Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 80 kilometers from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day, which would top…
read moreNEW YORK — Teen drug use hasn’t rebounded from its drop during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days. That’s the largest proportion…
read moreWASHINGTON — Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday slammed what he called unfair fees for U.S. ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand control of the waterway be returned to Washington. He also hinted at China’s growing influence around the canal, a worrying trend for American interests as U.S. businesses depend on…
read moreWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mark Burnett, the power producer who helped reintroduce Donald Trump to a national television audience with The Apprentice, is being tapped by the president-elect as special envoy to the United Kingdom in his upcoming administration. “With a distinguished career in television production and business, Mark brings a unique blend of diplomatic…
read moreTIRANA, ALBANIA — Albania’s prime minister said Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teen after a quarrel that started…
read moreCAIRO — The U.S. military said it conducted precision airstrikes on Saturday against a missile storage facility and a command-and-control facility operated by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. In a statement, the U.S. military’s Central Command said the strikes aimed to “disrupt and degrade Houthi operations, such as attacks against U.S. Navy warships and merchant…
read moreWASHINGTON — A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct. Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday he has selected David Fink to serve as administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration. “David will bring his 45+ years of transportation leadership and success, which will deliver the FRA into a new era of safety and technological innovation,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. …
read moreGenerative artificial intelligence companies are racing to build on the popularity of programs like ChatGPT, but AI regulation has not kept pace with the technology. Now, an incoming administration could favor U.S. domination over risk mitigation. Tina Trinh reports. …
read morePARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than originally planned and at a…
read moreKARACHI, PAKISTAN — Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday dismissed as unfounded and “devoid of rationality” assertions by a senior U.S. official that its missile program could eventually pose a threat to the United States. Earlier this week, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said Pakistan’s development of long-range ballistic missiles made it an “emerging threat.” Finer’s…
read moreWEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods. “I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the…
read moreBETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA — On Christmas Eve in 1741, Moravian settlers named this Pennsylvania city after the biblical birthplace of Jesus. Nearly 300 years later, Moravians continue celebrating their Christmas season traditions in Bethlehem. They include the “putz,” a Nativity scene that tells the story of Christ’s birth with miniature wooden figurines, the making of thousands of…
read moreHAVANA — Thousands of Cubans joined a protest Friday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana that was led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel and ex-leader Raul Castro against Washington’s long-standing trade blockade. “We are marching now to tell the U.S. government to let the Cuban people live in peace. Down with interference!” Diaz-Canel told a…
read moreTORONTO — Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it — an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto, through innovative quantum experiments, say they have demonstrated that “negative time” isn’t just a theoretical idea,…
read moreWASHINGTON — Foreign workers seeking U.S. jobs enjoyed near-guaranteed visa success in fiscal year 2024, with immigration authorities approving more than 97% of H1-B visa applications, as reported by the National Foundation for American Policy. The was the second-highest approval rate in more than a decade. But the exceptionally high success rate could soon end if…
read moreWASHINGTON — After two failed attempts to pass a bill to fund the U.S. government, the U.S. House passed a stopgap bill to fund the federal government through March. The vote was 366 to 34, with one member voting present. All of the 34 votes against the bill were cast by Republicans. House Republicans reached an…
read morewashington — The United States has charged a Russian Israeli dual citizen over alleged involvement with the Lockbit ransomware group, the Justice Department said Friday. Rostislav Panev, 51, was arrested in Israel in August and is awaiting extradition to the United States, the department said. Panev was a developer at Lockbit from its inception in 2019…
read moreNEW YORK — The U.S. flu season is under way, with cases surging across much of the country, health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted sharp increases in several measures, including lab tests and emergency room visits. “It’s been increasing at a pretty steady pace now for the past several weeks.…
read moreThe United States last month formally opened a permanent military base in Poland, part of NATO’s missile defense system amid rising tensions with Russia. The Polish defense minister says the base is a testament to Polish-American cooperation. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports from Redzikowo, Poland. …
read moreLONDON — It’s a photo that sent a tremor through British politics: Elon Musk flanked by British politician Nigel Farage and a wealthy backer, in front of a gilt-framed painting of a young Donald Trump. Taken this week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the image suggested that Musk, a key player in the incoming U.S.…
read moreUNITED NATIONS — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $200 million in new humanitarian funding for the Sudanese people at a high-level Sudan meeting he chaired Thursday at the U.N. Security Council, bringing total U.S. support to Sudan to more than $2.3 billion since fighting began among rival generals in April 2023. U.S. Special Envoy…
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