Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Go maskless? Some Americans skeptical of new guidelines, others say it's high time

New U.S. guidance allowing people to go without masks in most places provided one more topic of disagreement among Americans who have found little common ground throughout the pandemic. Some cited caution and confusion, while others who have rarely worn masks rolled their eyes at the advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday that fully vaccinated people do not need to wear masks outdoors and can mostly avoid wearing them indoors. The looser mask guidance does not apply to situations such as public transportation and prisons.

Trump-backed Stefanik wins vote to join House Republican leadership

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives elected Donald Trump's candidate Elise Stefanik to their leadership, succeeding Liz Cheney, who they ousted earlier this week for criticizing the former president's continued false claims of election fraud. Stefanik, a 36-year-old congresswoman from New York state, rose to prominence https://www.reuters.com/world/us/loyalty-trump-catapults-elise-stefanik-into-republican-stardom-2021-05-11 with her fierce defense of Trump during his first impeachment trial, while Cheney https://www.reuters.com/world/us/liz-cheney-vote-us-house-republicans-reach-watershed-over-trump-2021-05-12 angered her Republican colleagues by rejecting what she called Trump's "big lie" about his November loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

U.S. federal parks, buildings will not require masks for vaccinated -U.S. official

New guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week means that fully vaccinated staff, contractors and visitors no longer need masks in federal buildings or on federal lands, according to an official with the Office of Management and Budget familiar with the situation. The shift could affect hundreds of millions of visitors who go to U.S. national parks every year, from California's redwood forest to the seacoast in Acadia, Maine, as well as the country's millions of federal workers and contractors.

U.S. administers 270.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC

The United States has administered 270,832,342 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 344,503,395 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Those figures are up from the 268,438,666 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Friday out of 341,865,945 doses delivered.

Ohio city reaches $10 million settlement over police killing of Andre Hill

The city of Columbus, Ohio said on Friday that it reached a $10 million settlement with the family of Andre Hill, an unarmed Black man fatally shot in December by a police officer who was subsequently fired and indicted. Hill, 47, was shot and killed by Adam Coy, a 44-year-old white man, on Dec. 22. Coy, a 19-year-veteran of the Columbus police force, was responding to a non-emergency nuisance call about car noise.

'U.S. Welcome Patrol': how some border agents are struggling with Biden's policy shift

Some U.S. border patrol agents are so frustrated with President Joe Biden's more liberal border policies that they are considering early retirement, while other disgruntled colleagues are buying unofficial coins that say 'U.S. Welcome Patrol.' Interviews with a dozen current and former agents highlight growing dissatisfaction among some rank and file members of the agency over Biden's swift reversal of some of former President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies. Since Biden took office, border apprehensions have risen sharply.

Disney World and other U.S. theme parks update mask rules

Disney World and other U.S. amusement parks updated their mask policy following the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week. Masks have been made optional in outdoor areas and pool decks at Walt Disney Inc's Disney World in Orlando, Florida, effective May 15, but are still needed for entering rides and at indoor locations, according to the guidelines posted on its website.

CDC recommends U.S. schools continue to use masks

Schools in the United States should continue to use masks for the 2020-2021 academic year as all students will not be fully vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Saturday. The CDC in its latest guidance https://bit.ly/3olfGyP said all kindergarten through grade 12 schools "should implement and layer prevention strategies and should prioritize universal and correct use of masks and physical distancing."

Judge will not end Ghislaine Maxwell's 'flashlight surveillance' in jail

A U.S. judge on Friday rejected Ghislaine Maxwell's effort to stop jail officials from shining flashlights into her cell at night, which the British socialite said impedes her preparation for her November trial on sex crime charges. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said the government offered "neutral reasons" for officials at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to conduct "flashlight surveillance" of Maxwell every 15 minutes.

Biden appoints Neera Tanden, former pick for budget director, as senior adviser

President Joe Biden has appointed Neera Tanden, who withdrew from consideration to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget after strong opposition from Republicans, to be a senior adviser, the White House said on Friday. Tanden, a former adviser to President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has been serving as president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a left-leaning think tank.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)