Secretaries of state urge Elon Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading election misinformation on X

On

Chicago — Five secretaries of state are urging Elon Musk to fix an AI chatbot on the social media platform X, saying in a letter sent Monday that it has spread election misinformation. The top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington told Musk that X’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. While Grok is available only to subscribers to the premium versions of X, the misinformation was shared across multiple social media platforms and reached millions of people, according to themore

Leave a comment

Google loses massive antitrust case over its search dominance

On

Washington — A judge on Monday ruled that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation in a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies. The highly anticipated decision issued by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the U.S. Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century. After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial,more

Leave a comment

Senior economic aide Sperling leaving White House to work on Harris campaign

On

washington — White House senior adviser Gene Sperling is leaving his administration position to work with Vice President Kamala Harris’ election campaign as the Democrats step up efforts to challenge Donald Trump on policy issues in November’s election. Sperling will be a senior economic adviser to Harris’ policy team. The shift was revealed by White House officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Sperling served both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as director of the White House National Economic Council. President Joe Biden tasked Sperling with managing his $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package, a role in whichmore

Leave a comment

Who is Usha Vance, wife of Republican vice presidential nominee?

On

In the U.S. presidential election, likely Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate Tuesday. Republican candidate Donald Trump last month chose Ohio Senator JD Vance. Vance went to law school at Yale, where he met his wife, Usha. She is a first-generation daughter of Indian immigrants who recently left her job at a top Washington, D.C., and California law firm. VOA’s Dora Mekouar has more about her. VOA footage by Adam Greenbaum. …

Leave a comment

US expected to propose barring Chinese software in autonomous vehicles

On

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to propose barring Chinese software in autonomous and connected vehicles in the coming weeks, according to sources briefed on the matter. The Biden administration plans to issue a proposed rule that would bar Chinese software in vehicles in the United States with Level 3 automation and above, which would have the effect of also banning testing on U.S. roads of autonomous vehicles produced by Chinese companies. The administration, in a previously unreported decision, also plans to propose barring vehicles with Chinese-developed advanced wireless communications abilities modules from U.S. roads, the sources added. Undermore

Leave a comment

Harris to announce VP pick soon; Trump wants different debate venue

On

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly narrowing down her choices for a running mate in the 2024 presidential race. Her new vice presidential pick will join her at a campaign event Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump took to social media to make his case on why there should be a change in venue and date for the next presidential debate. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details. (Produced by Henry Hernandez) …

Leave a comment

Trump again tears into Georgia’s Republican governor as he campaigns in state

On

ATLANTA — Donald Trump picked a new fight Saturday with the Republican governor of the state of Georgia as he campaigned in the key swing state where he’s looking to avenge his narrow 2020 loss — a defeat he continues to blame on GOP officials for not giving into his false theories of election fraud. Trump railed at Gov. Brian Kemp on his social media site before his rally and said Kemp should be “fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party.” He also criticized Kemp’s wife, Marty, for saying she would write in her husband’s name for president thismore

Leave a comment

Harris campaign staffs up in battleground states, ‘Sun Belt’

On

WILMINGTON, Delaware — Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is staffing up in battleground states over the next two weeks including in the ‘Sun Belt’ that increasingly looked out of reach for President Joe Biden, citing momentum for her White House bid as grassroots engagement and fundraising soar.  “Our grassroots engagement is proving that Kamala Harris is strong in both the Sun Belt and the Blue Wall — with multiple pathways to 270 (electoral votes),” wrote Dan Kanninen, the campaign’s battleground states director in a memo on Saturday.  The Sun Belt refers to states including Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, and themore

Leave a comment

Harris rejects Trump’s idea to debate her on FOX with live audience

On

reuters — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump proposed to debate Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News on September 4, and the Harris campaign said Trump is trying to back out of a debate that had been set to run on ABC.  The rules would be similar to the first debate with President Joe Biden, who has since dropped his reelection bid, Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Friday. But this time it would have a “full arena audience” and take place in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Trump said.  Trump and Biden had agreed tomore

Leave a comment

Harris foreign policy would bring continuity with some distinct emphases

On

With Democratic nominee Kamala Harris set to face off with Republican Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency, Harris’ positions on military support to Israel and Ukraine; a rising China; and the migrant crisis at the southern border are under increased scrutiny. As VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports, expect a continuation of Biden administration policies with a few shifts in emphasis. …

Leave a comment

Trump, Vance head to Georgia after Harris event in same arena

On

ATLANTA, GEORGIA — Former President Donald Trump returns Saturday to Georgia, which he lost four years ago, to campaign in a state that Democrats and Republicans see as up for grabs yet again. Trump’s 5 p.m. event alongside his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, comes just days after Vice President Kamala Harris rallied thousands in the same basketball arena at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Both parties are focusing on Georgia, a Sun Belt battleground that Democrats had signaled just two weeks ago they would sideline in favor of a heavier focus on the Midwestern “blue wall” states. President Joemore

Leave a comment

China’s proposal to create a cyber ID system faces criticism

On

Taipei, Taiwan — Concern is rising among China’s more than 1 billion internet users over a government proposal portrayed as a step to protect their personal information and fight against fraud. Many fear the plan would do the opposite. China’s Ministry of Public Security and the Cyberspace Administration issued the draft “Measures for the Administration of National Network Identity Authentication Public Services” on July 26. According to the proposal, Chinese netizens would be able to apply for virtual IDs on a voluntary basis to “minimize the excessive collection and retention of citizens’ personal information by online platforms” and “protect personal information.” Whilemore

Leave a comment

Foreign policy under Harris would bring continuity with distinct nuances

On

The White House — With Vice President Kamala Harris set to face off with Republican nominee former President Donald Trump in the November election, her foreign policy positions – including on military support for Israel and Ukraine, threats from a rising China, and the migrant crisis in the U.S. border with Mexico – are under increased scrutiny. In her speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, Harris laid out elements of what a White House official described as her worldview. “I believe it is in the fundamental interest of the American people for the United States to fulfill our long-standingmore

Leave a comment

Harris secures enough Democratic delegate votes to be nominee, chair says

On

WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has secured enough votes from delegates to become her party’s nominee for president, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said Friday. The announcement was made before the online voting process ends on Monday, reflecting the breakneck speed of a campaign that is eager to maintain momentum after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his successor less than two weeks ago. Harris is poised to be the first woman of color at the top of a major party’s ticket, and she joined a call with supporters to say she ismore

Leave a comment

Turkey blocks access to Instagram, gives no reason

On

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s communications authority blocked access to the social media platform Instagram on Friday, the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority, which regulates the internet, announced the block early Friday but did not provide a reason. Sabah newspaper, which is close to the government, said access was blocked in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killing of Hama political leader Ismail Haniyeh. It came days after Fahrettin Altun, the presidential communications director and aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, criticized the Meta-ownedmore

Leave a comment

Trump questions Harris’ racial identity

On

In the U.S. presidential contest, Republican candidate Donald Trump and likely Democratic candidate Kamala Harris are both out on the campaign trail, where Trump questioned Harris’ racial identity and Harris challenged Trump to debate. With fewer than 100 days before Election Day, VOA correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the state of the race and what voters are saying about the candidates. …

Leave a comment

Online misinformation fuels tensions over deadly Southport stabbing attack

On

LONDON — Within hours of a stabbing attack in northwest England that killed three young girls and wounded several more children, a false name of a supposed suspect was circulating on social media. Hours after that, violent protesters were clashing with police outside a nearby mosque. Police say the name was fake, as were rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain. Detectives say the suspect charged Thursday with murder and attempted murder was born in the U.K., and British media including the BBC have reported that his parents are from Rwanda. That information didmore

Leave a comment

Harris says Trump’s false claims about race same old show’ of divisiveness, disrespect

On

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s false assertions about her race were the “same old show” as she emphasized the need for Black women to organize for his defeat this November. Addressing the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. — one of “Divine Nine” historically Black fraternities and sororities — in Houston, Harris told the crowd, “When I look out at everyone here, I see family.” She drew knowing chuckles from the audience as she mentioned Trump’s comments earlier in the day at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists. Trump saidmore

Leave a comment