Biden Celebrates Pride Month, Highlighting LGBTQ Rights

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President Joe Biden is celebrating Pride Month with a series of activities Friday, a reflection of the growing stature of the LGBTQ community at the White House despite the long history of widespread discrimination it has endured.WATCH LIVE at 2pm EST  Biden is naming a Jessica Stern as a special diplomatic envoy at the State Department for LGBTQ rights. Her responsibilities will involve ensuring that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect LGBTQ rights around the world. Stern is currently executive director of OutRight Action International, which defends human rights and works to prevent abuses of LGBTQ people.  more

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Texas Governor Abbott Leads GOP Push for Trump-Style Border Measures

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Promises to build a wall. Descriptions of American homes “invaded” by immigrants and a trail of “carnage.” Plans to arrest border crossers and haul them to jail.   It’s not Donald Trump in 2016. It’s Texas Gov. Greg Abbott 2021.   The ambitious Republican is first among a group of GOP governors who have picked up where the former president left off when it comes to hard-line immigration measures.   In recent weeks, Abbott has rolled out get-tough plans and rhetoric not seen before even in Texas, where Republicans have spent a decade making border security the centerpiece of theirmore

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Secretary of State Blinken to Meet with French President Macron

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in France, his latest stop in a multination tour, where he will meet Friday with President Emmanuel Macron, following up on U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent meetings with allies in the region to boost transatlantic relations. “During this trip to engage with the United States’ oldest ally, Secretary Blinken will emphasize the importance of maintaining transatlantic cooperation, addressing our joint response to the ongoing health crisis, tackling the climate crisis, and highlighting the strength of our long-standing bilateral partnership,” the State Department said Thursday in a statement. France’s President Emmanuel Macron addresses the media as he arrives on themore

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New York Court Suspends Rudy Giuliani’s Law License

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An appeals court suspended Rudy Giuliani  from practicing law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s license that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements to the courts, the public and lawmakers as he pushed theories that the election was stolen through fraud. “This country is being torn apart by continued attacks on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and of our current president, Joseph R. Biden,” the committee wrote. “Themore

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Pelosi Creates Panel to ‘Seek The Truth’ on Capitol Attack

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it official Thursday that she is creating a special committee to investigate the attack on the Capitol, saying it is “imperative that we seek the truth.” The new committee comes after Republican senators blocked legislation that would have set up a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack. A violent mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters overran the police on Jan. 6, broke into the building and hunted for lawmakers as they tried to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The House passed the bill to form a commission last month, and Pelosi,more

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US Lawmakers in Marathon Debate on Big Tech Regulation Bills

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U.S. lawmakers debated into the night Wednesday over details of legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech firms with a sweeping reform of antitrust laws.The House Judiciary Committee clashed over a series of bills with potentially massive implications for large online platforms and consumers who use them.The legislation could force an overhaul of the business practices of Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook, or potentially lead to a breakup of the dominant tech giants. But critics argue the measures could have unintended consequences that would hurt consumers and some of the most popular online services.Rep. David Cicilline, who headedmore

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NASA Head Seeks New Funding for Annual Moon Landings ‘Over a Dozen Years’

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The U.S. space agency NASA aspires to land humans on the moon every year for 12 consecutive years, Administrator Bill Nelson testified to a congressional committee Wednesday in support of a request to boost the agency’s fiscal 2022 budget.Nelson acknowledged to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology that the agency’s budget for fiscal 2021 included $850 million toward the development of a lunar lander as part of an ambitious, roughly $3 billion Human Landing System program.“But there needs to be a landing each year for a dozen years, so there are many more awards to come if youmore

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US Senators Reach Agreement on Infrastructure Framework

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A bipartisan group of U.S. senators said on Wednesday it had reached agreement on a framework for a $1.2 trillion infrastructure investment proposal that it planned to present to the White House on Thursday. A Democratic negotiator, Joe Manchin, said White House officials had signed off on the deal. The group of 21 senators, or “G-21,” has been working on an eight-year bipartisan framework to rebuild roads, bridges and other traditional infrastructure sought by Democratic President Joe Biden. A team of White House officials met during the afternoon with nine Democrats, one independent and 11 Republicans in the Senate, and was due tomore

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Congress Member Describes Continuing Mental Trauma From January 6 Riots

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Images of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol are seared into many Americans’ minds and remain especially vivid for members of Congress who witnessed the riot. One congressman has been especially forthcoming about the mental trauma he has been experiencing months after the riot. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti spoke with the lawmaker and filed this report. Camera: Saqib Ul Islam   Produced by: Adam Greenbaum     …

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Biden Takes on Gun Violence Warning of Summer Spike 

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U.S. President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday to reduce gun violence as he warned the nation about a dangerous summer spike in killings.“We’re taking on the bad actors doing bad and dangerous things in our communities and to our country,” he said in a U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, accompanied by U.S. President Joe Biden, delivers remarks on steps to curtail U.S. gun violence, in Washington, June 23, 2021.Local partnersSpeaking just prior to the president, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said prosecutors across the country would work with local partners “to establish an immediate plan to address the spike in violent crimemore

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US Capitol Rioter Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Cooperate With Investigators

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A man involved in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has pleaded guilty to two charges as part of a plea deal to cooperate with investigators probing the riot. Graydon Young, a member of a right-wing group called the Oath Keepers, was accused along with 15 other members of conspiring to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election. The Florida man pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding, the latter of which could carry a sentence of up to 20 years. But he will likely serve less time, given his agreement to cooperate with investigators. Hemore

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Michigan Republicans Reject Trump Vote Fraud Claims

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A Republican Party-led investigation in Michigan has concluded that, despite claims by former president Donald Trump and his allies, there was no widespread 2020 election fraud in the Midwestern political battleground state that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.The Republican-controlled state Senate Oversight Committee said in a report released Wednesday that the state’s citizens should be confident that the ballot count in the state, which Biden won by about 155,000 votes, represented “true results.”Trump, who won the state in 2016 enroute to a four-year term in the White House, and some of his supporters had pushed debunked conspiracy theories thatmore

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Eric Adams Leads New York City Mayor Race

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Former police officer Eric Adams was leading all candidates in Tuesday’s preliminary election to select the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York City mayor.   With nearly 85% of all voting precincts reporting, Adams, the president of the city’s historic neighborhood of Brooklyn, emerged in first place out of 13 candidates with nearly 32% of those who voted in person or during the early voting period. Maya Wiley, a former civil rights attorney and top aide to outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, was in second place with 22% of the vote, followed by former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia with over 19%.   Tuesday’smore

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Eric Adams Takes Lead in New York City’s Democratic Mayoral Nominating Election

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Former police officer Eric Adams was leading all candidates in Tuesday’s preliminary election to select the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York City mayor.   With nearly 85% of all voting precincts reporting, Adams, the president of the city’s historic neighborhood of Brooklyn, emerged in first place out of 13 candidates with nearly 32% of those who voted in person or during the early voting period. Maya Wiley, a former civil rights attorney and top aide to outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, was in second place with 22% of the vote, followed by former city sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia with over 19%.   Tuesday’smore

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Senate Republicans Block US Voting Rights Bill

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Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked the advancement of a major voting rights bill Tuesday.The Senate’s top Democrat, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, set a procedural vote for the For the People Act, but with 60 votes required to advance the bill for debate and Republicans opposing the measure in the evenly split 100-member chamber, the bill stalled.Lindsey Graham, a prominent South Carolina Republican, called the measure “an insane idea” in a statement released shortly after he voted no. “Simply put, this is the biggest power-grab in modern American history. S.1 has nothing to do with making voting easier — it has everythingmore

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Biden Supports Work to Address Problems around Big Tech, White House Says

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U.S. President Joe Biden believes steps are needed to safeguard privacy, bolster innovation and deal with other problems created by big technology platforms, the White House said Tuesday, signaling his support for legislation concerning Big Tech.Biden is encouraged by bipartisan work under way in Congress to tackle these issues, the official said, a day before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee votes on a package of antitrust bills, some of which target the market power of large tech firms.”These platforms have transformed our daily lives, and showcase our country’s ingenuity and potential, but also create real problems for users, small businessesmore

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Senate Republicans Poised to Block US Voting Rights Bill

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Republicans in the U.S. Senate are expected to block the advancement of a major voting rights bill Tuesday.   The Senate top’s Democrat, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, set a procedural vote for the so-called For the People Act, but with 60 votes required to advance the bill for debate and Republicans opposing the measure in the evenly split 100-member chamber, the bill as it stands is set to stall.   There are ongoing efforts to put forth a revised version, led by Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat. His proposed changes include adding a national voter ID requirement andmore

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Senate Republicans Set to Block US Voting Rights Bill

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Republicans in the U.S. Senate are expected to block the advancement of a major voting rights bill Tuesday.   The Senate top’s Democrat, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, set a procedural vote for the so-called For the People Act, but with 60 votes required to advance the bill for debate and Republicans opposing the measure in the evenly split 100-member chamber, the bill as it stands is set to stall.   There are ongoing efforts to put forth a revised version, led by Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat. His proposed changes include adding a national voter ID requirement andmore

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New Yorkers to Cast Votes in Mayoral Primary

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This Tuesday, local voters will cast their ballots in a primary election on the path to selecting the next mayor of New York. Some experts call the country’s biggest city and its financial capital a bellwether, despite the city’s overwhelmingly liberal lean.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

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11 US Mayors Say They are Committed to Paying Reparations for Slavery

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Eleven U.S. mayors said Friday they are committed to paying reparations for slavery but gave few details on how they would accomplish the task.The group, led by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, announced a coalition to pursue reparations, Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE).“Our coalition stands on the belief that cities can — and should — act as laboratories for bold ideas that can be transformative for racial and economic justice on a larger scale,” the group said on its website.It said the 11 cities would create local commissions comprised of representatives from Black-ledmore

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US Supreme Court Again Rejects a Health Care Law Challenge

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The U.S. Supreme Court for the third time rejected a challenge to the country’s chief health insurance law that provides millions of Americans with coverage to help pay their medical costs.The court, in a 7-2 decision, dismissed on Thursday a bid by 18 Republican-led states and the administration of former President Donald Trump to upend the 2010 Affordable Care Act.It was the signature legislative achievement of former President Barack Obama, Trump’s immediate predecessor, and is popularly known in the U.S. as Obamacare.The country’s highest court also rejected challenges to the law in 2012 and 2015, with all three decisions keepingmore

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Biden to Approve Creation of Juneteenth Holiday

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U.S. President Joe Biden is set to sign into a law Thursday the creation of a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.Juneteenth National Independence Day will be observed each year on June 19.WATCH LIVE at 3:30pm EST The holiday marks the day in 1865 when Union soldiers informed a group of enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, of their freedom, 2½ years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.Many U.S. states already have Juneteenth as a holiday.It joins 10 other federal holidays and is the first added since Martin Luther King Jr. Daymore

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US Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Law Again

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The U.S. Supreme Court for the third time on Thursday upheld the legality of the country’s chief health insurance law that provides millions of Americans with coverage to help pay their medical costs. The court, in a 7-to-2 decision, rejected a bid by 18 Republican-led states and the administration of former President Donald Trump to upend the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It was the signature legislative achievement of former President Barack Obama, Trump’s immediate predecessor, and is popularly known in the U.S. as Obamacare. The country’s highest court had also rejected legal challenges in 2012 and 2015, with all three decisions keeping inmore

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US House Votes to End 2002 Iraq War Authorization

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The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday that would repeal the authorization of use of military force in Iraq that has been in effect since 2002.  Supporters of the measure say the repeal is necessary to restrict presidential war powers.The 268-161 House vote came one day after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his support of the legislation, saying it would prevent acts of “military adventurism” like President Donald Trump’s authorization of a 2020 aerial attack on a Baghdad airport. Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in the attack.   “The Iraq War has been over for nearly a decade,” Schumer said. “The authorization passed in 2002 is no longer necessary in 2021.”   Schumer said he planned amore

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