Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. drivers cut miles in October 8.8% from year earlier: DOT

U.S. motorists drove 259 billion vehicle miles in October, down by 25 billion miles, or 8.8% from a year earlier, according to a monthly report from the Department of Transportation. The drop was larger than the 8.6% year on year decline seen in September. In 2020, total miles driven have fallen as the coronavirus pandemic and related business and school shutdowns curbed demand for driving. Biden names additional members to National Economic Council

U.S. President-Elect Joe Biden on Monday named additional members of the National Economic Council, rounding out his economic policymaking team with people his transition office said would help lift Americans out of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19. David Kamin, an official in former President Barack Obama's White House, will be the NEC deputy director, and Bharat Ramamurti, a former top economic adviser to Senator Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign, will serve as NEC deputy director for Financial Reform and Consumer Protection, Biden's team said in a statement. Water chestnuts and Smokey Bear: Surprises await under the 'Christmas tree' COVID-19 relief bill

The 5,593-page bill poised to pass the U.S. Congress on Monday provides plenty of coronavirus aid. It also ensures that you will not go to prison for transporting water chestnut plants across state lines. After months of inaction, Congress has rolled coronavirus aid, federal government funding and a grab bag of miscellaneous provisions into one massive year-end piece of legislation - called a "Christmas tree" in Washington parlance. Airlines agree to screen JFK-bound passengers from Britain for coronavirus

British Airways, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic said on Monday they will allow only passengers who test negative for the coronavirus to fly to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The decisions follow a request from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that the airlines voluntarily agree to screen passengers on flights to Kennedy airport after the emergence of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain in Britain. U.S. CDC reports 316,844 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported 17,790,376 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 197,616 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,584 to 316,844. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 20 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/31Dqz4H) Vaccinations move to nursing homes as pandemic rages in California

The U.S. government and two of the nation's largest pharmacy chains on Monday began inoculating nursing home residents against COVID-19, among the first Americans besides healthcare workers to get the vaccine. The vaccinations, carried out under a program led by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and CVS Health Corp is the latest effort to reign in a pandemic that has killed more than 317,000 Americans and strained healthcare systems. U.S. airlines prepare employee recalls as relief nears; United calls them 'temporary'

American Airlines and United Airlines said on Monday they were preparing to recall tens of thousands of furloughed employees as they awaited lawmakers' approval of a fresh $15 billion in payroll support under a broader COVID-19 relief package. But in a staff memo, United executives warned that it expects the recall will be "temporary" as travel demand remains depressed. The relief would cover employee payroll costs until March 31, 2021. No intensive care beds for most Californians as COVID-19 surges

There are no intensive care beds available in densely populated Southern California or the state's agricultural San Joaquin Valley, together home to nearly 30 million people, amid a deadly surge of COVID-19, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday. The pandemic is crushing hospitals in the most-populous U.S. state, even as the U.S. government and two of the nation's largest pharmacy chains began a nationwide campaign on Monday to vaccinate nursing home residents against the highly contagious respiratory disease. U.S. judge to hear case that could end ‘Dreamer’ deportation protections

A U.S. judge in Texas will hear arguments on Tuesday in a lawsuit that could end an embattled program that grants deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as children. The case is one of the most significant challenges yet to the legally and politically contentious Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2012. $900 billion coronavirus bill clears hurdle in U.S. Congress as deadline looms

A $900 billion aid package meant to stimulate a pandemic-hit U.S. economy cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Monday evening as the leaders of both chambers of Congress aimed to pass the package in a marathon session. By a margin of 227 to 180, the House approved a measure allowing debate on the bill to proceed, a necessary step before the actual votes on the substance of the package.