US News Roundup: Top Georgia election official says White House pushed him to take Trump call; In deadliest week so far, U.S. loses more than 18,400 lives to COVID-19 and more

In New York, hospitals must administer vaccines within a week of receiving them or face a fine and a reduction in future supplies, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, hours before announcing the state's first known case of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant originally detected in Britain.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Top Georgia election official says White House pushed him to take Trump call

Georgia's top election official said on Monday that President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican, had pushed him to take an "inappropriate" call in which he pressured the state to overturn his November presidential election defeat there. In the call on Saturday, Trump told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to make him the victor in the Southern state, according to a recording published by U.S. media.

"Premature" to change authorized COVID-19 vaccines dosing, schedules, FDA says

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday that the idea of changing the authorized dosing or schedules of COVID-19 vaccines was premature and not supported by the available data. The FDA said it had been following discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the length of time between doses, cutting the dosage in half, or mixing and matching vaccines in order to immunize more people.

Most U.S. COVID-19 vaccines go idle as New York, Florida move to penalize hospitals

More than two-thirds of the 15 million coronavirus vaccines shipped within the United States have gone unused, U.S. health officials said on Monday, as the governors of New York and Florida vowed to penalize hospitals that fail to dispense shots quickly. In New York, hospitals must administer vaccines within a week of receiving them or face a fine and a reduction in future supplies, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, hours before announcing the state's first known case of a new, more infectious coronavirus variant originally detected in Britain.

Trump's EPA finalizes last minute limits on science used in rulemaking

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief said on Monday he has finalized a rule to limit what scientific research the agency can use to formulate regulations, in a concession to big business weeks before President Donald Trump leaves office. Under the rule, the EPA will no longer be able to rely on scientific research that is underpinned by confidential medical and industry data. Opponents of the rule, including public health advocates and environmentalists, said it would harm human health protections by making it harder to craft air and water regulations.

In deadliest week so far, U.S. loses more than 18,400 lives to COVID-19

December was the deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States with nearly 78,000 deaths, and health officials warned that even more people will likely die in January despite the rollout of vaccines. In the week ended Jan. 3, more than 18,400 people died from COVID-19, bringing the pandemic's total to over 351,000 deaths, or one in every 930 U.S. residents, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports. Dozens of groups sue U.S. government over Seattle National Archives closure

The U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, along with dozens of Native American tribes and cultural groups, sued the federal government on Monday to stop the sale of the National Archives building in the city of Seattle. "Today I announced that our coalition of 40 tribes, states, and community organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court to save our National Archives and stop the federal government from scattering the DNA of our region more than 1,000 miles away," Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on Twitter. California extends application deadline for small businesses relief grant

California has extended the deadline for small businesses to ask for a grant to help them get through the COVID-19 crisis, after the program was overwhelmed with applications, officials said. The Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, offering grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000, opened on Dec. 30. New York finds first case of more contagious, 'UK' strain of coronavirus

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says his state has found its first case of the more contagious, "UK" strain of the coronavirus, raising concerns about threats to hospital capacity should it spread rapidly in the state. Cuomo says on Monday that a man in his 60s living in a town north of Albany has the new strain. The man, who is recovering, had not traveled recently, suggesting community spread is taking place. New York has carried out 5,000 tests for the new strain - and so far has only found the one case. Cuomo says it could be a "game changer" if the new strain increases hospitalizations and forces regions to close down. Explainer: Did Trump break the law by pressuring a Georgia election official to 'find' votes?

President Donald Trump may have broken a U.S. federal law and a Georgia law against election tampering by pressuring the state's top election official to "find" enough votes to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the state, according to some legal experts. The experts also outlined a potential legal defense for Trump and predicted that a prosecution of him arising from Saturday's telephone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, would be unlikely. With U.S. Senate at stake and Trump raging, Georgia votes in runoff elections

Control of the U.S. Senate - and with it the ability to block or advance President-elect Joe Biden's agenda - is on the line in a pair of runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday after a dizzying campaign that shattered spending and early turnout records. Incumbent Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are trying to hold off Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker, and the Rev. Raphael Warnock, a pastor at a historic Black church in Atlanta, in a state Biden narrowly carried on Nov. 3.

(With inputs from agencies.)