Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell promised shortly after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was announced Friday that he would bring President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace her to a full Senate vote.“President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” McConnell said in a statement…
read moreHealth officials are warning the public to get a flu shot this year to avoid having to deal with COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously.Both are highly contagious and share similar symptoms. The flu, however, is seasonal, while COVID-19 does not appear to have a timeline as it snakes around the world.While there is no COVID…
read morePresident Donald Trump on Saturday urged the Republican-run Senate to consider “without delay” his upcoming nomination to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just six weeks before the election.The White House was making preparations to select a nominee for the seat held by Ginsburg, who spent her…
read moreHealth officials are warning the public to get a flu shot this year to avoid having to deal with COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously.Both are highly contagious and share similar symptoms. The flu, however, is seasonal, while COVID-19 does not appear to have a timeline as it snakes around the world.While there is no COVID…
read moreThe Trump administration issued a sweeping ban Friday that will begin barring downloads and use of the Chinese-owned mobile apps WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores as of midnight Sunday. The announcement is the latest escalation in America’s tech fight with China.Officials from the U.S. Commerce Department cited national security and data privacy concerns…
read moreA drug company said Friday that a medicine it sells to tamp down inflammation has helped prevent the need for breathing machines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first large study that primarily enrolled Hispanics and Blacks.Switzerland-based Roche reported the results for tocilizumab, sold now as Actemra and RoActemra for treating rheumatoid arthritis and some…
read moreFBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday warned lawmakers that Russia is not letting up in its efforts to sway the outcome of the November presidential election by trying to hurt the campaign of Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden – testimony that appears not to be sitting well with U.S. President Donald Trump.Wray,…
read moreWeather forecasters have started using the Greek alphabet to designate new storms after running out of conventional names.The U.S. National Weather Service says Tropical Storm Wilfred formed Friday in the eastern Atlantic, followed by Subtropical Storm Alpha off the coast of Portugal a short time later.Meanwhile, forecasters say tropical depression 22 in the Gulf of…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump rekindled hope this week for a second coronavirus relief package for millions of financially ailing Americans who lost jobs because of the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, when he urged Republican lawmakers to support economic relief legislation.Trump suddenly expressed support Wednesday for a $1.5 trillion bill proposed by the Problem Solvers Caucus, a…
read moreRare bipartisan support for new climate legislation brings the U.S. one step closer to ditching a group of potent planet-warming chemicals.Democratic and Republican senators recently introduced an FILE – A coal-fired power plant is silhouetted against the morning sun in Glenrock, Wyoming, July 27, 2018. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) have been found to be up to 4,000…
read moreThe U.S. Commerce Department said it will issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20.Commerce officials said the ban on new U.S. downloads of TikTok could be still rescinded by President Donald Trump before it takes effect…
read morePregnant women living in bushfire-prone areas in Australia are being urged to protect themselves and their unborn babies from smoke as the fire season returns. Doctors in the worst-affected regions say they are horrified by the effects of the smoke from last summer’s catastrophic conditions.Doctors have said particles from bushfire smoke in Australia have left…
read moreNearly half of Americans, or 49%, said they definitely or probably would not get an inoculation if a coronavirus were available today, while 51% said they would, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted earlier this month.The 49% who lean toward rejecting the inoculation cited concerns about side effects from the vaccine.The public’s trust…
read moreThe world’s worst air this week is not in pollution hot spots like India or China. It’s in the western United States, where record-breaking wildfires are blanketing the region with smoke.Portland, Oregon, has topped the air pollution charts for major cities this week at monitoring company FILE – Flames and smoke from the Bobcat Fire…
read moreFBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday warned lawmakers that Russia is not letting up in its efforts to sway the outcome of the November presidential election by trying to hurt the campaign of Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden – testimony that appears not to be sitting well with U.S. President Donald Trump.Wray,…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump and his election challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, on Thursday accused each other as being unfit for office.Trump, who is 74, characterized his 78-year-old opponent as “shot” and “weak” and alleged that “something is off” with Biden’s mental state.Speaking at a political rally in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin, 47…
read moreA Chinese firm with suspected ties to the Chinese government has been amassing a database of detailed personal information on 2.4 million people, including more than 50,000 Americans, according to findings by an independent researcher and an Australia-based cybersecurity firm. Christopher Balding, an American professor who taught at Peking University’s HSBC School of…
read morePresident Donald Trump has threatened a US ban on TikTok could happen as early as next week …
read moreA U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election.Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima, Washington, said he was issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction sought by 14 states that sued the Trump administration and…
read moreSocial media companies are taking down videos and images that could be vital in prosecuting serious crimes, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are increasingly using artificial intelligence algorithms to remove material deemed offensive or illegal. Human Rights Watch says vital evidence is being missed or destroyed. Henry…
read moreResearchers on a quest to find life in the universe got promising news this week. Space agencies are joining forces to defend the planet from an aggressive asteroid, and a look at one of the best places on Earth to view the stars. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us “The Week in Space.”Producer: Arash Arabasadi. …
read moreThe British auction house Christie’s announced this week that it would sell the largest and most complete known skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex in early October.The auction house said the dinosaur skeleton is nearly 12 meters long and just under 5 meters tall. It has been known as Stan, named after amateur paleontologist Stan Sacrison,…
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