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There have been at least 733 confirmed measles cases reported across the nation, thelatest datafrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed Friday.

In just a few weeks, the United States reported four times as many cases than typically seen throughout an entire calendar year, the CDC said.

Before last year, which had a record breaking 2,276 cases, the U.S. averaged 180 cases annually since measles was declared eliminated in 2000.

The record numbers come asSouth Carolinais dealing with the largest outbreak recorded in recent memory.

Other states that have reported cases and are dealing with ongoing outbreaks include Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Most of the outbreaks occurring across the country are in pockets of under-vaccinated or unvaccinated communities.

"Because it's such an infectious virus, whenever you see measles outbreaks, it in effect, highlights areas of the country or communities in which vaccination rates are low," Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the former head of the CDC's branch that tracks diseases including measles, told ABC News.

1 year since measles cases found in Texas, US still seeing surge of infections with elimination status at risk

The rate of kindergartners vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine has fallen from 95% in 2019 to below 93% in 2025, CDC data shows. Herd immunity, a threshold for vaccination rates that slow a virus' ability to spread, is typically achieved at 95% vaccination rates, public health experts say.

"I think that this highlights that our defenses are down, especially in some parts of the country and in some communities where vaccination rates aren't high enough to stop measles outbreaks in their tracks," Daskalakis said.

Declining vaccination rates have left approximately 300,000 kindergarteners unprotected from measles infection.

The MMR vaccine is given in two doses, the initial shot given after the first year of life and the second shot given after the fourth year of life.

Low vaccination rates in communities may lead to further outbreaks and spread of the virus, potentially even putting those who are vaccinated at risk.

"If you have someone vaccinated for an infection and expose them to enough of that pathogen, you can overwhelm that immunity," Daskalakis said.

"The lowest hanging fruit strategy to end the measles outbreak is to increase rates of vaccination," he added.

BEIRUT (AP) — U.N. peacekeepers patrolling southernLebanonhave faced a dramatic surge of "aggressive behavior" by Israeli forces over the last year, including drone-dropped grenades and machine-gun fire, according to an internal report seen by The Associated Press.

The report by one of the 48 nations that together have more than 7,500 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon says the number of incidents jumped from just one in January to 27 in December. The hilly frontier zone where the UNIFIL force patrols has seen decades of cross-border violence. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants fought a full-scale war in 2024.

The targeting ofpeacekeepersappears aimed at underminingthe international forceand strengthening Israel's military footprint along the U.N.-drawn border with Lebanon, known as the Blue Line, the report alleges. It was shared with AP on condition that the news organization not identify the country whose peacekeepers compiled the findings for internal use by their senior command.

Israel has long mistrusted UNIFIL, accusing it of failing to prevent Hezbollah from building up its military presence along the border in violation of ceasefire agreements going back two decades.

The growing catalog of run-ins comes as a half-century of international peacekeeping efforts along the border face an uncertain future. UNIFIL's mission is scheduled to end this year and U.S. PresidentDonald Trump's administration regards it asa waste of money.

Israel says it tries to reduce harm

In a statement to AP, the Israeli military said it "is not conducting a deterrence campaign against UNIFIL forces" and is working within accepted frameworks to dismantleHezbollah, largely based in southern Lebanon.

The military "takes steps to reduce harm to UNIFIL forces and other international actors operating in the area," it said.

UNIFIL said in a statement that "the number of attacks on or near peacekeepers, as well as aggressive behavior toward peacekeepers, have increased since September 2025," with most of those incidents attributed to the Israeli military.

"The majority of incidents do not involve physical harm to peacekeepers, but any action that interferes with our mandated activities is a matter of concern," it said.

The U.N. force has reported additional incidents this year. An Israeli tank opened fire with small-caliber bullets on a UNIFIL post on Jan. 16, it said. This week, it reported that a drone dropped a stun grenade that exploded in the vicinity of a peacekeeping patrol before flying toward Israeli territory.

Report details array of incidents

The report seen by AP details multiple instances in 2025 ofgrenades being dropped by Israeli dronesnear UNIFIL patrols, including an attack in October that wounded a peacekeeper, as well as machine-gun fire near UNIFIL positions. In some cases, UNIFIL vehicles were damaged.

The last four months of 2025 also saw a surge in incidents of direct fire at all targets from Israeli positions on both sides of the Blue Line, the report says. Such incidents spiked to 77 in December, up from just two in January, it says.

UNIFIL vehicles and positions are clearly marked as belonging to the U.N., and Hezbollah militants have not maintained a visible presence or fired on Israeli forces in recent months.

The report says "it cannot be excluded" that Israel is using the incidents to maintain a military presence north of the border and prevent people who have fled the zone from returning.

Israel-Hezbollah conflict

After the Oct. 7, 2023,Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggeredwar in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a U.S.-brokered ceasefire two months later.

Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild in the south, in violation of the ceasefire, and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah militants and facilities. Israeli forces also continue to occupy five hilltop points on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire.

Spraying of chemicals spurs an outcry

The U.N. and Lebanon say Israeli forces dropped herbicide on Lebanese territory on Sunday, forcing a more than nine-hour pause in peacekeeping activities, including patrols.

"The use of herbicides raises questions about the effects on local agricultural lands, and how this might impact the return of civilians to their homes and livelihoods in the long-term," U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. There was no Israeli comment.

Dujarric added that "any activity" by the Israeli military north of the Blue Line violatesa U.N. resolutionadopted in 2006 that expanded the UNIFIL mission, in hopes of restoring peace to the area after a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Uncertain future for border area

UNIFIL was created nearly five decades ago to oversee Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after its troops invaded in 1978.

The U.N. Security Councilvoted last Augustto terminate its mission at the end of 2026.

Israel had long sought an end to its mandate, saying UNIFIL failed to keep Hezbollah away from the border. Under the 2006 U.N. ceasefire, the Lebanese army was supposed to maintain security in the south with backing from UNIFIL and militants were to disarm.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon have frequently accused UNIFIL of collusion with Israel and have sometimes attacked its patrols.

The Lebanese government says UNIFIL serves a necessary purpose. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in December that Lebanon will need a follow-up force to fill the vacuum and to help Lebanese troops along the border as they expand their presence there.

In an AP interview this week, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said several proposals are under discussion.

One possibility is an expansion of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, or UNTSO, which maintains a small observer force in Lebanon. The European Union has also offered to contribute to an international observer force, he said.

Whatever the arrangement, Mitri said: "We need a neutral, internationally mandated force to observe and make sure that whatever is agreed upon in negotiations is fully respected."

Leicester reported from Paris and Lederer from the United Nations. AP journalist Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.

Thousands of units of M&M's products are being recalled across more than a dozen states because their packaging does not include proper allergen warnings.

The recall wasannounced by the Food & Drug Administrationafter it emerged that more than 6,000 units had been repackaged by Beacon Promotions Inc. without advisories that they may contain milk, soy and peanuts.

It was first issued on January 26, and on Wednesday, the FDA classified the recall as Class II, meaning consuming the product could cause "temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences."

However, the recall only affects consumers who may beallergic or sensitive to soy, peanuts or milk; the candies themselves are safe to eat, and those without allergies will not be affected by their consumption.

The M&M's in question were distributed in packaging that was labelled for promotional purposes,according to the FDA,and could contain any of the following promotional labels or packages:

Next Up; Smith Pro; Jaxport, Jacksonville Port Authority; Climax Molybdenum, A Freeport-McMoRan Company; University of Maryland, School of Public Policy; Liberty University Environmental Health & Safety; Subaru; Trinity Cyb3r; Candy Treats; JSE, Jordan & Skala Engineers; Dropbox DocSend; PP, Prosperity Promotions; Northwest Indian College Foundation; FES Branding Solutions; Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance Companies; merry maids Annual 26 Conference; BW, Best Western; Morgan Stanley; tufin; Compliments of Pioneer; A.D. Morgan, Construction Manager, Design Builder, General Contractor; Adobe; Xfinity; Fundermax Interiors; White Cup; Acadia Commercial; Aviagen; ORG Expo; and Make Your Mark.

The recalled repackaged M&M's Peanut candies can be identified by the "Make Your Mark" label with lot code M1823200 and a "best by" date of April 30, 2026.

Regular M&M's candies being recalled all have the lot code L450ARCLV03 with a "best by" date of December 1, 2025; the lot code L502FLHKP01 with a "best by" date of January 1, 2026; the lot code L523CMHKP01 with a "best by" date of June 30, 2026; or the lot code L537GMHKP01 with a "best by" date of September 1, 2026.

They were distributed in the following 20 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Anyone who has the products in question and is allergic to or sensitive to nuts, soy, or milk should throw them away. Those who are not allergic or sensitive can safely consume them.

HPG Brands, the parent company of Beacon Promotions Inc., did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how the labelling mix-up had occurred.