WASHINGTON — NASA’s pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit). Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather…
read moreFor 92 years, the Hollywood Christmas Parade has featured celebrities and performers. This year, the parade includes the Divas and Drummers of Compton, a nonprofit working to give inner city kids an opportunity to learn performing arts. Genia Dulot reports from Los Angeles. …
read moreAs he prepares to take office in less than a month, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, and he renewed calls to buy Greenland from Denmark. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
read moreTEHRAN, IRAN — Iran’s top council responsible for safeguarding the internet voted Tuesday to lift a ban on the popular messaging application WhatsApp, which has been subject to restrictions for over two years, state media reported. “The ban on WhatsApp and Google Play was removed by unanimous vote of the members of the Supreme Council of…
read moreMajor banks and business groups sued the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, alleging the U.S. central bank’s annual “stress tests” of Wall Street firms violate the law. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, claims the Fed’s practice of determining how big banks perform against hypothetical economic turmoil, and assigning capital requirements accordingly,…
read moreSinger and actress Sofia Carson closes 2024 with her first action film role and a duet of the holiday classic “White Christmas” with Andrea Bocelli. Carson reflected on her bicultural roots and humanitarian work to VOA’s Veronica Villafane. …
read moreAmerican Airlines flights were cleared to fly by regulators early Tuesday after a brief grounding due to a systemwide technical issue. Just before 7 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with…
read moreTOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Tuesday he wanted to strengthen his country’s alliance with the United States, as he pushed for as early as possible a meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Japan is neighbors with an increasingly assertive China and a nuclear-armed North Korea that has been deepening military ties with…
read moretokyo — The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has told the White House it is unable to reach a consensus on national security risks involved in Nippon Steel’s bid for U.S. Steel, The Washington Post reported Monday. The decision now lies with President Joe Biden, who has 15 days to act. Both…
read moreLOS ANGELES — One of the world’s most active volcanoes sprang into life again Monday, spewing columns of lava 80 meters above Hawaii, U.S. vulcanologists said. Images showed enormous fissures in the caldera of Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, spraying jets of molten rock into the air. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal President Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence security, setting the stage for deregulation for AI companies by nominating pro-business, pro-startups Silicon Valley leaders. The nomination of Jacob Helberg, an outspoken China critic, for a key State Department post indicates Trump’s intention to lead over China in…
read moreWASHINGTON — A recently released U.S. government report details China’s ongoing efforts to “erode long-standing norms in and around Taiwan” through various pressure tactics, including increased military flights crossing the Taiwan Strait median line. While U.S. officials have expressed serious concerns, some military experts argue that Washington’s response has been ineffective in curbing Chinese aggression. To…
read moreWashington — The U.S. House Ethics Committee is expected to release its long-awaited report Monday into former Representative Matt Gaetz, ending a yearslong investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors and use of illicit drugs while the Florida Republican was in office. The anticipated release comes after at least one Republican joined all five Democrats…
read moreNew York — The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare pleaded not guilty on Monday to murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution. Luigi Mangione, 26, was shackled and seated in a Manhattan court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his…
read moreNEW YORK — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun’s corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total solar eclipse. The next milestone:…
read moreHanukkah, Judaism’s eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas Day, which has only happened four times since 1900. For some rabbis, the intersection of the two religious holidays provides an auspicious occasion for interfaith engagement. “This can be a profound opportunity for learning and collaboration and togetherness,” said Rabbi Josh Stanton, a vice…
read moreHarrisburg, Pennsylvania — Capitol buildings are almost always an imposing presence. As the seat of government, they tend to be elegant and stately — and frequently capped by a dome. Visitors to Pennsylvania ‘s Capitol are drawn to its priceless artwork, polished marble and intricate carvings, but hidden behind the doors of some of its most…
read moreTirana, Albania — Albania’s prime minister said Sunday the ban on TikTok his government announced a day earlier was “not a rushed reaction to a single incident.” Edi Rama said Saturday the government will shut down TikTok for one year, accusing the popular video service of inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Authorities have held…
read moreWashington — At least 3,104 Native American children died in boarding schools in the United States, taken from their families to be forcibly assimilated, The Washington Post reported on Sunday, with its estimate three times higher than that of the American government. In these establishments, some of which were religious and which existed from the beginning…
read moreNew York — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales…
read moreThe incoming Trump administration inherits efforts by the US space agency, NASA, to return astronauts to the surface of the moon and is turning to commercial space entrepreneurs to help. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more. …
read moreBEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug. Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a…
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