Trump Health and Human Services nominee defends past statements about vaccines, COVID, health care

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the nation’s top health official, faced tough questions from senators Wednesday about his views on vaccinations, COVID-19 and the nation’s health care system. A member of one of America’s most famous political families, Kennedy could face a tough road to confirmation. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent…

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Generative AI makes Chinese, Iranian hackers more efficient, report says

A report issued Wednesday by Google found that hackers from numerous countries, particularly China, Iran and North Korea, have been using the company’s artificial intelligence-enabled Gemini chatbot to supercharge cyberattacks against targets in the United States. The company found — so far, at least — that access to publicly available large language models (LLMs) has…

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VOA Mandarin: How US cabinet nominees are vetted, approved

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate kicked off Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing Wednesday. Candidates for the President’s Cabinet must be confirmed by the Senate. But individuals considered for politically appointed positions are thoroughly vetted during presidential transitions by a president-elect’s legal team. What to know about this process.  Click here for the full story in…

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Kennedy struggles to answer questions at confirmation hearing for top health post 

WASHINGTON — In a contentious confirmation hearing on his nomination to become the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggled to answer questions about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician and…

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WHO warns polio progress in Afghanistan, Pakistan at risk due to US funding cut

ISLAMABAD — A senior World Health Organization official cautioned Wednesday that the eradication of polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the only countries where the paralytic virus persists, is threatened by the suspension of funding from the United States. In an online news conference, Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, emphasized the crucial role of…

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Defense secretary pulls Trump critic Gen. Milley’s security clearance, protective detail

Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pulling the security protections and clearance of retired Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and he has ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to review Milley’s actions while serving as the nation’s top uniformed officer to determine if a demotion is warranted, two defense officials confirmed late Tuesday. The inspector…

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ICE to use U.S. military base in Colorado to detain undocumented migrants

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said on Tuesday it will allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented migrants at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado, further widening the Pentagon’s role in President Donald Trump’s undocumented immigration crackdown. The decision comes on top of U.S. military deportation flights of undocumented migrants out of the country and…

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Truth struggles against propaganda and censorship on China’s DeepSeek AI

Washington — Just one week after its initial release, China’s new artificial intelligence assistant, DeepSeek, has shocked American financial markets, technology companies and consumers, rocking confidence in America’s lead on emerging large-language models. The tool caused a nearly $1 trillion loss in market value for U.S.-based companies with connections to AI. DeepSeek has beat out ChatGPT…

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