Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Metallic monolith pops up outside Pittsburgh candy store

Since mid-November, shining metal monoliths have suddenly appeared - and then vanished - in the strangest locations, from the Utah desert to a Romanian mountainside. Now one has popped up outside a Pittsburgh candy store.

Trump campaign files election lawsuit in Georgia, suffers more legal defeats

Donald Trump's campaign said it filed a lawsuit in Georgia state court on Friday seeking to invalidate the presidential election results there, the latest in a series of legal challenges aimed at reversing his loss that have so far gone nowhere. The Trump campaign said in a statement its new lawsuit would include sworn statements from Georgia residents alleging fraud.

U.S. Supreme Court takes up Trump bid to revive Medicaid work requirements

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to revive pilot programs adopted by the states of Arkansas and New Hampshire that allow work requirements to be imposed on people who receive healthcare under the Medicaid program for the poor. The justices took up the administration's appeals of rulings by a lower court that found the work requirement programs to be unlawful. The case potentially could become moot once Democratic President-elect Joe Biden takes office on Jan. 20. Seventeen other states are pursuing similar policies.

Federal student loan payments suspended until end of January

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Friday said the suspension of federal student loans payments and accruing interest set to end on Dec. 31 will be extended another month as the pandemic presents financial challenges to borrowers. "This temporary pause in payments will help those who have been impacted," DeVos said in a statement. "The added time also allows Congress to do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate."

Biden plans scaled-back inauguration to avoid spreading coronavirus in crowds

Setting a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump, whose administration began with a fight over the size of his inaugural crowds, President-elect Joe Biden said on Friday he plans a scaled-back event for safety's sake during the pandemic.

The Democratic former vice president said he does expect to be sworn in on Jan. 20 on the platform already being constructed on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, but wanted to avoid the crowds that typically gather on the National Mall and along Pennsylvania Avenue to view the ceremony and parade.

Record U.S. deaths prompt urgent calls for masking, stay-at-home orders

U.S. leaders urgently called on Americans to wear masks and threatened even more drastic stay-at-home orders after deaths from the coronavirus set a single-day record, with two people dying every minute. More than 213,830 new cases and 2,861 deaths were reported on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally of official data, with several experts projecting the death toll will soon surpass 3,000 per day.

Firefighters move in on Southern California canyon blaze, aided by easing winds

Firefighters battling a blaze in a Southern California canyon made some progress toward containment but were up against more high winds and low humidity on Friday, which threatened to stoke the flames that forced thousands to evacuate. The Bond Fire, which was about 10% contained on Friday afternoon, broke out around on Wednesday night on the road for which it is named and quickly engulfed much of Silverado Canyon, egged on by strong Santa Ana winds.

Trump signs anti-doping act into law

U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law on Friday a bill that lets U.S. justice officials pursue criminal penalties against those involved in doping conspiracies at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters. The Rodchenkov Act, named after the whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov who helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping, empowers prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, as well restitution to victims.

U.S. government ordered to reinstate protections for 'Dreamers'

In a rebuke to President Donald Trump's administration, a judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to reopen to first-time applicants a program that protects from deportation and grants work permits to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who live in the United States unlawfully after arriving as children. The action by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn centered on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama in 2012. The Supreme Court in June blocked Trump's 2017 bid to end DACA. His administration, however, continued its policy of not accepting new applications for the program.

Biden urges broad action on coronavirus aid after 'grim' jobs report

President-elect Joe Biden said Friday's "grim" jobs report shows the economic recovery is stalling, and urged the U.S. Congress to pass a coronavirus relief bill immediately and follow up with "hundreds of billions of dollars" in more aid in January. "If we don't act now, the future will be very bleak. Americans need help and they need it now. And they need more to come early next year," said Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20.