Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Vivian Chang works on a narrow Philadelphia street that would have been consumed by a Phillies stadium had Chinatown activists not rallied to defeat the plan in the early 2000s. Instead of 40,000 cheering fans, the squeals of young children now fill the playground at Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School, which opened in…
read moreRescue and recovery efforts continue in the southeastern United States following the recent landfall of Hurricane Helene. Now, a new storm, less than two weeks later, swirls in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening even more damage to the battered region. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has the story. …
read moreReuters — Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers and obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies are among the telecoms companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with…
read moreKIGALI — Rwanda said Sunday it had begun administering vaccine doses against the Marburg virus to try to combat an outbreak of the Ebola-like disease in the east African country, where it has so far killed 12 people. “The vaccination is starting today immediately,” Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana said at a news conference in the capital…
read moremiami — People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Milton, for now just a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, could intensify rapidly into a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Milton’s center was about 1,385 kilometers west-southwest of Tampa, Florida, early Sunday, heading east at 7 kph…
read moreGOMA, Congo — Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization. The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the United States were rolled out in…
read moreNEW YORK — For years, the Grammy Awards have been criticized over a lack of diversity — artists of color and women left out of top prizes; rap and contemporary R&B stars ignored — a reflection of the Recording Academy’s electorate. An evolving voting body, 66% of whom have joined in the last five years, is…
read moremiami — A storm system that was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico earlier Saturday has strengthened into Tropical Storm Milton, with forecasters warning it could intensify into a hurricane headed to Florida next week. Tropical Storm Milton is about 355 kilometers north-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in a 1:25…
read moreDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has emerged as a twofold concern for the United States as it nears the end of the presidential campaign. Prosecutors allege Tehran tried to hack figures associated with the election, stealing information from former President Donald Trump’s campaign. And U.S. officials have accused it of plotting to kill Trump and…
read morewellington, new zealand — A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington, government seismic monitor GeoNet said on Sunday, but initial reports indicated there were no injuries or significant damage. The quake hit at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday (1608 GMT on Saturday) striking 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) west of Wellington at a…
read morewashington — Transgender rights, the regulation of “ghost guns” and the death penalty highlight the Supreme Court’s election-season term that begins Monday, with the prospect of the court’s intervention in voting disputes lurking in the background. The justices are returning to the bench at a time of waning public confidence in the court and calls to…
read moreIn the United States, nearly 24 million immigrants are eligible to vote in November’s presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. census data. VOA’s Jeff Swicord spoke with two naturalized citizens about the choices they are making in this vote. …
read moreKAMITUGA, Congo — It’s been four months since Sifa Kunguja recovered from mpox, but as a sex worker, she said, she’s still struggling to regain clients, with fear and stigma driving away people who’ve heard she had the virus. “It’s risky work,” Kunguja, 40, said from her small home in eastern Congo. “But if I don’t…
read moreASHEVILLE, North Carolina — Nearly a week after Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, a shiny stainless steel tanker truck in downtown Asheville attracted residents carrying 19-liter containers, milk jugs and buckets to fill with what has become a desperately scare resource — drinking water. Flooding tore through the city’s water system, destroying so…
read morewashington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington’s independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found. The investigation has so far…
read moreWASHINGTON — America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that the U.S. labor market is still solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy. Last month’s hiring gain was far more than economists had expected, and it was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in…
read moreWashington — Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, who began his term this week, may advocate for forming a nuclear body with the United States that is similar to an arrangement between the U.S. and South Korea aimed at planning for nuclear warfare contingencies. “The U.S.-ROK [Republic of Korea, or South Korea] approach is probably a…
read moreHANOI, Vietnam — More than a dozen tigers were incinerated after the animals died after contracted bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officials said. State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city saying the animals were fed raw chicken bought from nearby farms. The panther and 20 tigers,…
read moreMEMPHIS, Tennessee — Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing. Jurors deliberated for about six hours before coming back with the mixed verdict for…
read moreNEW YORK — The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on September 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score. “The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are…
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