Former Astronaut Kelly Sworn In as US Senator

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Former astronaut Mark Kelly, who ousted incumbent Republican Martha McSally in last month’s election, was sworn in Wednesday as a U.S. senator from Arizona.Kelly, a Democrat, will serve the remaining two years in the seat once held by longtime Senator John McCain, a prisoner of war in the 1960s in Vietnam and the Republican presidential candidate in 2008. McCain died in 2018 after having served two years of a six-year term. McSally was appointed to replace him in 2018 but lost to Kelly in a special election.Kelly will be up for a full six-year term in the 2022 election. Hemore

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Georgia Republicans Show Party Is Not a Monolithic Group

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President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud have put doubt in the minds of many Republicans. One state that has seen recounts after the election is Georgia, a state that has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1992. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee shows the diversity of opinions among Republicans on the outcome of the presidential election.Producer: Barry Unger. Camera: Joel Brewer, Michael Catron. …

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Even Trump-Appointed Judges Balk at President’s Efforts to Overturn Election

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Federal judge Stephanos Bibas pulled no punches when he issued a scathing opinion last Saturday rejecting the Trump campaign’s latest attempt to overturn the outcome of the November 3 presidential election.“Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so,” Bibas wrote in a FILE – Election workers, right, verify ballots as recount observers, left, watch during a Milwaukee hand recount of presidential votes at the Wisconsin Center, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 20, 2020.But Bibas, 51, is not just another judge on another court. He is a Trump appointee on the U.S. Court of Appealsmore

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Trump Threatens to Veto Major Defense Bill Unless Law Protecting Tech Companies is Axed

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U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to veto a major defense spending and policy bill unless it includes eliminating a law protecting internet companies from liability for material posted by users. Trump’s threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) came in a late Tuesday tweet, and at a time when the $740 billion bill is in the hands of a committee to reconcile two different versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. He called the law involving internet companies, known as Section 230, a form of “corporate welfare” and “a serious threat to our National Security & Electionmore

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South Korea to Hold College Entrance Test Amid Pandemic ‘Third Wave’

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As nearly a half-million South Korean students prepare to take an all-important college entrance examination later this week, health and education officials are stepping up efforts to prevent test sites from becoming coronavirus hotspots.  On Thursday, much of South Korea will quiet down as students in their third and final year of high school complete a test that is widely seen as having an oversized impact on one’s academic, professional and even marital prospects. Officials say that roughly 490,000 people have applied for this year’s one and only College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), better known in Korean as the suneung.more

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Barr Reveals He Appointed Special Counsel to Probe Origins of Russia Investigation

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Attorney General William Barr has given extra protection to the prosecutor he appointed to investigate the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, giving him the authority of a special counsel to complete the work without being easily fired.   Barr told The Associated Press Tuesday he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe. He said Durham’s investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the Russia investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane.  more

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Political Rancor Feels Old to America’s Youth

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Young people watching the rancor between political parties and among average Americans say they do not expect it to get better anytime soon.“No one seems to want to listen to the other side, and it’s halting any possible progress that could be made otherwise in terms of finding out how best to run the country and what would make the most people happy,” said Christopher Charles Laverde, 22, who writes for the popular anime YouTube channel We the Celestials.  Among Gen Zers (18 to 24 years old), three-quarters said they felt the United States is more divided than before, accordingmore

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Trump Threatens Military Spending Veto

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U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to veto a major defense spending and policy bill unless it includes eliminating a law protecting internet companies from liability for material posted by users. Trump’s threat to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) came in a late Tuesday tweet, and at a time when the $740 billion bill is in the hands of a committee to reconcile two different versions passed by the Senate and House of Representatives. He called the law involving internet companies, known as Section 230, a form of “corporate welfare” and “a serious threat to our National Security & Electionmore

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Political Rancor Feels Old to Young in US

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Young people watching the rancor between political parties and among average Americans say they do not expect it to get better anytime soon.“No one seems to want to listen to the other side, and it’s halting any possible progress that could be made otherwise in terms of finding out how best to run the country and what would make the most people happy,” said Christopher Charles Laverde, 22, who writes for the popular anime YouTube channel We the Celestials.  Among Gen Zers (18 to 24 years old), three-quarters said they felt the United States is more divided than before, accordingmore

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