It’s been a very long time since vendors sold the American chestnut on city sidewalks. It’s no longer the variety whose smell some people associate with Christmastime as it wafts from street carts. Because it’s virtually extinct. But memories of the American chestnut’s legacy keep resurfacing for the researchers who want to bring it back.…
read moreOMAHA, NEBRASKA — A major ice storm created treacherous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska this weekend and prompted temporary closures of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road. Many events were canceled across the region when the storm hit Friday evening, and businesses announced plans to open late Saturday as…
read moreABC News has agreed to give $15 million to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air involving the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, a court document filed on Saturday showed. The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in U.S.…
read moreWASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hip replacement surgery Saturday at a U.S. military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress. Pelosi, 84, “is well on the mend,” said Ian Krager, a Pelosi spokesperson. Krager, said in a statement that she is “currently receiving excellent…
read moreAQABA, JORDAN — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s government but is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others. Blinken is the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts…
read moreTOKYO — The partial transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began on Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said. The relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed on…
read moreAmericans should eat more beans, peas and lentils and cut back on red and processed meats and starchy vegetables, all while continuing to limit added sugars, sodium and saturated fat. That’s the advice released Tuesday by a panel of nutrition experts charged with counseling the U.S. government about the 2025 edition of the dietary guidelines…
read moreWASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized after she “sustained an injury” during an official engagement in Luxembourg, according to a spokesperson. Pelosi, 84, was in Europe with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Her spokesperson, Ian Krager, said in…
read moreTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued a New York doctor for allegedly providing a Texas woman with abortion pills by telemedicine. The lawsuit by the Republican attorney general, which appeared to be the first of its kind, could offer a test of conservative states’ power to stop abortion pills from reaching their residents.…
read moreNEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a…
read morewashington — Less than 10 minutes was all it took for a large pile of toys donated by the White House staff to disappear as Jill Biden and children from military families sorted them into boxes as part of the annual Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots campaign for the less fortunate. The White House is…
read morePatricia Hubbard Fox, the sister of the 72-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard sentenced to jail in Russia for almost seven years on charges of “being a mercenary” for his alleged participation in fighting in Ukraine, says in an exclusive VOA Russian interview that she is still unsuccessfully trying to find out the location of his…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team told VOA Persian on Friday that all options remain on the table when it comes to addressing Iran’s nuclear program. “The Trump administration is committed to reestablishing peace and stability in the Middle East,” Brian Hughes, spokesperson for Trump’s transition team, said in an email, responding to an inquiry…
read moreThe U.S. mid-Atlantic state of Maryland may seem like an odd place for hula dancing. Yet every weekend, dancers gather in downtown Silver Spring to practice the ancient form of storytelling, despite the thousands of miles between them and Hawaii, the tropical island state where hula was born. VOA’s Keith Lane has the story. …
read moreHe may be better known to the world as the father of Tesla and Space X, but in a few months, Elon Musk is expected to take aim at U.S. government spending. VOA’s senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti explains what skills Musk brings to the advisory committee known as DOGE. …
read moreANKARA, TURKEY — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began talks with Turkey’s top diplomat Friday after reassurances that Ankara would never allow any let-up in the fight against rebels in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Blinken began meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at 9:40 a.m., a U.S. official said. He flew…
read moreLOS ANGELES — The former head of a notorious Syrian prison was charged Thursday in the United States with torturing opponents of the now-collapsed government of Bashar al-Assad, the Justice Department said. Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, who has been in the U.S. since 2020, allegedly ran Damascus Central Prison — known colloquially as Adra Prison —…
read moreDAMASCUS, SYRIA — An American who disappeared seven months ago into former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system said early Friday he was released by the “liberators” who arrived in Damascus a day after the longtime ruler fled the capital. Travis Timmerman called his release a “blessing” when he spoke to The Associated Press from…
read moreNew York — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence…
read moreTop aides to U.S. President Joe Biden are in the Middle East this week, to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and to deal with the fallout in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. The visits come amid military maneuvers from neighboring countries including U.S. allies Israel and Turkey. White House Bureau Chief…
read moreU.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to have Kari Lake, a politician and former Arizona journalist, appointed head of the international government-funded broadcaster Voice of America. Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that Lake would be appointed director of VOA. Lake is a close political ally of the president-elect and…
read moreWASHINGTON — The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot even though the bureau did prepare for the possibility of violence on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a watchdog report Thursday. It also said no undercover FBI employees were present that day and none of the bureau’s informants was authorized to…
read more