senate Democrats

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Tuesday will face the first of two days of direct questioning from senators, as Democrats try to make the case that her confirmation would threaten healthcare for millions of Americans. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing presents Barrett with a chance to respond to Democratic lawmakers who have been unified in opposing her primarily on what they say would be her role in undermining the Obamacare healthcare law and its protection for patients with pre-existing conditions. Trump, Biden head to Pennsylvania and Florida as campaigns focus on swing states

President Donald Trump on Tuesday will travel to Pennsylvania for his second campaign rally since his bout with COVID-19, while Democratic rival Joe Biden is heading to Florida as the fight for the White House focuses on two of the biggest battleground states. Trump returned to the campaign trail on Monday night in Florida for the first time since disclosing he had the coronavirus, throwing out protective masks to supporters but not wearing one himself as he talked about his recovery. Trump takes bid to shield his tax returns back to U.S. Supreme Court

President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze a lower court's ruling allowing a prosecutor in New York City to enforce a subpoena seeking Trump's tax returns and other financial records for a criminal probe into him and his businesses. Trump's personal lawyers sought to put on hold a federal judge's decision that rejected the Republican president's claims that the subpoena was overly broad and amounted to political harassment by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, a Democrat. U.S. government signs deal to make more COVID-19 vaccine components

The U.S. government has entered an agreement with life sciences company Cytiva, a unit of Danaher Corp, to expand the manufacturing of products needed to make COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday. Under the deal, Cytiva will receive about $31 million to scale up manufacturing of vaccine-related products, including cell cultures and hardware such as bioreactors used for the culturing of cells and antibodies. U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump to wind down census early

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump's administration to wind down population counting for the 2020 U.S. census earlier than originally planned, in a blow to civil rights groups concerned about an undercount, particularly of racial minorities. The justices blocked a lower-court ruling that had ordered the decennial population count be continued until Oct. 31. The Census Bureau said on Aug. 3 that it would wind down data collection by Sept. 30, a month earlier than originally scheduled. California appeals court hears arguments in Uber, Lyft gig worker lawsuit

A California appeals court on Tuesday listened to arguments by lawyers for Uber Technologies Inc, Lyft Inc and the state of California about whether the state can recognize their drivers as employees with the right to minimum wage, overtime pay, health insurance and unemployment insurance. The case is part of a battle over the future of the so-called gig economy in California. In January, the state implemented a law making it harder for ride-hail, food delivery and other app-based companies to classify workers as independent contractors. How poor regions lose out because of U.S. census undercounts

Getting an accurate count of America’s population has proven difficult in the 2020 Census as the coronavirus pandemic has hampered voluntary responses and forced officials to scale back door-knocking efforts. The administration of President Donald Trump has placed other hurdles on the path to an accurate count. Its attempt to add a question about citizenship to the census earlier this year likely discouraged undocumented immigrants from filling out the survey, even though the administration's effort failed, demographics experts say. Local officials nationwide worry about the impact of undercounts on their communities. Eli Lilly pauses trial of antibody drug Trump touted as COVID-19 'cure' over safety concern

Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday that the government-sponsored clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment similar to one taken by U.S. President Donald Trump has been paused because of a safety concern. Trump touted the Lilly drug, along with the antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc that he received for his COVID-19, as tantamount to a cure in a video he posted last week. U.S. accuses author of Melania Trump tell-all book of breaking nondisclosure pact

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday accused Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, author of a tell-all book about first lady Melania Trump, of breaking their nondisclosure agreement and asked a court to set aside profits from the book in a government trust. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Justice Department lawyers said Winston Wolkoff, a former aide who fell out with the first lady, failed to submit to government review a draft of her book, "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady," which offers an unflattering portrayal of President Donald Trump's wife. Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Biden ahead of Trump in Michigan, tied in North Carolina

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden maintained a significant lead over President Donald Trump in Michigan, but the two candidates were neck and neck in North Carolina, Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls showed 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.