The U.S. mid-Atlantic state of Virginia has taken another step toward abolishing the death penalty with the House voting Friday to end the practice, making it all but certain the action will become law.The House passage followed a Senate vote earlier in the week and came after Democratic Governor Ralph Northam said he would sign…
read moreThe World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that 75% of all COVID-19 vaccinations worldwide have been given in just 10 countries, while nearly 130 nations have not given a single vaccination.At the agency’s regular briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters that, globally, the number of vaccinations has now overtaken the number…
read moreAs more people get the COVID-19 vaccine, health care experts are tackling the issue of how someone can prove they’ve been vaccinated. Lesia Bakalets has more in this story narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Sergii Dogotar …
read moreDonald Trump has resigned from the Screen Actors Guild after the union threatened to expel him for his role in the Capitol riot in January.In a letter dated Thursday and addressed to SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris, Trump said he was resigning from the union that he had been a member of since 1989. “I no longer wish…
read moreThe Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported early Friday that there are more than 104 million global GOVID-19 cases and 2.2 million deaths from the virus. The United States remains at the top of the list as the location with the most infections, with more than 26 million cases, followed by India with 10.8 million and…
read moreDespite its world-class medical system and its vaunted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. fell behind in the race to detect dangerous coronavirus mutations. And it’s only now beginning to catch up.The problem has not been a shortage of technology or expertise. Rather, scientists say, it’s an absence of national leadership and coordination,…
read morePresident Joe Biden’s drive to enact a $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill gained momentum early on Friday as the U.S. Senate narrowly approved a budget blueprint allowing Democrats to push the legislation through Congress in coming weeks with or without Republican support. At the end of approximately 15 hours of debate and back-to-back votes…
read moreDespite its world-class medical system and its vaunted Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. fell behind in the race to detect dangerous coronavirus mutations. And it’s only now beginning to catch up.The problem has not been a shortage of technology or expertise. Rather, scientists say, it’s an absence of national leadership and coordination,…
read moreDrugmaker Johnson & Johnson said Thursday it is seeking approval for its single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.The FDA said it has scheduled a Feb. 26 meeting of its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee to discuss an emergency use authorization for the company.In January, Johnson & Johnson released a…
read morePresident Joe Biden visited the State Department Thursday and outlined his vision for U.S. foreign policy, ordering an end to U.S. support for offensive military operations in Yemen and an overall shift toward diplomacy. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports. Producer: Kim Weeks …
read moreU.S. lawmakers say the threat of domestic extremism remains high almost one month after pro-Trump protesters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol, resulting in the deaths of five people. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, those threats are expected to continue well past the Senate impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump. Camera: Adam Greenbaum…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives passed a Democratic-supported resolution Thursday to reprimand a Republican lawmaker who encouraged violence against her Democratic colleagues.Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in taking a public stand, 230-199, against Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene after House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy declined to reprimand her Wednesday.FILE – House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of CaliforniaPassage…
read moreFar beneath the ocean surface, a cacophony of industrial noise is disrupting marine animals’ ability to mate, feed and even evade predators, scientists warn. With rumbling ships, hammering oil drills and booming seismic survey blasts, humans have drastically altered the underwater soundscape – in some cases deafening or disorienting whales, dolphins and other marine mammals that…
read morePresident Joe Biden promised Thursday that the United States would sharply increase its engagement around the world during his White House tenure, ending what he contended was the “past few years of neglect and abuse” of foreign relations by former President Donald Trump.“America is back,” Biden declared at the State Department in his first major…
read moreAs African nations wait for hundreds of millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive, health officials are concerned about a general rise in coronavirus cases and deaths, especially in Southern Africa. The stories, reported in local media and highlighted by aid groups, are chilling. In the tiny kingdom of eSwatini, medical aid group Doctors…
read morePresident Joe Biden on Thursday called for a confrontation of the “political extremism” that inspired the U.S. Capitol riot and appealed for collective strength during such turbulent times in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, a Washington tradition that asks political combatants to set aside their differences for one morning. The breakfast has sparked controversy…
read moreU.S. House Democrats have requested that former President Donald Trump testify under oath for his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate.Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin requested in a letter sent via email Thursday that the former president testify “either before or during” the trial that begins in earnest on February 9.There was no immediate comment…
read moreIn a report marking World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization says COVID-19 is having a negative impact on cancer control efforts at a time when cases and deaths from this deadly disease are rising significantly. New statistics show the number of people diagnosed with cancer globally last year reached 19.3 million, with the number of…
read moreWith the odds seemingly in favor of former President Donald Trump prevailing in his impeachment trial, a debate is brewing among legal scholars and some members of Congress over whether a once-forgotten provision of the U.S. Constitution can be used to bar the former president from holding federal office ever again. The provision is part of the…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden’s executive orders this week reversing Trump administration immigration policies change little on the ground now but set the stage for future action, experts told VOA.It is a message Biden himself reinforced when he signed three orders Tuesday.“I want to make it clear — there’s a lot of talk, with good reason,…
read moreStrict COVID-19 measures are being reintroduced in the state of Victoria after a 26-year-old Australian Open hotel worker tested positive.Up to 600 tennis players, officials and support staff have been told to isolate and be screened, while warm-up matches for next week’s Grand Slam in Melbourne have been canceled. They must return a negative coronavirus…
read moreTesting began in Britain on Thursday to determine if different COVID-19 vaccines can be used together in a two-shot regimen.Researchers are aiming to inoculate more than 800 volunteers with one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, followed either four or 12 weeks later with a booster shot of the vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Oxford…
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