Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. measles outbreak hits 'completely avoidable' 25-year-high: officials

The number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak, propelled by the spread of misinformation about the vaccine that can prevent the disease, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases as of April 26, a 1.3 percent increase since the most recent tally of 695 reported on Wednesday. The vast majority of cases have occurred in children who have not received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which confers immunity to the disease, officials said. Charges filed in deadly California synagogue shooting

The 19-year-old accused gunman in a deadly California synagogue shooting is due in a San Diego court on Tuesday for arraignment in Saturday's attack, with officials adding a hate crime to his offenses. John Earnest faces one count of murder, with a hate crime added as a special circumstance, as well as three counts of attempted murder and one count of arson, the San Diego District Attorney's Office said on Monday. Wayne LaPierre re-elected NRA chief, survives power struggle

Wayne LaPierre was re-elected chief executive and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association on Monday, surviving a power struggle in which he was challenged by former NRA President Oliver North, who stepped down over the weekend. The NRA board voted unanimously in favor of LaPierre, who has been with the NRA for 40 years and has helped convert it into one of the most powerful lobbies in the United States, expanding gun rights even as the United States has endured multiple mass shootings. Senators urge regulators to quickly approve drone identification rules

Two U.S. senators on Monday urged U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to finalize a long-delayed rule that would require the remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems, or drones. The U.S. Congress tasked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2016 with issuing regulations or guidance by July 2018 that could permit the public, the FAA, law enforcement, and others to remotely track and identify drones and their operators during flight. New York officials hit back at Trump over backing NRA

New York's governor assailed President Donald Trump on Monday for backing the National Rifle Association in its dispute with the state, accusing the U.S. leader of being afraid of the powerful gun lobby. Two days after a gunman sprayed a California synagogue with bullets, killing a worshipper, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo urged Trump to do more to stop gun deaths. Trade war and sagging prices push U.S. family farmers to leave the field

Shuffling across his frozen fields, farmer Jim Taphorn hunched his shoulders against the wind and squinted at the auctioneer standing next to his tractors.After a fifth harvest with low grain prices, made worse last fall by the U.S.-China trade war, the 68-year-old and his family were calling it quits. Farming also was taking a physical toll on him, he said; he'd suffered a heart attack 15 months before. It took less than four hours to sell off all the tractors, combines and other farm equipment at the Taphorn retirement sale, ending a family tradition that had survived nearly a century. U.S. Army veteran charged with plotting to bomb white nationalist rally

A U.S. combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan who prosecutors say plotted to detonate multiple nail bombs at a Los Angeles-area white nationalist rally, seeking to cause mass casualties, was arrested in an FBI sting operation, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Mark Steven Domingo, 26, a U.S. Army infantryman who recently converted to Islam, was taken into custody on Friday after undercover FBI operatives furnished him with what he thought were live bombs to be used in the attack, law enforcement officials said. Pentagon approves 320 more personnel to Mexico border

The U.S. military said on Monday it would send about 320 Defense Department personnel to the border with Mexico in roles that would increasingly put them in contact with migrants, including driving them in vehicles and "monitoring" their welfare. The Pentagon's statement said the latest deployment would alone cost about $7.4 million through September and broadly confirmed details of the deployment previewed on Friday Trump directs officials to toughen asylum rules

U.S. President Donald Trump directed officials to toughen rules for asylum seekers on Monday, including by introducing a fee for their applications and barring those who entered the country illegally from working until their claims are approved. The moves are the latest effort by the Trump administration to stem a growing number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, many of whom then seek asylum in the United States. Many of the changes would be dramatic shifts in how asylum seekers are treated, but would also require time-intensive regulatory procedures before they go into effect, which will likely take months. White House says will reappoint Puerto Rico oversight board

The White House said on Monday it will ask the U.S. Senate to confirm the current members of Puerto Rico's federally created financial oversight board after creditors of the bankrupt island successfully challenged the appointments on constitutional grounds. The move lifts a cloud over the board as it attempts to restructure Puerto Rico's core government debt under a form of bankruptcy after winning court approval for deals involving the U.S. commonwealth's sales tax-backed bonds and Government Development Bank debt.