Florida’s Legislature on Thursday passed a bill that makes it harder to access drop boxes and mail-in ballots, the latest Republican-led state to push for what activists say is voter suppression.Republicans cite former President Donald Trump’s claims that President Joe Biden stole the November election as reasons for the sweeping measures. Judges discredited such claims,…
read moreMarking his first 100 days in office, U.S. President Joe Biden traveled Thursday to Georgia, a state where Democratic victories in the Senate allowed him to pursue a far more ambitious legislative agenda. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
read moreThe United States, which has sent emergency aid to India, wants to quickly help the country increase its oxygen capacity to treat patients suffering from COVID-19, a U.S. official said Thursday.A first military plane loaded with equipment, including nearly 1 million rapid screening tests and 100,000 N95 masks, arrived early Friday in New Delhi. The…
read moreVideos of kids having fun are among the most popular on YouTube. They are also a fast-growing business, one that critics say comes with little regulation and oversight to protect children on either side of the screen. Michelle Quinn reports. Producer: Michelle Quinn …
read moreMarking his 100th day as president of the United States, Joe Biden said Thursday that he had never been more optimistic about the future of America, because the country “is on the move again. We’re choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, light over darkness.”Biden spoke at a drive-in political rally near Atlanta, funded by the…
read moreAt a climate summit short on specifics, China stood out.Live now! A giant screen shows news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a video summit on climate change from Beijing, China.China must shut, retrofit or put into reserve capacity as much as 364 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power, and its carbon intensity of power generation…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden took office three months ago working with a Congress narrowly controlled by Democrats. While Biden faced twin economic and public health crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Capitol Hill was consumed by the second impeachment trial of his predecessor, Donald Trump. VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson looks at the new president’s…
read moreFor at least the third time since the beginning of this year, the U.S. government is investigating a hack against federal agencies that began during the Trump administration but was only recently discovered, according to senior U.S. officials and private sector cyber defenders. It is the latest supply chain cyberattack, highlighting how sophisticated, often government-backed…
read moreRegulators are moving to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes and cigars, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday.The move follows years of pressure from advocates who say that the tobacco products are targeted at African Americans and are responsible for higher death rates in this group from illnesses brought on by smoking.“Today’s action by the FDA…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden is touting a range of accomplishments as he hits the milestone of 100 days in office. But has he made any impact in the African continent? VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg.Camera: Zaheer Cassim. …
read moreAs President Joe Biden marks 100 days in office, here is an overview of his administration’s actions and positions on key immigration issues.RefugeesThe administration had promised to welcome up to 125,000 refugees, up from the cap of 15,000 set by his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump.Earlier this month, Biden signed an order on extending the admissions…
read moreIndia set new records again Thursday in COVID-19 deaths and infections as its new vaccination registration program stumbled while millions of voters nonetheless turned out for an election in the state of West Bengal.Under the weight of a disastrous second surge of the disease, India’s efforts to begin registering its 1.4 billion people for inoculations…
read moreMore than three months after being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, President Joe Biden will soon pass a milestone: his first 100 days in office. On Friday, April 30, administration officials, reporters, the general public and Biden himself will mark the benchmark. But many Americans and people overseas…
read moreIn his first 100 days as president of the United States, Joe Biden has governed less like a chief executive whose party is clinging to the barest of majorities in the House and Senate, and more like a transformative figure with a broad public mandate for societal change. In an address to a pandemic-diminished joint session…
read moreIndia’s efforts to begin registering its 1.4 billion people for COVID-19 inoculations stumbled Wednesday as the country struggles under the weight of a disastrous second surge of the disease. The government launched a website for all Indians 18 and older to sign up for a vaccination drive that is set to begin Saturday. However, many…
read moreTaking a swipe at his predecessor, President Joe Biden gave a distorted account of the historical forces driving migrants to the U.S. border, glossing over the multitudes who were desperate to escape poverty in their homelands when he was vice president.In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, Biden also made his spending plans sound…
read moreIn his first address to the joint session of Congress Wednesday night, President Joe Biden pitched his ambitious infrastructure and jobs plan while casting government as a force for good. The American presidential tradition was noticeably different in many ways, due to COVID-19 protocols. VOA’s White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. …
read moreU.S. Senator Tim Scott said President Joe Biden has failed to unite the nation and that his proposals for infrastructure spending and the newly announced package for education and families are pulling the nation further apart. Delivering the Republican response to the Democratic president’s first joint address to Congress on Wednesday night, Scott said, “Our nation…
read more“After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for takeoff,” U.S. President Joe Biden told a joint session of Congress, using the occasion to push his proposed $4 trillion in government spending and tout his overall performance in coping with a series of historic crises since taking office in January. The president, in an address on Wednesday evening, said…
read moreThe U.N. General Assembly encouraged all countries Wednesday to take action to prevent drownings, which have caused over 2.5 million deaths in the past decade, over 90% of them in low-income and middle-income countries.The resolution, co-sponsored by Bangladesh and Ireland and adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body, is the first to focus on…
read moreAn FBI operation that gave law enforcement remote access to hundreds of computers to counter a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software is a tool that is likely to be deployed “judiciously” in the future as the Justice Department, aware of privacy concerns, develops a framework for its use, a top national security…
read moreThe International Council of Nurses warned Thursday that the world was facing a nursing crisis and could expect a significant shortage — perhaps a reduction by half — in the global nursing workforce of 27 million in the next few years.The council said its latest survey of 64 national nursing associations found disputes over pay,…
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