Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Pelosi: COVID-19 aid possible before election but it's up to Trump

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it still was possible to get another round of COVID-19 aid before the Nov. 3 election, but that it was up to President Donald Trump to act if he wants to finalize a deal for more financial relief soon. Pelosi, in an interview on MSNBC, said that she hoped the Trump administration was on the verge of accepting language aimed at tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic and that she was still optimistic an agreement could be reached. Special Report: Why the Pennsylvania vote count might throw U.S. into political crisis

Here in the birthplace of American democracy, election officials are scrambling to prepare for a presidential vote they fear could plunge the nation into a historic political crisis. Philadelphia’s Board of Elections plans to move its counting operations to a 125,000-square foot space in the city’s convention center. Dozens of staffers, feeding expensive new machines to open envelopes and process mail-in ballots, will spend days tallying hundreds of thousands of votes - under intense scrutiny from partisan observers. The workers likely will discard thousands of ballots that are not properly completed or do not arrive in a special “secrecy envelope.” Outside, police officers redeployed from their neighborhood districts will conduct round-the-clock patrols to guard against violence among protesters, a police source told Reuters. Pelosi, Mnuchin to speak again when 'progress is made' on U.S. COVID-19 aid: Pelosi spokesman

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains hopeful a deal on coronavirus relief can be reached with the White House soon, a Pelosi spokesman wrote on Twitter. Congressional committees and staff will work on a possible deal through the weekend, and Pelosi and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin "will speak again once additional progress is made," the spokesman, Drew Hammill, said. U.S. charges ex-editor of Kushner-owned newspaper with cyberstalking

The former editor of a New York newspaper once owned by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was charged on Friday by federal prosecutors with cyberstalking three people in connection with his divorce. Prosecutors in Brooklyn said Ken Kurson, who is also a political consultant and former speechwriter for Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sent threatening messages and used aliases to file false complaints against his victims in late 2015 amid the divorce proceedings. Trump promises pandemic will end soon after Biden blasts his handling of crisis

President Donald Trump on Friday promised supporters at a rally in Florida that the coronavirus pandemic would end soon and accused Democratic rival Joe Biden of overstating the health crisis to scare Americans into voting for him. The pandemic, which has killed more than 223,000 people in the United States and cost millions more their jobs, has become the dominant issue of the campaign, with Trump on the defensive over his administration's handling of the crisis. Total U.S. COVID-19 deaths could hit 500,000 by February, researchers say

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could surpass 500,000 by February unless nearly all Americans wear face masks, researchers said on Friday, as 14 states set new records for one-day increases in infections. The latest estimate by the widely cited University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation reflects fears that cold winter weather will drive Americans indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread. FBI to assist probe into police shooting of Black couple in Illinois

The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to assist an Illinois state investigation into a police shooting that killed an unarmed Black man and wounded his girlfriend and triggered protests in the city of Waukegan, an official said on Friday. Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim said he asked the Department of Justice for help reviewing the Oct. 20 shooting, which left 19-year-old Marcellis Stinnette dead and has been under investigation by state police. Biden says he would if elected mandate masks in interstate transportation

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Friday said he would mandate masks in all interstate U.S. transportation if elected after the Trump administration rejected requirements. "As president I will mandate mask wearing in all federal buildings and all interstate transportation because masks save lives - period," Biden said in a speech in Delaware. "Wearing masks is not a political statement, it is a scientific imperative." Crews battling largest wildfires in Colorado history brace for high winds

Crews battling a string of wildfires in drought-stricken Colorado braced on Friday for the return of high winds that have stoked flames in what authorities have called an unprecedented outbreak of late-season wildfires. Three of the largest wildfires in Colorado's history have raged this year and two of them are still growing. AstraZeneca resumes U.S. COVID-19 vaccine trial and next week J&J prepares to do same

AstraZeneca Plc has resumed the U.S. trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine after approval by regulators, and Johnson & Johnson is preparing to resume its trial on Monday or Tuesday, the companies said on Friday. The news signaled progress against the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 41 million globally, including 8 million Americans and comes 10 days before a U.S. presidential election that may hinge on plans https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election/biden-warns-on-coronavirus-surge-trump-heads-to-florida-in-campaign-sprint-idUSKBN2781A4 to fight the pandemic.