US Domestic News Roundup: California governor declares drought emergency in 41 counties; Biden picks Rahm Emanuel as U.S. envoy to Japan and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

California governor declares drought emergency in 41 counties

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday issued an expanded "drought emergency proclamation" for 41 of the state's 58 counties, citing above-average temperatures and dry conditions for April and May. Newsom, a first-term Democrat facing a recall election over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, directed the state's water board to consider modifying requirements for reservoir releases and take other conservation measures.

Biden picks Rahm Emanuel as U.S. envoy to Japan -FT

U.S. President Joe Biden has chosen former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan, the Financial Times said https://on.ft.com/3bgCPgv on Tuesday, citing eight people familiar with personnel discussions in the White House.

New U.S. COVID weekly cases fall to lowest since September

New cases of COVID-19 in the United States fell for a fourth week in a row, dropping 17% last week to just under 290,000, the lowest weekly total since September, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data. Deaths from COVID-19 fell 1.3% to 4,756 in the week ended May 9, the fewest deaths in a week since July.

Loyalty to Trump catapults Elise Stefanik into Republican stardom

U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik's first turn in the national limelight came when she mounted an impassioned defense of Donald Trump at his first impeachment trial in 2019, leading the then-president to declare that "a star is born." Stefanik's star could rise higher as Trump now pushes for her to be elected the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, which is set to vote on Wednesday to remove Representative Liz Cheney from that role for rejecting his continued false claims that the 2020 presidential election was marred by widespread fraud.

U.S. pump prices head for highest since 2014 as hacked fuel pipeline shut

U.S. gasoline prices at the pump jumped 6 cents in the latest week, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), and could soon be headed for the highest level since 2014 due to a cyber attack that shut down the country's biggest fuel pipeline system. Average U.S. pump prices increased 6 cents per gallon in the latest week to $2.967 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, the AAA said. An increase of 3 more cents would make the national average the most expensive since November 2014.

Pandemic's labor reshuffle likely just starting for U.S. workers

If the coronavirus pandemic produced its own brand of anxiety for American workers trying to stay healthy while balancing job and family demands, the coming return to "normal" will pose a new set of challenges. Like whether to first try to claw back all the free hours of labor donated to companies during the crisis, or shift to a "future-proof" occupation to insure against the next one, or figure out how to compete with the robots being deployed more widely because of the pandemic.

Biden: 1 million Americans sign up for healthcare in special enrollment period

One million Americans have signed up for health insurance on the U.S. government website Healthcare.gov during a special enrollment period that began on Feb. 15, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday. Biden, a Democrat, re-opened the country's online health insurance marketplace earlier this year to give more Americans a chance to take advantage of benefits provided under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

U.S. children ages 12 to 15 could begin COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday

U.S. regulators authorized Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12 and said they could begin receiving shots as soon as Thursday, widening the country's inoculation program as vaccination rates have slowed significantly. This is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized in the United States for ages 12 to 15. Vaccinating younger ages is considered an important step for getting children back into schools safely. U.S. President Joe Biden has asked states to make the vaccine available to younger adolescents immediately.

Analysis: The U.S. state with the most detailed corporate diversity disclosures

Aerospace company Boeing Co was explicit, naming who among its dozen directors were women, Asian and African American. Agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland Co offered a more general accounting, saying its board was 55% diverse. Illinois officials have seen the range of responses from local companies - many with international profiles - to new state requirements they identify the gender and race or ethnicity of each board member. The regulators say they are going to push all to be more like Boeing.

U.S. Senate Democrats aim to expand voting as Republicans seek to rein it in

Democrats in the U.S. Senate hope on Tuesday to advance sweeping election reform legislation making it easier for Americans to cast ballots, despite intense opposition from Republicans, many of whom support new restrictive voting rules at the state level. The 886-page bill would expand mail-in voting that was used widely in last year's presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic and would lengthen the hours of in-person balloting.

(With inputs from agencies.)