Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. Supreme Court weighs Trump bid to bar illegal immigrants from census totals

The Supreme Court on Monday is set to take up President Donald Trump's unprecedented and contentious effort to exclude illegal immigrants from the population totals used to allocate U.S. House of Representatives districts to states. The challengers to Trump's July directive include various states led by New York, cities, counties and immigrant rights groups. They have argued that the Republican president's move could leave several million people uncounted and cause California, Texas and New Jersey to lose House seats, which are based on a state's population count in the decennial census.

Canada extends travel restrictions for those entering the country

Canada will extend its restrictions for all travelers entering the country, except from the United States, until Jan. 21, the government said on Sunday, in a move to limit the spread of COVID-19. Restrictions for U.S. citizens and foreign nationals arriving from the United States will continue until Dec. 21 and may be extended at that time, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said in a statement http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20201129:nCNWVRqK2a&default-theme=true.

U.S. CDC reports 265,166 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported a total 13,142,997 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 143,333 from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,210 to 265,166. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 28 versus its previous report a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/36f8EUx)

U.S. vaccine plans take shape but no let-up on restrictions

U.S. health authorities will hold an emergency meeting next week to recommend that a coronavirus vaccine awaiting approval be given first to healthcare professionals and people in long-term care facilities. The meeting, announced on Friday by a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee on immunizations, suggests that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may be close to authorizing distribution of the long-awaited medication, at least to those considered most vulnerable.

Recount in Wisconsin county demanded by Trump increases Biden's margin

A recount in Wisconsin's largest county demanded by Republican President Donald Trump's election campaign ended Friday with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden gaining votes. After the recount in Milwaukee County, Biden had a net gain of 132 votes, out of nearly 460,000 cast. Overall, Biden gained 257 votes to Trump's 125.

Monolith mystery deepens as Utah desert object vanishes

No word as to whether Star Trek's Scotty "beamed it up," but the mysterious, shiny monolith that was spotted in a remote southeastern Utah desert two weeks ago is gone. A state crew that buzzed through the wilderness, counting bighorn sheep from a helicopter, found the alien-looking object on Nov. 18 and touched off international sci-fi speculation, harkening to the classic Stanley Kubrick 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey."

New York City public schools will begin to reopen with weekly COVID-19 testing

New York City's public schools will begin to reopen for in-person learning on Dec. 7, starting with elementary schools for students whose parents agree to a weekly testing regimen for the novel coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday.

The schools, which make up the country's largest school system, were closed less than two weeks ago after the citywide rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive exceeded a 3% benchmark agreed to by the mayor and the teachers' union.

Democrat Schumer says $30 billion in federal funds needed to distribute COVID vaccine

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that $30 billion in federal funds was needed to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine as legislative negotiations over an economic relief bill remain stalled. Schumer, a Democrat, said that New York state alone would need "hundreds of millions" for distribution and education work around the distribution of the vaccine.

President-elect Joe Biden sprains ankle while playing with dog

President-elect Joe Biden sprained his ankle while playing with one of his dogs but didn't appear to suffer any broken bones, his office said on Sunday, citing Biden's personal physician. The incident happened on Saturday, Biden's office said in a statement, with the 78-year-old Democrat visiting an orthopedist on Sunday for x-rays and a CT scan "out of an abundance of caution."

In fresh blow to Trump, U.S. court rejects Pennsylvania election case

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an attempt by U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania, dealing another significant setback to Trump's bid to overturn the Nov. 3 election. "Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so," wrote Stephanos Bibas on behalf of a three-judge panel.