Trump Faces Gag Order in New York Hush Money Criminal Case

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NEW YORK — Donald Trump on Tuesday was hit with a judge’s gag order sought by prosecutors in his upcoming criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star, restricting him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff.  Ahead of the former U.S. president’s trial, which is scheduled to begin April 15 in the New York state court, Justice Juan Merchan granted a request for the order made last month by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office.  The prosecution sought an order blocking Trump from “making or directing others to make” statements about witnesses concerning their role in themore

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LogOn: Robots Hand Write Letters for Humans

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Not long ago, people wrote letters by hand. But like many things eclipsed by modern technology, handwritten letters are less common than they used to be. Now, that technology has started writing those letters. VOA’s Julie Taboh introduces us to handwriting robots in this week’s episode of LogOn. …

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Florida’s Governor Signs One of Country’s Most Restrictive Social Media Bans for Minors

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TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Florida will have one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors — if it withstands expected legal challenges — under a bill signed by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday.  The bill will ban social media accounts for children under 14 and require parental permission for 15- and 16-year-olds. It was slightly watered down from a proposal DeSantis vetoed earlier this month, a week before the annual legislative session ended. The new law was Republican Speaker Paul Renner’s top legislative priority. It takes effect January 1.  “A child in their brain development doesn’t havemore

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US Vice President: Banning TikTok ‘Not at All the Goal’

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 Austin, Texas — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said the Biden administration has no intention to ban TikTok, the popular short video application from Chinese company ByteDance.  Harris told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday that a ban was “not at all the goal or the purpose of this conversation.”    The White House urged the Senate last week to swiftly advance a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok over privacy and national security concerns within six months or face a ban.   U.S. officials and lawmakers worry that the Chinese government could access American consumers’ data on the platform, whichmore

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TikTok Bill Faces Uncertain Fate in Senate

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WASHINGTON — The young voices in the messages left for North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis were laughing, but the words were ominous. “OK, listen, if you ban TikTok I will find you and shoot you,” one said, giggling and talking over other young voices in the background. “I’ll shoot you and find you and cut you into pieces.” Another threatened to kill Tillis, and then take their own life. Tillis’s office says it has received around 1,000 calls about TikTok since the House passed legislation this month that would ban the popular app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake.more

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Biden, Trump Win Louisiana’s Presidential Primary

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washington — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won Louisiana’s primary on Saturday, collecting more delegates after they clinched their party nominations.  Biden also appeared in Missouri’s Democratic primary, with results not expected to be reported until next week.  None of the races were in suspense. Biden and Trump have beaten their major competitors. But the primary races are still closely watched by insiders for turnout and signs of protest voters.  For Biden, some liberals are registering their anger with Israel’s war against Hamas following the militant group’s October 7 attack. More than 30,000 people, two-thirds of them womenmore

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US Congress Averts Government Shutdown, Passing $1.2 Trillion Bill

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress early Saturday overwhelmingly passed a $1.2 trillion budget bill, keeping the government funded through a fiscal year that began six months ago and sending it to President Joe Biden to sign into law and avert a partial shutdown. The vote on passage was 74-24. Key federal agencies including the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State and Treasury, which houses the Internal Revenue Service, will remain funded through September 30 after the bill was passed in the Democratic-majority Senate. But the measure did not include funding for mostly military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan or Israel, which aremore

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At UN, Nations Cooperate Toward Safe, Trustworthy AI Systems

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United Nations — The U.N. General Assembly adopted by consensus Thursday a first-of-its-kind resolution addressing the potential of artificial intelligence to accelerate progress toward sustainable development, while emphasizing the need for safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems. The initiative, led by the United States, seeks to manage AI’s risks while utilizing its benefits. “Today as the U.N. and AI finally intersect, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to choose as one united global community to govern this technology rather than to let it govern us,” said U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “So let us reaffirm that AI will be created andmore

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Reddit, the Self-Anointed ‘Front Page of the Internet,’ Jumps 55% in Wall Street Debut

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NEW YORK — Reddit soared in its Wall Street debut as investors pushed the valued of the company close to $9 billion seconds after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Reddit, which priced its IPO at $34 a share, debuted Thursday afternoon at $47 a share. The going price has climbed even higher since, with shares for the self-anointed “front page of the internet” soaring more than 55% as of around 1:20 p.m. ET. The IPO will test the quirky company’s ability to overcome a nearly 20-year history colored by uninterrupted losses, management turmoil and occasional user backlashesmore

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US Takes On Apple in Antitrust Lawsuit

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Washington — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday sued Apple, the first major antitrust effort against the iPhone maker by the Biden administration, alleging it monopolized smartphone markets.   Apple joins a list of major tech companies sued by U.S. regulators, including Alphabet’s  Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com across the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. “Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the antitrust laws,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly.” The Justice Department alleges thatmore

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Biden Administration Unveils Strict Auto Standards to Speed Electric Shift 

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New York — President Joe Biden’s administration announced Wednesday revised pollution standards for cars and trucks meant to accelerate the U.S. auto industry’s shift to electric to mitigate climate change. The rules set ambitious emission reductions for 2032 but are moderated somewhat compared with preliminary standards unveiled last April. Following carmaker criticism, the final rules give manufacturers greater flexibility and ease the benchmarks in the first three years. Those shifts were criticized as a sop to corporations from at least one environmental group, even as the final rule won praise from other leading NGOs focused on climate change. The final rulesmore

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Efforts by US to Crack Down on TikTok Spark Backlash Against Israel

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Washington — The initial backlash came quickly. Within hours of last week’s vote in the House of Representatives approving legislation that could lead to a ban of the popular TikTok app in the United States, anger and outrage poured onto multiple social media platforms. Some of the anger targeted U.S. lawmakers who supported the bill. Some focused on China. And a number of social media accounts, some with large followings, put the blame on Israel and pro-Jewish groups in the United States. “A foreign government is influencing the 2024 election,” Briahna Joy Gray posted on X. “I’m not talking about China,more

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Judge Allows Trump to Appeal Ruling Keeping DA on Georgia Election Case

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case is allowing Donald Trump to appeal a ruling letting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remain on the prosecution.  Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday granted a request by defense attorneys to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the judge’s decision. It’s now up to the appeals court to decide whether the court will hear it.  McAfee in a ruling last week denied the defense’s request to disqualify Willis from the case or dismiss the indictment over her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The judgemore

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Biden to Tout Government Investing $8.5 Billion in Intel’s Computer Chip Plants in Four States  

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Washington — The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans for computer chip plants in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon.  President Joe Biden plans to talk up the investment on Wednesday as he visits Intel’s campus in Chandler, Arizona, which could be a decisive swing state in November’s election. He has often said that not enough voters know about his economic policies and suggested that more would support him if they did know.  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the deal reached through her department wouldmore

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Ex-Trump Aide Navarro Reports to Prison to Serve Contempt Sentence

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MIAMI, FLORIDA — Peter Navarro, Donald Trump’s former White House trade advisor, reported to a Florida prison on Tuesday to begin serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress. Navarro, 74, is the highest-ranking former member of the Trump administration to spend time behind bars for actions stemming from the former Republican president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Navarro was found guilty of two counts of contempt in September for refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify before the congressional panel that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Navarro,more

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Top US Congressional Leaders Say Spending Deal Reached

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WASHINGTON — The top Republican and Democrat in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday said they had reached a deal to keep the government funded through the rest of the fiscal year that began in October, setting off a race to pass it before a weekend shutdown deadline.  The last sticking point was funding for the Department of Homeland Security, as a surge in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border has become a major issue in the election rematch between Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor Donald Trump.  Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealedmore

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