NASHVILLE, Tenn. — During the six decades since United Record Pressing stamped out the Beatles’ first U.S. single, the country’s oldest vinyl record maker has survived 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, Napster, iPods and streaming services. Now, the Nashville-based company has rebounded so dramatically that some of its equipment and technology has been retrofitted to keep pace with…
read moreAs winter approaches and daylight hours grow shorter, people prone to seasonal depression can feel it in their bodies and brains. “It’s a feeling of panic, fear, anxiety and dread all in one,” said Germaine Pataki, 63, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She’s among the millions of people estimated to have seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Her…
read morewashington — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is sending additional bomber aircraft and Navy warships to the Middle East to bolster the U.S. presence in the region as an aircraft carrier and its warships are preparing to leave, U.S. officials said Friday. Austin ordered several B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, tanker aircraft and Navy destroyers to deploy to…
read moreA New York prosecutor told jurors on Friday that the way veteran Daniel Penny defused an uncomfortable situation on the subway by using a chokehold “went way too far.” Prosecutor Dafna Yoran said Penny, a white Marine veteran, continued to hold his arm around the neck of Jordan Neely, a homeless Black man who had…
read moreA regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccinations to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board. Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 shots. Vaccinations are an essential function of a public health department. While policymakers…
read moreA U.S. judge on Friday denied Elon Musk’s bid to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit over his $1 million voter prizes to federal court, moving the case back to state court. It was not immediately clear if the decision would affect the billionaire’s plan to keep awarding money until the U.S. presidential election Tuesday. The decision…
read moregeneva — More than 50,000 people have so far been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, the World Health Organization’s chief said on Friday. The outbreak is still not under control, the African Union’s health watchdog warned a day earlier, appealing for resources to avoid a “more severe” pandemic than Covid-19.…
read moreJOHANNESBURG — Whoever U.S. voters choose as their next president — former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris — the election has global implications, with the probability it will affect other economies, foreign conflicts and personal freedoms, analysts told VOA. South African independent political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said the winner could usher in policies…
read moreWASHINGTON — America’s employers added 12,000 jobs in October, a total that economists say was held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race that has pivoted heavily on voters’ feelings…
read moreThe United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends “concerning signals”, the U.S. Arctic ambassador said. Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying…
read moremoscow — A Russian former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for “secret collaboration with a foreign state,” Russian agencies said Friday. Robert Shonov worked for more than 25 years for the U.S. Consulate until 2021, when Moscow imposed…
read moreThe Biden administration says it is looking into Iran’s apparent recent detention of an Iranian American dual national who is the only U.S. citizen publicly reported to have been jailed by the Islamic republic since a rare U.S.-Iran prisoner swap in September 2023. Responding to a VOA inquiry last week the State Department said in…
read moreNEW DELHI — A thick layer of toxic smog cloaked India’s capital on Friday as smoke from firecrackers used to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, pushed air pollution to hazardous levels. New Delhi’s air quality index plunged into the “severe” category, according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency. In many areas, levels of…
read moreLily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in. The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester,…
read moreBird flu has infected three more people from Washington state after they were exposed to poultry that tested positive for the virus, according to health authorities in Washington and in Oregon, where the human cases were identified. A total of 39 people have tested positive for bird flu in the U.S. this year, including nine…
read morewashington — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump sued CBS News on Thursday over an interview of Vice President Kamala Harris that aired on the network’s “60 Minutes” news program this month. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of Texas, alleged that the network aired two different responses from Harris responding to a…
read morewashington — Xiaolei Wu, a Chinese student who had been serving a nine-month prison sentence for threatening pro-democracy activists in Boston, received an early release on September 16 and returned to China, according to federal documents obtained by VOA’s Mandarin Service. U.S. and Chinese officials have not commented publicly on Wu and whether he may have…
read moreThe navigation systems of thousands of passenger aircraft are being disrupted every day as they fly close to conflict zones, according to researchers. They are warning that the blocking or “spoofing” technology behind it could put lives at risk. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …
read moreADAMA, ETHIOPIA — Residents in Ethiopia’s Oromia region say access to phone communication and internet service has been disrupted for months as government forces fight against two rebel groups. The disruption of mobile phone calls and internet data has been concentrated in conflict-hit Oromia zones, where government forces have engaged in fighting against the Oromo Liberation…
read moreIn New York City, a media outlet run by immigrants for immigrants uses messaging apps to engage with communities on elections, crime and local issues. Liam Scott and Cristina Caicedo Smit have the story, narrated by Caicedo Smit. Tina Trinh contributed. …
read moreLONDON — The European Union is investigating Chinese online retailer Temu over suspicions it’s failing to prevent the sale of illegal products, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm said on Thursday. The European Commission opened its investigation five months after adding Temu to the list of “very large online platforms” needing the strictest level of scrutiny under…
read moreThe United Nations, scientists and governments made an urgent call Wednesday for increased funding to protect coral reefs under threat of extinction. Research this year shows that 77% of the world’s reefs are affected by bleaching, mainly due to warming ocean waters amid human-caused climate change. It’s the largest and fourth mass global bleaching on…
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