WASHINGTON — A shield law known as the PRESS Act that would give journalists greater federal protections failed to pass the Senate on Tuesday evening after it was blocked by Senator Tom Cotton. Shield laws protect journalists from being forced by the government to disclose information such as the identities of sources. The PRESS Act…
read moreNew York — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the federal consumer protection and antitrust agency. Ferguson has said the agency should tackle perceived censorship of conservative viewpoints online. If social media platforms collaborate to suppress such views or advertisers coordinate to pull business from platforms such as…
read morewashington — The United States is moving to grant federal protections to the monarch butterfly — a once-common species recognizable by its striking black and orange patterns that has faced a dramatic population decline in recent decades. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said Tuesday it has initiated a public comment period to consider listing the…
read moreWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has created a new national monument on the grounds of a former Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania, which served as the blueprint for hundreds of similar institutions across the United States. “I want everyone to know,” Biden said. “I don’t want people forgetting, 10, 20, 30, 50 years from now.” Indian…
read moreProsecutors are urging a judge not to throw out President-elect Donald Trump’s hush money criminal conviction but suggesting a willingness to end the case in a way that would preserve the verdict while avoiding punishment or a protracted legal fight. In court papers made public on Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office proposed an array…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to enforce mass deportations has raised alarm bells for immigrants in Florida. VOA Spanish’s José Pernalete says activists and field workers warn that crops could be affected if personnel shortages arise. See the full story here. …
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden on Monday presided over his final White House Tribal Nations Summit by reaching into the nation’s dark past and establishing a national monument to honor the suffering of thousands of Native children and their families in federal boarding schools in the 19th and 20th centuries. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell…
read moreWASHINGTON — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s uncertain political future from his martial law backlash could imperil the next Trump administration’s trilateral coordination with the country and Japan in countering China, analysts say. Yoon faces an investigation for treason after declaring martial law and rescinding it hours later last week. Although he survived an impeachment…
read morePHOENIX — A polygamist religious leader who claimed more than 20 spiritual “wives” including 10 underage girls was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Monday for coercing girls as young as 9 years old to submit to criminal sex acts with him and other adults, and for scheming to kidnap them from protective custody. Samuel…
read morePresident Joe Biden is making last-ditch efforts to appoint more federal judges before he leaves the White House. But where does he stand on appointments compared to President-elect Donald Trump? …
read morewashington — U.S. diplomats and military officials have intensified their outreach to groups vying to chart a new course for Syria, as well as to Syria’s neighbors, in an effort to ensure the fall of the regime of former President Bashar Assad does not give way to a more unstable and dangerous future. A number of…
read moreNEW YORK — Police have arrested a 26-year-old man with a weapon consistent with the gun used to kill the head of the largest U.S. health insurer, New York’s police commissioner said Monday. The man was taken into custody after police got a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, said NYPD…
read moreNew York — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism. A Manhattan jury cleared Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was…
read moreTikTok asked a federal appeals court on Monday to bar the Biden administration from enforcing a law that could lead to a ban on the popular platform until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge to the statue. The legal filing was made after a panel of three judges on the same court sided with the…
read moreBEVERLY HILLS, California — Musical thriller “Emilia Perez” and historical epic “The Brutalist” led the roster of films nominated on Monday for the 2025 Golden Globes, the Hollywood honors that kick off the movie awards season leading to the Oscars. “Emilia Perez,” released by Netflix NFLX.O, scored 10 nods and “The Brutalist,” from independent distributor A24,…
read moreThe results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter…
read moreBoth U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump reacted Sunday to the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Given its strategic interests in the Middle East, the U.S. is expected to keep a close eye on what lies ahead in Syria. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …
read moreWashington — Celebrities, cultural icons and a few surprise guests are gathering for the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebration Sunday evening in Washington. This year’s recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment are director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. In addition, the venerable…
read moreU.S. President Joe Biden declared Sunday that the sudden demise of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad was a “fundamental act of justice,” but that it was “a moment of uncertainty” for the Mideast. Biden, speaking at the White House, said the collapse of the decades-long iron rule by the Assad family was “the best…
read moreMillions of U.S. voters are set to cast their ballots Tuesday as they decide whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will be the country’s next leader. …
read moreSEATTLE — Unionized machinists at Boeing voted Monday to accept a contract offer and end their strike after more than seven weeks, clearing the way for the aerospace giant to resume production of its bestselling airliner and generate much-needed cash. Leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers district in Seattle said 59% of…
read moreMillions of U.S. voters are set to cast their ballots Tuesday as they decide whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump will be the country’s next leader. Polls heading into Election Day indicated a tight race, particularly in a group of battleground states that will be key to deciding the winner. Both…
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