U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the United States would cap the number of refugees allowed into the country at 30,000 for fiscal year 2019, a sharp drop from a limit of 45,000 it set for 2018. “We proposed resettling up to 30,000 refugees under the new refugee ceiling as well as…
read moreDonald Trump on Monday declassified a trove of documents related to the early days of the FBI’s Russia investigation, including portions of a secret surveillance warrant and former FBI Director James Comey’s text messages. Trump made the extraordinary move in response to calls from his allies in Congress who say they believe the Russia…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, could be sentenced as soon as Nov. 28, according to a joint court filing by prosecutors from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office and defense lawyers on Monday. Prosecutors have repeatedly deferred Flynn’s sentencing date since he pleaded…
read moreElon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, was sued for defamation on Monday for falsely suggesting that a British caver who helped save 12 boys and their soccer coach from a Thailand cave in July was a pedophile and child rapist. Vernon Unsworth sued over Musk’s reference to him in a July 15 tweet as…
read morePresident Trump imposed tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of tarrifs Chinese goods coming into the U.S., continuing an ongoing trade war between the two countries. The new import taxes begin next week and will rise to 25 percent at the end of 2018. According to Reuters, smart watches from Apple and Fitbit, as…
read moreWith his popularity ratings in freefall, French President Emmanuel Macron is counting on a rebound in family purchasing power to keep voters from turning against his reforms. Macron’s government has lined up several tax cuts taking effect in the coming months that should boost the closely tracked measure of disposable income in France. It could…
read moreA top economic adviser to President Donald Trump said on Monday he expects U.S. budget deficits of about 4 to 5 percent of the country’s economic output for the next one to two years, adding that there would likely be an effort in 2019 to cut spending on entitlement programs. “We have to be tougher…
read moreSaudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund invested $1 billion Monday in an American electric car manufacturer just weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier claimed the kingdom would help his own firm go private. Tesla stock dropped Monday on reaction to the news, the same day that the Saudi fund announced it had taken its first…
read moreResidents of the small city of Hazleton, PA, face deeply personal choices in this November’s election which features a homegrown candidate with hardline-immigrant views in a city that has been changed in deep-rooted ways by… an influx of immigrants. Hazleton’s “transformative decade,” is how former police chief Frank DeAndrea puts it. And transformative it has…
read moreResearchers are working to create robots that can do all types of jobs and now some scientists are trying to make androids – or robots that appear human. But androids can make some people feel uneasy. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee explains this feeling or phenomenon known as the “uncanny valley.” …
read moreThe prognosis for President Donald Trump and his party was grim. In a post-Labor Day briefing at the White House, a top Republican pollster told senior staff that the determining factor in the election wouldn’t be the improving economy or the steady increase in job creation. It would be how voters feel about Trump. And…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump claimed Sunday, without evidence, that the ongoing criminal investigation into his 2016 campaign’s links to Russia is “not allowed under the law.” In a Twitter comment, the U.S. leader called the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller “illegal” and said it “continues in search of a crime.” But Mueller was appointed…
read moreTwenty-five years after Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Peace Accords that raise hopes for a comprehensive settlement, experts say peace in the Middle East is as elusive as ever. And as VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports, some of those experts caution that the Trump administration has lost the trust of…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges Friday in connection with his past lobbying efforts on behalf of Ukraine. As part of the plea deal, Manafort has also agreed to cooperate in the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election led by special counsel Robert Mueller. VOA…
read moreAid money urgently needs to be redirected to the poorest countries in order to reach the United Nations’ goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030, according to a report. The London-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) says middle-income countries receive more aid than the 30 poorest nations. It also warns that at least 400 million people…
read moreSupreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Friday denied a sexual misconduct allegation from when he was in high school. In a statement released by the White House, Kavanaugh said: “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation. I did not do this back in high school or at any time.” Kavanaugh’s statement comes after Senator Dianne…
read moreU.S. media reports said Friday that President Donald Trump has instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on $200 billion more in Chinese products. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg and Reuters said the president wanted to move forward with the additional duties even though Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is trying to restart trade talks…
read moreFormer Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort agreed Friday to cooperate with the special counsel’s Russia investigation as he pleaded guilty to federal charges and avoided a second trial that could have exposed him to even greater punishment. The deal gives special counsel Robert Mueller a key cooperator who led the Trump election effort for a…
read moreThe U.S. sanctioned a China-based firm Thursday and its Russian subsidiary connected to North Korea, the latest in the Trump administration’s attempts to end Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Lawmakers applauded the move as they received an update from administration officials on U.S. sanctions countering Russian aggression and Chinese human rights violations. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson…
read moreGov. Andrew Cuomo overcame a primary challenge from activist and actress Cynthia Nixon on Thursday, thwarting her attempt to become the latest insurgent liberal to knock off an establishment Democrat. Cuomo, who always led in the polls and outspent his rival more than 8 to 1, seldom mentioned Nixon by name during an often-nasty campaign,…
read moreA group of former national security officials is urging the Trump administration to reconsider a controversial report on the connection between terrorism and immigration, saying the report falsely gives the impression that immigrants are responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks in the United States. The officials, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper…
read moreA Republican-led panel in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to make the individual tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul permanent, a move seen by some as a bid to help GOP candidates in the Nov. 6 congressional elections. Members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee voted 21-15 along party lines to send the…
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