Maryland Man Arrested Over Biden Death Threat

On

A Maryland man was arrested and accused of making death threats against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday.   The suspect was identified as James Dale Reed, 42, who was also charged with threatening sexual violence against Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, in a letter he left at a neighbor’s house that bore a sign supporting the Democratic ticket.   The resident of Frederick, Maryland, who initially denied threatening violence against the candidates, was captured on the neighbor’s video doorbell on October 4 delivering the letter at their doorstep.   Prosecutors said Reed was questioned at home andmore

Leave a comment

The Last Encounter: Trump, Biden Debate Thursday Night

On

Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, are debating Thursday night in their last face-to-face confrontation before the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.The two candidates, both in their 70s, repeatedly interrupted each other, Trump more so than Biden, at their 90-plus-minute debate in late September, a standoff that some U.S. political pundits described as the worst-ever U.S. presidential debate.   But this time, the independent Commission on Presidential Debates is muting each candidate’s microphone while the other speaks for two minutes in response to questions on six current affairs issues selected by moderator Kristenmore

Leave a comment

Thai Parliament Recalled Amid Ongoing Protests

On

Thailand will recall its Parliament from recess to discuss ongoing pro-democracy protests in the country, the cabinet announced Tuesday.Lawmakers are expected to meet for a non-voting session October 26 to October 27, a move that embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha said he approved. Protests, largely led by students, have called for Prayuth’s resignation and several other changes to Thailand’s constitution.Protest leaders called for a day of rest Tuesday after six straight days of demonstrations, despite a ban on gatherings of more than four people.The Thai government also ordered the closing Tuesday of Voice TV, a network partly owned by the familymore

Leave a comment

NYT Report: Trump Tax Records Show He Tried to Land China Projects

On

President Donald Trump spent a decade unsuccessfully pursuing projects in China, operating an office there during his first run for president and forging a partnership with a major government-controlled company, The New York Times reported Tuesday. China is one of only three foreign nations — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Trump maintains a bank account, according to a Times analysis of the president’s tax records. The foreign accounts do not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names. The Chinese account is controlled by Trumpmore

Leave a comment

Trump Campaign Warns Biden Will Undermine American Democracy

On

With Democratic candidate Joe Biden holding a substantial lead in presidential election polls, President Donald Trump’s campaign is trying to appeal to independent and disaffected Republican voters. Trump is warning that if Democrats win, they will enact radical changes to the American system of democracy. VOA’s Brian Padden reports on concerns the Democrats might change the filibuster rule in the Senate to pack the Supreme Court, abolish the Electoral College or admit new Democratic majority states into the union. …

Leave a comment

African Reporters Try to Unpack Complex, Contested US Election

On

The world is watching as the U.S. prepares for a crucial election for president and thousands of other representatives at all levels of government. In Africa’s most mature democracy, South Africa, citizens are watching the drama with interest — and with the aid of a few seasoned journalists who are attempting to explain the quirks and developments of this historic poll. For 12 years, South African reporter Sherwin Bryce-Pease has had the job of explaining America — and U.S. politics — for his nation’s state broadcaster from his base in New York.   2020, however, is posing a new storytelling challenge, withmore

Leave a comment

Foreign Students Could Buoy Cash-strapped US Universities 

On

International students might be a boon for many colleges and universities to offset losses during the coronavirus pandemic, say experts.  “U.S. education is an extremely valuable service export, roughly equivalent to total exports of wheat, corn, coal, and natural gas,” according to the FILE- People walk on the Stanford University campus beneath Hoover Tower in Stanford, Calif., March 14, 2019.In April, when the infection continued to shutter campuses nationwide, then-University of California President Janet Napolitano pleaded for funding assistance in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom. “I am bringing to your attention these significant, unanticipated costs to UC in many areasmore

Leave a comment

Caught in America’s Election Battle, Ukraine Hopes for More US Military Support

On

Ukrainians are watching with added interest as Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden enter the final days of the U.S. presidential race. Ukraine has taken on huge strategic importance for the United States and its NATO allies since Ukraine’s ongoing 2014 war with Russia, while allegations of corruption linked to Ukraine continue to cloud the election campaign.The alliance was underscored last month as U.S. military personnel took part in “Exercise Fiction Urchin” alongside Ukrainian special forces in the west of Ukraine. U.S. Air Force CV-22 Ospreys and other aircraft flew low over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, drawing attention from residentsmore

Leave a comment

US Court Upholds Extension of North Carolina Mail-In Voting Deadline

On

A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that as long as a voter in the state of North Carolina has mailed their absentee ballot no later than Election Day, election officials can count it even if it arrives after Election Day. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a challenge to a North Carolina State Board of Elections rule that said it will accept mail-in ballots as late as November 12. The original regulations would have made the cutoff November 6. The 12-3 ruling involved all of the court’s active judges, instead of a more typical three-judge panel, signaling the importance of the case. The issue is playing out in courtsmore

Leave a comment

Pelosi Notes ‘Progress’ with Trump Admin Over New COVID-19 Stimulus Deal 

On

The White House and the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives “are serious about finding a compromise” on a second massive round of coronavirus aid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday. Pelosi said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by telephone Tuesday afternoon, and that she hoped they could continue talks Wednesday after he returns from an overseas trip. “Our conversation provided more clarity and common ground as we move closer to an agreement. Today’s deadline enabled us to see that decisions could be reached and language could be exchanged,” Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues. The two sides called on the heads ofmore

Leave a comment

Trump Makes Appeals to Pennsylvania Voters Two Weeks Before Election Day

On

U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Pennsylvania get back to normal business operations at a time the state is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. “What the hell is happening in Pennsylvania?” Trump asked the crowd at his Tuesday evening campaign rally at Erie International Airport, in the western part of the crucial swing state for the November 3 general election. Expressing frustration with pandemic restrictions imposed by Governor Tom Wolf, a member of the Democratic Party, the president said “Pennsylvania has been shut down long enough. Get your governor to open up Pennsylvania.”   Wolfe issued a renewed plea on Monday to Pennsylvanians tomore

Leave a comment