The Jan. 6 committee will wrap up its first round of public hearings this week with a minute-by-minute examination of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson looks at what happens next. …
read moreA bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on proposed changes to the Electoral Count Act, the post-Civil War-era law for certifying presidential elections that came under intense scrutiny after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election. Long in the making, the package introduced by the group…
read morePresident Joe Biden on Wednesday announced new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.” The president stopped short, though, of declaring a formal climate emergency, which Democrats and environmental groups have been seeking after one Democratic senator…
read moreA supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump was selected by Republican voters in the eastern state of Maryland as their choice for governor. State legislator Dan Cox overwhelmingly won Tuesday’s preliminary elections, far outpacing his nearest opponent, Kelly Schulz, who once served in the cabinet of outgoing Republican Governor Larry Hogan. He is one…
read moreThe U.S. congressional panel probing the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 of last year expects to be able to look at text messages sent by Secret Service agents from the day before the mayhem and as it unfolded, a member of the investigative committee said Sunday. “We expect to get them by…
read morePresident Joe Biden is promising “strong executive action” to combat climate change, despite dual setbacks in recent weeks that have restricted his ability to regulate carbon emissions and boost clean energy, such as wind and solar power. The Supreme Court last month limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce…
read moreHere is a summary of Native American-related news around the U.S. this week: Interior secretary Haaland hears emotional testimony on boarding schools U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland heard from former students of federally backed Indian boarding schools as part of a year-long “Road to Healing” initiative. At the Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, Oklahoma, July…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden meets Saturday with Arab leaders in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will lay out his vision for U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Biden will attend the GCC+3 Summit, meeting with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – plus…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on Friday before traveling to Saudi Arabia. Biden said he remains committed to an independent Palestinian state even if the time isn’t right to restart negotiations. Abbas condemned the Israeli occupation of the West Bank but said Palestinians are prepared to restart peace…
read moreThe U.S. House has voted to restore abortion rights nationwide in Democrats’ first legislative response to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The bill has little chance of becoming law, with the necessary support lacking in the 50-50 Senate. Yet voting marks the beginning of a new era in the debate as…
read moreJust over half of Republicans likely to vote in their party’s 2024 presidential primary say that they would prefer someone other than former President Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate, a poll released on Tuesday by The New York Times and Siena College found. After identifying Republicans likely to vote in the primary, the…
read moreU.S. lawmakers’ investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol resumed Tuesday with an examination of former President Donald Trump’s encouragement to far-right extremist groups to subvert the democratic process. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson explains, investigators argue Trump’s claims of election fraud directly led to the attack. Produced by: Katherine…
read moreA large majority of Democrats would prefer that their party nominate someone other than incumbent President Joe Biden as its candidate in the 2024 presidential election, a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College found. The poll asked respondents who plan to vote in the Democratic primary elections whether they want the…
read moreThe congressional panel investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol last year is set to hear testimony Tuesday linking far-right extremist groups to the mayhem as they attempted to block the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election over then-incumbent Donald Trump. The House of Representatives committee has yet to…
read moreDonald Trump’s former close adviser Steve Bannon has told the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that he is ready to testify, a change of heart days before he is due to be tried for contempt of Congress. In a letter to the committee seen by Reuters, Bannon’s lawyer,…
read moreThe select House of Representatives Committee investigating the January 6th attack on the United States Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump is set to hold its next scheduled hearing Tuesday. Committee members say the hearing will focus on white nationalist groups’ participation in the attack. As VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports, the seventh hearing follows a…
read moreU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Bangkok, where Myanmar is expected to feature prominently in meetings Sunday with Thailand’s leaders. The main topic of their discussions will likely be the crisis in Myanmar, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink, adding the U.S. would continue to “condemn, in the strongest possible terms,…
read moreIn a visit to Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank next week, President Joe Biden is expected to nudge Riyadh toward diplomatic normalization with Israel. This would be a huge expansion of the Abraham Accords, the Trump-era Middle East peace plan. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
read moreFormer White House counsel Pat Cipollone met for a private interview with the January 6 committee for about eight hours Friday regarding his role in trying to prevent then-President Donald Trump from challenging the 2020 presidential election and joining the violent mob that laid siege to the Capitol. Cipollone, once a staunch presidential confidant who…
read moreHere is a summary of Native American-related news around the U.S. this week: Cherokee veteran receives highest military honor President Joe Biden awarded Cherokee Nation citizen Dwight Birdwell America’s highest military decoration during a White House ceremony Tuesday. Birdwell, 74, was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during the Tet Offensive, a series…
read moreIn his visit to the Middle East next week, President Joe Biden is set to push for Israel’s deeper integration in the region and urge Gulf countries to pump more oil to alleviate pressure on the global energy market. Observers will watch how Biden balances these U.S. interests with American values of human rights, in…
read moreOne of the key lawmakers investigating the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol last year says that if the Justice Department concludes that former President Donald Trump fomented the mayhem to block Congress from certifying his 2020 reelection loss — it should not hesitate to prosecute him. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the vice chairperson on…
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