US Domestic News Roundup: Some Americans hesitate to shed masks despite eased outdoor rules; Harris to discuss immigration with Mexican leader and more

U.S. airlines have been adding more flights, anticipating rising summer travel demand. Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will not seek re-election Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was seen as a possible running mate for Joe Biden in last year's U.S. presidential election, said on Thursday she will not seek a second term in office.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

'You feel naked': Some Americans hesitate to shed masks despite eased outdoor rules

Anita Glick felt somewhat liberated as she walked her friend's dog around Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood this week, her face mask looped around a wrist thanks to U.S. health authorities' new guidance on outdoor mask wearing. But even under the eased U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules, which say people like her who are vaccinated against COVID-19 need not wear masks outside in most cases, the 70-year-old retired teacher said she would keep hers on around others as a courtesy.

U.S. move to loosen vaccine patents will draw drug companies to bargain: lawyers

U.S. support for waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines could be a tactic to convince drugmakers to back less drastic steps like sharing technology and expanding joint ventures to quickly boost global production, lawyers said on Thursday. "I think the end result that most players are looking for here is not IP waiver in particular, it’s expanded global access to the vaccines," said Professor Lisa Ouellette of Stanford Law School.

How confusion around Biden policies birthed a new refugee camp on the U.S. border

A red pickup truck pulls up next to a migrant tent encampment in the Mexican city of Tijuana, its bed filled with loaves of bread and clothes. Men, women and children run to meet it. "A line! Form a line!" someone yells. A woman in a long skirt climbs into the truckbed and begins to preach into a microphone: "You all are hoping to cross into the United States!" she says. "You all are hoping to be blessed! Well, take God's hand!"

U.S. screens 1.64 million people at airports, highest since March 2020

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened 1.64 million passengers on Thursday at U.S. airports, the highest number since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic slashed travel demand. The number of U.S. air travelers is still about 35% lower than the same date in 2019, down nearly 1 million travelers, TSA said. U.S. airlines have been adding more flights, anticipating rising summer travel demand.

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will not seek re-election

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was seen as a possible running mate for Joe Biden in last year's U.S. presidential election, said on Thursday she will not seek a second term in office. Bottoms, 51, who was elected mayor in 2017 and is just the second Black woman to lead the city, did not provide a reason for her decision and did not say what she would do next.

Analysis: U.S. Labor Secretary's next move on gig workers likely to include company probes - experts

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh's move this week to block a rule making it easier to classify gig workers as independent contractors is just a first step in what is likely to be a long battle over how to delineate the rights of America's growing gig army. The rule by former President Donald Trump's administration, which was supposed to go into effect in March, would have hampered the ability of workers at companies like Uber and Lyft to demand benefits like overtime pay.

U.S.'s Harris to discuss immigration with Mexican leader Friday

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet virtually with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday to discuss immigration policies, her second time talking to him in a month. President Joe Biden has entrusted Harris with leading efforts to cut immigration from Mexico and Central America's "Northern Triangle" countries - Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador - as the administration grapples with an increase in people crossing into the United States at the southern border.

Analysis-Out of power in Washington, Republicans pursue hard-right agenda across the country

Shut out of power in Washington, Republicans are using their dominance in state houses across the country to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda and appease the diehard supporters of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. In Texas, Republican lawmakers are pushing for legislation that would allow citizens to carry a handgun without a permit or any training.

U.S. job growth far below expectations in April amid labor shortages

U.S. employers hired far fewer workers than expected in April, likely frustrated by labor shortages, leaving them scrambling to met booming demand as the economy reopens amid rapidly improving public health and massive financial help from the government. Nonfarm payrolls increased by only 266,000 jobs last month after rising by 770,000 in March, the Labor Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.

Texas House backs Republican-backed voting curbs

The Texas House of Representatives on Friday backed a bill to bar election officials from sending voters unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, while giving party-affiliated poll watchers greater access to voting sites. The overnight vote in the Republican-controlled legislature followed enactment of similar measures in Georgia and Florida in the wake of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential election win.

(With inputs from agencies.)