U.S. Vice President Mike Pence held a meeting of the National Space Council on Tuesday, just over a week before the program is set to launch astronauts into space from American soil. The meeting was held virtually, with Pence in Washington, and NASA administrators and astronauts checking in remotely. The vice president noted that the project…
read moreA scientific study published Tuesday shows COVID-19-related restrictions imposed by governments around the world since March drove a decline of daily global greenhouse emissions by as much as 17% by early April. But the authors of the study, published Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change, say the drastic improvement is likely to be temporary as…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s declaration that he was taking a malaria drug of dubious effectiveness to help fend off the coronavirus will likely be welcomed in India. Trump’s previous endorsement of hydroxychloroquine catalyzed a tremendous shift in the South Asian country, spurring the world’s largest producer of the drug to make much more of it, prescribe…
read moreThe World Health Organization’s (WHO) special envoy on COVID-19 said Tuesday that the coronavirus will ”be a constant threat” until a vaccine or reliable treatment is found. In an interview with British broadcaster Sky News, Dr. David Nabarro said this means the world will need to learn how to live with it. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19…
read moreJoe Biden’s presidential campaign is bringing on the granddaughter of civil rights leader César Chávez as a senior adviser to help with Latino outreach and building out its operation in the states. Some Latino leaders have criticized the Biden campaign, saying it’s not doing enough to reach out to the key demographic group. The…
read moreAs she settled down to work from home when India announced a lockdown in March, Shweta Andrews thought exultantly “this is the way to go.” After all she no longer had to do the grinding commute between office and home in the Indian capital that took up two hours daily.Two months on, the digital editor…
read moreRepublican U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has been tapped to serve as the acting chairman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee. FILE – Senator Richard Burr listens as Rep. John Ratcliffe testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence during his nomination hearing to become director of national intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 5, 2020.The…
read moreThe genetic mutation that causes Down syndrome increases the risk of intellectual disabilities, and an early death from autoimmune diseases and pneumonia. But it also protects from some cancers, and it often leads to people valued for their kindness and joy. Recently, researchers discovered a major clue as to why the genetic disorder does these things: The mutation increases inflammation. Shelley Schlender…
read moreChina has responded to a new U.S. ban targeting telecom giant Huawei, threatening to retaliate through a series of countermeasures, including putting U.S. companies such as Apple, Qualcomm and Cisco on an “unreliable entity list” that would seriously impede their sales in Chinese markets. The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday threw a one-two punch at China’s high-tech efforts by…
read moreU.S. Attorney General William Barr on Monday quashed calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for the Justice Department to investigate his predecessor, Barack Obama, saying he doesn’t expect the department to probe either Obama or his vice president, Joe Biden, in connection with the controversial Russia investigation.“As to President Obama and Vice President Biden, whatever…
read moreA key U.S. Democratic lawmaker suggested Monday that President Donald Trump may have abruptly fired the internal State Department watchdog last week at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s behest because he was nearing completion of a probe into Pompeo’s controversial fast-tracking of arms sales last year to Saudi Arabia.Initially, Democratic lawmakers contended that Trump ousted Steve…
read moreAccusations of a “deep state” conspiracy. Allegations of personal and family corruption. Painting an opponent as a Washington insider not to be trusted. It’s 2016 again. Or at least that’s President Donald Trump’s hope. Trump and his allies are dusting off the playbook that helped defeat Hillary Clinton, reviving it in recent days as…
read morePresidential politics move fast. What we’re watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign: Days to general election: 169The Narrative States are relaxing shutdown and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump is traveling more, determined to model the confidence he believes the nation needs to return to normal. Joe Biden,…
read moreDo American workers need more financial help from the government? That’s the question being argued by U.S. lawmakers as another coronavirus relief bill now goes to the Senate. Many Democrats and Republicans have very different views on what it is going to take to help the U.S. economy after it was devastated by the pandemic. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.Camera: Elizabeth…
read moreWorries about the breach of individual privacy rights could undermine Louisiana’s ability to quickly pinpoint those who have encountered someone infected with COVID-19, a tracking plan that public health experts say is critical to slowing the spread of the coronavirus disease.Gov. John Bel Edwards has started reopening much of Louisiana’s economy, saying residents have done…
read moreThe U.S. military’s mystery space plane rocketed into orbit again Sunday, this time with an extra load of science experiments.It’s the sixth flight of an X-37B, a solar-powered plane that’s flown by remote control without a crew.Officials aren’t saying how long the spacecraft will remain in orbit this time or the purpose of the mission.…
read moreJoe Biden has longed to win the White House for more than three decades. If he finally makes it there after November’s election, he’s already talking about leaving.In an effort to ease concerns about his age, the 77-year-old presumptive Democratic nominee has said he wouldn’t seek reelection if his mental or physical health declined. He…
read moreThais streamed into shopping malls on Sunday, once again enjoying their air-conditioned oases as the country eased one of the restrictions imposed to fight the coronavirus.The government allowed malls to reopen after the number of new virus cases in Thailand dwindled to single digits for all but one day over more than two weeks. Malls…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump fired the State Department’s inspector general late Friday.The late-night firing of Steve Linick is the president’s latest dismissal of a government watchdog. Trump has now dismissed three since his February acquittal on impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate and has criticized others.The president said in a Friday night letter to House…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved an unprecedented change to its rules, allowing lawmakers to vote by proxy for the first time in history because of the coronavirus pandemic.The 217-189 vote fell mostly along party lines, with the chamber’s majority Democrats backing the measure.The new rule allowed Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call for…
read moreFacebook likely knows a lot about you already. So would you fill out a survey on the social media site about how you are feeling today?What if that information could help researchers and officials navigate the current pandemic? If it meant local businesses, parks and beaches might reopen sooner rather than later, would that make…
read moreScientists around the world are working to battle the coronavirus – an effort that extends to a space-travel lab that worked overtime to help sick earthlings. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has This Week in Space. …
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