The next big date on the U.S. political calendar is Tuesday September 29th — when the first of three debates will be held between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. But there will be a third person on stage that night — the moderator. VOA’s Steve Redisch examines how that person impacts the course of the debate. …
Leave a commentDemocratic presidential nominee Joe Biden traveled to Florida on Tuesday to court the Latino vote in this crucial battleground state. VOA’s Brian Padden reports, nationwide, Latino voters still favor Biden over Trump, but recent polls show Biden’s advantage eroding, and Trump now holds a slight lead among Latinos in Florida, due in part to the president’s hardline policies toward Cuba and Venezuela. …
Leave a commentPresident Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are spending time honing their skills ahead of their first debate on Sept. 29 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Also busy preparing is Chris Wallace, host of “Fox News Sunday.” He will be the moderator, selected by The Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has sponsored the debates since 1987. It is Wallace’s second time as a presidential debate moderator. Jim Lehrer holds the record for moderating 12 presidential debates. In 1996 and 2000, the late anchor of the “PBS NewsHour” moderated all three debates. “Some of the tips that Jim Lehrer had, for example, if somebody says, ‘I’ve got a seven-point plan for that.’ He would say, ‘Well, give me yourmore
Leave a commentKISSIMMEE, FLORIDA—In a tailored appeal to Hispanic voters, Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden accused incumbent President Donald Trump of having “failed the Hispanic community time and time again” during his nearly four years in office, in part by fanning “the flames of hatred and division in this country for his own gain.” The former vice president made the comment during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in Florida where he finds his critically needed support among Latinos eroding. Biden accused Trump of neglecting the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Trump has “insulted the dignity of Hispanic families over and over and over again,” Biden said,more
Leave a commentA Trump health appointee who is accused of trying to muzzle an important scientific publication in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic apologized Tuesday for a separate video in which he reportedly says scientists battling the virus are conspiring against President Donald Trump and warns of shootings in America if Trump loses the election. Michael Caputo, the top spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, (HHS) apologized to his staff for the Facebook video, said an administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss internal matters. The department is standing by Caputo in themore
Leave a commentMembers of so-called Generation Z are less – not more – likely to fall for the spread of misinformation and fake news, according to recent studies and polls published by news outlet Axios. A recent study published in Science Advances found that Americans older than 65 – also known as baby boomers – are more likely to share fake news links on Facebook than younger Americans born after 1996 (Generation Z).Survey data from 2016 showed that boomers shared nearly seven times as many fake news articles on Facebook than younger Americans between the ages of 18 and 29. “Our most robust and consistent finding is thatmore
Leave a commentAmerica’s image as a global superpower has been tarnished since Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. A 13-nation survey by the U.S. think tank found that only 41% of those surveyed in Britain have a favorable opinion of the U.S., the lowest percentage of any comparable survey Pew has conducted in the country. A mere 31% of the population in France views the U.S. favorably, mirroring survey results from March 2003, when tensions between the two countries peaked over the Iraq War, the survey found. The survey also found that much of the damage tomore
Leave a commentA top U.S. spokesman on the coronavirus has accused government scientists of “sedition,” saying their handling of the pandemic is meant to undermine President Donald Trump. Michael Caputo, assistant secretary of public affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), also said that left-wing hit squads are preparing for an armed insurrection if Trump wins reelection in November. Caputo contended without evidence Sunday that a “resistance unit” of medical personnel “deep in the bowels” of the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to defeat Trump, even if it means the U.S.’s world-leading coronavirus death toll ofmore
Leave a commentAt the start an otherwise dreary academic year for many college freshmen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston College — a Jesuit Catholic university — treated incoming freshmen to a pep talk from one of the biggest stars in American music. “If you completed your assignment and read my book, you will know I got into rock ‘n’ roll for the sex, the drugs and the sex,” drawled Bruce Springsteen, winner of numerous awards, seller of a gazillion downloads, and the father of Boston College graduate Evan Springsteen, Class of 2012.“Oh wait, that’s the wrong speech. Let’s start again.”Springsteen, 70, deliveredmore
Leave a commentAt opposite ends of the country, President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden presented vastly different views Monday about the cause of the historic, destructive wildfires in the Western United States, which have killed at least 35 people.In California, the president — brushing aside concerns about climate change as a catalyst for the increasing number and intensity of such fires — reiterated his call for Western states to practice better forest management.“When trees fall down after a short period of time, they become very dry — really like a matchstick,” said Trump on arrival in California. “And they can explode. Alsomore
Leave a commentThe commander in charge of the U.S. military’s nuclear arsenal has warned that increasing China’s nuclear stockpile is “next” on Beijing’s “to-do list.” Speaking Monday to reporters at the Pentagon, U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Charles Richard said that while the United States has “no margin” of error left to start recapitalizing its nuclear force, China has a proven record of steadily building its military. He cited the example of how Beijing has built more than 250 ships for the country’s newly established coast guard in just the past seven years. “When China sets its mind to something, they are very impressivemore
Leave a commentA new U.S. public survey has found that two-thirds of supporters of President Donald Trump “strongly” or “somewhat” support his deal with the Islamist Taliban to extricate the United States from the 19-year war in Afghanistan. Nearly 60% of supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also favor the landmark U.S. agreement with the Afghan insurgent group, according to a poll conducted by New York-based Eurasia Group Foundation. “Ending the war in Afghanistan is extremely popular, and Americans of all political persuasions want to honor the recent agreement,” the foundation noted in its findings released Monday. The deal signed in February 2020 commitsmore
Leave a commentAt the start an otherwise dreary academic year for many college freshmen because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boston College — a Jesuit Catholic university — treated incoming freshmen to a pep talk from one of the biggest stars in American music. “If you completed your assignment and read my book, you will know I got into rock ‘n’ roll for the sex, the drugs and the sex,” drawled Bruce Springsteen, winner of numerous awards, seller of a gazillion downloads, and the father of Boston College graduate Evan Springsteen, Class of 2012.“Oh wait, that’s the wrong speech. Let’s start again.”Springsteen, 70, deliveredmore
Leave a commentAmericans’ interest in voting by mail has surged this year as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Allegations of double voting in the southern U.S. state of Georgia have further fueled a politically fraught debate over voter fraud ahead of the November presidential election.This week, Georgia’s top election official announced that as many as 1,000 voters may have double voted in the state’s primary elections in June, showing up at the polls to vote after mailing in their ballots.Although the attempted double voting was caught and did not change voting tallies, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said hemore
Leave a commentA federal prosecutor who was helping lead the investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe has resigned from the Justice Department, a spokesman said.Nora Dannehy was a top prosecutor on a team led by U.S. Attorney John Durham of Connecticut, who was appointed last year to lead an investigation into how the FBI and other federal agencies set out to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and whether the Trump campaign had coordinated with the Kremlin.A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut on Friday confirmed Dannehy’s departure, which was first reported by The Hartford Courant,more
Leave a commentFlorida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday in a case that could have broad implications for the November elections.Reversing a lower court judge’s decision that gave Florida felons the right to vote regardless of outstanding legal obligations, the order from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the position of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-led state Legislature, leaving voting rights activists aghast.Under Amendment 4, which Florida voters passed overwhelmingly in 2018, felons who have completed their sentences would have votingmore
Leave a commentThe morning of September 11, 2001, is one of Aidan Thayer’s first memories.He was just 3 years old when the terrorist group al-Qaida launched a series of four coordinated attacks against the United States using four hijacked passenger airplanes. Two of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers of New York City’s World Trade Center, while a third was flown into the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters, near Washington. Passengers on the fourth plane, likely bound for the White House, retook control of the aircraft and crashed it into a field in Pennsylvania.Thayer’s mother picked him up from preschoolmore
Leave a commentA new study concludes that Asian American students do not face negative consequences in college when rejected from their first-choice colleges and universities.The study — published in FILE – Students walk on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, Feb. 26, 2015.’Small differences’Seven researchers at the University of Denver and the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) looked at student outcomes of Asian American college students based on their admissions and enrollment decisions.Researchers analyzed data from two national surveys of 1,023 students who identified as Asian American: the 2012 Freshman Survey and 2016 College Senior Survey, both administered by the Higher Educationmore
Leave a commentThe same Russian military intelligence outfit that hacked the Democrats in 2016 has renewed vigorous U.S. election-related targeting, trying to breach computers at more than 200 organizations including political campaigns and their consultants, Microsoft said Thursday.The intrusion attempts reflect a stepped-up effort to infiltrate the U.S. political establishment, the company said.”What we’ve seen is consistent with previous attack patterns that not only target candidates and campaign staffers but also those who they consult on key issues,” Tom Burt, a Microsoft vice president, said in a blog post. U.K. and European political groups were also probed, he added.Most of the hackingmore
Leave a commentA panel of judges Thursday declared unlawful a directive from President Donald Trump to exclude people who are in the United States illegally from representation when apportioning congressional seats.The decision by a three-judge panel, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a victory for the 38 states, cities and counties, plus several immigrants rights nonprofits, that sued over the July 21 directive.The mostly Democratic-leaning plaintiffs, led by New York state, accused the Republican president of having a “xenophobic” purpose in pushing an unconstitutional directive that reflected “discriminatory animus” toward Hispanics and other immigrant communities.They said the directivemore
Leave a comment“I didn’t lie,” U.S. President Donald Trump bluntly responded at a White House news conference Thursday after a reporter asked him, “Why did you lie to the American people?” The question from ABC News White House correspondent Jon Karl came in the wake of audio released by journalist and author Bob Woodward, to whom Trump acknowledged early this year he wanted to play down the threat from the coronavirus. “I don’t want to jump up and down screaming, ‘Death. Death,’ ” Trump replied to justify intentionally misleading the country about the severity of COVID-19. He called Karl’s question disrespectful andmore
Leave a commentThe U.S. Senate failed to pass a trimmed-down coronavirus relief package Thursday, capping months of unsuccessful negotiations to bring a second round of economic aid to millions of Americans impacted by the pandemic. The $500 billion proposal put forward by Senate Republicans failed to advance to debate on a 52-47 vote.The failure significantly increases the prospect U.S. lawmakers will not pass a relief package before the November 3 election. Members of Congress are expected to leave Washington to campaign in their home districts after passing a continuing resolution funding the government past a September 30 deadline.The proposal’s defeat also meansmore
Leave a commentThe U.S. says it has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese citizens considered “high risk” to U.S. security because of alleged ties with the Chinese military. A statement issued Wednesday by the State Department said the revocation of the visas was authorized by a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on May 29. The proclamation was aimed at students who had previously studied at colleges and universities in China that have ties to the People’s Liberation Army. The Trump administration has charged that Chinese students have come to the United States to steal intellectual property to advance China’s economic andmore
Leave a commentWith the presidential campaign entering its final two-month stretch, both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are ramping up travel to battleground states this week. But the candidates have very different approaches to getting their messages out to supporters. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
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