Google has been in the headlines recently, and the news was not good. The technology company left the Chinese market eight years ago to protest Beijing’s censorship, but now appears ready to return with a new search engine. But the project is shrouded in secrecy, even as Google’s employees demand transparency. Meanwhile, the company tries…
read moreThe world’s oceans are filled with trace amounts of uranium, the primary fuel for nuclear power reactors. The trick is extracting it from the seawater. Now, scientists in the U.S. say they have done that using yarn, and extracted 5 grams of the powdered form of uranium used to produce reactor fuel. Faith Lapidus reports.…
read moreA budding trade war between the U.S. and Turkey over a detained American pastor is having global consequences. A sharp drop in Turkey’s lira, inflation and the threat of loan defaults, could drag down other economies, particularly in emerging markets. Turkey’s troubles are causing ripple effects in countries as far away as Argentina and Indonesia,…
read moreThe White House’s top lawyer has cooperated extensively with the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, sharing detailed accounts about the episodes at the heart of the inquiry into whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Citing a dozen current and former White House officials…
read moreTech companies like Google’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have long been global platforms for free expression but are increasingly facing calls to respond to offensive and abusive comments on their sites. Michelle Quinn reports this is an issue both in the U.S. and throughout the world. …
read moreTurkey’s currency this month has suffered heavy falls triggered by U.S.-Turkish tensions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor. Washington’s threat to impose new economic sanctions sparked another steep currency drop Friday. Dorian Jones reports on the economic fall out for people in Istanbul. …
read moreOmarosa Manigault Newman, a former adviser to President Trump, has been in the public’s eye this week with secret recordings of conversations she had with White House officials, including with the President himself. The scandal has brought to light new revelations that the Trump administration requires its staff to sign non-disclosure agreements, something almost unheard…
read morePresident Donald Trump headlined a closed-door fundraiser Friday at the Hamptons, New York, home of one of his closest friends, the chairman of the iconic Nathan’s Famous hot dog business. Trump participated in a roundtable with high-dollar donors before delivering remarks at a luncheon in Southampton hosted by Howard Lorber, a New York real estate…
read moreTesla shares dropped nearly 9 percent in value Friday, amid reports of CEO and co-founder Elon Musk meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk wrote on Twitter last week of his plans to take the company private for a price of $420 per share, writing that he had “funding secured.” On Monday,…
read moreStocks rose late in the day Friday as investors welcomed signs of progress in resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The Wall Street Journal reported that the countries hope to have a resolution by November. Industrial, health care and basic materials companies made some of the biggest gains. The report came a…
read moreTensions between the U.S. intelligence community and the White House are ratcheting up, with President Donald Trump and former, high-ranking intelligence official locked in a heated war of words over security clearances. Trump on Friday threw another punch in the ongoing battle, threatening to revoke the security clearance of a current Justice Department official and…
read moreGrassroots organizing is the key to building a movement, and much of it today is done online. Connections made through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter bring supporters to rallies, and dozens of online sites help politicians and activists manage vast amounts of data, disseminate their message and connect with supporters. Several candidates…
read moreGoogle is planning a return to China. But the project is shrouded in secrecy, and employees are demanding transparency. According to a report by The New York Times on Thursday, August 16, a petition calling for more oversight and accountability in the project racked up more than 1,000 signatures. Reuters reported this month, the app…
read moreAs summer comes to a close and kids prepare to head back to school, retailers are counting on novelty items such as scented markers and glitter glue to help win back some of the market share they’ve lost to iPads and popular electronic gadgets. VOA’s Jill Craig takes a look at retailers back to school…
read moreFormer CIA Director John Brennan is accusing President Donald Trump of trying to silence him over his allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. The White House revoked Brennan’s security clearance Wednesday, arguing that the former spy chief’s remarks exhibited what it called “erratic conduct.” White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has more. …
read moreU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued an order Thursday seeking to speed up the handling of deportation cases, telling immigration judges they should only issue continuances in immigrant removal proceedings for “good cause.” Sessions, in an interim decision, said immigration judges could grant motions for continuances in removal cases “only ‘for good cause shown.’” The…
read moreAfter long resisting change, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wants to revamp the “core” of the service to fight rampant abuse and misinformation. But it’s not clear if changing that essence — how it rewards interactions and values popularity — would even work. Though Dorsey was scant on details, what is certain is that the…
read moreOutfielder Rolando Rodriguez from Panama heard a reporter’s question, but he doesn’t speak English. So Georgia shortstop Tai Peete helped him out, pecking the words into Google Translate to ask about how young baseball players are sharing technology during the Little League World Series. “It was easier than expected,” Rodriguez said of the language barrier,…
read moreA potential ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil over concerns it may cause cancer in humans would be a “disaster” for the country’s agricultural industry, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said on Thursday. A Brazilian court ruled on Aug. 3 that new products containing the chemical could not be registered in the country and…
read moreFinance Minister Berat Albayrak assured international investors on Thursday that Turkey would emerge stronger from its currency crisis, insisting its banks were healthy and signalling it could ride out a dispute with the United States. In a conference call with thousands of investors and economists, Albayrak — who is President Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law — said…
read moreThe United States economy, the world’s largest, is “crushing it,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow declared Thursday. “This is the hottest business economic environment in the world today,” Kudlow told reporters at the White House. “President [Donald] Trump completely changed the business environment here for the better,” Kudlow said. “And that’s why we’re crushing…
read moreMelania Trump plans to address a cyberbullying summit in Maryland next week. The White House says the first lady will deliver remarks “addressing the positive and negative effects of social media on youth.” She’ll also attend a panel discussion with representatives from various social media platforms participating in the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention…
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