The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than first estimated during the first quarter of this year. The Commerce Department’s Friday report shows expansion at a 1.2 percent annual rate in January, February and March. That is nearly twice as fast as the preliminary estimate, but slower than the end of last year,…
read moreAfrica loses an estimated $50 billion a year to illicit financial flows, leaving governments strapped for cash and dependent on development aid. The continent is “hemorrhaging” money because of the failure of countries to enact strong legislation to check money flows, says Rose Acha, Cameroon’s supreme state audit minister and secretary general of the African…
read moreRepublican multimillionaire Greg Gianforte won Montana’s only U.S. House seat Thursday despite being charged a day earlier with assault after witnesses said he grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground. Gianforte, a technology entrepreneur, defeated Democrat Rob Quist to continue the GOP’s two-decade stronghold on the congressional seat. Democrats…
read moreA budget proposal by the Trump administration in March outlines a commitment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) effort to send astronauts to Mars. About $3.7 billion is earmarked for development of the Space Launch System and the Orion capsule, crucial parts of NASA’s effort to send humans deeper into space. VOA’s Kane…
read moreSoon there will be no classic beauty salons in the United States. At least that’s what two Alexandria businessmen claim. Don and Jeff DeBolt, father and son, offer stylists an opportunity to become owners of “one man salons” by renting equipped salon studios. The prices start at three hundred dollars per week. Their experiment turned…
read moreWhile world attention has focused on Kim Jong Un’s recent missile tests, a monthlong surge in gasoline prices in Pyongyang is showing no signs of letting up, a puzzling problem that if allowed to drag on could be bad news for the North Korean economy. Prices have shot up to about $2.30 per kilogram,…
read moreDevelopments Thursday concerning President Donald Trump include his lecturing of fellow leaders of NATO member countries, efforts to repair relations with Britain after U.S. officials leaked information regarding the Manchester attacks, and news that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Russia probe, according to media reports:…
read moreMembers of Congress criticized the Education Department on Thursday over $6 billion in improper payments made as part of federal student aid programs. Kathleen Tighe, inspector general at the department, told a House hearing that the department made $2.21 billion in improper payments as part of its Pell Grants program in 2016 and $3.86 billion…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, is under scrutiny by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the Russia probe, the Washington Post and NBC News reported on Thursday. Kushner is being investigated because of his meetings in December and other possible interactions with the Russian ambassador and a banker from…
read moreJoe Lieberman, a former U.S. senator from Connecticut and Democratic vice presidential candidate, has withdrawn from consideration to be the next FBI director, citing the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest given President Donald Trump’s decision to retain an attorney who works at the same firm he does. Lieberman works at a…
read moreThe Federal Bureau of Investigation has declined for now to give the House Oversight Committee documents it had requested regarding communications between former FBI chief James Comey and President Donald Trump, the head of the panel said Thursday. The FBI said it was still evaluating the request, which had a committee-set deadline of Wednesday, in…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s budget director told the Senate Budget Committee Thursday that Republican legislation aimed at revamping the nation’s health care law would curtail the growth of health care costs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a report Wednesday estimating the bill, which narrowly passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, would…
read moreNew data Thursday paint a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. A report on the job market shows a slight increase in the number of people signing up for unemployment assistance last week. But the data also show that the number of people laid off remains at a low level consistent with a strong job…
read moreNathan Singletary is beyond the traditional retirement age, but he’s only just beginning a new career — helping other low-income, unemployed Americans over age 55 find jobs. Singletary got his job through the half-century-old Senior Community Service Employment Program, a training and placement program underwritten by taxpayers aimed at putting older Americans back into the…
read moreOPEC and other oil nations meeting Thursday appeared set to extend their production cuts in an effort to shore up prices. But the intended impact could be short-lived. That’s due to U.S. shale producers. With crude prices above $50 a barrel from lows of last year, they are increasingly moving back into the market. Their…
read moreJust as President Xi Jinping was launching the One Belt, One Road initiative to expand China’s geo-economic footprint, a former high-level U.S. trade official raised concerns that Beijing has been reversing its policies of reform and keeping the market to itself. Charlene Barshefsky, who worked as the U.S. Trade Representative under President Bill Clinton and…
read moreDemocrats in the U.S. Senate are urging President Donald Trump to remain committed to the 2015 Paris climate agreement. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he would withdraw the United States from the treaty signed by 195 countries, which Republicans claim is bad for the U.S. economy. Trump has promised to announce his decision after…
read moreThe Republican candidate for Montana’s sole congressional seat was charged with misdemeanor assault Wednesday night after witnesses told police Greg Gianforte grabbed a reporter by the neck and slammed him to the ground the night before polls close in the nationally watched election. Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin made the announcement late Wednesday in…
read moreAfrica is now the continent with the largest percentage of people under 35 years-old. Experts say that presents both opportunities and challenges. Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth is the theme of this year’s Africa Day celebrations. VOA’s Mariama Diallo has more. …
read moreLess than two weeks before Election Day last November, federal agents descended on a hotel lobby to meet a Louisiana private investigator they believed had illegally tried to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns. At the time, the agents didn’t know if Jordan Hamlett had been successful — and they feared a public release of Trump’s…
read moreDevelopments Wednesday concerning President Donald Trump include his visit with Pope Francis, and his desire to “pursue peace,” the agenda for Thurday’s NATO summit in Brussels, congressional subpoenas for his former national security adviser, and the Congressional Budget Office releasing its estimates on the cost of his health care plan: Trump ‘Determined to Pursue Peace’…
read moreU.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday that his department is reviewing licenses for Boeing Co and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran, telling lawmakers he will increase sanctions pressure on Iran, Syria and North Korea. “We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to…
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