Florida Governor Signs Voting Restriction Bill into Law

On

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law a voter restriction bill, making it the latest election battleground state in the south to adopt Republican-backed restrictions since the November presidential election.   DeSantis and his fellow Republicans in the state legislature said the law was necessary to prevent voter fraud, despite the lack of voting irregularities last November.     The new law restricts when ballot drop boxes can be used during an early voting period, who can retrieve ballots, and the number of ballots that can be collected.   Voters requesting absentee ballots now face new identification requirements, andmore

Leave a comment

Indian Students in US Anxious About COVID-19 Back Home

On

Indian students in the United States say they feel helpless amid the massive wave of coronavirus infections back home.”I have very old grandparents and we just had one of my grandparents’ siblings die of COVID, so there is a lot of tension in the air with that,” said George Mason University senior Shabrina Parikh. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. India’s second coronavirus wave has become a devastating crisis, with about 21 million cases and more than 230,000 deaths, according to the latest A man receives a dose of COVISHIELD, a coronavirus vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India,more

Leave a comment

California Campus Journalists Create Newswire

On

Student journalists across 23 campuses of California State University have played a crucial role in keeping other students informed during the COVID pandemic. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports that the student newsrooms are now linked through an online newswire, permitting students to pool resources and share information across the expansive state.  …

Leave a comment

Professor Overcomes Loss to Craft COVID-19 Student Brochures

On

When the coronavirus pandemic struck New York City, LaGuardia Community College professor Lucia Fuentes assigned students in her honors biology class to compile all the information they could find about COVID-19. The result? An online multilingual brochure based on research from peer-reviewed journals, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has become a valuable resource for immigrants in the United States and their families abroad. “Science is complicated and we have to make it more accessible,” Fuentes said. “This is why… I thought it would be a good thing for the students, and thatmore

Leave a comment

Judge Orders Justice Dept. to Release Trump Obstruction Memo

On

A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation. The Justice Department had refused to give the March 24, 2019, memorandum to a government transparency group that requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, saying the document represented the private advice of lawyers and was produced before any formal decision had been made and was therefore exempt from disclosure under public records law. But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson,more

Leave a comment

US Lawmaker Liz Cheney Drawing Criticism for Attacks on Trump

On

U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday there is growing concern among Republican lawmakers about the ability of Congresswoman Liz Cheney to lead the party’s caucus in the chamber while she continues to assail former President Donald Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6. “I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out her job as conference chair, to carry out the message” supporting Republicans trying to win control of the House from Democrats in next year’s congressional elections, McCarthy told the Fox News Channel. FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,more

Leave a comment

Biden to Quadruple Refugee Cap

On

U.S. President Joe Biden, who initially decided to keep intact his predecessor’s historically low number of annual refugee admissions, Monday announced he is quadrupling this year’s total.  “I am revising the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for this fiscal year,” the president said in a statement Monday afternoon. “This erases the historically low number set by the previous administration of 15,000, which did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees. The new admissions cap will also reinforce efforts that are already under way to expand the United States’ capacity to admit refugees,more

Leave a comment

Biden Pushes Education Spending at Stops in Virginia

On

President Joe Biden traveled Monday to coastal Virginia to promote his plans to increase spending on education and children, part of his $1.8 trillion families proposal announced last week. Visiting Tidewater Community College with first lady Jill Biden, the president discussed his $109 billion proposal to provide Americans with two years of tuition-free community college. He’s also seeking more than $80 billion for Pell Grants to help college affordability and $62 billion for programs that could improve completion rates at community colleges and institutions that predominantly serve disadvantaged students. The president said that education was the key to the country’s dominance andmore

Leave a comment

Trump Calls 2020 Election Defeat a ‘Big Lie’ 

On

Former U.S. President Donald Trump lost his reelection contest to Democrat Joe Biden six months ago Monday, but he is still claiming he was cheated out of another term in the White House, leaving some Republican officials at odds with one another and Trump over the legitimacy of Biden’s victory.”The Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020 will be, from this day forth, known as THE BIG LIE!” Trump said in a new statement.The former president’s commentary from his Atlantic Ocean mansion in Florida appropriated the “big lie” sentiment his political opponents have used to describe his claims that he won. Trumpmore

Leave a comment

US Mission in Nigeria Ramps Up Interviews for Student Visas

On

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria will prioritize student visa applications for Nigerians to ensure they are interviewed for their visa applications in time for their programs start date this fall, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria said.The embassy in Abuja and consulate general in Lagos will assist student visa applications in a timely fashion while observing safety procedures because of COVID-19, the embassy stated in a press release April 30.”Time for me to bag that gender studies degree,” student Justin Irabor tweeted about getting to study in the U.S.time for me to bag that gender studies degree. https://t.co/cPfCgVzh3b —more

Leave a comment

US Secretary of State to Hold Talks in Ukraine About Russian Aggression

On

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves for Europe on Sunday, where he will hold meetings in London and Kyiv.Blinken’s first stop will be London, where he will meet with the foreign secretaries from the Group of Seven countries. Later in the week, he will travel to Kyiv to show U.S. support for Ukraine’s government as it faces threats to its sovereignty from Russia.The meetings in London with the G-7 ministers are in preparation for the meeting of the G-7 leaders in June in Cornwall.The ministers are also expected to discuss their handling of challenges they are all facing, includingmore

Leave a comment

Biden Celebrates Amtrak’s 50 Years on the Rails 

On

President Joe Biden, once a regular Amtrak rider, helped the nation’s passenger rail system celebrate 50 years of service Friday.As a U.S. senator, Biden was a fixture on Amtrak trains between his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington when the Senate was in session. He continued riding Amtrak as vice president. He has sometimes been referred to as “Amtrak Joe.”But with a presidential train trip challenging because of security concerns, Biden instead flew to Philadelphia for Amtrak’s celebration at its busy 30th Street Station. He was introduced by a conductor who worked the route when Biden was a regular passenger.more

Leave a comment

Florida Legislature Passes Bill Limiting Ballot Access

On

Florida’s Legislature on Thursday passed a bill that makes it harder to access drop boxes and mail-in ballots, the latest Republican-led state to push for what activists say is voter suppression.Republicans cite former President Donald Trump’s claims that President Joe Biden stole the November election as reasons for the sweeping measures. Judges discredited such claims, made without evidence, in more than 60 lawsuits that failed to overturn the election result.Democrats say the Republican measures are designed to lessen the impact of Black voters, whose heavy turnout helped propel Biden to victory and delivered Democrats two U.S. Senate victories in Georgiamore

Leave a comment

Biden Takes Victory Lap at Drive-In Rally on 100th Day in Office

On

Marking his 100th day as president of the United States, Joe Biden said Thursday that he had never been more optimistic about the future of America, because the country “is on the move again. We’re choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, light over darkness.”Biden spoke at a drive-in political rally near Atlanta, funded by the Democratic National Committee.”You’re proving democracy can deliver for the people,” the president said to the approval of the honking horns of the 315 vehicles in attendance on the grounds of the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth, northeast of Atlanta.The U.S. Senate runoffs in January inmore

Leave a comment

Largest Aid Package in US History Caps First Weeks of Biden Presidency

On

U.S. President Joe Biden took office three months ago working with a Congress narrowly controlled by Democrats. While Biden faced twin economic and public health crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Capitol Hill was consumed by the second impeachment trial of his predecessor, Donald Trump. VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson looks at the new president’s dealings with lawmakers during his first 100 days.Producer: Katherine Gypson.  …

Leave a comment

Biden, Aides Tout Infrastructure, Family Aid Proposals

On

U.S. President Joe Biden and key administration officials are embarking on an extensive campaign to promote his $4 trillion spending proposals to repair the country’s infrastructure and boost assistance for children and families.On Thursday, his 100th day in office, Biden headed to the southern state of Georgia, a key political battleground he narrowly captured in the November election to hold a campaign-style drive-in rally near the state’s biggest city, Atlanta.His effort comes the day after his first address to a joint session of Congress in which he laid out what he called a “blue-collar blueprint” to help middle-class Americans gainmore

Leave a comment

Key Takeaways from Biden’s First Joint Speech to Congress

On

In his first joint address to Congress, U.S. President Joe Biden called on lawmakers to provide bipartisan support for his $4 trillion economic plan he said would provide Americans relief from the COVID-19 pandemic and make the U.S. more competitive with China.   “Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation America is on the move again,” Biden declared.   Here are several key takeaways from Biden’s speech:    Women Make History   Biden was the first U.S. president to deliver a speech to Congress with two women sitting behind him on the dais: Vice President Kamalamore

Leave a comment

Biden’s First 100 Days See Few Big Moves on Africa

On

U.S. President Joe Biden has focused most of his energy in his first 100 days in office on taming the coronavirus pandemic on home soil. But in this short, frantic period, he has made a few important gestures that have been welcomed in Africa.  On his first day in office, he halted the U.S.’s plan to exit the World Health Organization. Biden’s reversal of his predecessor’s controversial decision to withdraw from the global body was greeted with near-universal approval, especially from African health experts, who said it could portend a more equitable world order.  Biden also pledged an additional $2more

Leave a comment

What is So Special About a US President’s First 100 Days?

On

More than three months after being sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, President Joe Biden will soon pass a milestone: his first 100 days in office.     On Friday, April 30, administration officials, reporters, the general public and Biden himself will mark the benchmark. But many Americans and people overseas may be wondering what is so special about a president’s first 100 days.   Despite the attention to the day, nothing in U.S. law or the U.S Constitution gives any significance to a president’s first 100 days.     In fact, there is nothing inherentlymore

Leave a comment

With Massive Spending Plans, Biden Seeks to Remake Relationship Between Federal Government and Americans

On

In his first 100 days as president of the United States, Joe Biden has governed less like a chief executive whose party is clinging to the barest of majorities in the House and Senate, and more like a transformative figure with a broad public mandate for societal change.  In an address to a pandemic-diminished joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, he took a further step in his effort to remake the relationship between the federal government and the American people with a $1.8 trillion proposal to expand Americans’ access to education, provide financial support to families with children, guarantee paidmore

Leave a comment

AP Fact Check: Biden Skews Record on Migrants; GOP on Virus

On

Taking a swipe at his predecessor, President Joe Biden gave a distorted account of the historical forces driving migrants to the U.S. border, glossing over the multitudes who were desperate to escape poverty in their homelands when he was vice president.In his speech to Congress on Wednesday night, Biden also made his spending plans sound more broadly supported in Washington than they are.The Republican response to Biden’s speech departed from reality particularly on the subject of the pandemic. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina tried to give the Trump administration credit for turning the tide on the coronavirus in whatmore

Leave a comment