US President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to two minor criminal charges this week. While Republicans said the plea deal would not stop their inquiry into the president and his family, Democrats said those concerns did not compare to the charges faced by former president Donald Trump. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. …
Leave a commentJen Kebea, president of Campus Philly, a nonprofit focused on recruitment, engagement and retention of college talent in the Greater Philadelphia area, discussed a 2019 study with Technical.ly, an online news site for technologists and entrepreneurs. Campus Philly completed a retention data study in 2019 that found the region was retaining 54% of its college students, Kebeba told Technical.ly. However, Kebaba said that within the pool of STEM graduates, some are highly retained, such as those in biology and other life sciences-related subjects; others, such as those in computer science and information technology majors, are less likely to stay in themore
Leave a commentThe risks of artificial intelligence to national security and the economy need to be addressed, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, adding he would seek expert advice. “My administration is committed to safeguarding Americans’ rights and safety while protecting privacy, to addressing bias and misinformation, to making sure AI systems are safe before they are released,” Biden said at an event in San Francisco. Biden met a group of civil society leaders and advocates who have previously criticized the influence of major tech companies, to discuss artificial intelligence. “I wanted to hear directly from the experts,” he said. Severalmore
Leave a commentThree international music students from Alabama State University traveled to Florida to attend the Southeast Horn Workshop (SEHW) at the University of Central Florida, according to the Alabama State University website. The three students — seniors Vitalis Wagome and Wanja Nganga and freshman Shaka Marko Lwaki, all from Nairobi, Kenya – attended the conference, billed as one of the largest regional conferences in the country for French horn players, the website said. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentIn a recent survey of 12th-graders, about 40% said the COVID-19 pandemic made them rethink their choice of career or undergraduate degree, and about 10% said it made them doubt the value of college at all. Nirvi Shah of USA Today unpacks the findings. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday the United States and China have an obligation to manage their relationship responsibly, and that he told Chinese leaders during meetings in Beijing that direct engagement is the best way to ensure disagreements do not turn into conflict. Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Blinken said he had candid and substantive discussions Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi. “I would expect additional visits by senior U.S. officials to China over the coming weeks,” Blinken said during a news conference. He added that Washington welcomes further visits bymore
Leave a commentA U.S. judge in Florida on Monday ordered defense lawyers for former President Donald Trump not to release evidence in the classified documents case to the media or public, according to a court filing. The order from U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart also put strict conditions on Trump’s access to the materials. “The Discovery materials, along with any information derived therefrom, shall not be disclosed to the public or the news media, or disseminated on any news or social media platform, without prior notice to and consent of the United States or approval of the Court,” the order filed onmore
Leave a commentThe Keystone Education Group, based in Oslo, Norway, surveyed 23,800 prospective international students representing more than 195 countries and found that students are evolving in the way they approach decisions about study abroad. (June 2023) Several highlights from the group’s 2023 State of Student Recruitment Report conducted from January-April 2023 include: A growing number of students are researching study abroad options less than six months before applying. Three-quarters of students are worried about the safety of studying abroad, particularly when it comes to racial discrimination. Among respondents, 52% were African students and 18% were Asian students. …
Leave a commentIndian Eagle magazine takes a look at the U.S. student visa interview process, offering tips and success strategies. Among them: organize your documents, be honest and concise, and demonstrate strong ties to your home country. Also: don’t be nervous or defensive, and don’t memorize responses. Read the full story here. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentMore than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork. Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government, President Joe Biden’s administration isn’t pleased at how efficiently some states are accomplishing the task. “Pushing through things and rushing it will lead to eligible people — kids and families — losing coverage for some period of time,” Daniel Tsai, a top federal Medicaid official recently told reporters. Already, aboutmore
Leave a commentSecretary of State Antony Blinken left Washington on Friday night for China. The trip, which was postponed after an incident in February over a suspected Chinese spy balloon, is being closely watched on Capitol Hill. Blinken is expected to focus on the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the two countries and discussing regional security issues, climate change and the global economy. State Department officials also said the issue of illegal fentanyl trafficking to the United States would also be a prominent part of the talks. Ahead of the trip, VOA Mandarin Service spoke with several U.S. lawmakers about their expectations for the talks, including what issues should bemore
Leave a commentThe expiration of COVID-19 restrictions means that Seattle Colleges’ international students, who’d been permitted to take fully online classes from either their home countries or their U.S. residences, have to go back to the classroom. And that, the student newspaper notes, is a problem. “This might leave international students in hot water because some classes are still only offered online, so they cannot enroll in classes they are required to take for their programs of study,” The Seattle Collegian reports. Seattle Colleges is a multicollege district serving the city of Seattle and surrounding communities in the U.S. state of Washington.more
Leave a commentAfter the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, tens of thousands of girls were banned from attending school beyond sixth grade. Many found a way to continue their studies through informal tutoring centers, but those too have come under increased scrutiny as the government continues to crack down on women and girls’ access to education, according to The Hechinger Report. As a group of girls in Kabul have been grappling with all this, they’ve formed a connection with some other teens half a world away in California. The two sets of students, through meetings on Zoom talking about theirmore
Leave a commentWith former President Donald Trump currently the leading candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024, his indictment last week on charges of mishandling classified documents stands to dominate the American political conversation for months to come. As Democrats and Republicans stake out their competing positions on what Trump did, what other politicians did, and what the law requires, the facts of the case will likely become increasingly muddled. Here is a step-by-step account of what is known about the case as drawn from court filings and other official statements. National Archives The June 9 indictment arose from an investigationmore
Leave a commentTwo staff psychologists – one who grew up in South Korea and one in Kenya – with Virginia Commonwealth University’s counseling services specialize in intercultural issues, VCU News reports. Mijin Kim and Abey Muthoni Wachira draw on personal experience in their work and have highlighted a range of issues that international students can face as part of the culture shock of living and studying in a host country, whose norms and values can vary from their native lands, the online news site reports. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentNearly 530 students from 27 countries will be spending the summer working and traveling in the U.S. state of Wisconsin thanks to a program known as the J-1 Student Visa. The program provides workers from area businesses, placing most of them in eight municipalities in Door County. The Door County Daily News has the story. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentFollowing the indictment of former President Donald Trump in connection with his alleged mishandling of classified documents, the former president and his supporters contend that he is the target of a politically weaponized justice system. They claim that the Department of Justice has ignored similar alleged crimes committed by his rivals, including President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a speech after his arraignment Tuesday, Trump alleged that Biden and Clinton and other former presidents have committed far graver crimes than he has, yet he was the only one charged with felonies. That, he says, ismore
Leave a commentThe Graduate Records Exam, or GRE, is now less than two hours long and has no writing section. Scores will also be released faster. The changes come as many schools are making the test optional, in what the academic journal Science dubbed “GRExit.” Stephanie Saul of The New York Times describes the new format, and how admissions are changing as the pandemic eases and the Supreme Court reconsiders affirmative action. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentFormer President Donald Trump remained defiant following his not guilty plea in a Florida courtroom Tuesday. The Republican presidential front-runner is facing 37 federal felony counts, including illegally retaining classified information and obstructing justice. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. Camera – Celia Mendoza …
Leave a commentA federal judge on Tuesday said E. Jean Carroll, the New York writer who last month won a $5 million jury verdict against Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation, can pursue a related $10 million defamation case against the former U.S. president. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan ruled in favor of the former Elle magazine columnist after Trump had argued that the defamation case must be dismissed because the jury had concluded he never raped her. Kaplan said he may explain his reasoning later. Through a spokeswoman, Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba maintained that Carroll should not bemore
Leave a commentAfter colleges went online during the pandemic, professors reported “stunning levels of student disengagement.” Now, many schools are walking back those policies and no longer offer coursework online. While this is welcome for many students, others with disabilities and chronic illnesses argue that Zoom is the only safe way for them to attend. Julian Roberts-Grmela of the Chronicle of Higher Education has more. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentFormer President Donald Trump arrived at his golf club outside Miami on Monday ahead of his arraignment on charges stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified national security documents after he left the White House in 2021. The arraignment, set for 3 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, will take place under heavy security in a federal courtroom in downtown Miami. Federal authorities have beefed up security around the court building, and Miami officials say they’re prepared to prevent violence from Trump supporters and counterprotesters. “In our city, we obviously believe in the Constitution and believe that people should have the rightmore
Leave a commentImagine if your first-year biology class took place at an “Alien Zoo,” where you dissect animals and identify medical conditions. This is already happening at Arizona State University, where thousands of students pair their real-life lecture courses with virtual labs. Students in the virtual reality course were 1.7 times more likely to earn an A than those in the regular one, reports Olivia Sanchez of The Hechinger Report. (June 2023) …
Leave a commentIn a good month, Celina Chanthanouvong has about $200 left after rent, groceries and car insurance. That doesn’t factor in her student loans, which have been on hold since the start of the pandemic and are estimated to cost $300 a month. The pause in repayment has been a lifeline keeping the 25-year-old afloat. “I don’t even know where I would begin to budget that money,” said Chanthanouvong, who works in marketing in San Francisco. Now, after more than three years, the lifeline is being pulled away. More than 40 million Americans will be on the hook for federal studentmore
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