US News Roundup: US measles vaccine production increased; armed teachers in Florida

Merck steps up U.S. measles vaccine production with increased demand

Merck & Co said on Wednesday it has increased the production of the measles vaccine to meet an uptick in demand in the United States in the midst of the country's biggest outbreak in 25 years. Merck, the sole U.S. supplier of measles vaccines, said the increased demand was noticeable, but did not amount to a surge, and has not required a significant increase in distribution across the country.

Ex-CIA officer pleads guilty to conspiring to spy for China

A former CIA officer has pleaded guilty to conspiring to pass U.S. defence and intelligence secrets to China, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, in the third such case in less than a year. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, 54, was approached in 2010 by two Chinese intelligence officers who offered to pay him $100,000 and to take care of him "for life" for information he had acquired as a CIA officer, according to a Justice Department statement. Lee left the CIA in 2007 and moved to Hong Kong.

Facebook settlement with the U.S. may include privacy oversight: Politico

Facebook Inc and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are negotiating a possible settlement that would require the company to create an independent privacy oversight committee and take other steps to safeguard users, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a source. The steps would include appointing a federally-approved privacy official at the highest level of Facebook and creating a privacy oversight committee that may include Facebook board members, the report said.

U.S. religious centres buy more insurance after raft of shootings

U.S. religious centres are buying special insurance to protect them from the financial consequences of an armed intruder opening fire in their buildings. Many congregations have been reassessing coverage and buying separate "active assailant" policies as shootings at houses of worship, including churches, synagogues and mosques, become more common, religious leaders and insurance representatives said in interviews.

Teenage Guatemalan migrant dies in Texas while in U.S. custody

A 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant died in a Texas hospital while in the custody of the U.S. government on Wednesday after his health steadily declined due to a severe brain infection, according to officials from both countries. The unaccompanied teen died on Tuesday after "several days of intensive care" at a children's hospital, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement.

Florida teachers can arm themselves under a new gun bill

Florida's legislature on Wednesday passed a bill allowing teachers to carry guns in the classroom, expanding a program launched after the deadly high school shooting in Parkland with the aim of preventing another such massacre. Florida's House of Representatives voted 65 to 47 to pass the bill after hours of debate over two days in which the Republican majority thwarted Democratic efforts to amend, stall or kill the measure. Florida's Senate approved it 22 to 17 last week.

Trump seeks a huge boost in emergency funds for migrant surge

The Trump administration on Wednesday asked Congress for $4.5 billion in immediate emergency funding, saying a surge in Central American children and families claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border had drained government resources. The money would come on top of the funding President Donald Trump has redirected to make good on a central pledge of his 2016 election campaign - to build a border wall to stop illegal immigrants - ahead of his looming 2020 presidential race.

Accused gunman in North Carolina college shooting due in court

A former student at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte was due to appear in court on Thursday, accused of murdering two students and attempting to kill others when he opened fire in a crowded classroom on Tuesday. Trystan Andrew Terrell, 22, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder after police and witnesses say he began firing a handgun in a classroom full of nearly 50 students on UNC Charlotte's campus shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

PG&E seeks U.S. court approval for $105 million funds to help wildfire victims

PG&E Corp on Wednesday sought court approval for a $105 million fund to help house victims of the wildfires blamed on the bankrupt California power provider. PG&E in a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco said the fund would cover housing and other urgent needs for many who lost homes in the wildfires in 2017 and 2018.

Georgia to execute man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend, her friend in 1994

A 52-year-old man convicted of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and one of her friends during an argument in 1994 is scheduled to be executed in Georgia on Thursday. Scotty Garnell Morrow is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 7 p.m. local time (2300 GMT) at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson.