Biden Pushes for Adoption of Infrastructure Package

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U.S. President Joe Biden heads to the midwestern state of Wisconsin Tuesday, making a pitch for congressional passage of a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to repair the country’s crumbling roads and bridges, and at the same time boost blue-collar employment.   Biden is visiting the small city of La Crosse, population 52,000, and will tour its public transit center before speaking about what he sees as the merits of the infrastructure package he negotiated last week with a group of 10 centrist U.S. senators, five Republicans and five Democrats. He told a group of Democratic donors Monday night the spendingmore

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Can Money Absolve Sins of the Past?

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The issue of reparations — making amends for historical wrongs perpetrated against a group or population — has always been highly controversial. But to the victims of atrocities like genocide and slavery, offering such compensation should be a no-brainer. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo looks at examples of reparations as they relate to the debate over reparations for African Americans in the U.S.Henry Ridgwell   contributed to this report. …

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House to Vote on Bill Launching Probe of Capitol Insurrection

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A new committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol would have 13 members and the power to subpoena witnesses, according to legislation released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week.  The effort comes after Senate Republicans blocked the formation of an independent, bipartisan commission to probe the attack, in which hundreds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters violently broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.  The new, partisan House panel would have eight members appointed by Pelosi and fivemore

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Investigated, Not Interviewed, for US Student Visa

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“Are any of your family members involved with the Taliban?” was among the many probing questions the U.S. Consulate asked me when I interviewed for my F-1 visa to study in the United States.That’s not unusual in Afghanistan, where the U.S. and my country have been allies in fighting the Taliban since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that brought down four planes, destroyed New York’s World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed almost 3,000 people.  The answer to the question was no, and six years ago, I came to study in the U.S. at age 17 at amore

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Key Republican ‘Trusts’ Biden on Infrastructure Deal  

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A key U.S. Republican lawmaker said Sunday he takes President Joe Biden at his word that he has no intention of vetoing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure Biden agreed to last week even though initially the U.S. leader said he would reject it if Congress does not also approve social spending legislation. FILE – Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, arrives for a meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 23, 2021.Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, one of the five Republican centrists who negotiated the infrastructure package with Biden to repair the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges, told CNN, “I do trustmore

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Blinken in Italy on Sunday for Meetings with Top Leaders, Pope

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s multination trip to Europe takes him to Italy Sunday for several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris on Sunday for Rome, where he meets with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. Embassy officials. He will also meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome on Monday, when he also meetsmore

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Blinken Arrives in Italy on Sunday for Meetings with Top Leaders, Pope

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s multination trip to Europe takes him to Italy Sunday for several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris on Sunday for Rome, where he meets with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. Embassy officials. He will also meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome on Monday, when he also meetsmore

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Trump Knocks Immigration, Touts Republicans in Ohio Rally

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At his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump on Saturday lambasted the Biden administration’s immigration policies and urged his supporters to help Republicans take back majorities in Congress.While Trump has made speeches at Republican events since his election defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden, the rally in a state he carried in the 2020 election marks a return to the kind of freewheeling mass gatherings that have been critical to retaining the support of his base.Trump left office in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, shortly aftermore

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No Veto Threat on Infrastructure Deal, Biden Says 

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Aiming to preserve a fragile bipartisan deal on infrastructure, President Joe Biden said Saturday that he didn’t mean to suggest he would veto the bill unless Congress also passed a larger package to expand the social safety net.Speaking Thursday when the deal was reached, Biden said the two packages needed to move in “tandem” and “if they don’t come, I’m not signing. Real simple.”Those comments sparked criticism from some Republican lawmakers who were party to the deal. Biden sought Saturday to clarify his position.”My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very planmore

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Officer Asks McCarthy to Denounce GOP Remarks on Capitol Riot 

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A police officer who was injured in the January 6 Capitol insurrection confronted House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy in a meeting on Friday, asking him to publicly denounce statements by GOP members who have voted against honoring police and have downplayed the violence of the attack.Officer Michael Fanone has said for weeks that he wanted to meet with McCarthy, who has opposed the formation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack and has remained loyal to former President Donald Trump. It was a violent mob of Trump’s supporters that laid siege to the Capitol and interrupted the certification ofmore

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US Vice President Wraps Up Visit to Mexico Border

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her first trip to the U.S. southern border on Friday, saying the Biden administration had “made progress” in addressing the record number of migrants who have reached the border in recent months. The migration surge under U.S. President Joe Biden has cast a spotlight on the plight of Central Americans who face dangerous conditions and human traffickers as they travel to the United States. The situation has drawn criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats. During her trip, Harris appeared to cast at least some of the blame for the border problems on the previousmore

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US Says Georgia Voting Law Targets Black Voters, Sues to Block It

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The U.S. Justice Department will file a lawsuit on Friday challenging a Georgia election law that imposes new limits on voting, saying that it infringes on the rights of Black voters, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.   The Georgia law, which also bans the distribution of water or food to people waiting on long lines at polling places, is one of a wave of new measures passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures this year, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his November election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.   “This lawsuit is the first of manymore

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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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Kentucky to Allow College Athletes to Earn Off Likeness

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Kentucky’s governor signed an order Thursday allowing the state’s college athletes — including players on the nationally renowned Kentucky and Louisville men’s basketball teams — to make money through the use of their name, image or likeness.Gov. Andy Beshear said he wielded his executive authority as a matter of fairness for college athletes, adding that for decades companies and institutions have profited off them.”Those athletes deserve to be compensated for their image and likeness,” the Democratic governor told reporters. “Think about what image and likeness is? It’s your name. It’s what you look like. It is intrinsically yours. And whilemore

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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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Health Care Job Opportunities Spike in US After Pandemic

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The fastest growing jobs in the fastest growing field — STEM, or science, tech, engineering and mathematics — are in health care. “Health care is still booming,” said Marisa Streelman, the national director of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses, a professional association for nurses in the U.S.“Cybersecurity in healthcare, physical security, system improvements, telehealth, and the need for monitoring in the home and community health,” Streelman said, are some of the jobs in health care that are experiencing swift growth.Among the top 30 fastest-growing professions are medical and health services managers, physician assistants, speech pathologists, substance abuse and mental healthmore

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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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