Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

U.S. next week to start purchasing $3 billion worth of farm goods -Trump

President Donald Trump on Saturday said the United States will next week begin purchasing $3 billion worth of dairy, meat and produce from farmers as unemployment soars and people are forced to food lines. "Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

U.S. to allow states to distribute Gilead's remdesivir to fight COVID-19

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Saturday it would allow state health departments to distribute Gilead Sciences Inc's remdesivir drug to fight COVID-19, and the United States would receive about 40% of the drug maker's global donation. Gilead has committed to supply approximately 607,000 vials of remdesivir over the next six weeks in the United States, and the U.S. state health department will distribute the doses to appropriate hospitals in their states, HHS said.

Protesters decry delay in arrests of two white men in shooting of black Georgia jogger

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of a Georgia courthouse on Friday to decry the killing of an unarmed black man in February and the delay in charging two white men in a shooting captured on video that was released earlier this week. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) arrested a former police officer, Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis, 34, on Thursday and charged with them with aggravated assault and murder in the Feb. 23 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, 25, in the coastal Georgia town of Brunswick.

Major U.S. airlines endorse temperature checks for passengers

A major U.S. airline trade group on Saturday said it backed the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checking the temperatures of passengers and customer-facing employees during the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines for America, which represents the largest U.S. airlines including American Airlines , United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, said the checks "will add an extra layer of protection for passengers as well as airline and airport employees. Temperature checks also will provide additional public confidence that is critical to relaunching air travel and our nation’s economy."

Rare syndrome tied to COVID-19 kills three children in New York, Cuomo says

Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome believed to be linked to the novel coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday, a development that may augur a pandemic risk for the very young. Both Cuomo and his counterpart in the neighboring state of New Jersey also spoke on Saturday about the pandemic's growing toll on mental health, another factor on the minds of governors as they weigh the impact of mounting job losses against health risks in moving to loosen restrictions on daily life.

Rock 'n' roll pioneer Little Richard dies at age 87

Little Richard, the self-proclaimed "architect of rock 'n' roll" who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87. Richard, a Grammy Award winner and inductee to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame whose electrifying 1950s hits such as "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally" and flamboyant stage presence influenced legions of performers, succumbed to cancer.

U.S. CDC reports 1,274,036 coronavirus cases, 77,034 deaths

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 1,274,036 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 25,996 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,557 to 77,034. 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 May 8, compared with its count a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/2YZZFUn)

As Trump returns to the road, some Democrats want to bust Biden out of his basement

While President Donald Trump traveled to the battleground state of Arizona this week, his Democratic opponent for the White House, Joe Biden, campaigned from his basement as he has done throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Those optics have some Democrats increasingly concerned.

In leaked call, Obama describes Trump handling of virus as chaotic

Former President Barack Obama described President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as "chaotic" in a conference call with former members of his administration, a source said on Saturday. Obama has largely kept out of the fray even as Trump has blamed him and his Democratic administration for a variety of problems related to having sufficient supplies to battle the pandemic that has killed more than 75,000 Americans.

Vanessa Bryant files claim over crash-site photos

Vanessa Bryant filed a claim against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, contending deputies shared unauthorized photos of the site where her husband and daughter died in a helicopter crash in January. The claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit, was filed Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported. Retired Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant and the couple's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were killed along with seven others in the Jan. 26 crash.