Washington — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Brown Jr. testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday about the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget for 2025 as questions remained as to whether lawmakers will support current spending needs for Israel or Ukraine. The Senate hearing was the first time lawmakers on both sides were…
read morewashington — U.S. President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, hold very different views on key foreign and domestic issues. Here’s an overview of where each nominee stands on domestic policy. Reproductive rights Biden: The Biden administration has protected access to abortion, including: FDA-approved…
read moreSEOUL, South Korea — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations will travel to the heavily armed Korean border and meet North Korean defectors in South Korea, her office said on Monday, amid faltering U.N. efforts to ensure sanctions enforcement against the North. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s trip, set for April 14-20, came after Russia rejected the…
read moreIn the United States, the two major political parties have been illustrated by a donkey, symbolizing the Democratic Party, or an elephant, symbolizing the Republican Party. The images are used on campaign-related materials. But why were these two beasts chosen? …
read moreMillions of people in the United States from Texas to Maine looked to the sky to witness a rare total solar eclipse. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh attended a viewing event hosted by NASA and Purdue University at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has more. …
read morephoenix — As ranchera music filled the Phoenix recording studio at Radio Campesina, a station personality spoke in Spanish into the microphone. “Friends of Campesina, in these elections, truth and unity are more important than ever,” said morning show host Tony Arias. “Don’t let yourself be trapped by disinformation.” The audio was recorded as a promo…
read moreWashington — U.S. President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, hold very different views on key foreign and domestic issues. Here’s an overview of where each one stands on foreign policy. Russia-Ukraine Biden endorses sending military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to aid…
read moreNEW YORK — Actor Jonathan Majors was sentenced to probation and ordered to complete a year-long counseling program but avoided jail time Monday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case that derailed the once-promising star’s career. The 34-year-old star of “Creed III” and other films had faced up to a year behind bars after he…
read moreAustin, Texas — Chinese migrants coming across the southern U.S. border say they made the treacherous journey to flee China’s authoritarian rule, to seek the American dream or escape growing political and economic uncertainty at home. But the challenges do not end after they arrive, and some are deciding to return to China, while others have…
read moreMESQUITE, Texas — Millions of spectators along a narrow corridor stretching from Mexico to the U.S. to Canada eagerly awaited Monday’s celestial sensation — a total eclipse of the sun — even as forecasters called for clouds. The best weather was expected at the tail end of the eclipse in Vermont and Maine, as well as…
read moreCLEVELAND — Kamilla Cardoso delivered once again for Dawn Staley and South Carolina. A perfect finish. A dynasty. A team too big for Caitlin Clark and Iowa this time around. Cardoso had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and South Carolina completed its perfect season with an 87-75 victory over Clark and the Hawkeyes in…
read moreWASHINGTON — An engine cover on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 fell off Sunday during takeoff in Denver and struck the wing flap, prompting the U.S. FAA to open an investigation. No one was injured and Southwest Flight 3695 returned safely to Denver International Airport around 8:15 a.m. local time Sunday and was towed to the…
read moreIn an interview with VOA, President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign downplayed the new single-event fundraising record set on Saturday by Donald Trump’s campaign. Analysts point out, however, that money alone won’t secure either candidate’s return to the White House. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …
read moreNew York — “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” easily swatted away a pair of challengers to hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row, according to studio estimates Sunday. After its above-expectations $80 million launch last weekend, the MonsterVerse mashup brought in $31.7 million over its…
read moreDes Moines, Iowa — The jackpot has a cash value of $621 million if the winner chooses to take a lump sum rather than an annuity paid over 30 years. The winning numbers were: 22, 27, 44, 52, 69 and the red Powerball 9. No one had won Powerball’s top prize since New Year’s Day, leading…
read moreCHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sophomore Christian Adams expected he would be studying Chinese when he enrolled at West Virginia University, with a dream of working in labor or immigration law. He didn’t foresee switching his major to politics, a change he made after West Virginia’s flagship university in September cut its world language department and dozens of…
read morewashington — U.S. President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a White House summit set to bolster trilateral maritime cooperation in the South China Sea, a major move to counter Beijing. The first-of-its-kind gathering by the United States and its two Asian allies is set for…
read moreBEIJING — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday that the ability to have difficult conversations has put the two economic superpowers on “a more stable footing” over the past year. As they began a meeting in Beijing, Li responded that the two countries needed to respect each other and should…
read morewilmington, delaware — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Saturday that they raised more than $90 million in March and ended the year’s first quarter with $192 million-plus in cash on hand, further stretching their money advantage over Donald Trump and the Republicans. The Biden campaign and its affiliated entities reported…
read moreSome U.S. voters were waiting for a third political party to announce its presidential ticket before they decided on the Democratic or Republican nominee. VOA Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti tells us what they will do now that the No Labels group dropped plans to post a unity ticket. Camera: Adam Greenbaum …
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