University Students Room in Hotels, Apartments During COVID

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Cristina Lozano, a junior at New York University (NYU), has been staying at the chic W New York Hotel, a 1911 beaux arts-style building that overlooks Union Square Park and offers a short walk to the Empire State Building.The hotel is booked until next summer, when prices are advertised from the $400s to the $600s a night. For now, the place belongs to Lozano and others like her, who are living in single rooms that her university is using as campus housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.“Living in the hotel is the exact same price as most of the dorms, whichmore

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US Supreme Court Halts Census in Latest Twist of 2020 Count

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped the once-a-decade head count of every U.S. resident from continuing through the end of October. President Donald Trump’s administration had asked the nation’s high court to suspend a district court’s order permitting the 2020 census to continue through the end of the month. The Trump administration argued that the head count needed to end immediately so the U.S. Census Bureau had enough time to crunch the numbers before a congressionally mandated year-end deadline for turning in figures used for deciding how many congressional seats each state gets. A coalition of local governments and civil rightsmore

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Voter Registration in Virginia Inadvertently Halted by Severed Optic Cable

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The government elections agency in the U.S. state of Virginia said Tuesday its voter registration system was shut down by a fiber optic cable that had been accidentally severed on the last day of registration before the Nov. 3 general election. The shutdown affected connectivity for the citizens’ registration portal, the election registrar’s office and multiple other state agencies, the Virginia Department of Elections said in a statement. The agency said technicians were working to repair the cable that the Virginia Information Technologies Agency said was cut during a utilities project in Chesterfield County. The state did not say when connectivity would bemore

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Youth Voting Trends Vary by Race

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Voters under 30 are a keenly watched voting bloc in the United States, with race being a top issue for many young people.  “There are huge differences in who young people support, candidate-wise, by race and gender,” Abby Kiesa, director of impact at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) based at Tufts University, told VOA. “For example, for a huge portion of young people of color, we are much more likely to see use of color, especially young Black and Latino young people, vote for Democratic candidates. However, when we look at white youth, wemore

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Senators Question Supreme Court Nominee Barrett

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Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are questioning U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on a range of issues Tuesday during the second day of her confirmation hearings. Expected topics include health care, her approach to legal precedent and the court’s potential role in sorting out any legal challenges that may arise from the November election. Senators will have 30 minutes each to ask their questions Tuesday, with a similar session to follow Wednesday.Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 12, 2020.Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has set an initialmore

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US Senate Kicks Off Sprint to Confirm Barrett Before Election Day

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U.S. Senate Republicans kicked off a sprint Monday to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Just three weeks before Election Day, Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began amid continuing concerns about the impact coronavirus infections will have on Barrett’s final nomination vote. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.Produced by: Katherine Gypson, Taameen Mohammed, Tressie Rhodes                                Camera: Adam Greenbaum   …

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Trump, Biden Trade Verbal Volleys in Battleground States

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With three weeks until Election Day, a handful of swing states is expected to determine if former Vice President Joe Biden can deny President Donald Trump a second term. That has the rival campaigns focusing on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania at the start of a critical week.  “The corrupt political class is desperate to regain their power by any means necessary,” Trump said Monday night in Sanford, Florida. “We’re the ones standing in their way.”  Trump accused Biden of being owned by “radical globalists” and having handed control of the Democratic Party to “the socialists, the Marxists and the left-wingmore

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Trump Remains Popular in Israel as US Election Looms

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Israelis and Palestinians are closely following the U.S. elections. For many in Israel, incumbent Donald Trump is the most pro-Israeli U.S. president in history. Some in the Jewish state fear that a Joe Biden victory could mean a change in U.S. foreign policy – one that Palestinians would welcome. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.Videographer: Ricki Rosen …

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Senators Set to Question Supreme Court Nominee Barrett

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Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are set to question U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on a range of issues Tuesday during the second day of her confirmation hearings. Expected topics include health care, her approach to legal precedent and the court’s potential role in sorting out any legal challenges that may arise from the November election. Senators will have 30 minutes each to ask their questions Tuesday, with a similar session to follow Wednesday.Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 12, 2020.Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham has setmore

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Election Day Sprint to Confirm Barrett Kicks Off on Capitol Hill

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U.S. Senate Republicans kicked off a sprint Monday to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Just three weeks before Election Day, Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began amid continuing concerns about the impact coronavirus infections will have on Barrett’s final nomination vote. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.Produced by: Katherine Gypson, Taameen Mohammed, Tressie Rhodes                                Camera: Adam Greenbaum   …

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Trump, Biden Fire Verbal Volleys at Each Other in Battleground States

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With three weeks until Election Day, a handful of swing states is expected to determine if former Vice President Joe Biden can deny President Donald Trump a second term. That has the rival campaigns focusing on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania at the start of a critical week.  “The corrupt political class is desperate to regain their power by any means necessary,” Trump said Monday night in Sanford, Florida. “We’re the ones standing in their way.”  Trump accused Biden of being owned by “radical globalists” and having handed control of the Democratic Party to “the socialists, the Marxists and the left-wingmore

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