Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Ex-University of Texas tennis coach in college admissions scandal pleads guilty

The former head coach of the men's tennis team at the University of Texas at Austin pleaded guilty on Wednesday as part of deal to cooperate with prosecutors in their ongoing investigation of the U.S. college admissions scandal. Michael Center, 55, is among several sports coaches at universities including Yale and Georgetown who federal prosecutors in Boston say took bribes to designate students as fake athletic recruits as part of a $25 million scheme. Trump says he is holding big Pharma accountable in opioid fight

U.S. President Donald Trump touted progress in the fight against opioid abuse on Wednesday and promised to hold drugmakers accountable for their part in the crisis, a day after his administration brought its first related criminal charges against a major drug distributor and company executives. America's opioid epidemic, especially damaging in rural areas where Trump is popular, has been a focus for the Republican president. New Trump immigration plan may increase visas for highly-skilled workers

A merit-based immigration proposal being put together by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner could lead to an increase in U.S. visas for highly skilled workers, sources familiar with the effort said on Wednesday. Kushner is expected to present the comprehensive plan next week to President Donald Trump, who will decide whether to adopt it as his official position or send it back for changes, the sources said. Leader of self-styled U.S. citizen border patrol attacked in jail

The leader of an armed group that spent two months detaining migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, drawing condemnation from civil liberties advocates, was hospitalized after he was attacked in jail, his lawyer and authorities said. Larry Hopkins, 69, was in a hospital with broken ribs after being attacked on Tuesday at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces in southern New Mexico, his attorney, Kelly O'Connell, said. NRA sues Los Angeles over law requiring disclosure of ties to gun rights group

The National Rifle Association sued Los Angeles on Wednesday over a new law requiring that contractors disclose their ties to the gun rights group as a condition of obtaining business from the second most-populous U.S. city. Los Angeles was accused of trying to "silence NRA's voice, as well as the voices of all those who dare oppose the city's broad gun-control agenda," by cutting off revenue streams the group needs to advocate for the right to bear arms. Body of missing Illinois boy found in shallow grave, parents arrested

The body of a 5-year-old boy who was reported missing from his Illinois home last week was discovered buried in a shallow grave on Wednesday and his parents were arrested on murder charges, local police said. The remains of Andrew "AJ" Freund, wrapped in plastic, were found in a community near his home town of Crystal Lake, based on information provided to investigators by his mother and father, Crystal Lake Deputy Police Chief Tom Kotlowski said in a statement. R. Kelly's accuser wins judgment in suit singer failed to answer

A woman who accused R. Kelly of sexual abuse has won a civil case by default against the singer, after he failed to respond to her lawsuit and was a no-show in court. The woman, who accused Kelly of repeatedly having sex with her when she was 16 years old, filed the case in Chicago in February, a day before Kelly was arrested on 10 charges of sexual abuse. White supremacist to be executed in Texas for dragging death of black man

A white supremacist convicted of killing James Byrd Jr. in 1998 by dragging the 49-year-old black man behind a truck in one of the most notorious hate crimes in modern times is scheduled to be executed in Texas on Wednesday. John William "Bill" King, 44, is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT) by lethal injection at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville. U.S. measles cases at its highest since elimination in 2000: CDC

The United States has recorded 695 measles cases from 22 states as of April 24, the largest number of cases reported in the country since measles was eliminated in 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The high number of cases in 2019 was primarily the result of a few large outbreaks – one in Washington State and two in New York that started in late 2018, the agency said. U.S. measles cases at highest since elimination in 2000: CDC

The United States has confirmed 695 measles cases so far this year, the highest incidence recorded since the country declared it had eliminated the virus in 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The resurgence of the contagious disease is linked mainly to large outbreaks in Washington state and two in New York that began late last year, the agency said in a statement.