Biden Signs Hate Crimes Measure Into Law 

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Hailing it as a rare contemporary example of bipartisan cooperation in Washington, President Joe Biden on Thursday signed legislation intended to fight anti-Asian hate crimes, which have escalated in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic.Hate and racism are “the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation,” the president said before signing the bill in the White House East Room.The law establishes a new Justice Department position to expedite the review of COVID-19-related hate crimes and provide support for local law enforcement agencies to respond to such violence. It also is intended to improve hate crime datamore

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Proposed Funding Targets US Community College Upgrades

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President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, released last month, includes $12 billion for community colleges to address technological needs, help protect the health and safety of students and faculty, and narrow funding inequities.It also calls for two years of free tuition at community colleges, one of many parts of First lady Jill Biden, third from left, speaks during a visit with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, left, to Sauk Valley Community College, in Dixon, Ill., April 19, 2021.Brown said the current infrastructure proposal would benefit community colleges that have aging buildings.“Many of them have been built in the ’60s ormore

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US Justice Department Ramps Up Investigations of Police

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In the wake of George Floyd’s death last May beneath the knee of then-police officer Derek Chauvin, Black Lives Matter protesters demanded that the Justice Department investigate the Minneapolis police department for civil rights violations.   FILE – People hold up signs, including one with an image of George Floyd, outside the courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the death of Floyd.Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department investigated two dozen police agencies for evidence of misconduct and gross violations of Black Americans’ rights, eventually entering into court-approved agreementsmore

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Top US, Russian Diplomats Meet in Iceland to Cooperate on ‘Intersecting Interests’

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The United States says it is ready to work with Russia to advance areas where the two nations have “intersecting interests,” while continuing to defend U.S. interests and respond if Moscow acts aggressively against Washington and its allies.”There are many areas where our interests intersect and overlap, and we believe that we can work together and indeed build on those interests — whether it is dealing with COVID-19 and the pandemic, climate change, the nuclear programs” in Iran and North Korea, or the peace process in Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov metmore

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Biden Test-Drives New Truck to Promote Electric Vehicles

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On a day many motorists in the southeastern United States could not find gasoline, President Joe Biden promoted the transition to electrical vehicles while warning that China is ahead in the race to build the next-generation automobiles.  “They think they’re going to win, but I got news for them. They will not win this race. We can’t let them. We have to move fast,” said the president during a visit to a Michigan plant where electric pickup trucks are made.  Ford on Wednesday will formally unveil its F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of its best-selling pickup truck, which the presidentmore

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First Female Speaker of the House, Pelosi Knew Politics from Early Age

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For many years, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government before Kamala Harris was elected vice president last November. A continual target of Republican criticism, Pelosi has cemented her place in history leading an often-divided Democratic caucus under four U.S. presidents. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.  Produced by: Katherine Gypson   …

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‘Third Party’ Threat to the Status Quo of US Politics Faces Long Odds

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Rancor within the Republican Party peaked last week between members who remain loyal to former President Donald Trump and those who want the party to repudiate him and his continued false claims of election fraud. First, there was the dramatic expulsion of Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership post in the House of Representatives after she voted to impeach Trump and denounced his claims the 2020 election had been “stolen” by the Democrats.  Then came the announcement that more than 100 disgruntled conservatives are exploring the possibility of launching a new political party rededicated to founding ideals. To non-U.S. observers, the creation of a new political party from the shards of one riven by internal discord may seemmore

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Congressman Gaetz Associate Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges

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A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal.Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the courtmore

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Agreement Reached for Bipartisan Probe into US Capitol Riot

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Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee announced an agreement Friday to form a panel to conduct a bipartisan investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. The deal was announced in a statement by committee Democratic Chairman Bennie Thompson and its top Republican, John Katko. The legislators said they would introduce a bill for House consideration as early as next week. The measure will call for an investigative commission similar to the one that probed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., they said.  The proposed 10-member commission would consist of five membersmore

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House Republicans Elect Pro-Trump Stefanik to Leadership Role

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U.S. House Republicans approved Representative Elise Stefanik on Friday for a top leadership spot, sending a powerful message about the direction of the party by elevating the New York congresswoman noted for her support of former president Donald Trump.     The 36-year-old Stefanik takes over the position of House Republican Party conference chair from Representative Liz Cheney, who was removed Wednesday after calling Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election “a big lie.”    Thank you to my colleagues for electing me to serve as House Republican Conference Chair and to my constituents across FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California speaks during his weekly press briefing onmore

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EPA Website Restores Climate Change Data

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Data missing from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website is back and updated after a four-year absence under the Trump administration.The EPA’s new Climate Change Indicators website shows that the last decade was the hottest on record; heat waves have increased in frequency from two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s; and sea levels rose as much as 8 inches in coastal areas.”With this long overdue update, we now have additional data and a new set of indicators that show climate change has become even more evident, stronger, and extreme — as has themore

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Climate Change Data Return to EPA Website

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Data missing from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website is back and updated after a four-year absence under the Trump administration.The EPA’s new Climate Change Indicators website shows that the last decade was the hottest on record; heat waves have increased in frequency from two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s; and sea levels rose as much as 8 inches in coastal areas.”With this long overdue update, we now have additional data and a new set of indicators that show climate change has become even more evident, stronger, and extreme — as has themore

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Number of Unaccompanied Minors at US-Mexico Border Falls This Week

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A top immigration official on Thursday pledged a comprehensive response to the influx of unaccompanied minors at the U.S.-Mexico border. In testimony on Capitol Hill, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told concerned lawmakers a migrant crisis early in the Biden presidency has been contained. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.Producer: Katherine Gypson.  …

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Hungarian Plans for First Chinese University in Europe Prompt Security, Propaganda Fears

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Hungary has announced plans to open a branch of a Chinese University in Budapest. Critics fear the development — the first of its kind in Europe — will be used by Beijing to spread Chinese Communist Party propaganda and could pose a threat to national security.   The so-called “Student City” will be built on the site of a former wholesale market outside the nation’s capital, with its centerpiece a branch of the prestigious Shanghai-based Fudan University.   Hungary said it will raise the standard of higher education, offer courses to 6,000 students from Hungary, China and further afield, while bringing Chinese investment andmore

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Hearing on Jan. 6 US Capitol Violence Exposes Stark Partisan Divisions

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Republicans sought to shift the narrative on the violent Jan. 6 insurrection during a congressional hearing Wednesday, with some painting the Trump supporters who stormed the building as patriots who have been unfairly harassed, as Democrats clashed with the former Pentagon chief while drilling into the government’s unprepared response.   The colliding lines of questioning, and a failure to settle on a universally agreed-upon set of facts, underscored the challenges Congress faces as it investigates what law enforcement officials have described as a deadly act of domestic terrorism carried out by Trump loyalists bent on overturning the election.   Themore

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Biden Seeks Consensus During White House Talks With Republican Leaders

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President Joe Biden held his first White House meeting with Republican leaders from Congress on Wednesday in search of common ground on his proposals to spend trillions of dollars on U.S. infrastructure, education and childcare. Biden, a Democrat and former longtime U.S. senator from Delaware, has sought to reduce partisan tension in Washington and pledged to work with both parties to advance his policy goals, which face stiff opposition from Republicans. “The bottom line here is we’re going to see whether we can reach some consensus” on a compromise over infrastructure, Biden said at the start of talks with Mitchmore

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Trump Cements Republican Party Control With House Leadership Battle

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U.S. House Republicans are expected to pick Representative Elise Stefanik for a top leadership spot Friday, sending a powerful message about the direction of the party by elevating the New York congresswoman noted for her support of former President Donald Trump.Stefanik, 36, would take over the position of House GOP Conference chair from Representative Liz Cheney, who was removed Wednesday after calling Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election “a big lie.”Stefanik’s bid for the third most powerful position in the House Republican caucus caps a shift from a largely unknown lawmaker with a moderate voting record representingmore

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US House Republicans Oust Liz Cheney From Key Party Leadership Post

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives ousted Congresswoman Liz Cheney Wednesday from her party leadership post over her criticism of former president Donald Trump for his claims that voter fraud cost him re-election last November.   The caucus, in a voice vote, removed the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney from her position as chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in House Republican leadership, responsible for communicating the party’s message to the general public.   Republicans are in a slight minority in the House compared to the majority Democrats, but one key Republican, Congressman Jimmore

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House Republicans Oust Cheney from Top Party Leadership Post

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives removed Representative Liz Cheney from her party leadership post over her criticism of former President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in last November’s presidential election.The caucus voted Wednesday to oust the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney from her post as chair of the House Republican Conference, the third-highest position in A sign bearing the name of Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., outside of her office on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 11, 2021.In a speech on the House floor on Tuesday night, Cheney described Trump’s continuing efforts to delegitimize the election results as “ a threat America hasmore

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US House Republicans Expected to Oust Liz Cheney from Top Party Leadership Post

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Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are poised to remove Representative Liz Cheney from her party leadership post over her criticism of former President Donald Trump’s claims of fraud in last November’s presidential election. The caucus is expected to vote Wednesday to oust the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney from her post as chair of the Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 17, 2019.  She first drew fire within the party when she voted for Trump’s impeachment for his role in inciting the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, when hundreds of his supporters stormed the buildingmore

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For Some Universities, Fall Semester Uncertain as Coronavirus Persists Globally 

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The U.S. government’s pumping of $35 billion into emergency aid for college students has not been enough for some universities, say education experts.They cite drastically lower enrollments even as things appear to be shifting back to normal after more than a year of the coronavirus pandemic.“Enrollments are down quite significantly, both at the public institutions and the community colleges, nationwide,” said Todd Sedmak, manager of corporate communications at National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), a nonprofit organization that crunches education data.“This decrease in enrollment has led to less money coming to universities from tuition and fees,” he said.Declines in enrollment occurred becausemore

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