US News Roundup: Top Israeli rabbis, and U.S. envoy, pray for Trump recovery; White House acknowledges Trump's condition had been worse than revealed and more

U.S. coronavirus relief bill complicated by top Republicans testing positive The renewed effort in the U.S. Congress to reach a fresh deal to pump coronavirus relief funds into the pandemic-hit economy has been further complicated by the news that President Donald Trump and three Senate Republicans have tested positive.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

White House acknowledges Trump's condition had been worse than revealed

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows revealed that President Donald Trump's condition on Friday was far worse than officials had made public, saying doctors recommended the president go to the hospital after seeing he had a fever and his blood oxygen level dropped rapidly. Meadows made the comments in an interview with Fox News broadcast Saturday night that capped two days of conflicting and opaque assessments of the 74-year-old president's health.

Top Israeli rabbis, and U.S. envoy, pray for Trump recovery

Israel's top rabbis prayed for U.S. President Donald Trump to recover from COVID-19 on Monday, invoking his name in a Jewish holiday ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall. Support for Trump, who recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city, is strong among Israelis, who mark the Jewish high holidays this year while under a second coronavirus lockdown.

Trump's medical status unclear as doctors say he could be discharged on Monday

President Donald Trump could be discharged from the hospital where he is being treated for COVID-19 as soon as Monday, according to his doctors, although his condition remains unclear and outside experts warn that his case may be severe. Sequestered at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington since Friday, Trump has released a series of videos in an effort to reassure the public that he is recovering from a pandemic that has infected 7.4 million Americans and killed more than 209,000.

Experts raise questions about severity of Trump's COVID-19

Doctors not involved in treating President Donald Trump for COVID-19 said the fact that he has been started on dexamethasone - a generic steroid widely used in other diseases to reduce inflammation - is the strongest evidence yet that his case may be severe. Trump's medical team on Sunday said the president was started on the steroid after experiencing low oxygen levels, but his condition was improving and he could be discharged from the hospital on Monday.

Factbox: White House staff, top Republicans who have tested positive for COVID-19

A growing number of White House staff and senior Republicans have tested positive for COVID-19 since President Donald Trump revealed he had contracted the respiratory disease. The infections have roiled the presidential campaign, now in its final month, rattled financial markets and slowed the work of Congress, with the Senate vowing to delay any votes now that three members of the Republican majority have tested positive.

Uber, Lyft spend big in California to oppose even costlier gig worker law

Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc together are spending nearly $100 million on a November California ballot initiative to overturn a state law that would compel them to classify drivers as employees. That sum looks less huge, however, than the potential costs of complying with the existing law, according to a Reuters analysis.

U.S. coronavirus relief bill complicated by top Republicans testing positive

The renewed effort in the U.S. Congress to reach a fresh deal to pump coronavirus relief funds into the pandemic-hit economy has been further complicated by the news that President Donald Trump and three Senate Republicans have tested positive. Word about the three senators' results prompted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to announce over the weekend that the chamber would be out until Oct. 19, suggesting he did not see an imminent deal on the bill following a week of talks between Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

U.S. labor shock from pandemic hit women of color hardest; will it persist?

One of the positive turns that the U.S. economy took during a decade-long recovery through 2019 was a steady rise in the share of women looking for work and working. Women's labor force participation had declined in 2007-2009 during the Great Recession, and many economists had worried that would become permanent, weighing on growth overall as women kept their skills and efforts off the table.

Shorthanded U.S. Supreme Court kicks off new term amid the drama

The U.S. Supreme Court returns to work on Monday for the first time since liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, opening its new term as Senate Republicans seek to quickly confirm President Donald Trump's conservative nominee to replace her. With eight justices rather than the usual nine, the court is set to hear two arguments on Monday, starting a term that runs through next June and includes several major cases including one that will decide the fate of the Obamacare healthcare law. Its last term ended in July.

Strange bedfellows: Laredo's millionaires, nuns, and muralists battle border wall

Former U.S. Border Patrol agent Daniel Perales spent hours over the years crouched at the mouth of the Zacata Creek, a tributary of the Rio Grande, listening for the snap of carrizo cane as border crossers from Mexico arrived on the northern banks. These days, he listens for the whistle of the Morelet's seedeater, a bird rare in these parts, and frets about the proposed construction of a border wall here.

(With inputs from agencies.)