US

Citing data from local state health authorities, the Covid Tracking Project reported 83,010 new cases on Friday.

US Surgeon General Jerome Adams has warned that hospital admission numbers are growing, but mortality rates are falling due to better patient care.

It comes as pharma giants AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson resume US vaccine trials after approval from regulators.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that countries in the Northern Hemisphere are at a "critical juncture".

Fires have been raging in California, Oregon and Washington for three weeks.

Fanned by winds amid record heat, the blazes have burnt millions of acres, destroyed thousands of homes, and killed at least 25 people.

California's Governor Gavin Newsom said the fires show the debate around climate change is "over".

"Just come to the state of California. Observe it with your own eyes," he told reporters from a charred mountainside.

Regarded as the U.S. national pastime, ball parks that would be filled with fans and buzzing with excitement on opening day will stand empty as the country struggles to contain the virus that has claimed more than 140,000 American lives.

MLB makes its return mid-summer having been forced to shutdown mid-March during Spring training, with the New York Yankees visiting the World Series champion Washington Nationals and the Dodgers hosting the San Francisco Giants.

US deaths are also rising and have recently reached the highest levels since early June, led by Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, according to the tally.

More than half of all states - 30 out of 50 - have reported record one-day increases in cases this month. Infections are rising in almost all states, based on a Reuters analysis of cases the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.

If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases in a day behind the United States, Brazil and India, according to a Reuters analysis.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the true number of cases is likely to be 10 times higher than the reported figure.

It comes as the state of Texas halted its reopening as infections and hospitalisations surged.

The US has recorded 2.4m confirmed infections and 122,370 deaths.

Some southern and western states have been reporting record numbers of cases in recent days.

The University of Washington predicts 180,000 US deaths by October - or 146,000 if 95% of Americans wear masks.

A panel of health officials, including Dr Anthony Fauci, said the next few days will be crucial to stem the new outbreaks.

Cases are climbing rapidly across a number of US states.

The four top experts also testified they were never told by President Donald Trump to "slow down" testing.

Their comments come after Mr Trump told a weekend rally in Oklahoma that he had asked his team to do less testing to help keep official case counts down.

The White House has said his comment was "in jest".

High-skilled tech workers, non-agricultural seasonal helpers, au pairs and top executives will be affected.

The White House said the move will create jobs for Americans hurting economically due to the pandemic.

But critics say the White House is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to tighten up immigration laws.

Who's affected?

In a briefing for reporters, the administration said the freeze, in place through the end of the year, would impact about 525,000 people.

Rayshard Brooks, 27, was shot dead as he fled officers in a restaurant car park in Atlanta late on Friday.

The killing sparked protests. A top House Democrat said Mr Brooks' actions "did not call for lethal force" - echoing a statement by Atlanta's mayor.

The city's police chief has quit and the officer involved has been fired.

Atlanta is one of many US cities where the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police has sparked protests against racism and police brutality.

The charge against Derek Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder, court documents show.

The other three officers, previously uncharged, face counts of aiding and abetting murder.

Floyd's death has sparked huge protests across the US against racism and the police killings of black Americans.

The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed in a number of cities.

The Department of Transportation said it was punishing Beijing for refusing to let US flights to China resume following the coronavirus outbreak.

In recent weeks the countries have sparred over the pandemic and China's policies in Hong Kong.

But Washington said it would continue to "engage" on the air travel issue.

The Department of Transportation order applies to four airlines - Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines.