Before a presidential election can be held, political parties must choose their nominees. That is done either through primaries or caucuses. …
read moreTokyo — A rocket made by a Japanese company exploded just after launch on Wednesday, with public broadcaster NHK showing footage of the fiery failure. Tokyo-based startup Space One had been aiming to become the first Japanese private firm to successfully place a satellite into orbit. Its 18-meter solid-fuel Kairos rocket blasted off from the startup’s…
read moreWASHINGTON — Members of Congress on Tuesday turned a hearing about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents into a charged referendum on a question central to the upcoming presidential election: the 81-year-old’s mental fitness. The Biden administration and their main challengers, the backers of presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump, emerged from the House Judiciary Committee’s…
read morewashington — A re-elected U.S. President Donald Trump could well awaken the following day to a phone call inviting him to Pyongyang for a summit with Kim Jong Un, says a veteran of the two previous Trump-Kim summits in 2018 and 2019. “If I were Kim Jong Un talking to my advisers in Pyongyang, I’d be…
read moreCritical funds to counter China in the Pacific are finally approved for three U.S. allies: Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Over the weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law $7 billion over 20 years in funding for the Compacts of Free Association as part of a partial government funding bill. VOA’s Jessica Stone…
read moreWASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to approve legislation Wednesday that would force the popular TikTok video app to either separate from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance or sell the U.S. version of the software. The bipartisan Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act “gives TikTok six months to eliminate foreign adversary…
read moreWashington — The U.S. prosecutor who sparked a political firestorm last month with a report saying President Joe Biden had a “poor memory” appeared before a congressional committee on Tuesday to defend his assessment. Special Counsel Robert Hur arrived to speak to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, which has been one of the panels conducting…
read moreScientists in Alaska are developing a cloud-based approach to storing and analyzing data about volcanoes, in hopes of increasing the speed with which they can predict eruptions. Phil Dierking has our story. (Camera and Produced by: Philip Dierking) …
read moreCape Canaveral, Florida — Four astronauts from four countries caught a lift back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to end a half-year mission at the International Space Station. Their capsule streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle. NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter…
read moreTaipei — During China’s top legislative meetings this year, which wrapped up Monday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered the military to develop what he called “new quality combat capabilities,” a phrase analysts say highlights a focus on the use of artificial intelligence, high-tech and intelligent warfare. It also could signal, they say, plans to build forces…
read moreOnce used mainly by law enforcement, ordinary citizens now have access to smaller, cheaper versions of body cameras to help them feel safe in dangerous situations. Julie Taboh shows us how in this week’s episode of LogOn. …
read moreIn its annual global threats assessment report Monday, the U.S. intelligence community told lawmakers that the war in Ukraine is at a turning point whose outcome will depend on American assistance. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from the Senate, where lawmakers called on the House to take up the $95 billion foreign aid…
read moreWASHINGTON — The frozen military conflict between Ukraine and Russia is starting to thaw and will likely tilt in Moscow’s favor if the United States fails to quickly come through with additional military aid, according to top U.S. intelligence officials, in a grim assessment delivered to U.S. lawmakers. Monday’s warning comes nearly a month after the…
read moreMANILA, Philippines — The United States is constantly assessing the need to expand export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. The U.S. export controls were launched in 2022 to counter the use of chips for…
read moreorlando, fla. — Students and teachers will be able to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms, provided it’s not part of instruction, under a settlement reached Monday between Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys who had challenged a state law which critics dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The settlement clarifies what…
read moreUnited Nations — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday that women and girls around the world are suffering a rollback in rights, while millions more are bearing the brunt of wars and conflict. “Hard-fought progress is being reversed,” Guterres told hundreds of women’s rights advocates, officials and activists at the opening of the annual two-week session…
read more
