USA

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Additional cases of monkeypox are likely to be detected in the United States but the risk to the general public is low at this time, a senior U.S. administration official said on Friday.

The first case of monkeypox this year in the United States was confirmed on Wednesday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The infected man had recently traveled to Canada.

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Rudy Giuliani, who served as former U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, met for more than nine hours on Friday with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, CNN reported, citing two sources.

Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City, had previously refused to appear before the panel unless his testimony was videotaped, his attorney Robert Costello said earlier this month. The committee said at the time that Giuliani had agreed to a transcribed interview.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer, General Mark Milley, spoke by telephone with Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first conversation between the two since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

"The military leaders discussed several security-related issues of concern and agreed to keep the lines of communication open," said a spokesman for Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia's naval blockade, officials said, amid concerns more powerful weapons that could sink Russian warships would intensify the conflict.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Students at public schools in Berkeley, in the western U.S. state of California, will be required to wear masks in indoor spaces starting Monday through the school year which ends June 3, as COVID-19 cases surge in the community, according to an announcement Friday from Berkeley Unified School District officials.

LOS ANGELES, May 20 (Xinhua) -- From the climbing rope found with the remains of British mountaineer George Mallory, who took part in the first British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s, to one of the first oxygen sets ever employed in high-altitude climbing, an exhibition being held in Bowers Museum in U.S. Southern California takes visitors on an epic journey to Mount Everest.

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.