North America

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A 32-year-old woman who was the youngest of the 10 Black people killed at a Buffalo supermarket was remembered as big-hearted and quick with a laugh before her funeral Saturday.

Roberta Drury grew up in the Syracuse area and moved to Buffalo a decade ago to help tend to her brother in his fight against leukemia. She was shot to death last Saturday on a trip to buy groceries at the Tops Friendly Market targeted by the gunman.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore cited extreme fire danger and unfavorable weather conditions Friday in announcing a suspension of all planned fire burning operations to clear brush and small trees on all national forest lands while his agency conducts a review of protocols and practices ahead of planned operations this fall.

20 May 2022; MEMO: After several high-profile defeats, America's most powerful pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is said to be pouring millions of dollars into influencing Democratic congressional primary races to counter growing support for the Palestinian cause. AIPAC is pouring money, energy and resources to block women candidates who, if elected, are likely to align with a group of progressive politicians known as "the Squad", which includes the likes of

20 May 2022; MEMO: As the US moves to redeploy hundreds of troops to Somalia, it makes efforts to minimise civilian harm, ensure justice for abuses and focus on civilian protection as a priority, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

"Previous US military operations in Somalia resulted in the loss of life and property to Somali civilians that the US neither recognised nor provided with redress," the rights group said in a report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former director of the Ohio state prison system has emerged as a leading contender to run the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Gary Mohr, who has also worked in the private prison industry, is at the top of the list of candidates to replace Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal, who submitted his resignation in January but said he would stay on until a successor was named, the people said Friday.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Pandemic-related restrictions on migrants seeking asylum on the southern border must continue, a judge ruled Friday in an order blocking the Biden administration’s plan to lift them early next week.

The ruling was just the latest instance of a court derailing the president’s proposed immigration policies along the U.S. border with Mexico.

GAYLORD, Mich. (AP) — A rare northern Michigan tornado tore through a small community on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring more than 40 others as it flipped vehicles, tore roofs from buildings and downed trees and power lines.

The twister hit Gaylord, a city of about 4,200 people roughly 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of Detroit, at around 3:45 p.m.

Mike Klepadlo, who owns the car repair shop Alter-Start North, said he and his workers took cover in a bathroom.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With only a test dummy aboard, Boeing’s astronaut capsule pulled up and parked at the International Space Station for the first time Friday, a huge achievement for the company after years of false starts.

With Starliner’s arrival, NASA finally realizes its longtime effort to have crew capsules from competing U.S. companies flying to the space station.

SpaceX already has a running start. Elon Musk’s company pulled off the same test three years ago and has since launched 18 astronauts to the space station, as well as tourists.

WASHINGTON (AP) — While President Joe Biden travels in Asia, his administration is scrambling to salvage next month’s summit focused on Latin America.

The Summit of the Americas, which the United States is hosting for the first time since the inaugural event in 1994, has risked collapsing over concerns about the guest list. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has threatened to boycott if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua aren’t included. Unlike Washington, which considers the three autocratic governments as pariahs, Mexico’s leftist leader maintains regular ties with them.

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (APP): Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said there was little scope for dialogue with India as he denounced its “racist” actions in occupied Kashmir.