US News Roundup: Iowa joins U.S. states from coasts to heartland acting to curb COVID-19; As pandemic hits pockets, New Yorkers line up for free Thanksgiving turkey and more

U.S. hospitals to restrict Lilly COVID-19 antibody treatment due to limited supply U.S. hospitals, weighing high demand and tight supplies, said they may limit use of a new Eli Lilly and Co antibody drug to COVID-19 patients with multiple risk factors for serious illness or to those whose immune systems have not begun to fight the infection.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Iowa joins U.S. states from coasts to heartland acting to curb COVID-19

Several U.S. governors, from the coastal states of New Jersey and California to the heartland of Iowa and Ohio, acted on Monday to restrict gatherings and boost face-coverings in confronting a coronavirus surge they warned is out of control. Each of the four governors, representing both ends of America's political divide and a mix of urban and rural regions, cited health data showing the pandemic reaching its most perilous point yet in the United States, threatening to overwhelm hospitals and claim thousands more lives in the weeks ahead.

As pandemic hits pockets, New Yorkers line up for free Thanksgiving turkey

As the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday approaches, New Yorkers struggling to serve up a festive meal lined up with empty shopping carts for help from a hunger-relief organization. Food Bank For New York City gave out 500 turkeys, canned goods and produce to hundreds of families in the neighborhood of Harlem on Monday. Many had never imagined needing handouts to survive.

After McCarrick scandal, U.S. bishops call for greater transparency

U.S. Roman Catholic leaders called on Monday for greater transparency and vetting in the appointment of bishops after the scandal of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who rose through the ranks despite repeated allegations of sexual misconduct. The American bishops made the suggestions during their annual general assembly, held virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic and in the wake of an explosive 450-page report issued by the Vatican last week.

Pentagon fails audit yet again, could pass around 2027, comptroller says

The Pentagon failed its comprehensive audit in fiscal 2020, the third year it has failed since the first audit was conducted in 2018, reflecting system and accounting problems across its vast bureaucracy that could persist until 2027, the department's comptroller said on Monday. "The process of getting to a clean opinion for federal agencies, it can take a long time," said Thomas Harker, who is also undersecretary of defense and chief financial officer, told reporters in releasing the results on Monday.

Trump's fight to overturn election faces key test in Pennsylvania court

President Donald Trump will bring his floundering efforts to overturn President-Elect Joe Biden's victory to a court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where another legal setback would likely doom his already long-shot prospects. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann, who sits in Williamsport, will hear arguments in a lawsuit the Trump campaign brought on Nov. 9 that seeks to halt the state's top election official from certifying Biden, a Democrat, as the winner.

U.S. hospitals to restrict Lilly COVID-19 antibody treatment due to limited supply

U.S. hospitals, weighing high demand and tight supplies, said they may limit use of a new Eli Lilly and Co antibody drug to COVID-19 patients with multiple risk factors for serious illness or to those whose immune systems have not begun to fight the infection. The treatment, bamlanivimab, was given U.S. emergency use authorization (EUA) last week by the Food and Drug Administration for helping newly-diagnosed, high-risk patients avoid hospitalization. "There will be a lot of pressure on physicians," said Dr. Adarsh Bhimraj, an infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic and chair of the Infectious Diseases Society of America's guidelines panel, which is still discussing its recommendations for the drug.

Biden turns focus to building White House team as Trump legal efforts flounder

President-elect Joe Biden will focus on shaping his core White House team on Tuesday while outgoing President Donald Trump presses on with his increasingly tenuous legal fight to reverse his loss in the U.S. election. Several of Biden's senior campaign staff have been discussing their roles in the transition and new administration that takes over Jan. 20 - and some of those roles could be announced as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

U.S. warship successfully destroys ICBM target in test off Hawaii

A U.S. warship has intercepted and destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target in a test conducted northeast of Hawaii, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said. The test, conducted on Nov 16, involved an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense-equipped destroyer which the MDA did not identify.

Pfizer to start pilot delivery program for its COVID-19 vaccine in four U.S. states

Pfizer Inc has launched a pilot delivery program for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in four U.S. states, as the U.S. drugmaker seeks to address distribution challenges facing its ultra-cold storage requirements. Pfizer's vaccine, which was shown to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data, must be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius (minus 94°F), significantly below the standard for vaccines of 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46°F).

'SpaceX, this is Resilience': Four astronauts begin six-month stay on space station

Four astronauts riding a newly-designed spacecraft from Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX greeted their new crewmates aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday after successfully docking in a landmark achievement for private space travel. In NASA's first full-fledged mission ferrying a crew into orbit on a privately-owned spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Resilience opened its hatch door shortly after 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT), two hours after docking and 27 hours after launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

(With inputs from agencies.)