The Trump administration is gutting an Obama-era rule that compelled coal plants to cut back emissions of mercury and other human health hazards, limiting future regulation of air pollutants by petroleum and coal plants. Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist whose clients have gotten many of the regulatory rollbacks they asked for…
read moreA leading Democratic super PAC has promised it will tangle in court with President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign to keep airing television ads the Republican president is trying to keep off the airwaves.Priorities USA Action chief Guy Cecil said Thursday that his group will intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit that Trump’s campaign filed…
read moreBefore stay-at-home orders are lifted, the nation’s public health agencies want to be ready to douse any new sparks of coronavirus infection — a task they say could require tens of thousands more investigators to call people who test positive, track down their contacts and get them into quarantine.Without the extra help, officials insist, states…
read moreA mobile alert created in South Africa is putting information about coronavirus into the hands of millions. Praekelt.org has gone global … raising awareness about COVID-19. VOA’s Salem Solomon has the story. …
read moreLavina D’Souza hasn’t been able to collect her government-supplied anti-HIV medication since the abrupt lockdown of India’s 1.3 billion people last month during the coronavirus outbreak. Marooned in a small city away from her home in Mumbai, the medicine she needs to manage her disease has run out. The 43-year-old is afraid that her immune…
read morePresident Donald Trump said he’s prepared to announce new guidelines allowing some states to quickly ease up on social distancing even as business leaders told him they need more coronavirus testing and personal protective equipment before people can safely go back to work. The industry executives cautioned Trump that the return to normalcy will be anything…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to adjourn Congress because lawmakers have not approved his candidates for senior posts in his administration, including his nominee to run the independent agency overseeing the Voice of America. “I have very strong power,” Trump declared Wednesday, referencing language in the second article of the U.S. Constitution that allows a…
read moreArresting survivors of human trafficking for their testimony in criminal prosecutions creates trauma and trouble returning to society, research by a leading U.S. trafficking group showed on Thursday, calling for an end to the practice.Survivors detained as material witnesses to help prosecute their traffickers can lose custody of their children, jobs and services they need…
read moreFormer U.S. President Jimmy Carter and U.S. billionaire Bill Gates have joined the chorus of those expressing concern about U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend U.S. funding for the World Health Organization.Carter, a Democrat, issued a statement Wednesday saying the United Nations agency “is the only international organization capable of leading the effort to…
read moreFor Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, selecting a running mate during the coronavirus pandemic has taken on even greater importance. Biden had promised to name a female vice presidential nominee to run with him against President Donald Trump in the November presidential election – leading to speculation he might pick a…
read moreCongressional Democrats condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement he would halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) based on his belief the international organization failed to hold China accountable for the coronavirus crisis. “This decision is dangerous, illegal and will be swiftly challenged,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday.…
read moreLike so many other workers around the world affected by a COVID-19 lockdown, the team of scientists that operates the U.S. space agency (NASA) probe Curiosity — currently on the surface of Mars — has been forced to do its work from home. Since March 20, the team, normally based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California, has…
read moreThree potential COVID-19 vaccines are making fast progress in early-stage testing in volunteers in China and the U.S., but it’s still a long road to prove if they’ll really work. China’s CanSino Biologics has begun the second phase of testing its vaccine candidate, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology said Tuesday. In the U.S., a…
read moreThe U.S. ambassador to China said Wednesday that he doesn’t believe Beijing is deliberately blocking exports of masks and other medical supplies to fight the coronavirus, and that the shipment of 1,200 tons of such products to the U.S. could not have been possible without Chinese support. Ambassador Terry Branstad also said the U.S.…
read moreU.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren endorsed Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden on Wednesday, declaring the former vice president is a proven leader who is best able to move the country forward.”Empathy matters. And, in this moment of crisis, it’s more important than ever that the next president restores Americans’ faith in good, effective government — and…
read moreThe U.S. military is bracing for a months-long struggle against the coronavirus, looking for novel ways to maintain a defensive crouch that sustains troops’ health without breaking their morale — while still protecting the nation.Unlike talk in the Trump administration of possibly reopening the country as early as May, military leaders are suggesting that this…
read moreAbout 850,000 people could be seriously sickened by the coronavirus in Japan and almost half of them could die if no social distancing or other measures are followed, according to a government-commissioned estimate released Wednesday. Japan has the world’s oldest population, and the virus can be especially dangerous for the elderly. And there are concerns…
read moreWhen COVID-19 hit Washington, D.C., and health officials said people had to stay 2 meters apart, Broad Branch Market owner Tracy Stannard knew it meant an end to business as usual.Customers had been packing the store to stock up.”We realized that it was getting a little too risky to have so many people in the…
read moreAt a time when human contact is considered a health hazard, robots may be more useful than ever. From helping with the shopping to keeping healthcare workers safe, the COVID-19 pandemic could be the moment for robots to shine. VOA’s Steve Baragona has more. …
read moreMore than nine out of 10 people in Southeast Asia want the state to end wildlife trafficking, according to a new poll from the World Wildlife Fund that shows unprecedented consensus after COVID-19 spread from animals to humans. WWF International said that 93% of people polled in the region would like “action by their…
read moreFormer U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination on Tuesday, after Biden’s former rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, offered his endorsement a day earlier. Mike O’Sullivan reports that Biden, as his party’s presumptive nominee, faces the challenge of uniting Democrats ahead of the November election. …
read moreFormer U.S. President Barack Obama endorsed his former second in command, Joe Biden, for president Tuesday, calling Biden a clear choice to replace President Donald Trump in November’s national election. “Our country’s future hangs on this election,” Obama said. He added that it would not be easy to defeat Trump, who won an upset victory…
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