Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Former NBA star trying to broker deal to ship masks to New York

Beijing-based retired basketball star Stephon Marbury is arranging an urgent shipment of surgical masks from China to New York to fight the coronavirus, he said on social media on Sunday. Marbury, who was born on New York's Coney Island, said he wanted to help his home city solve its reported shortage of masks.

Trump brags about high TV viewership of coronavirus briefings

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday bragged about the millions of people tuning in to view his daily press briefings on the coronavirus pandemic, saying on Twitter that his average ratings matched a season finale of "The Bachelor." "Because the 'Ratings' of my News Conferences etc. are so high, 'Bachelor finale, Monday Night Football type numbers' according to the @nytimes, the Lamestream Media is going CRAZY," Trump tweeted. "'Trump is reaching too many people, we must stop him.' said one lunatic. See you at 5:00 P.M.!"

Trump says extending coronavirus guidelines past Easter to April 30

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will extend the guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus to April 30, from his original target of Easter on April 12. Trump added that deaths from the coronavirus could peak around Easter.

Trump backs off plan to reopen businesses by mid-April amid coronavirus warnings

President Donald Trump on Sunday extended his stay-at-home guidelines until the end of April, dropping a hotly criticized plan to get the economy up and running by mid-April after a top medical adviser said more than 100,000 Americans could die from the coronavirus outbreak. The reversal by Trump, which he said would be disclosed in greater detail on Tuesday, came as the U.S. death toll topped 2,460 from the respiratory disease, according to a Reuters tally, with more than 141,000 cases, the most of any country in the world.

Experts warned Trump off New York-New Jersey-Connecticut lockdown

Experts on the White House coronavirus task force persuaded President Donald Trump that a travel advisory was preferable to the strict quarantine he was considering for the hard-hit New York area to limit the spread of the pathogen, officials said on Sunday. Trump had said on Saturday afternoon he might impose a ban on travel in and out of New York state and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, the epicenter of the health crisis in the United States, drawing protests from governors including Andrew Cuomo of New York.

Partisan divide returns in U.S. Congress on coronavirus next steps

Fresh partisan divisions flared on Sunday on the next steps for the U.S. Congress in dealing with the coronavirus crisis, with the top House of Representatives Republican casting doubt on the need for more economic stimulus legislation while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled she plans to move forward with it. President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a $2.2 trillion aid package - the largest on record - to address the economic downturn inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic after the Democratic-led House and Republican-led Senate put aside partisan differences to pass it nearly unanimously.

New Orleans doctors scramble as coronavirus deaths, cases soar

Emergency room doctor Thomas Krajewski stopped at the hospital room door at 2 a.m. to glance at the chart. He knew instantly the long odds faced by the patient inside: A man in his 70s, with a fever, short of breath. “Do you mind calling my son?” the patient asked him. “My two grandsons tomorrow morning are going to crawl in my bed because they wake me up on the weekends, and if I’m not there, they will wonder.”

UK's Prince Harry, wife Meghan, do not need U.S. help for security costs, spokeswoman says

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have no plans to ask the U.S. government for help with security costs, the couple said in a statement on Sunday in response to a tweet from President Donald Trump that the United States would not pay for their protection. In January, the couple said they would step away from their royal duties and according to media reports, recently relocated to Los Angeles.

'We're trying to keep our heads above water': U.S. healthcare workers fight shortages - and fear

U.S. nurses and doctors on the front lines of the battle against the new coronavirus that has infected tens of thousands of Americans and killed hundreds are shellshocked by the damage that the virus wreaks - on patients, their families and themselves. Nurses and doctors describe their frustration at equipment shortages, fears of infecting their families, and their moments of tearful despair.

New York state coronavirus deaths increase by 237 in past day: governor

The number of deaths from the coronavirus in New York state increased by 237 in the past day, reaching a total of 965 since the outbreak began, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday. The state also reported 7,195 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the past day for a total of 59,513, Cuomo told a news conference. Another 1,175 people were hospitalized in the past day, increasing the total to more than 8,500 hospitalizations in the state, including more than 2,000 in intensive care, Cuomo said. New York has been the most affected U.S. state.