NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said it had canceled grants and contracts worth about $400 million to Columbia University because of what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school’s New York City campus. Friday’s announcement was made in a joint statement by the departments of Justice, Education and Health and…
read moreMEXICO CITY — The number of monarch butterflies wintering in the mountains west of Mexico City rebounded this year, doubling the area they covered in 2024 despite the stresses of climate change and habitat loss, experts said Thursday. The annual butterfly count doesn’t calculate the individual number of butterflies, but rather the number of acres they…
read moreJust as discoveries of fossil fuel reserves helped to shape the 20th century, the race for critical minerals is shaping the 21st. These minerals are seen as strategically crucial for modern economies, including those used in construction, energy and manufacturing — particularly for semiconductors and other technology applications. Where mineral resources are located and extracted…
read moreUS President Donald Trump convened cryptocurrency leaders at the White House to talk about digital assets and his goal to build a strategic reserve of bitcoin. Michelle Quinn reports. Camera: Michelle Quinn …
read moreWASHINGTON — Giving a new meaning to the phrase mad scientists, angry researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to fight against what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration. In the nation’s capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally.…
read moreThe U.S. Department of Justice dropped a proposal Friday to force Alphabet’s Google to sell its investments in artificial intelligence companies, including OpenAI competitor Anthropic, to boost competition in online search. The DOJ and a coalition of 38 state attorneys general still seek a court order requiring Google to sell its Chrome browser and take…
read moreCAIRO — Nearly 100 people died of cholera in two weeks since the waterborne disease outbreak began in Sudan’s White Nile State, an international aid group said. Doctors Without Borders — also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF — said Thursday that 2,700 people have contracted the disease since Feb. 20, including 92 people who…
read moreA historic measles outbreak in West Texas is just short of 200 cases, Texas state health officials said Friday, while the number of cases in the neighboring state of New Mexico tripled to 30. Most of the cases across both states are in people younger than 18 and those who are unvaccinated or have an…
read moreThis week has been a roller coaster regarding U.S. tariffs with its biggest trading partners and closest neighbors. At midnight Monday, President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports, sparking fears of a trade war. A day later, the U.S. announced temporary exemptions and delays, leaving Mexico dealing with uncertainty. Veronica Villafañe…
read moreWHITE HOUSE — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to signal that he is ready to take military action on Iran, unless the country agrees to a new deal that would restrain its rapidly advancing nuclear program. “There’ll be some interesting days ahead. That’s all I can tell you,” he told reporters in the Oval…
read moreWASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 151,000 jobs last month, but the outlook is cloudy as President Donald Trump threatens a trade war, trims the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring was up from a revised 125,000 in January. Economists had expected 160,000 new jobs…
read moreSediqa Khalili was a captain in the Afghan military until the Taliban’s takeover in 2021. She was evacuated to the United States, and she says she is grateful for the opportunities but heartbroken by the worsening conditions for women in Afghanistan. VOA’s Noshaba Ashna has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. Camera: Ajmal Songaryar …
read moreEuropean defense firms look set to profit from EU investment in rearming as the bloc reacts to the United States’ pivot away from Europe’s security under President Donald Trump. But as Henry Ridgwell reports, the $860 billion ReArm Europe Plan faces opposition from members Hungary and Slovakia. …
read moreEvery Sunday, the voices of a Ukrainian musical ensemble fill a home in a quiet suburb of Washington. For this group, music is much more than just art: It’s an expression of solidarity. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera: Artyom Kokhan …
read moreTAIPEI, TAIWAN — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday criticized the United States for imposing tariffs on Chinese imports and vowed to “resolutely retaliate” if Washington continues to increase pressure on Beijing. Speaking to local and foreign media outlets during the annual meeting of China’s parliament on Friday, Wang questioned the effectiveness of the U.S.…
read moreWASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday hosts top cryptocurrency players at the White House, a political boost for an industry that has struggled to gain legitimacy — and where the Republican president faces conflict of interest concerns. The president’s “crypto czar,” Silicon Valley investor David Sacks, has invited prominent founders, CEOs and investors along…
read moreNearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart. This time, wreckage from the explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida.…
read morePresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a government reserve of bitcoin, a key marker in the cryptocurrency’s journey toward possible mainstream acceptance. Under Trump’s new order, the U.S. government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it’s already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump’s “crypto czar” David Sacks. “The U.S.…
read morepentagon — On a windy Thursday outside Washington at the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomed his British counterpart to discuss how best to quickly end Russia’s war in Ukraine. “European leadership of NATO, led by the U.K., led by others, is, we believe, the future of defense on the continent,” Hegseth said. British Defense…
read moreA New Mexico resident who has died, tested positive for measles, the state health department said on Thursday, marking the second measles-related death in the United States in more than a decade. The unvaccinated adult patient did not seek medical care before death and was the first measles-related death in the state in more than…
read moreSome global health projects whose U.S.-funded contracts were suddenly canceled last week have received letters reversing those decisions, according to media reports. The reversal came after the Trump administration ended about 90% of contracts funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. State Department. Democratic lawmakers, along with some Republicans and rights…
read morePresident Donald Trump is signaling a major change in how the U.S. will support growth in key domestic industries such as semiconductors. Michelle Quinn reports. …
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