US News Roundup: U.S. Republicans divided over Trump's election-fraud claims; Thousands of Facebook Groups buzzed with calls for violence ahead of U.S. election and more

Some Americans dance, others wield guns at vote-counting sites as Biden's lead widens Joe Biden supporters danced in Philadelphia's streets on Friday, while armed backers of President Donald Trump in Phoenix shouted, "Stop the steal" as a third day of post-election ballot counting brought the Democratic former vice president closer to winning the White House.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Exclusive: Republicans seeking to raise at least $60 million to fund Trump legal challenges - sources

Republicans are trying to raise at least $60 million to fund legal challenges brought by President Donald Trump over the U.S. presidential election's results, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. Trump's campaign has a filed lawsuits in several states over Tuesday's election, as Democratic challenger Joe Biden edged closer to winning the White House, extending his leads in battleground states.

Two men charged with gun offenses near Philadelphia vote counting center

Two men were charged with gun offenses in Philadelphia on Friday after they were arrested the previous night near a vote counting site that has become a focal point for election-related protests, according to the city district attorney's office. Antonio LaMotta, 61, and Joshua Macias, 41, allegedly drove to Philadelphia from Virginia in a Hummer SUV and had two loaded semi-automatic handguns, one semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle and ammunition, the district attorney's office said.

U.S. Republicans divided over Trump's election-fraud claims

As President Donald Trump fumes over the unfolding U.S. presidential election results, some of his fellow Republicans in Congress have hinted that he ought to tone down his rhetoric. Three days after the election, votes are still being tallied in the closely fought battleground states of Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is riding an expanding lead over Trump, a Republican, that could bring him victory.

White House chief of staff Meadows has COVID-19, source says

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who has frequently appeared at public events without wearing a mask, has been diagnosed with COVID-19, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday. It was not immediately clear when or how he was infected.

Thousands of Facebook Groups buzzed with calls for violence ahead of U.S. election

Before Facebook Inc shut down a rapidly growing "Stop the Steal" Facebook Group on Thursday, the forum featured calls for members to ready their weapons should President Donald Trump lose his bid to remain in the White House. In disabling the group after coverage by Reuters and other news organizations, Facebook cited the forum's efforts to delegitimize the election process and "worrying calls for violence from some members."

Pennsylvania court orders some provisional election ballots set aside

A Pennsylvania court on Friday ordered election officials to set aside provisional ballots cast on Election Day by voters whose absentee or mail-in ballots were received on time. Those provisional ballots were to be separated until officials could determine if they were validly cast, according to an order by the Commonwealth Court in a lawsuit brought by Republican candidates.

U.S. daily coronavirus cases exceed 129,000, third day over 100,000

U.S. coronavirus infections surged by at least 129,606 on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, the third consecutive daily rise of more than 100,000 cases as a third wave of COVID-19 sweeps the United States. In the midst of the presidential election, the spike marks the fourth time that more than 100,000 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported in the world's worst-hit country, which is reporting about 95,000 daily cases on a seven-day average.

Spanish-language misinformation dogged Democrats in U.S. election

Spanish-language misinformation flourished online in the days surrounding the U.S. election, even as social media companies moved to stem falsehoods that could affect the vote or spark violence. Spanish-language social media posts from online celebrities, radio commentators and others have repeatedly questioned the reliability of mail-in voting and falsely described presidential candidate Joe Biden as a socialist, according to Spanish-language disinformation experts and posts seen by Reuters.

Biden says 'We're going to win this race' as his lead over Trump grows

Democrat Joe Biden predicted victory in the U.S. presidential election as vote counts leaned his way in key states, while President Donald Trump showed no sign of being ready to concede in a contest that has dragged on for days. Biden maintained his advantage going into Saturday, but television networks held off from declaring a winner because the margins are still close in the four states that will determine the election winner and votes are still being counted.

Some Americans dance, others wield guns at vote-counting sites as Biden's lead widens

Joe Biden supporters danced in Philadelphia's streets on Friday, while armed backers of President Donald Trump in Phoenix shouted, "Stop the steal" as a third day of post-election ballot counting brought the Democratic former vice president closer to winning the White House. In Detroit, several hundred supporters of the Republican president, some carrying guns, raised premature chants of "We won!" outside a vote-counting center for Michigan's largest city, despite news organizations having called the state for Biden.