US President Joe Biden addressed concerns Friday about what was roundly viewed as a poor debate performance the night before. Some supporters are now calling for him to drop out of the presidential race, but analysts say the incumbent is still on track to secure his party’s nomination. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. Camera: Genia Dulot, Angelina Bagdasaryan …
Leave a commentnew york — Roughly 48 million TV viewers tuned in to watch Thursday’s U.S. presidential debate between Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump, according to preliminary Nielsen data. The number suggests the final audience will be about one-third less than the 73 million people who watched the candidates’ first face-off in 2020, and among the three lowest-rated first presidential debates since 1976. The relatively low number compared with past debates in recent election cycles could be indicative of low voter enthusiasm for both candidates. It does not capture the full extent of online viewing, which has grown inmore
Leave a commentWashington — After what many deemed a disappointing performance by U.S. President Joe Biden in Thursday night’s debate against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, Democrats are discussing whether their 81-year-old incumbent should be replaced at the top of the presidential ticket by someone younger. The Biden campaign’s strategy “to get an early debate on the books in order to change the arc of the campaign failed,” said Jim Manley, a political strategist who has worked for several top-tier Democratic Party senators over the decades. Biden needed to reassure loyalists, as well as try to convince the small but critical number ofmore
Leave a commentATLANTA — Above all, Joe Biden ‘s allies wanted him to demonstrate strength and energy on the debate stage Thursday night to help put to rest questions about the 81-year-old Democrat’s physical and mental acuity. But on the biggest stage in U.S. politics, Biden did not meet their modest expectations. And by the end of the 90-minute showdown, the Democratic president’s allies — party strategists and rank-and-file voters alike — descended into panic following a debate performance punctuated by stumbles, uncomfortable pauses, and a quiet speaking style that was often difficult to understand. Publicly and privately, Democrats questioned whether the partymore
Leave a commentOn Thursday night, Americans across the country gathered to watch the first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign season. VOA’s Dora Mekouar has reaction from voters. Camera: Genia Dulot, Angelina Bagdasaryan, Michael Eckels …
Leave a commentUS presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump had their first debate of this election cycle Thursday. From Atlanta, VOA’s Calla Yu has our story. Camera: Yiyi Yang …
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, U.S. space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the breakup of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022. U.S. Space Command, tracking the debris swarm, said there was no immediate threat to other satellites. The event took place about noon EDT (1600 GMT) Wednesday, Space Command said. It occurredmore
Leave a commentwashington — The White House Correspondents’ Association said Thursday that CNN had rejected multiple requests to include White House pool reporters inside the studio during the first presidential debate between incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump. The press pool, made up of representatives of major news organizations, accompanies the president on foreign and domestic trips and normally has access to any event where he speaks or appears in public, with the goal of keeping the U.S. public informed. It is extremely rare for it to be barred from an event in the United States. “WHCA is deeply concerned thatmore
Leave a commentTwo NASA astronauts are stranded in space with no return date set. Plus, a new climate satellite launches into orbit, and a human-made creepy crawler looks to explore Mars. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space. …
Leave a commentLos Angeles — The Center for Investigative Reporting said Thursday it has sued ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its closest business partner, Microsoft, marking a new front in the news industry’s fight against unauthorized use of its content on artificial intelligence platforms. The nonprofit, which produces Mother Jones and Reveal, said that OpenAI used its content without permission and without offering compensation, violating copyrights on the organization’s journalism. The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court, describes OpenAI’s business as “built on the exploitation of copyrighted works” and focuses on how AI-generated summaries of articles threaten publishers. “It’s immensely dangerous,” Monikamore
Leave a commentJakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia aims to launch 19 satellites into low-Earth orbit next year, part of an ambitious plan to move the country into the forefront of the world’s growing space industry and reduce its reliance on other countries for its satellite data. The broader program, known as the 2045 space map, is set to begin next year. Officials hope to boost Indonesia’s economy and drive foreign direct investment by leveraging its unique geography as a near-equatorial, fuel-efficient launch point for space travel and research. While the satellite launches would support key economic sectors such as agriculture and mining with remote-sensingmore
Leave a commentU.S. presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in their first debate of this election cycle Thursday. From Atlanta, VOA’s Calla Yu tells us what to expect. Contributor: Scott Stearns; Videographer: Yiyi Yang …
Leave a commentPublic debates between presidential candidates have become a mainstay of American elections, though this wasn’t always the case. Sometimes amusing and sometimes shocking, presidential debates have been full of key moments shaping the way the public perceives the candidates and the issues. …
Leave a commentThe first debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential election takes place on Thursday. But it isn’t the candidates’ first time debated each other. VOA’s senior Washington correspondent, Carolyn Presutti, looks back to 2020 for some clues about what we will see and hear in the debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. …
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