President Donald Trump’s administration wants to shut down U.S. government radio stations that announce official time, a service in operation since World War II. WWV and WWVB in the state of Colorado and WWVH on the island of Kauai in the mid-Pacific state of Hawaii, send out signals that allow millions of clocks and watches…
read moreThe film industry organization that presents the Academy Awards is also developing young talent through a program called Academy Gold — an internship and mentoring program for students and young professionals from communities currently underrepresented in Hollywood. Some of the participants are either immigrants or children of immigrants who are trying to create an unorthodox…
read moreOwning your home is the most popular definition of the American Dream. But in today’s economy, more Americans are opting out of buying or renting. Some are choosing to live in housing cooperatives, or “co-living” arrangements, where tenants rent bedrooms and sometimes a bathroom, but share kitchens and other rooms. Tatiana Vorozhko and Dmitriy Savchuk…
read moreA new U.S. study finds that when temperatures around the world start creeping up, insects that eat crops will not only become hungrier, their numbers will grow. Scientists say this will mean more insect damage to wheat, corn and rice crops, and therefore less food on the dinner table. VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …
read moreEducation Secretary Betsy DeVos says she has “no intention of taking any action” regarding any possible use of federal funds to arm teachers or provide them with firearms training. DeVos’ comments came Friday after a top official in her department, asked about arming teachers, said states and local jurisdictions always “had the flexibility” to decide…
read moreCalifornia lawmakers have voted to make net neutrality state law, becoming the latest of several states to approve such measures. The move by state legislators is a rejection of the Trump administration’s repeal of national net neutrality rules that did not allow internet service providers to discriminate in their handling of internet traffic. Net neutrality…
read moreCommunity and conservation groups in Myanmar have branded a planned highway linking a port project to Thailand an “ecological and social disaster,” saying it would uproot indigenous people from their homes and farms. Critics said an environmental and social impact assessment for the road project, approved by the Myanmar government in June, failed to adequately…
read moreThe Trump administration is under increasing pressure to speed up the reunification of immigrant families it separated at the Mexican border, following allegations three youngsters were sexually abused while in U.S. custody. The government of El Salvador said the three, ages 12 to 17, were victimized at shelters in Arizona, and it asked the U.S.…
read moreThe Trump administration has cut funding to the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, calling the organization “irredeemably flawed.” The U.S. State Department ended decades of support to the organization Friday, saying “the administration has carefully reviewed the issue and determined that the United States will not make additional contributions to UNRWA (United Nations Relief…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on Friday of his intent to sign a trade agreement with Mexico after talks with Canada broke up earlier in the day with no immediate deal to revamp the tri-nation North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said U.S. officials would resume talks with their Canadian counterparts next Wednesday with the aim…
read moreCoca-Cola is hoping for a caffeine-fueled boost with the acquisition of British coffee chain Costa. Costa is Britain’s biggest coffee company, with over 2,400 coffee shops in the U.K. and another 1,400 in more than 30 countries, including around 460 in China, its second-biggest market. Coca-Cola said Friday it will buy the Costa brand from…
read morePorts and ground terminals in nearly every state handle goods that are now or will likely soon be covered by import tariffs. Port executives worry that this could mean a slowdown in shipping that would have ripple effects on truckers and others whose jobs depend on trade. The Associated Press analyzed government data and found…
read moreThe remains of the late Senator John McCain will lay in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda Friday as Americans continue to mourn the loss of the long-time legislator and war hero. McCain’s remains were flown Thursday to Washington from Arizona, the southwestern U.S. state he represented in Congress since he was first elected in…
read moreLawyers for President Donald Trump asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought against his charitable foundation by New York’s attorney general, arguing that it was politically motivated. In the motion Thursday, Trump attorney Alan S. Futerfas argued that former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman “made it his stated mission to `lead the resistance’…
read moreThousands of mourners have come to pay their respects to music legend Aretha Franklin, who will be laid to rest Friday in Detroit, Michigan. A star-studded roster of performers and speakers are scheduled to attend. From Washington, VOA’s Jill Craig has more. …
read moreTop NAFTA negotiators from Canada and the United States increased the pace of their negotiations Thursday to resolve final differences to meet a Friday deadline, with their Mexican counterpart on standby to rejoin the talks soon. Despite some contentious issues still on the table, the increasingly positive tone contrasted with U.S. President Donald Trump’s harsh…
read moreMicrosoft will begin requiring its contractors to offer their U.S. employees paid leave to care for a new child. It’s common for tech firms to offer generous family leave benefits for their own software engineers and other full-time staff, but paid leave advocates say it’s still rare to require similar benefits for contracted workers such…
read moreThe Senate Judiciary Committee has added former Solicitor General Theodore Olson and former White House counsel John Dean to the list of witnesses who will testify next week in the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court. Olson served as solicitor general in the George W. Bush administration. He’s one of…
read moreArgentina’s Central Bank on Thursday increased its benchmark interest rate to 60 percent — the world’s highest — in an effort to halt a sharp slide in the value of the peso, which plunged to a record low. The peso fell more than 13 percent against the dollar, closing at an all-time low of 39.2…
read morePresident Donald Trump informed Congress on Thursday that he was canceling pay raises due in January for most civilian federal employees, citing budget constraints. But the workers still could see a slightly smaller boost in their pay under a proposal lawmakers are considering. Trump said he was axing a 2.1 percent across-the-board raise for most…
read moreThe current 115th Congress is the most racially and gender diverse in history, with more women serving in the Senate than ever before, according to data from Pew Research Center and Congressional Quarterly. Women and minorities each constitute just under 20 percent of all House and Senate members. But the percentage of female lawmakers is…
read moreEnvironmentalists are alarmed that President Donald Trump is following through on his campaign pledges to roll back Obama-era rules that tightened restrictions on greenhouse gases, promising the moves would lead to more American jobs and economic growth. At a recent rally in Charleston, West Virginia, under a “Trump Digs Coal” banner, the president announced plans…
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