US Domestic News Roundup: Trump to hold news conference; Pence aide dismisses reports of possible 20% U.S. unemployment and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Trump administration seeks $45.8 billion in extra government funding amid coronavirus

The Trump administration has requested an additional $45.8 billion from Congress to shore up U.S. agencies amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday. The supplemental funding request, sent to U.S. lawmakers Tuesday night, would give billions more to the U.S. Health, Veterans and Defense Departments. The request is separate from the administration's proposed $1 trillion stimulus package to address the economic fallout from the outbreak.

U.S. immigration courts shut after outcry over coronavirus fears

The U.S. government canceled all deportation hearings for immigrants not in detention after immigration judges and government prosecutors complained busy courts were putting them at risk of COVID-19 infection. Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the arm of the U.S. Department of Justice that runs the nation's immigration courts, said in a statement just after midnight the closures were effective March 18, 2020, through April 10, 2020. Cases of immigrants stuck in detention will be heard as scheduled.

Nevada orders casinos, all other nonessential businesses to close

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak shut down all nonessential businesses, including the Las Vegas casinos at the heart of the state's economy, as part of steps to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. "This is only common sense," Sisolak said at a press conference in Las Vegas.

Pence aide dismisses reports of possible 20% U.S. unemployment

Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, said on Wednesday there were no forecasts of 20% unemployment in the United States because of the coronavirus outbreak after reports suggested such a rise was a possibility. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had told Republican senators on Tuesday that failure to act on a proposed coronavirus rescue package could lead to U.S. unemployment as high as 20%, a person familiar with the closed-door meeting said.

Long lines at San Francisco area cannabis stores exempt from coronavirus lockdown

Millions of California's Bay Area residents can still legally light up as cannabis facilities are exempt from a cornonavirus lockdown that has shuttered most businesses in San Francisco and nearby cities. Cannabis store managers say they have lines longer than local grocery shops and waiting room only. Most staff at a dozen stores reached Tuesday evening said they were too busy to talk to Reuters.

Trump to hold news conference to discuss FDA, coronavirus

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would hold a news conference on Wednesday to discuss "very important news" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration related to the coronavirus, but gave no other details. The White House task force is scheduled to hold its daily news conference at 11:30 a.m. (1630 GMT).

Coronavirus hits Florida economy in threat to Trump's re-election hopes

Since the coronavirus outbreak hit Florida this month, Uber driver Nelson Aliaga has lost a third of his business. But by dismissing for weeks the danger posed by the virus, President Donald Trump did not respond quickly enough to the crisis, said Aliaga, a Republican who voted for Trump in 2016.

After big wins, Biden makes appeal to young Sanders voters: 'I hear you'

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden has made a direct appeal to the young supporters of rival Bernie Sanders after moving closer to the nomination with big primary victories in three states. Biden, the former vice president, began looking to the Nov. 3 general election against Republican President Donald Trump after Tuesday's dominating wins in Florida, Illinois and Arizona increased the pressure on Sanders to drop his fading White House bid.

Trump presses for $1 trillion stimulus as U.S. coronavirus deaths cross 100

The Trump administration pressed on Tuesday for the enactment of a $1 trillion stimulus package, possibly to include $1,000 direct payments to individual Americans, to blunt the economic pain from a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 100 people in the country. With cases of the respiratory illness reported in all 50 states and the total number of known U.S. infections surging past 6,400, millions of Americans hunkered down at home instead of commuting to work or going to school.

No coronavirus party: U.S. spring break destinations crack down on revelers

In Florida, sun-soaked Miami Beach shut down its spring break party this week, declaring it illegal for more than 10 people to gather together and shutting its bars and restaurants in an effort to stymie the spread of the coronavirus. The move there and in nearby Fort Lauderdale was the latest sign of U.S. cities struggling to cope with a pandemic sweeping across the nation.