Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Biden's Super Tuesday surge reboots Democratic presidential race

In the space of 24 hours, the Democratic presidential contest suddenly became a two-man race between former Vice President Joe Biden, whose campaign was floundering just a week ago, and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the party's liberal champion. Biden surged to victory in at least eight of the 14 states where Democrats held primaries, or nominating contests, on so-called Super Tuesday, outperforming expectations. In major abortion case, U.S. Supreme Court weighs curbs on doctors

The U.S. Supreme Court returns to the issue of abortion rights on Wednesday when it considers a challenge to a Louisiana law that imposes restrictions on doctors in a major case that could make it harder for women to obtain the procedure. The court, with a 5-4 conservative majority, is set to hear an hour of arguments beginning at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) in an appeal by Shreveport-based abortion provider Hope Medical Group for Women seeking to invalidate the 2014 law. Two of Louisiana's three clinics that perform abortions would be forced to close if the law is allowed to take effect, according to lawyers for the clinic. Sanders asks court to keep Los Angeles County polls open after voting delays

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' campaign requested an emergency injunction on Tuesday asking for polls in Los Angeles County to stay open for an extra two hours after reports of delays and long lines. The county is one of several big jurisdictions in California that used new voting machines and procedures in the 14-state Super Tuesday primary, a day when millions turned out to vote. Robert Durst faces jury for opening statements in 'The Jinx' murder trial

Robert Durst, the ailing New York real estate scion whose arrest prosecutors say was hastened by his confession to multiple killings in a 2015 TV documentary, was due to face a jury on Wednesday for opening statements in his Los Angeles murder trial. Durst, 76, is charged with the December 2000 murder of his long-time confidant, Susan Berman, a writer he is accused of fatally shooting because of what she might have known about the unsolved disappearance and presumed killing of his wife two decades earlier. Biden boom slows Sanders' march on Super Tuesday

With the dramatic winnowing of the Democratic presidential field, the 14 nominating contests held on Tuesday largely came down to a single question: Could former Vice President Joe Biden amass enough delegates to slow Senator Bernie Sanders’ path to the nomination? As polls closed in the eastern United States, the emerging answer appeared to be "Yes." Polls showed Biden, whose candidacy was buoyed this week by a wave of high-profile endorsements after his South Carolina victory on Saturday, outperforming expectations. Amazon confirms first coronavirus case among U.S. employees

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday an employee in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus. "We're supporting the affected employee who is in quarantine," a company spokeswoman said in an email to Reuters. Bloomberg to reassess campaign as ad blitz fails to win Super Tuesday voters

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will reassess the future of his Democratic presidential campaign after his disappointing showing on Super Tuesday, but a campaign official said that did not mean his candidacy would end on Wednesday. "As our campaign manager said before the polls closed tonight, any campaign would reassess after tonight, after next week, after any time there was a vote," said Bloomberg national press secretary Julie Wood. Coronavirus claims three more lives in Seattle-area as outbreak goes cross-country

Three more deaths from the coronavirus were reported by Washington state on Tuesday as the nation's largest and only fatal outbreak of the respiratory disease reached beyond the Seattle area in what appeared to be the first known instance of coast-to-coast transmission. A North Carolina resident tested positive after returning from a trip to Washington state, where the individual was exposed, and apparently infected, during a visit to a nursing facility at the center of a recent surge in cases in suburban Seattle. Biden rides momentum to big Super Tuesday wins, Sanders ahead in California

A resurgent Joe Biden rode a wave of momentum to win Texas and eight other states and Bernie Sanders was leading in Super Tuesday's biggest race in California, setting up a one-on-one battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. In a surprisingly strong showing, Biden rolled to victories across the South, Midwest and New England on the biggest day of voting in the Democratic campaign. Americans in 14 states cast ballots for a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election. Any U.S. citizen can be tested for coronavirus at doctor's orders under new guidance: Pence

Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that U.S. public health authorities had issued new guidance to make clear that a doctor's order was all that would be needed for any American to be tested for the novel coronavirus. "We're issuing new guidance, effective immediately, from the CDC that will make it clear that any clinician on health authority can administer the test," Pence told reporters at the White House, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.