CHICAGO — Warning of a difficult fight ahead, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages to the Democratic National Convention that were at times both hopeful and foreboding. “America, hope is making a comeback,” the former first lady declared. She then tore into…
read moreXolo Maridueña is currently starring in the sixth and final season of the hit karate series “Cobra Kai,” which premiered on Netflix in July. But he also made waves last year when he was cast as the first Latino superhero lead in “Blue Beetle.” The actor spoke with Veronica Villafañe about the impact of these…
read moreWashington — Federal Reserve officials have said they’re increasingly confident that they’ve nearly tamed inflation. Now, it’s the health of the job market that’s starting to draw their concern. With inflation cooling toward its 2% target, the pace of hiring slowing and the unemployment rate edging up, the Fed is poised to cut its benchmark interest…
read moreWASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Haiti’s former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over drug trafficking, accusing him of playing a significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said Martelly “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined…
read moreLEWISTON, Maine — After more than a dozen public meetings, scores of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, a special commission created to investigate the deadliest shooting in Maine history is ready to issue its final report on Tuesday. The independent commission began its work a month after the Oct. 25 mass shooting by an…
read moreCHICO, Calif. — California’s largest wildfire this year has been significantly tamed as the state’s initially fierce fire season has, at least temporarily, fallen into a relative calm. The Park Fire was 53% contained Monday after scorching nearly 1,738 square kilometers in several northern counties, destroying 637 structures and damaging 49 as it became the state’s…
read moreChicago — President Joe Biden delivered his valedictory address to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, as his decision to end his reelection bid released newfound energy within his party with Vice President Kamala Harris’ elevation to the top of the ticket. After 52 years rising to the pinnacle of influence within his party, Biden,…
read moreWashington — A Washington, D.C., councilmember known for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories has been arrested on charges that he accepted over $150,000 in bribes in exchange for using his elected position to help companies with city contracts, according to court records unsealed on Monday. Trayon White Sr., a Democrat who ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign in…
read moreYearlong probe stops short of alleging any criminal wrongdoing by president …
read moreWashington — Four years after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made fighting unemployment a bigger priority during the COVID-19 pandemic, he faces a pivotal test of that commitment amid rising joblessness, mounting evidence inflation is under control, and a benchmark interest rate that is still the highest in a quarter of a century. High interest rates…
read moreNEW YORK — In 1974, Harlem’s deserted streets and tumbledown tenements told the story of a neighborhood left behind. Decades of disinvestment had culminated in a mass exodus known as urban flight and residents watched as their wealthier, more educated counterparts left the New York City neighborhood in droves. But the tide turned when Percy Sutton,…
read moreCHICAGO — Thousands of activists are expected to converge on Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, hoping to call attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza. While Vice President Kamala Harris has energized crowds of supporters as she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination, progressive activists maintain their mission remains…
read moreU.S. diplomatic efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war are being boosted by a new visit from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the Middle East. But even as hopes for a cease-fire are high, implementing it could prove challenging, analysts say. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details. …
read moreSeoul, South Korea — The leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States issued a joint statement Sunday marking the anniversary of their summit at Camp David and reaffirmed a pledge to jointly tackle regional challenges, South Korea’s presidential office said. The principles on trilateral cooperation established at the summit last year continue to serve…
read moreNEW YORK — They’re adorable. They require less food and space. And without much coaxing, they might help cut the grass. Americans are showing more interest in owning miniature cows, goats, donkeys and other diminutive farm animals, a trend driven by hobby farmers looking for easy-to-manage livestock and homesteaders who like the idea of having a…
read moreDETROIT — Canada’s two largest railroads are starting to shut down their shipping networks as a labor dispute with the Teamsters union threatens to cause lockouts or strikes that would disrupt cross-border trade with the U.S. Both the Canadian Pacific Kansas City and Canadian National railroads, which haul millions of tons of freight across the border,…
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