As Americans face high prices in stores and at the gas pump, President Joe Biden says he is taking key steps to lower gas prices by opening up strategic reserves and to ease the burden on consumers in other ways. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …
Leave a commentPresident Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, served up turkey and sweet potatoes on Tuesday at the D.C. Central Kitchen, an organization that makes fresh food for schools and homeless shelters in Washington, ahead of this week’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The Bidens were joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, who dished out green beans and gravy, respectively. The two couples, who were also joined by chef Jose Andres, were putting together Thanksgiving meal kits along with staff from the facility. Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday with a traditional meal that often includes turkey,more
Leave a commentThe class of U.S. Rhodes scholars for 2022 includes the largest number of women ever selected for the scholarship in one year, the Rhodes Trust announced Sunday. Of the 32 students chosen to study at the University of Oxford in England, 22 are women, the office of the American secretary of the trust said in a statement. One of the women selected is Louise Franke, a 21-year-old senior studying biochemistry at South Carolina’s Clemson University. Franke said she hopes to merge her interests in science and public policy through a career in health care policy. She intends to study politics,more
Leave a commentA committee investigating the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection issued subpoenas Monday to five more individuals, including former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The subpoenas include demands for documents and testimony from Stone and Jones as well as three people accused of organizing and promoting the two rallies that took place January 6. “The Select Committee is seeking information about the rallies and subsequent march to the Capitol that escalated into a violent mob attacking the Capitol and threatening our democracy,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democratic chair of the panel. “We needmore
Leave a commentWhen U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, put a hold on President Joe Biden’s nominees to serve as ambassadors to China and Spain earlier this month, he was making a move commonly used by American senators since the 1950s. Rubio last week objected to R. Nicholas Burns and Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, U.S. ambassador nominees to China and to Spain, on the grounds they each had conflicting interests in the countries in which had been selected to serve as representatives of the United States. But what happens next with their nominations is anything but straightforward since the written rules – andmore
Leave a commentAs people in the United States prepare to gather for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, health authorities continue to push for vaccination to protect against COVID-19 and say all inoculated adults can get a booster shot. Michelle Quinn reports. …
Leave a commentTurnout for Brazil’s standardized university admission exam on Sunday appeared to be the lowest in 15 years, in large part reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation’s education, according to experts. Just over 3 million students signed up to take the annual exam, down 44% from last year’s registration and the lowest since 2006. The grueling 5 1/2-hour test, held over two weekends, is the main admission standard for Brazilian universities. Experts said they expected many of those who registered early this year to be absent Sunday. About half of the 5.7 million who signed up formore
Leave a comment“Let’s be clear: America’s commitment to security in the Middle East is strong and sure,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Saturday at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. Officials in the region are concerned about the U.S. commitment to the region, especially since it is seeking to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran and after the dramatic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. “But Iran’s actions in recent months have not been encouraging — especially because of the expansion of their nuclear program,” Austin added. However, the defense secretary also said that “friends and foes both know” the capabilities that themore
Leave a commentPresident Joe Biden’s signature Build Back Better package of climate and social spending passed the House of Representatives on Friday morning, 220-213, less than 24 hours after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) produced an analysis of the legislation finding that it would add a relatively modest $160 billion to the federal debt over the next 10 years. The bill, which still must pass the narrowly divided Senate, dedicates more than half a trillion dollars to spending on measures to combat climate change, provides funding for universal pre-school, expands access to healthcare, and provides tax credits to families with children, among other things.more
Leave a commentThe Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social policy and climate package, sending it back to the Senate where it is likely to be modified further. Here is what the latest version contains, according to the White House: FAMILY BENEFITS – Free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds – Support for childcare costs: Families that earn less than $300,000 a year would pay no more than 7% of their income on childcare – Tax credits worth up to $300 a child per month – Bolsters coverage of home-care costsmore
Leave a commentThe vote on U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social spending bill has been delayed until Friday in the House of Representatives, after Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy gave an hourslong speech. The vote was originally scheduled for Thursday evening after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan arbiter, released a cost assessment of the bill, which several moderate Democrats said they needed before they would vote. But the vote was delayed until 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) Friday after McCarthy spoke – and often seemed to stray – from a thick binder of prepared remarks for more than fourmore
Leave a commentIn a move that has some environmental activists charging it with hypocrisy, the Biden administration has approved the sale of oil and gas drilling rights to more than 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico — an act it says was mandated by a federal court ruling. The auction on Wednesday by an arm of the U.S. Interior Department resulted in leases for 1.7 million of the 80 million available acres, with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. among the top buyers. Some 308 lots were purchased for a total of $191.7 million, though it is not certain exactlymore
Leave a commentA divided House moved toward passage of Democrats’ expansive social and environment bill on Thursday as new cost estimates from Congress’ top fiscal analyst suggested that moderate lawmakers’ worries about spending and deficits would be calmed, giving the bill the votes it needs for passage. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers in a letter Thursday evening that the chamber would soon begin final debate on the sprawling legislation. That would put the House on the doorstep of approving the package, a top priority for President Joe Biden that would bolster child care assistance, create free preschool, curb seniors’ prescription drugmore
Leave a commentThe U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment Thursday of two Iranian nationals for “their involvement in a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters, and otherwise undermine voter confidence and sow discord, in connection with the 2020 U.S. presidential election,” according to a press release. Between August and November of 2020, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian allegedly got voter information from at least one state election website and then used that information to send threatening emails “to intimidate and interfere with voters.” They also allegedly attempted to access other state election-related websites. The two also allegedlymore
Leave a commentThe U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution to censure a Republican congressman for posting to social media an animated video depicting him striking another member with a sword and attacking President Joe Biden. In addition to censure, the resolution calls for removing Congressman Paul Gosar from the House Oversight and Natural Resources committees. Gosar shared the video earlier this month, an altered anime clip, a style of Japanese animation, that also included interspersed video of Border Patrol officers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Responding to criticism of the post, Gosar issued a statement saying it wasn’t meant to depict violencemore
Leave a commentMichelle Wu was sworn in Tuesday as Boston’s first woman and first person of color elected mayor in the city’s long history. The swearing-in of the city’s first Asian American mayor came two weeks after Wu won the city’s mayoral election. Before Wu, Boston had elected only white men as mayor. “City government is special. We are the level closest to the people, so we must do the big and the small. Every streetlight, every pothole, every park and classroom, lays the foundation for greater change,” Wu said after taking the oath of office. “After all, Boston was founded onmore
Leave a commentFighting sagging poll ratings, President Joe Biden set out Tuesday on a national tour to persuade everyday Americans of the benefits of his big, just-signed infrastructure plan. First stop: a snowy, rusty bridge in New Hampshire, a state that gave him no love in last year’s presidential primaries. Biden left the state in February 2020 before polls had even closed on his fifth-place primary finish. But he returned as president, eager to talk up the billions in investments in upgrading America’s roads, bridges and transit systems that he signed into law Monday. Walking across the rural New Hampshire bridge that’smore
Leave a commentLawmakers on Capitol Hill are renewing a push to pass legislation that would boost U.S. competition with China, amid rising concerns about the global supply chain. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday the long-stalled U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) would be added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the massive annual defense spending bill that needs to be passed by the end of the year. “A generation ago we used to produce about a third of the world’s chip supply – now fewer than 12% are made in America while other countries have lapped us, particularly China. This hurts American workers, Americanmore
Leave a commentPresident Joe Biden on Monday signed a trillion-dollar package for infrastructure improvements across the United States that will repair deteriorating roads and bridges, improve rail service, expand public transportation and widen broadband internet service. Congressional lawmakers, state governors and city mayors – both Democrats and Republicans – watched Biden’s signing ceremony just outside the White House on a cool, sunny fall afternoon. Biden’s signature on one of his key legislative proposals marked a rarity in politically fractious Washington: passage of a major initiative on a bipartisan basis. Nineteen Republicans joined all 50 Democrats to approve the measure in the Senate,more
Leave a commentThe different diaspora groups that now make up the United States inevitably have fought for representation through the voting process. VOA is profiling a group of emerging politicians from the African diaspora who are changing the face of American politics. One is Samba Baldeh, who came from Gambia. Here is his story in his own words. Video: Betty Ayoub, Abby Sun in Wisconsin; Bubacar A. Batchilly in Gambia Producers: Betty Ayoub and Carol Guensburg …
Leave a commentRyan Wang was among hundreds of thousands of Chinese students at U.S. colleges or universities who struggled over whether to return home to China or remain in the United States when the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring of 2020. “When the pandemic started in China [months earlier], I felt lucky I was already back to the U.S. for the new semester,” Wang, a Chinese undergraduate studying economics at Columbia University in New York City, told VOA. Unlike Wang, many international students had not returned to the United States from winter break in January 2020 and fretted that they wouldmore
Leave a commentDemocratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the longest-serving member of the Senate, said Monday he will not seek reelection in 2022 to the seat he has held for eight terms. Leahy, 81, said he and his wife, Marcelle, have concluded that “it is time to pass the torch to the next Vermonter who will carry on this work for our great state. It’s time to come home.” The announcement marks the end of a political era. First elected to the Senate in 1974, Leahy is the last of the so-called Watergate babies who were elected after President Richard Nixon’s resignation.more
Leave a commentBeto O’Rourke, the former U.S. congressman from Texas whose surprisingly close 2018 loss to Senator Ted Cruz made him a Democratic star, said on Monday he will challenge Republican Greg Abbott in next year’s race for governor of the state. O’Rourke has been seen as his party’s best option for the 2022 gubernatorial race even after his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination failed to garner much support amid a crowded field of candidates. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas, the second most populous U.S. state, in three decades. Abbott, who is facing two Republican challengersmore
Leave a commentThe different diaspora groups that make up the United States inevitably have fought for representation through the voting process. VOA is profiling a group of emerging politicians with direct ties to Africa who are changing the face of American politics. One is Esther Agbaje, whose parents came from Nigeria. This is her story in her own words. Video: Betty Ayoub Producers: Betty Ayoub and Carol Guensburg …
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