Will TikTok in the U.S. be banned this month? That’s the pressing question keeping creators and small business owners in anxious limbo as they await a decision that could upend their livelihoods. The fate of the popular app will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear arguments on Jan. 10 over a…
read moreThe Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025. The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn’t far behind.…
read moreWashington — A massive winter storm moving across the United States will not keep the U.S. Congress from meeting on Monday to formally certify Republican Donald Trump’s election as president, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday. “The Electoral Count Act requires this on January 6 at 1 p.m. – so, whether we’re in a…
read moreWhile much remains unknown about the man who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s and another who died in an explosion in Las Vegas the same day, the violence highlights the increased role of people with military experience in ideologically driven attacks, especially those that seek mass casualties. In New Orleans,…
read moreHer greatest fear, dormant for decades, came rushing back in an instant: had she adopted and raised a kidnapped child? Peg Reif’s daughter, adopted from South Korea in the 1980s, had sent her a link to a documentary detailing how the system that made their family was rife with fraud: documents falsified, babies switched, children…
read moreNAIROBI, KENYA — Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to make a state visit to sub-Saharan Africa. He once called helping with Zimbabwe’s transition from white rule to independence “our greatest single success.” And when he died at 100, his foundation’s work in rural Africa had nearly fulfilled his quest to eliminate a disease that…
read moreWEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on Jan. 20. Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Meloni with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according to…
read moreWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will embark on what is expected to be his final overseas trip in office this weekend, traveling to South Korea, Japan and France. The State Department announced Friday that Blinken would visit Seoul, South Korean, Tokyo and Paris beginning Sunday. In South Korea, which is in the midst of…
read moreBUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Venezuelan opposition politician Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who fled the country after a tumultuous election and subsequent police crackdown, said Saturday he plans to speak with U.S. President Joe Biden. Speaking in Argentina, where he met with President Javier Milei, Gonzalez added that he was traveling to the United States on Sunday, though…
read moreLONDON — Prince William expressed his shock and sadness Saturday at the news of the death of his former nanny’s stepson in the New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed Saturday that they are supporting the family of 31-year-old Edward Pettifer, including helping them through the process of…
read moreWASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel, U.S. officials say, as the American ally presses forward with its war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of the arms in the package could be sent from current U.S. stocks, but the majority would take a year or…
read moreWASHINGTON — The U.S. congressional joint session to count electoral votes on Monday is expected to be much less eventful than the certification four years ago that was interrupted by a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who tried to stop the count and overturn the results of an election he lost to Democrat…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump is promising to reverse Biden administration efforts to fight climate change and says he will grow the U.S. economy by drilling for more oil. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. …
read moreNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — Just days after Tennessee announced it had a new manual for executing death row inmates, the state’s top prison officials said they aren’t going to release the document to the public. The Tennessee Department of Correction had told The Associated Press to file a public records request to obtain a copy of the…
read morehonolulu — In recent years, occasions large and small — parties, Super Bowls, mixed martial arts fights, even Thanksgiving — have provided a reason for residents across Hawaii to set off illegal fireworks. The increasingly sophisticated displays, loved by some and loathed by others, are so prevalent that some people consider them part of the state’s…
read morePLAINS, GEORGIA — Mourners are to begin paying their respects to Jimmy Carter on Saturday, kicking off a carefully choreographed six-day farewell for America’s longest-lived president. Flags have been flying at half-staff across the country since Carter died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100 in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Carter’s state funeral officially…
read moreDETROIT — U.S. new car sales in 2024 continued to rise from their pandemic lows, bolstered by replenished inventories, higher incentives and surging demand for hybrid vehicles, automakers reported on Friday. Sales of new vehicles finished at 15.9 million last year, according to Wards Intelligence, up 2.2% from the prior year, and the highest since 2019.…
read moreAn Army soldier who died in an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was a stunt to serve as a “wake-up call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in the note…
read moreWASHINGTON — On Feb. 15, 1951, Army Private Bruno R. Orig was returning from a mission when he found his fellow soldiers under attack in what’s now known as the Battle of Chipyong-ni. The infantryman provided first aid to his comrades wounded in the Korean War attack and began helping move those men to safety. He…
read morewashington — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson retained the speakership in a first-round ballot Friday, as the 119th Congress came into session. Johnson won 218 votes, just enough to keep his job. Both the House and the Senate enter the new session with Republicans in the majority, the party having taken control from Democrats in the…
read moreThe U.S. Homeland Security Department and the FBI are warning federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to be vigilant for potential copycat incidents inspired by the New Year’s Eve truck-ramming attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people. In a joint intelligence bulletin released Friday, federal authorities warned the nation’s 18,000 law-enforcement…
read moreOn the Middle East, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen as advisers two businessmen with whom he shares close personal ties. VOA’s Michael Lipin has our story. …
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