A federal judge Wednesday again threw out Texas’ voter identification requirements that she previously compared to a “poll tax” on minorities, dealing another court setback to state Republican leaders over voting rights. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos rejected a weakened version of the law signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott earlier this year. The…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday emphasized their plans to cooperate on shared goals, following weeks of tensions between the two Republicans. The White House and McConnell issued statements after media reports that McConnell’s relationship with the Republican president had disintegrated amid repeated attacks by Trump on the Senate…
read morePresident Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was willing to shut down the government to get funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, complicating two must-pass measures Congress will take up in September: a spending package and raising the debt ceiling. Here is what you need to know about both, and the potential for a shutdown…
read moreNearly two-thirds of American voters believe President Donald Trump is doing more to divide the country than he is to unite it, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The Quinnipiac University Poll reported 62 percent of the voters it surveyed felt that Trump is increasing divisions in the country; 31 percent said they felt…
read moreOil is the main revenue source in Alaska. This year, the trans-Alaska pipeline celebrated 40 years of service. From Alaska, VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at the history of North America’s largest oil field. …
read morePresident Donald Trump talked about shared American values, the media, the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and America’s history, including the Confederacy. …
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump gave the strongest indication at a campaign-style rally in Arizona late Tuesday that he will pardon former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration hard-liner who was recently convicted of contempt of court for ignoring a judicial order to halt his immigration patrols. “The most sacred duty of government is to…
read moreCongressional Republicans, seeking to address the complaints of small businesses, are floating changes to their controversial proposal to eliminate business tax deductions for debt interest payments, business lobbyists said Tuesday. A top U.S. Republican on tax policy acknowledged that modifications are in the works but did not provide details. The debt interest proposal, long seen…
read moreThe U.S. Department of Justice is scaling back its request to obtain a broad swath of data in connection with an anti-Trump website, after critics accused the department of trampling the free speech rights of political dissidents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia had previously issued a broader search warrant in July…
read moreDemocrats in a U.S. Congressional delegation visiting South Korea Tuesday strongly rebuked President Donald Trump’s recent threatening rhetoric about using military force against North Korea. “President Trump’s bluster is counter productive, is leading to escalation of tensions here on the Korean Peninsula,” Senator Edward Markey from Massachusetts, the senior Democrat on the U.S. Foreign Relations…
read moreFord Motor Co. and a Chinese automaker said Tuesday they are looking into setting up a joint venture to develop and manufacture electric cars in China. Ford’s potential venture with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. adds to the global auto industry’s rising activity in electric vehicles for China, which passed the United States last year…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign-style rally Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona, at time when he remains under fire for his controversial comments last week about a white nationalist rally that turned violent in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump blamed the violence not just on the rally organizers, but also the activists who opposed them. VOA National…
read moreFord Tuesday became the latest carmaker to launch a car scrappage scheme in Britain, joining the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, after months of procrastination from the government over whether to begin a national program. The U.S. automaker is offering customers a 2,000 pound ($2,580) discount off a range of Ford models when they trade…
read moreThe U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing and Northrop Grumman separate contracts to continue work on the replacement of the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system, the Pentagon said on Friday. Though the award for the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) comes amid rising tensions with North Korea, the Air Force had asked the…
read moreSen. John McCain’s packed agenda while on break from Congress in his home state of Arizona has hardly been the schedule of a typical brain cancer patient — or even someone about to turn 81. McCain has been undergoing targeted radiation and chemotherapy treatments at the local Mayo Clinic on weekday mornings before going about…
read morePresident Donald Trump will visit a border protection facility in a town along the U.S.-Mexican border in Arizona on Tuesday as he seeks congressional funding for the wall he wants built, administration officials said on Monday. Trump, who has struggled to persuade the Republican-led Congress to approve funding for a project many see as unnecessary,…
read moreAfter years of deriding the U.S. war in Afghanistan as a “complete waste,” President Donald Trump on Monday explained why he now believes it is in the United States’ interest to remain committed to the South Asian country. In an evening address from a military base outside Washington, Trump unveiled, without going into detail,…
read moreThe U.S. Secret Service will not be able to pay an estimated 1,100 employees for required overtime work after September due to government-imposed pay caps, the agency’s chief said on Monday. In a statement, Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles attributed the funding shortfall to the cost of protecting President Donald Trump and his family,…
read moreSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is “zero chance” Congress will allow the country to default on its debts by voting to not increase the borrowing limit. McConnell’s comments came Monday during a joint appearance in his home state of Kentucky with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. It was one of McConnell’s first…
read moreWisconsin Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca was branded as failing “on all accounts” by a fellow Democrat who was “incredibly frustrated and concerned” with his actions after Barca joined Republicans in voting for a $3 billion tax incentive package for Foxconn Technology Group. Emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Democratic state Rep.…
read moreVenezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says new measures will be rolled out this week to combat economic speculation in the crisis-ridden country. In an interview distributed via state-run media Sunday, Maduro said he was working with a “special commission” of the new, pro-government Constituent Assembly to clamp down on price gouging. The commission is…
read moreChina’s Great Wall Motor Co Ltd is interested in bidding for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), a company official said on Monday, confirming earlier reports that it is pursuing all or part of the owner of brands including Jeep and truckmaker Ram. There has been speculation over Chinese interest in FCA since Automotive News reported last…
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