Multiple cases of the omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in New York, health officials said Thursday, including a man who attended an anime convention in Manhattan in late November and tested positive for the variant when he returned home to Minnesota. In addition to the conventioneer, tests showed five other people recently infected with…
read moreOmicron is unlikely to have completely outsmarted the vaccines, experts say, even with its unusual array of mutations. There are a lot of unknowns, but they expect that the shots will still do what they do best: Keep people out of the hospital and out of the grave. Omicron raised alarms when it was first…
read moreThe House passed a bill Thursday that funds the government through February 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday, but quick Senate approval was in doubt because of a fight over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. An agreement among congressional leaders announced earlier in the day would keep the government running for…
read moreTwo astronauts with the U.S. space agency, NASA, left the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday to conduct a spacewalk to replace a broken antenna system, two days after the walk was postponed over concerns about space debris. NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron stepped out of the ISS airlock early Thursday to replace the…
read moreU.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday criticized an “irresponsible” Russian test that endangered the International Space Station with debris, and the Biden administration laid out a new strategy for responsible use of space. Harris convened the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council and asked members of the government body to promote responsible civil,…
read moreStacey Abrams, the Georgia Democrat and leading voting rights activist, said Wednesday that she would launch another campaign to become the nation’s first Black female governor. If she receives her party’s nomination, Abrams could again face off against Republican Brian Kemp, the current governor. Their 2018 contest was one of the most narrowly decided races…
read moreThe threat of a U.S. federal government shutdown loomed larger Wednesday as lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement with two days to go before the funding runs out. Congress has until Friday night to come up with a new budget in order to avoid a sudden stoppage of most so-called non-essential federal government operations,…
read moreMarking the 33rd annual World AIDS Day on Wednesday, the Biden administration announced it would ramp up its domestic and international efforts to fight the HIV virus, which has killed 36 million people worldwide in four decades. President Joe Biden also released Wednesday the domestic-focused National HIV-AIDS Strategy, which aims for a 90% reduction in…
read moreThe Biden administration in its new HIV/AIDS strategy calls racism “a public health threat” that must be fully recognized as the world looks to end the epidemic. The strategy released Wednesday on the annual commemoration of World AIDS Day is meant to serve as a framework for how the administration intends to shape its policies,…
read moreEuropean Union leaders said Wednesday they are considering a number of public health options, including vaccine mandates, to address the growing threat posed by the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said little is currently known about the variant, but enough…
read moreThe World Health Organization (WHO) Wednesday began a lengthy process to develop an international agreement on the prevention and control of future pandemics. The WHO’s World Health Assembly – the organization’s decision-making body – approved the effort at the end of a rare, three-day special session at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. The plan, entitled…
read moreNigeria has detected its first case of the omicron coronavirus variant in a sample it collected in October, weeks before South Africa alerted the world about the variant last week, the country’s national public health institute said Wednesday. It is the first West African country that has recorded the omicron variant since scientists in southern…
read moreOn December 1, many mark World AIDS Day to show support for those living with HIV and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Treatments have come a long way for those infected with HIV, but a cure is still elusive. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has our story. …
read moreNASA called off a spacewalk Tuesday because of menacing space junk that could puncture an astronaut’s suit or damage the International Space Station. Two U.S. astronauts were set to replace a bad antenna outside of the space station. But late Monday night, Mission Control learned that a piece of orbiting debris might come dangerously close.…
read moreA panel of judges on Tuesday questioned whether they had the authority to grant former President Donald Trump’s demands and stop the White House from allowing the release of documents related to the January 6 insurrection led by Trump’s supporters. But the judges also noted that there may be times when a former president would…
read moreA panel of U.S. health advisers on Tuesday narrowly backed a closely watched COVID-19 pill from Merck, setting the stage for a likely authorization of the first drug that Americans could take at home to treat the coronavirus. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted 13-10 that the drug’s benefits outweigh its risks, including potential…
read moreTo make Black history more accessible, an Oakland, California man designed his own augmented reality app. Matt Dibble has the story. …
read moreThe House of Representatives committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot said on Tuesday that Mark Meadows, who served as former President Donald Trump’s chief-of-staff, has provided it with records and agreed to appear soon for a deposition. “Mr. Meadows has been engaging with the Select Committee through his attorney. He has produced…
read moreJapan and France confirmed their first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus on Tuesday as countries around the world scrambled to close their doors or find ways to limit its spread while scientists study how damaging it might be. The World Health Organization has warned that the global risk from the omicron variant…
read moreFormer President Donald Trump thrust the National Archives and Records Administration into the national spotlight after suing to keep the agency from releasing Trump White House documents to the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. A court is expected to hear the latest arguments in the case on November 30. Why are the call logs, drafts, speeches, handwritten notes and other documents from Trump’s term…
read moreA House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol insurrection will vote Wednesday to hold a former Justice Department official in contempt, demanding criminal charges against a defiant witness for a second time as lawmakers seek answers about the violent attack. The committee on Monday scheduled a vote to pursue contempt charges against Jeffrey Clark, a…
read moreNewly named Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has emerged from behind the scenes to take over one of Silicon Valley’s highest-profile and politically volatile jobs. But his prior lack of name recognition, coupled with a solid technical background, appears to be what some big company backers were looking for to lead Twitter out of its current…
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