Senate Republicans are working to soon fill the nation’s longest judicial vacancy with a North Carolina lawyer whose nomination has raised objections from black lawmakers and civil rights groups concerned about his work defending state laws found to have discriminated against African-Americans. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has helped push 84 of President Donald…
read moreLebanon is marking 75 years of independence with a military parade Thursday in Beirut, but many anxious Lebanese feel they have little to celebrate: the country’s corruption-plagued economy is dangerously close to collapse and political bickering over shares in a new Cabinet is threatening to scuttle pledges worth $11 billion by international donors. The World…
read moreSolar-powered suitcases are bringing light to darkened classrooms and struggling students in rural Kenya. Before solar power, the alternatives were small tin kerosene lamps that are not only expensive to fill but also have caused some health problems. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
read moreAn Arizona jury Wednesday acquitted a U.S. Border Patrol agent of manslaughter in the shooting of a Mexican teen through a border fence, sparking a protest in downtown Tucson following the second loss for federal prosecutors in the second trial over the 2012 killing. Jurors in Tucson found Lonnie Swartz not guilty of involuntary manslaughter…
read moreNissan Motor Co will hold a board meeting on Thursday to oust Chairman Carlos Ghosn after the shock arrest of its once-revered leader, starting what could be a long period of uncertainty in its 19-year alliance with Renault. The Franco-Japanese alliance, enlarged in 2016 to include Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors, has been rattled to its core…
read moreFor congressional Republicans, this month’s elections ushered in the year of the woman — literally. West Virginia’s Carol Miller will be the only Republican woman entering the 435-member House as a newcomer in January. She’ll join what may be the chamber’s smallest group of female GOP lawmakers since the early 1990s — as few…
read moreCanada will allow businesses to write off additional capital investments to make them more competitive at a time when the United States is aggressively cutting taxes, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said Wednesday. But Morneau, speaking as he unveiled a budget update that forecast a slightly smaller than predicted deficit for 2018-19, said Ottawa would not be slashing taxes to…
read moreBefore joining the Justice Department, acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker earned more than $1.2 million from a right-leaning nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors, according to the nonprofit’s tax filings. Whitaker’s earnings represented a sizable chunk of the charity’s revenue. Financial disclosure forms released Tuesday show Whitaker received $904,000 in income from the Foundation for…
read moreThe Trump administration has invited the heads of Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler to the White House to discuss U.S. tariffs on carmakers, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Wednesday. Citing industry and diplomatic sources, the paper said the meeting could possibly take place as soon as next week, depending on circumstances. Handelsblatt said it was not…
read moreThe Trump administration on Tuesday said that China has failed to alter its “unfair” practices at the heart of the U.S.-China trade conflict, adding to tensions ahead of a high-stakes meeting later this month between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The findings were issued in an update of the U.S. Trade…
read moreA Russia-based news company whose accountant was charged by federal prosecutors for attempting to meddle in U.S. elections sued Facebook Inc in a federal court Tuesday, claiming that its Facebook page was improperly removed. The Federal Agency of News LLC and its sole shareholder, Evgeniy Aubarev, filed the lawsuit against Facebook in federal court in…
read moreTechnology jobs will experience high growth between now and 2030 but only a fraction of girls are likely to pursue degrees that will help them get those jobs. A new toy called SmartGurlz hopes to help change that. Deana Mitchell joins in on the play time. …
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump says turning his back on Saudi Arabia, despite its responsibility for killing a U.S.-based journalist, “would be a terrible mistake.” Any human rights concerns are outweighed by U.S. national security and economic interests, the president said. “We’re staying with Saudi Arabia,” Trump announced, noting the kingdom’s mutual opposition to Iran and…
read moreNew revelations about the extent of Ivanka Trump’s personal email use in the White House will be getting a hard look from House Democrats when they take power in January. The House Oversight and Government Reform committee began looking into private email use last year after reports by Politico revealed that Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared…
read moreStocks dropped again Tuesday as losses mounted for the world’s largest technology companies. Retailers also fell, and energy companies plunged with oil prices as the market sank back into the red for the year. Oil prices tumbled another 6.6 percent as Wall Street reacted to rising oil supplies and concerns that global economic growth…
read moreFor the past decade, Sheryl Sandberg has been the poised, reliable second-in-command to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, helping steer Facebook’s rapid growth around the world, while also cultivating her brand in ways that hint at aspirations well beyond the social network. But with growing criticism over the company’s practices, or lack of oversight, her carefully…
read moreA new Quinnipiac University poll shows most American voters approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy. Fifty-three percent of the voters surveyed approved of the way he has overseen the economy, his most favorable rating ever on the issue, the poll found. Forty-two percent said they did not approve of his economic policies.…
read moreAnalysts say Boeing Co. is canceling a conference call that it scheduled to discuss issues around its newest plane, which has come under scrutiny since a deadly crash in Indonesia. The company didn’t immediately give an explanation Tuesday. CFRA Research analyst Jim Corridore said canceling the call as “a bad look for the company” when it’s facing questions about potential problems with…
read moreThe top Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Schumer, called Tuesday for the Justice Department’s internal investigator to review communications between acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and the White House. Senate Minority Leader Schumer said he wants the Justice Department’s inspector general to look into Whitaker’s interactions with the White House since last year when…
read moreThe U.S. is standing by Saudi Arabia despite the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey last month. “The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in…
read moreNorth Korean hackers continue to circumvent protections to compromise computer systems around the globe. But how did the reclusive state become so adept at breaking into systems and what role does cryptocurrency play in financing the regime? VOA’s Steve Miller reports from Seoul. …
read moreIvanka Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter and one of his key advisers, last year sent hundreds of messages to White House aides and government officials via her private email account, often in violation of federal records rules, a liberal Washington watchdog has concluded. American Oversight said that through much of 2017 Ivanka Trump often…
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