Jordan Still Running for Speaker; Plan for Temporary One Falls Flat

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Refusing to give up, Representative Jim Jordan told Republican colleagues on Thursday that he was still running to be speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives — leaving Republicans few viable options after his backers resisted a plan to expand the temporary speaker’s powers to reopen the House. The combative Ohio congressman delivered the message at a fiery closed-door meeting at the Capitol as the Republican majority considered an extraordinary plan to give the speaker pro tempore more powers for the next several months to bring the House back into session and conduct crucial business, according to Republicans familiar withmore

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Biden to Discuss Israel, Ukraine in Thursday Address

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U.S. President Joe Biden is set to address the nation Thursday night and discuss the U.S. response to the recent Hamas attack on Israel as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine. Biden visited Israel Wednesday, bringing a message of support to Israelis while also working to secure humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The U.S. announced $100 million in aid for Gaza and the West Bank, and the Biden administration is expected to propose $100 billion in supplemental assistance for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and security along the U.S.-Mexico border. “My administration was in close touch with the leadershipmore

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US Military Academy Sued Over Race-Based Admissions  

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The group that successfully won a landmark college affirmative action lawsuit earlier this year is suing to end raced-based admissions at the United States Military Acadamy at West Point.   According to a report from CNN, the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions is asking that the academy be prohibited from considering or knowing an applicant’s race during the admissions process. (September 2023).  …

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Republican Jeff Landry Wins Louisiana Governor’s Race, Reclaims Office for His Party

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Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican backed by former President Donald Trump, has won the Louisiana governor’s race, holding off a crowded field of candidates. The win is a major victory for the GOP as they reclaim the governor’s mansion for the first time in eight years. Landry will replace current Gov. John Bel Edwards, who was unable to seek reelection due to consecutive term limits. Edwards is the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. “Today’s election says that our state is united,” Landry said during his victory speech Saturday night. “It’s a wake up call and it’s amore

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Program Helps Foreign Students Feel at Home 

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With the highest number of international students since the start of the pandemic, one U.S. university is conducting a program to help foreign students feel more at home. Kent State University in Ohio hosts Conversation Partners, which pairs international students with students from the U.S. Yui Kaichi, writing for Kent Wired, explains how the program is helping students make new friends and learn more about the world. (September 2023) …

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Black Queer Leaders Rise to Prominence in US Congress, Activism

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On the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington this summer, a few Black queer advocates spoke passionately before the main program about the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ+ rights. As some of them got up to speak, the crowd was still noticeably small. Hope Giselle, a speaker who is Black and trans, said she felt the event’s programming echoed the historical marginalization and erasure of Black queer activists in the Civil Rights Movement. However, she was buoyed by the fact that prominent speakers drew attention to recent efforts to turn back the clock on LGBTQ+ rights, like the attacks onmore

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US House Deadlocked Over Speaker Vote

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Republicans nominated conservative Representative Jim Jordan by a vote of 124-81 Friday in a chaotic third day of attempting to elect a speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Jordan needs substantially more support to win a full floor vote next week to become the person who will be second in the presidential line of succession. …

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Republicans Pick Jim Jordan as Nominee for House Speaker

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Republicans chose Representative Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday during internal voting, putting the gavel within reach of the staunch ally of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.  Jordan will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority around his bid ahead of a floor vote, which could push to next week.  Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace the speaker they ousted, Representative Kevin McCarthy, and the future direction of their party. The stalemate, now in its second week, has thrown the House intomore

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US Students Make Memorable Journalism as News Industry Struggles

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Within the past year, young journalists have produced investigations that led to the resignation of Stanford University’s president, the firing of Northwestern University’s football coach, and a school shooting graphic so striking that it led a veteran newsman to say, “I’ve never seen a better front page.” All while making sure to get their homework in on time. A news industry that has been shedding jobs as long as they’ve been alive, and the risk of harassment when their work strikes nerves hasn’t dimmed the enthusiasm of many college students — often unpaid — who are keeping the flame alivemore

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US House Deadlocked Over Leadership Debate

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Republican Representative Steve Scalise dropped his bid to become speaker of the US House of Representatives late Thursday, after failing to secure enough votes to win election. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on how the US Congress is unable to act on Ukraine and Israel until a new leader is chosen. …

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Scalise Ends Bid to Become House Speaker After Failing to Secure Enough Votes

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U.S. Representative Steve Scalise has ended his bid to become House speaker after failing to secure enough votes to win the gavel.  Scalise told Republican colleagues of his decision during a closed-door meeting late Thursday. The next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while Republicans try to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.  “I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol.  Scalise said the Republican majority “still has to come together and ismore

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US Student Groups Blaming Israel for Violence Face Backlash

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Some students at a few U.S. universities blamed Israel this week for the Hamas militants’ attack on the Jewish state, drawing a sharp rebuke from academic leaders at the schools as well as from prominent alumni and potential employers. The debate touched off at Harvard University, the alma mater of eight former U.S. presidents and perhaps the most politically influential school in the country. A coalition of 34 Harvard student organizations said they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” following decades of occupation of Gaza. They called Israel an “apartheid regime” and said it was “themore

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Delay for International Students Seeking Visas 

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For international students who have been accepted to a U.S. college or university, the journey has just started. One part of that is applying for an international student visa, and that can mean months of waiting.   The World reports that lengthy wait times can cause problems for students, but also for a nation trying to attract talent from around the globe.   …

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Republican Scalise Seeks Votes from Party in Bid for House Speaker

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Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are set to meet Thursday as Republican Steve Scalise faces a test of whether he can get enough support from his party to become the next House speaker. Republicans nominated Scalise in a closed-door vote Wednesday to be their choice to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted last week. He won the internal party ballot 113-99, beating out House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. The 58-year-old Scalise won the backing of Republicans with support primarily coming from long-time and establishment party members. Scalise must now gain approval of the fullmore

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Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for US House Speaker

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U.S. House Republicans voted 113-99 Wednesday to nominate Representative Steve Scalise to serve as speaker. But their narrow majority in the lower chamber of Congress and divisions within their own party leave it uncertain when and if Scalise will ascend to the leadership post. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports. …

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ACT Test Scores for US Students Drop to New 30-Year Low

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High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test. Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in the class of 2023 whose scores were reported Wednesday were in their first year of high school when the virus reached the U.S. “The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success inmore

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25 Years After Murder, ‘Laramie Project’ Stages Reading in Wyoming

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It has been 25 years since the body of Matthew Shepard was discovered in Laramie, Wyoming. The gay college student had been tied to a fence post, tortured, and left to die.  The murder drew national attention to violence against gay people, and attracted the interest of theater director Moises Kaufman, who turned the horror into art with “The Laramie Project.”  This 25th anniversary has triggered deep sadness for Kaufman, founder and artistic director of the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project. He wonders about all the things Shepard could have become.  “Every year around this time, it’s painful to remember,more

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