In 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…
read moreU.S. Vice President Mike Pence canceled at the last minute a Tuesday trip to the state of New Hampshire and hurried back to the White House for reasons that are not clear. “Something came up,” Hogan Gidley, the principal deputy White House press secretary told a group of reporters who gathered outside his West Wing…
read moreA Texas company is launching a new political donation app for Republicans that will rival a similar platform already adopted by President Donald Trump, a move that could complicate GOP efforts to match Democrats’ online fundraising success. Give.GOP will launch on Tuesday. It comes a week after the rollout of WinRed, a platform adopted by…
read moreA House committee has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking President Donald Trump’s tax returns. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the Ways and Means Committee against the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service. The committee says it doesn’t have to explain its reasons for seeking Trump’s tax return information. It says that…
read moreDespite rising incidence of far-right violence in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Justice Department continue to deprioritize investigating the violence and prosecuting its perpetrators, according to a report released Monday. While a handful of high-profile cases are sometimes designated as acts of “domestic terrorism” and receive the law enforcement…
read moreCattleman Laurentino Cortizo was sworn in as Panama’s president Monday, saying he will work during his five-year term to boost the economy and bring transparency in contracting for public works projects. The 66-year-old won an election two weeks ago that was the tightest in Panama’s recent history, triumphing with only 31 percent of the…
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