In fight for West, Harris campaigns in Arizona, Trump in Montana

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GLENDALE, Arizona — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned in a packed arena in Arizona on Friday, hoping to put Republican candidate Donald Trump on the back foot in the West, while Trump held his own rally in Montana to support a Republican candidate for Senate. The Democratic presidential candidate, less than a month into her bid for the White House, has been on a weeklong tour after naming her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, with a focus on building excitement for her campaign in seven states that could tip the November 5 election. That tour on Friday brought hermore

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China’s drivers fret as robotaxis pick up pace – and passengers

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WUHAN, China — Liu Yi is among China’s 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he started driving part-time this year when construction work slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments. Now he predicts another crisis as he stands next to his car watching neighbors order driverless taxis. “Everyone will go hungry,” he said of Wuhan drivers competing against robotaxis from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu 9888.HK. Baidu and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declined comment. Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat ofmore

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Military service of VP hopefuls Walz, Vance scrutinized

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pentagon — For the first time in 20 years, both Republicans and Democrats have a military veteran on their presidential ticket. The last time this occurred was when President George W. Bush faced Senator John Kerry in 2004. While Democratic vice presidential hopeful Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Republican vice presidential nominee Ohio Senator JD Vance have different political views, both share a history of military service. Walz served 24 years as a member of the Army National Guard after voluntarily enlisting at age 17. According to the Minnesota National Guard, Walz served in Nebraska as a senior sergeant and anmore

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Harris, Walz campaign in Arizona, where every vote will be critical

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phoenix — Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate held a rally in Arizona Friday as part of their tour of electoral battlegrounds, visiting a state with a Democratic U.S. senator she passed over in favor of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and gun control advocate, had been a top contender for running mate. He’s won two tough races in politically divided Arizona. In passing over Kelly, Harris may have lost the chance to win over people like Gonzalo Leyva, 49, a landscaper in Phoenix. Leyva plans to vote for former President Donaldmore

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Trump heads to Montana rally after plane was diverted but landed safely

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BOZEMAN, Mont. — Former President Donald Trump headed to Montana for a Friday night rally in hopes of ousting the state’s Democratic senator, but his plane first had to divert to an airport on the other side of the Rocky Mountains because of a mechanical issue, according to airport staff. Trump’s plane was en route to Bozeman, Montana, when it was diverted Friday afternoon to Billings, 142 miles to the east, according to Jenny Mockel, administrative assistant at Billings Logan International Airport. Mockel said the former president was continuing to Bozeman via private jet. Trump’s campaign posted a video of himmore

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US election looms over US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation

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washington — Experts in Washington are split on their perspectives of the durability of the recently elevated U.S.-South Korea-Japan security cooperation in the event of former President Donald Trump winning the November U.S. presidential election, given his critical stance toward U.S. alliances in the past. Last month, the U.S., South Korea and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework (TSCF), which is aimed at institutionalizing the countries’ security partnership against threats from China and North Korea. While not legally binding, the memorandum is expected to facilitate trilateral security cooperation regardless of any leadership changes in theirmore

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US presidential campaign: The view from Ukraine

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The U.S. presidential campaign is being closely followed in Ukraine as its outcome could significantly impact regional security, U.S. foreign policy, NATO support, aid to Ukraine, and relations with Russia. VOA Eastern Europe Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports. Camera: Daniil Batushchak, Vladyslav Smilianets …

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Biden set to share a legacy with LBJ  

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U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to pass the Democratic Party’s torch to Vice President Kamala Harris makes him a lame-duck president – one who remains in office without any hope of an additional term. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman at the White House looks at how Biden’s legacy may eventually compare to the previous one-term president who did not run for reelection. …

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UN approves its first treaty targeting cybercrime

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United Nations — U.N. member states on Thursday approved a treaty targeting cybercrime, the body’s first such text, despite fierce opposition from human rights activists who have warned of potential surveillance dangers. After three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York, members approved the United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime by consensus, and it will now be submitted to the General Assembly for formal adoption. “I consider the documents … adopted. Thank you very much, bravo to all!” Algerian diplomat Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki, chairwoman of the treaty drafting committee, said to applause. The committee was set up, despitemore

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Microsoft: Iran accelerating cyber activity in apparent bid to influence US election

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NEW YORK — Iran is ramping up online activity that appears intended to influence the upcoming U.S. election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday. Iranian actors also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially sway American voters this fall, especially in swing states, the technology giant found. The findings in Microsoft’s newest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent U.S. campaign cycles, is evolving its tactics for another election that’s likely to have global implications.more

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President Maduro suspends X social network in Venezuela for 10 days

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CARACAS, Venezuela — President Nicolás Maduro said he has ordered a 10-day block on access to X in Venezuela, accusing the owner Elon Musk of using the social network to promote hatred after the country’s disputed presidential election. Associated Press journalists in Caracas found that by Thursday night posts had stopped loading on X on two private telephone services and state-owned Movilnet. “Elon Musk is the owner of X and has violated all the rules of the social network itself,” said Maduro in a speech following a march by pro-government groups. Maduro alleged Musk “has incited hatred.” Maduro also accused themore

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Foreign policy differences with fellow Republicans could complicate second Trump presidency

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Congressional Republicans closely align with presidential nominee Donald Trump on a number of key foreign policy issues, including U.S. support for Israel. But as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, lawmakers still have significant differences on China, tariff policy and aid to Ukraine that could complicate a second Trump term. Videographer: Saqib Ui Islam …

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World’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood nears completion in Texas

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GEORGETOWN, Texas — As with any desktop 3D printer, the Vulcan printer pipes layer by layer to build an object – except this printer is more than 45 feet (13.7 m) wide, weighs 4.75 tons and prints residential homes. This summer, the robotic printer from ICON is finishing the last few of 100 3D-printed houses in Wolf Ranch, a community in Georgetown, Texas, about 30 miles from Austin. ICON began printing the walls of what it says is the world’s largest 3D-printed community in November 2022. Compared to traditional construction, the company says that 3D printing homes is faster, less expensive,more

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Biden ‘not confident’ of peaceful power transition if Trump loses election

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washington — President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was not confident about a peaceful transfer of power in the United States if Republican Donald Trump loses the Nov. 5 presidential election. “If Trump loses, I’m not confident at all,” Biden said in an interview with CBS News when asked whether he thought there would be a peaceful transfer of power after the vote. “He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it. All this stuff about if we lose there’d be a bloodbath,” Biden added. During a March campaign appearance in Ohio, Trump warned of amore

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Are vice presidential picks game changers for US elections?

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Now that both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have selected their running mates, the question is whether those picks will actually help boost the campaigns’ chances of winning the November election. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the historical relevance of vice presidential candidates and what Tim Walz and JD Vance bring to their respective tickets. …

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Dueling political rallies in one of US oldest cities

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The two U.S. presidential tickets are set. Vice President Kamala Harris named her running mate Tuesday. But the presumed Democratic Party nominee wasn’t alone making news in one of America’s oldest cities, Philadelphia, in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. That’s where we find VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti. …

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Drones warn New Yorkers about storm dangers

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NEW YORK — Gone is the bullhorn. Instead, New York City emergency management officials have turned high-tech, using drones to warn residents about potential threatening weather. With a buzzing sound in the background, a drone equipped with a loudspeaker flies over homes warning people who live in basement or ground-floor apartments about impending heavy rains. “Be prepared to leave your location,” said the voice from the sky in footage released Tuesday by the city’s emergency management agency. “If flooding occurs, do not hesitate.” About five teams with multiple drones each were deployed to specific neighborhoods prone to flooding. Zach Iscol, themore

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