US Domestic News Roundup: Massachusetts identifies first 2022 U.S. case of monkeypox infection; U.S. charges one American, four Chinese officials with spying and more

Payton Gendron, 18, who is white, was initially arraigned on a single count of first-degree murder hours after police said he opened fire on Saturday afternoon at a Tops Friendly Markets outlet with a semi-automatic assault-style rifle. Democrats warn abortion, voting rights at stake in Pennsylvania governor's race After far-right candidate Doug Mastriano won the Republican primary for Pennsylvania governor, Democrats quickly warned voters that he poses a threat to abortion access, voting rights and election integrity should he win in November.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Massachusetts identifies first 2022 U.S. case of monkeypox infection

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Wednesday said it had confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in a man who had recently traveled to Canada. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)said its labs confirmed the infection to be monkeypox on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. charges one American, four Chinese officials with spying

A U.S. citizen and four Chinese intelligence officers have been charged with spying on Chinese dissidents, human rights leaders and pro-democracy activists residing in the United States, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday. The indictment accuses Wang Shujun, of Queens, New York, of using his status within the Chinese diaspora and dissident communities to collect information about activists on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS).

Biden invokes Defense Production Act to increase the infant formula supply

President Joe Biden took steps on Wednesday to address the shortage of infant formula in the United States, invoking the Defense Production Act to help manufacturers obtain the ingredients needed to ramp up supply, the White House said. Biden also directed U.S. agencies to use Defense Department commercial aircraft to bring formula into the United States from overseas.

'I mean Ukraine': Former U.S. President George Bush calls Iraq invasion 'unjustified'

Former U.S. President George W. Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq as "brutal" and "unjustified" before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bush made the comments in a speech during an event in Dallas on Wednesday, while he was criticizing Russia's political system.

Pennsylvania awaits results in key midterm U.S. Senate Republican primary

Pennsylvania's hotly contested U.S. Senate Republican primary between TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund executive David McCormick was still undecided on Wednesday and could drag on into next week, with a possible recount looming. Oz, whose candidacy was propelled by a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump, led McCormick by just over 500 ballots cast on Tuesday out of nearly 1.3 million counted, while conservative political commentator Kathy Barnette trailed at a distant third, according to Edison Research.

Tesla's Musk says he 'can no longer support' Democrats, 'will vote Republican'

Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said on Wednesday that while he voted for Democrats in the past, he will now vote for Republicans. "In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican," he tweeted.

Teen charged with mass murder in Buffalo, N.Y., due back in court

The teenager accused of killing 10 people in a live-streamed supermarket shooting in a Black neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, was due back in court on Thursday in a case spurring a national conversation about the toxic mix of guns, hate and the internet. Payton Gendron, 18, who is white, was initially arraigned on a single count of first-degree murder hours after police said he opened fire on Saturday afternoon at a Tops Friendly Markets outlet with a semi-automatic assault-style rifle.

Democrats warn abortion, voting rights at stake in Pennsylvania governor's race

After far-right candidate Doug Mastriano won the Republican primary for Pennsylvania governor, Democrats quickly warned voters that he poses a threat to abortion access, voting rights and election integrity should he win in November. Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general and the Democratic nominee for governor, called Mastriano the most extreme gubernatorial candidate in the country.

Barr, Biden's pick for Fed regulation role, to be quizzed by Senate

Michael Barr, the second person nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden to be the Federal Reserve's Wall Street cop, will appear before the Senate on Thursday to make the case for why he should take on the central bank's sweeping regulatory portfolio. Barr, a former Treasury Department senior official under President Barack Obama, looks to be well-positioned to win Senate confirmation after receiving early support from key moderates and progressive Democrats in the evenly divided chamber. He will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).

Friendly fire: Redistricting forces incumbent-versus-incumbent midterm battles across U.S

U.S. Representative Lucy McBath has been a rising Democratic star since 2018, when she ended 40 years of Republican dominance in a suburban Atlanta seat. Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux staked her own claim to fame in 2020, when she captured the district next door and became the only Democratic House candidate in the country to flip a Republican seat that year.

(With inputs from agencies.)