WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - An attempt by a county government in the US state of Maryland to force all private and religious schools to remain closed prompted an emergency order that returns the decision to schools themselves, Governor Larry Hogan said in a press release on Monday.

The campaign added that the former vice president has already agreed to participate in the three upcoming debates, while the US president has yet to do so.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Treasury Department factored expectations that Congress will approve a new COVID-19 relief bill for at least $1 trillion into its borrowing estimates for the final six months of the year, which are expected to exceed $2 trillion, according to a press release.

US President Donald Trump dismissed the ongoing investigation into his personal finances, calling it part of a continuing "witch hunt" by the Democrats.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The defence team of Russian citizen Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States, has been unable to contact their client for two weeks, lawyer Alexey Tarasov said on Monday.

A Chicago, Illinois, Dunkin’ Donuts location recently fired an employee shortly after he was arrested and slapped with several charges for allegedly adding saliva to an Illinois State Police (ISP) District Chicago trooper’s coffee order.

American pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Company announced Monday that it has started a third-phase trial of its COVID-19 antiviral drug known as LY-CoV555.

Tropical Storm Isaias isn’t the only tempest bearing down on New York: court filings by state prosecutors on Monday revealed their investigation into the finances of US President Donald Trump includes probes into other possible financial crimes, such as insurance fraud and bank fraud, and not just hush money payments.

US Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) officials have launched an investigation into a recently republished video that went viral over the weekend and depicted military working dogs attacking a kneeling man wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey.

Federal US Judge Esther Salas made her very first public statement Monday, weeks after a gunman disguised as a FedEx deliveryman killed her son and severely wounded her husband.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Trump administration will remain wary of popular video sharing app TikTok even if Microsoft and other US tech companies bought into the Chinese firm, White House adviser Peter Navarro said on Monday.

Officials have said the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas - the new home of the Raiders NFL franchise - is almost complete and ready for action. The Raiders have moved from Oakland, California, but they arrive as “Sin City” is struggling with the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to take legal action after the state of Nevada said it would mail all voters ballots so they can safely take part in the November presidential election amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Worries about purported foreign meddling in America's democratic processes are now being supplemented by concerns that the increased stress on the electoral system this year might allow criminals with less sophisticated tools to attack critical voting-related networks.

The Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, is located in the seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire.

The hip-hop icon made a shock announcement outlining his intention to enter the political fray in early July, but has since missed a number of deadlines to obtain sufficient signatures to be on the ballot.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) Crime Stoppers Program on Sunday released surveillance camera footage of a shooting that took place on Sheffield Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, as a means of including the public in the search for the gunman.

Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to ban the Chinese-owned viral video platform TikTok in the United States amid allegations that the app "spies" on American citizens and could be used to "meddle" in the US presidential election.

In his rejection of mail-in voting in the upcoming US presidential election, Donald Trump has claimed that it will "rig" the contest, and suggested moving the date of election. His idea was met with opposition, however, by both sides of the political aisle in Congress - the only body legally able to move an election.

US President Donald Trump has long promoted the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the ongoing coronavirus. Testing the drug for use in treating COVID-19 has, however, been blocked by international health bodies which have noted the compound's adverse effects on patients.