Brazil Supreme Court panel upholds judge’s decision to block X nationwide

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RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X nationwide, according to the court’s website. The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade intent on censoring political speech in Brazil. The panel that voted in a virtual session was made up of five of the full bench’s 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for refusing to name a local legalmore

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Howard University’s capstone moment: Kamala Harris at top of the ticket

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washington — As a young college student, Kamala Harris made the nearly 3-mile trip from Howard University to the National Mall to protest apartheid in South Africa. In 2017, as a senator, she returned to her alma mater to deliver the commencement address. In July, when she received word that she would likely be the Democratic presidential nominee, she was wearing her Howard sweatshirt in the vice president’s residence. Howard, one of the nation’s best known historically Black colleges, has been central to Harris’ origin story, and now, as she seeks to become the first woman elected president, the university ismore

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Judge blocks Ohio law banning foreign nationals’ donations to ballot campaigns

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Columbus, Ohio — A federal judge has blocked a new law banning foreign nationals and green card holders from contributing to state ballot campaigns in Ohio on the grounds that it curtails constitutionally protected free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Michael Watson wrote Saturday that while the government has an interest in preventing foreign influence on state ballot issues, the law as written falls short of that goal and instead harms the First Amendment rights of lawful permanent residents. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the measure June 2, and it was to have taken effect Sunday. A prominent Democratic law firmmore

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Harris criticizes Trump for Arlington Cemetery incident; some Gold Star families defend his visit

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Some Gold Star families expressed support Sunday for former President Donald Trump, after his campaign was criticized for taking photos and videos at a restricted section of Arlington National Cemetery last week. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also in the race for the White House, added her voice to those condemning Trump’s visit and deemed it “a political stunt.” VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …

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Trump issues statement from Gold Star families defending Arlington Cemetery visit and ripping Harris  

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ATLANTA — Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement Sunday from the Gold Star military families who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery as they defended the Republican presidential nominee and insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate politicizing fallen U.S. service members.  It’s the latest volley in an extended back and forth as Trump tries to saddle Harris with the Biden administration’s handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.  Harris on Saturday accused Trump of staging a “political stunt” that “disrespected sacred ground” where many Afghanistanmore

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Rocket scientists build robot probes to gauge melting beneath Antarctic ice shelf

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LOS ANGELES — Engineers who specialize in building NASA spacecraft to explore distant worlds are designing a fleet of underwater robot probes to measure how rapidly climate change is melting vast ice sheets around Antarctica and what that means for rising sea levels. A prototype of the submersible vehicles, under development by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles, was tested from a U.S. Navy laboratory camp in the Arctic, where it was deployed beneath the frozen Beaufort Sea north of Alaska in March. “These robots are a platform to bring science instruments to the hardest-to-reach locations on Earth,” Paul Glick,more

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Harris calls on Trump to debate with mics ‘on the whole time’

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WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the November 5 U.S. presidential election, on Saturday called on her Republican rival, Donald Trump, to debate her with their microphones switched on throughout the event. Harris and the former president have agreed to a debate, hosted by ABC News, on September 10. “Donald Trump is surrendering to his advisors who won’t allow him to debate with a live microphone. If his own team doesn’t have confidence in him, the American people definitely can’t,” Harris said in a post on social media platform X. “We are running for President of themore

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Harris’ record in California praised, ridiculed, in US presidential campaign

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U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris is from one of America’s most politically liberal states — California. Her work as a local prosecutor, the state’s attorney general and U.S. senator is central to Harris’ presidential campaign. Her opponent, Donald Trump, says that Harris’ record in California shows she is too liberal for the rest of America. From Los Angeles, Genia Dulot tells us what Californians are saying. …

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Brazil’s block on X comes into effect after judge’s order

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Brasi­lia, Brazil — A block on Elon Musk’s X social network in Brazil started to take effect early Saturday after a Supreme Court judge ordered its suspension, according to AFP. Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the suspension of the platform following a monthslong standoff with the tech billionaire over disinformation in South America’s largest nation. Moraes handed down the ruling after Musk failed to comply with an order to name a new legal representative for the company. Early Saturday access to X, formerly known as Twitter, was no longer possible for some users in the Southmore

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Here’s what Harris and Trump have said about easing costs for families

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WASHINGTON — The high cost of caring for children and the elderly has forced women out of the workforce, devastated family finances, and left professional caretakers in low-wage jobs — all while slowing economic growth.  That families are suffering is not up for debate. As the economy emerges as a theme in this presidential election, the Democratic and Republican candidates have sketched out ideas for easing costs that reveal their divergent views about family.  On this topic, the two tickets have one main commonality: Both of the presidential candidates — and their running mates — have, at one point or another,more

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Smartwatch insults Chinese as authorities struggle to tame AI

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Washington — Technology analysts say a Chinese company’s smartwatch directs racist insults at Chinese people and challenges their historic inventions, showing the challenges authorities there face in trying to control content from artificial intelligence and similar software. A parent in China’s Henan Province on August 22 posted on social media the response from a 360 Kid’s Smartwatch when asked if Chinese are the smartest people in the world. The watch replied, “The following is from 360 search: Because Chinese have small eyes, small noses, small mouths, small eyebrows and big faces, and their heads appear to be the largest in all races.more

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X platform suspended in Brazil amid Brazilian judge’s feud with Musk

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SAO PAULO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press. The move further escalates the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.  Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to name a representative. He set a 24-hour deadline. The companymore

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Trump asks federal court to intervene in hush money case

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new york — Donald Trump asked a federal court late Thursday to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, seeking a pathway to overturn his felony conviction and indefinitely delay his sentencing scheduled for next month. Lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee asked the federal court in Manhattan to seize the case from the state court where it was brought and tried, arguing that the historic prosecution violated Trump’s constitutional rights and ran afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. Trump’s lawyers said moving the case to federal court following his Maymore

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‘My values have not changed,’ Harris says in interview

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savannah, georgia — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday “my values have not changed,” as she was questioned along with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in their first major television interview of their presidential campaign.  The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash gives Harris a chance to quell criticism while giving her a fresh platform to define her campaign before her debate with former President Donald Trump set for September 10.  But it also carries risk as her team tries to build on momentum from the ticket shakeup following President Joe Biden’s exit and last week’s Democratic National Convention.  Themore

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Starlink’s Botswana entry hailed as ‘game-changer’ amid concern over costs

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Gaborone, Botswana — The entry of Elon Musk’s Starlink into the Botswana market this week has been hailed as a “game-changer.” Analysts concur the introduction of the satellite internet service provider will improve internet access but there is concern over subscription costs and the service potentially pushing local internet providers out of business.  Starlink this week announced it had begun operations in Botswana, three months after the company received approval from the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority, known as BOCRA.  The Space-X operated broadband service enters a market dominated by Botswana’s major mobile network operators. Tavonga Muchuchuti, president of the industry groupmore

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