President Donald Trump celebrated the story of America as “the greatest political journey in human history” in a Fourth of July commemoration before a soggy but cheering crowd of spectators, many of them invited, on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Supporters welcomed his tribute to the U.S. military while protesters assailed him for putting…
read moreU.S. government lawyers are scrambling to meet a court ordered Friday afternoon deadline to offer a plausible rationale for including a citizenship question on the country’s 2020 census, or stipulate that it is no longer seeking to put the controversial question on the survey. U.S. federal courts and states that challenged the Trump administration’s decision…
read moreAustralia’s government warned a student on Friday not to return to North Korea a day after he was released from detention by Pyongyang under mysterious circumstances. Alek Sigley, who flew to Tokyo on Thursday to join his Japanese wife, had been studying in the North Korean capital and had been missing since June 25. “My…
read moreMore than two dozen countries Thursday formally called for a United Nations investigation into thousands of killings in Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, activists said. Iceland submitted the draft resolution backed by mainly European states, they said. The text urges the government to prevent extrajudicial executions and marks the first time that the…
read moreGovernment ministers from some European Union nations sought Thursday to reassure their partners in the Western Balkans during a meeting in Poland that their aspirations to join the EU have full backing in the club, despite symptoms of a loss of momentum. German Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth, said Berlin stands firmly by…
read moreIn a sweltering capital threatened by storms, the traditional Fourth of July parade Thursday served as a warm-up act to a distinctly nontraditional evening event at the Lincoln Memorial, where President Donald Trump made plans to command the stage against the backdrop of a show of military muscle. Protesters unimpressed by his “Salute to…
read moreJustin Amash, the only U.S. Republican lawmaker who has called for President Donald Trump’s impeachment, quit the party on Thursday, Independence Day in America, to become an independent. Amash, a 39-year-old, five-term congressman from the Midwestern state of Michigan, said in a Washington Post opinion article that the country’s two-party political system is broken, with…
read moreThis story was updated 8:33AM. U.S. federal courts and states that challenged the Trump administration’s decision to include a citizenship question on the country’s 2020 census are asking for clarity after the Departments of Justice and Commerce suddenly reversed what had been an acceptance of finalizing the questionnaire without inquiring about citizenship status. The Supreme…
read moreThe United Nations says at least 55 people were killed and more than 130 injured in the Tuesday night airstrike on a detention center holding illegal migrants in Libya’s capital. VOA’s Heather Murdock is on the scene in Tripoli and files this report. …
read moreAn Australian student was released Thursday after a week in detention in North Korea and flew to Beijing, where he described his condition to reporters as “very good.” Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced to Parliament that Alek Sigley, 29, had been released hours earlier following intervention from Swedish diplomats Wednesday. Sigley looked relaxed when…
read moreEditor’s note: A look at the veracity of claims by political figures WASHINGTON — In his Fourth of July remarks, President Donald Trump will be celebrating the armed forces and showcasing what he’s done for them. But in recent days, he has falsified his record on military matters on several fronts. He’s claimed, for example, that…
read moreAn appeals court on Wednesday upheld a freeze on Pentagon money to build a border wall with Mexico, casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s ability to make good on a signature campaign promise before the 2020 election. A divided three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with…
read moreA federal judge temporarily blocked an Ohio law Wednesday that would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, allowing clinics to continue to provide the procedure as a legal faceoff continues. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett halts enforcement of the so-called heartbeat law that opponents argued would effectively ban…
read morePrime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday that Japan cannot give South Korean exports preferential treatment because the country is not abiding by an agreement regarding wartime issues that Japan insists have been resolved. Abe was objecting to criticism over escalating tensions between the two neighbors amid disputes over Koreans forced to work as laborers…
read moreIn the United States, the Everglades National Park has been on the U.N.’s ‘World Heritage in Danger’ list since 2010. UNESCO is meeting this week and is expected to keep the troubled wetland on that list, despite decades of restoration efforts. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
read moreWith cellphones becoming more sophisticated, internet becoming faster, and VR headsets becoming cheaper, we are at the precipice of a whole new virtual world. Deana Mitchell talks to an expert who breaks down what this all means in, well—in reality. …
read moreWritten in 1787, the U.S. Constitution is the world’s oldest written charter of government in use today. Most Americans are familiar with its first three words – “We the People.” Yet they “don’t understand” the venerable document, says Kimberly Wehle, a professor of law at the University of Baltimore. To get readers interested in the…
read moreThe intensity of President Donald Trump’s hardline approach to immigration hasn’t just pushed the Republican Party rightward — it’s also moving Democrats in ways that are profoundly transforming the immigration debate. Gone are hopes for a big, bipartisan immigration overhaul once envisioned in Congress. With dire conditions taking hold at the border, and deportations stoking…
read moreNew polls show California Senator and Democratic presidential contender Kamala Harris surging after her performance in last week’s first Democratic candidates’ debate. The surveys also show Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren gaining ground while the current Democratic frontrunner, former Vice President Joe Biden, is slipping. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has also lost ground, according to the…
read moreEuropean Union (EU) leaders have chosen the new heads of the 28-nation bloc’s institutions for at least the next five years, breaking a three-day deadlock triggered by deep EU divisions. European Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen was named president of the European Commission and Belgian Prime Minister…
read moreHundreds of Israelis are protesting across the country against alleged police brutality against the country’s Ethiopian community following the killing of an Ethiopian Israeli teen by an off-duty police officer. Demonstrators blocked a main highway in central Tel Aviv and major thoroughfares around the country on Tuesday. They have been voicing frustration over perceived…
read moreCol. Turki al Maliki, spokesman for Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen, said that a Houthi drone struck the Abha Airport for the third time in less than a month, wounding nine people in an attack during the early hours of the morning Tuesday. Amateur video shows taxi drivers surveying damage to vehicles outside the main…
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