The divide between left and right is one of the most fundamental markers in politics. But have you ever stopped to think about why we use those directional terms to describe ideological camps? It may surprise you to learn that this terminology traces back to the seating arrangements of French revolutionaries over 200 years ago. …
Leave a commentATLANTA, GEORGIA — It was Election Day last November, and one of Georgia’s top election officials saw that reports of a voting machine problem in an eastern Pennsylvania county were gaining traction online. So Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who had defended the 2020 election in Georgia amid an onslaught of threats, posted a message to his nearly 71,000 followers on the social platform X explaining what had happened and saying that all votes would be counted correctly. He faced immediate criticism from one commenter about why he was weighing in on another state’s election while other responses reiterated false claims aboutmore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argues that a fractured democracy can have destructive effects on the economy — an indirect jab at Donald Trump. Yellen delivered an address Friday in Arizona, using economic data to paint a picture of how disregard for America’s democratic processes and institutions can cause economic stagnation for decades. Yellen, taking a rare step toward to the political arena, never mentioned Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, by name in her speech for the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum, but she hinted at the former president’s potential impact if he regains the White House. Her remarks servemore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife were indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges and taken into custody Friday in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the couple’s ties to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. From 2014 to 2021, Cuellar, 68, and his wife allegedly accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico, according to the indictment. In exchange, Cuellar is accused of agreeing to advance the interests of the country and the bank in the U.S., also according to the indictment. Among other things,more
Leave a commentSeoul, South Korea — South Korean calls to acquire nuclear weapons, which were subdued for the past year following steps to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, are once again bubbling to the surface ahead of the possible return of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump, who appears locked in a tight race with President Joe Biden as November’s election approaches, sparked concern this week after making comments that many Korean media interpreted as a threat to pull U.S. troops from South Korea. In an interview with Time magazine, Trump lamented that U.S. troops are “in a precarious position” — a referencemore
Leave a comment“Threats to democracy” have overtaken the economy and immigration as the chief concern of U.S. voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to a recent Ipsos poll. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias breaks down the results. …
Leave a commentA majority of younger voters in this U.S. presidential election say they wish they had someone other than Joe Biden or Donald Trump to choose from. Some of that has to do with the candidates’ ages. But who are the younger voters backing one of the two? VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports. …
Leave a commentWEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — Jordan Vassallo is lukewarm about casting her first presidential ballot for President Joe Biden in November. But when the 18-year-old senior at Jupiter High School in Florida thinks about the things she cares about, she says her vote for the Democratic incumbent is an “obvious choice.” Vassallo will be voting for a constitutional ballot amendment that would prevent the state of Florida from prohibiting abortion before a fetus can survive on its own — essentially the standard that existed nationally before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional protections to abortion and left the mattermore
Leave a commentU.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is planning to campaign in the Midwest state of Michigan this week. It’s one of a handful of states that could swing the results of November’s presidential election. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. …
Leave a commentOKLAHOMA CITY — Republican-led states in the U.S. are rushing to give broader immigration enforcement powers to local police and impose criminal penalties for those living in the country illegally as the issue of migrants crossing the U.S. border remains central to the 2024 elections. The Oklahoma Legislature this week fast-tracked a bill to the governor that creates the new crime of “impermissible occupation,” which imposes penalties of as much as two years in prison for being in the state illegally. Oklahoma is among several Republican-led states jockeying to push deeper into immigration enforcement as both Republicans and Democrats seize onmore
Leave a commentlondon — Former U.S. President Donald Trump said he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban if he wins the presidential election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Europe, which was held in Budapest on Thursday and Friday. The conference has long been a powerful force in right-wing American politics. The first European edition of the conference was held in Budapest in 2022 and has been an annual fixture since. Orban, the host and keynote speaker, received amore
Leave a commentFormer U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ready to renew a right-wing alliance with Hungary’s Viktor Orban if he wins the election in November. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee made the comments in an address to the CPAC conservative conference in Budapest. As Henry Ridgwell reports, analysts say Orban seeks a global conservative movement that is hoping for success at the ballot box in a crucial election year. …
Leave a commentAmerica’s high-tech industry is looking at the presumptive U.S. presidential candidates and their priorities concerning semiconductors. The Biden administration last week announced a major investment in the industry. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti reports. …
Leave a commentbrighton, colorado — Republican activists gathered in a school lunchroom last month to hear political pitches from candidates and agreed on the top issue in the Denver suburbs these days: immigration. The area has been disrupted by the arrival of largely Venezuelan migrants coming north through Mexico, they said. Virtually everyone in the meeting said they were uncomfortable with the new population, which has overwhelmed public services and become a flashpoint in local and national elections. “We’ve lived here our whole lives, and now we have to pay for hotels and debit cards and health care” for the migrants, through governmentmore
Leave a commentAsian Americans are the fastest growing group of eligible voters in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. That makes them an important focus for presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. Video: VOA Khmer Service, VOA Mandarin Service, Matt Dibble …
Leave a commentU.S. President Joe Biden is making reproductive rights a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, blaming opponent Donald Trump for opening the way to stricter state abortion laws. In this presidential campaign, Trump is pursuing a more moderate position on abortion than other Republicans. Scott Stearns reports. …
Leave a commentLawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelming passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill on Saturday. The measure now heads to the U.S. Senate, which is expected to take up a vote early this week. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports. …
Leave a commentThe trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump enters a new stage Monday when opening remarks begin. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden will make a campaign stop in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday to talk about reproductive rights. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days once Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That’s because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. Moving fast is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said this past week, warning that without additional aid from the U.S., Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year. “We would like very much to be able to rush the security assistance in the volumes we think they need to be ablemore
Leave a commentnew york — A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump. The man burned for several minutes in full view of television cameras that were set up outside the courthouse, where the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president is being held. “I see a totally charred human being,” a CNN reporter said on the air. Officials said the man survived and was in critical condition at a localmore
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