Trump signals support for reclassifying pot as a less dangerous drug, in line with Harris’ position

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washington — Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. The commonality reflects a major shift toward broad public support for legalization in recent years and marks the first time that both major-party presidential candidates support broad cannabis reform, according to the U.S. Cannabis Council. The Republican presidential nominee posted on his social media platform late Sunday that he would “continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3more

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Apple embraces AI craze with newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup

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CUPERTINO, California — Apple on Monday charged into the artificial intelligence craze with a new iPhone lineup that marks the company’s latest attempt to latch onto a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon.  The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI tools that Apple hopes will make its marquee product even more indispensable and reverse a recent sales slump.  Apple’s AI features are designed to turn its often-blundering virtual assistant Siri into a smarter and more versatile sidekick, automate a wide range of tedious tasks, andmore

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Harris, Trump meet face-to-face for crucial debate

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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump square off Tuesday in Philadelphia for their first presidential debate. Analysts say this rhetorical slugfest, which pits a prosecutorial puncher against one of America’s best-known counter punchers, could be decisive as they vie for the presidency. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

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Presidential debates that sparked change

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President Joe Biden’s poor performance during the debate against Donald Trump in June led to his withdrawal from the race and the elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Here’s a look at other presidential debates in history that shifted the direction of the campaign. …

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Anxiety, uncertainty build in Ukraine as US election nears

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Many Ukrainians are hoping the outcome of the U.S. elections will help bring an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine. While some worry that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will take a softer approach on Moscow, others are concerned that under the policies of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, aid – while significant -will be slow to arrive. Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv. VOA footage by Vladyslav Smilianets. …

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West Virginia has consistently delivered for Donald Trump

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Close to the U.S. capital of Washington, the rural state of West Virginia was solidly Democratic for most of the 20th century. But now it’s a Republican stronghold, delivering overwhelming wins for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. VOA’s congressional correspondent, Katherine Gypson, went to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to see how the 2024 election season is playing out. Videographers: Adam Greenbaum, Henry Hernandez and Mary Cieslak …

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Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner returns home without astronauts

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WASHINGTON — Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday without the astronauts who rode it up to the International Space Station, after NASA ruled the trip back too risky. After years of delays, Starliner launched in June for what was meant to be a roughly weeklong test mission — a final shakedown before it could be certified to rotate crew to and from the orbital laboratory. But unexpected thruster malfunctions and helium leaks en route to the ISS derailed those plans, and NASA ultimately decided it was safer to bring crewmates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams backmore

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US adversaries step up efforts to influence results of next election

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washington — Russia, Iran and China are ramping up efforts to impact the outcome of the U.S. presidential election and down-ballot races, targeting American voters with an expanding array of sophisticated influence operations. The latest assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies, shared Friday, warns that Russia remains the preeminent threat, with Russian influence campaigns seeking to boost the chances of Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump over Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. Russian actors, led by networks created by the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT, “are supporting Moscow’s efforts to influence voter preferences in favor of the former presidentmore

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Toxic or tonic? Voting on masculinity in US election 

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Washington — Unlike Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign slogan, “I’m With Her,” there is no overt gender messaging in Kamala Harris’ run for the presidency in 2024. Yet, gender is on the ballot as the Harris campaign and that of her Republican rival, Donald Trump, present competing narratives on masculinity, the latest front line in America’s culture war. The contrast was clear at the parties’ conventions. At the Republican National Convention, retired pro wrestler Hulk Hogan took off his suit jacket and ripped off his shirt to reveal the muscles bulging under his Trump-Vance tank top. Hogan was preceded by Tucker Carlson,more

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Like Brazil, the European Union also has an X problem

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Brussels — Elon Musk’s woes are hardly limited to Brazil as he now risks possible EU sanctions in the coming months for allegedly breaking new content rules. Access to X has been suspended in South America’s largest country since Saturday after a long-running legal battle over disinformation ended with a judge ordering a shutdown. But Brazil is not alone in its concerns about X. Politicians worldwide and digital rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Musk’s actions since taking over what was then Twitter in late 2022, including sacking many employees tasked with content moderation and maintaining ties with EU regulators.more

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Trump, Harris offer different futures for Ukraine as they vie for US presidency

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Ukraine faces wildly different prospects under a potential Donald Trump or Kamala Harris U.S. presidency. But as their campaigns race to the finish line, neither candidate has laid out exactly how they plan to deal with Russia’s war on Ukraine. Experts say in that same space of time, the battlefield in Ukraine has itself radically changed, giving more power to Ukraine in determining its own fate. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

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US accuses Russia of using state media to spread disinformation ahead of November election

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Washington — The Biden administration accused Russia on Wednesday of a far-reaching effort to influence the U.S. presidential election, including by promoting disinformation and enlisting unwitting American influencers to spread propaganda on Russian state media. The actions taken by the U.S. government include sanctions against leaders of RT, a state media organization that was forced by the Justice Department to register as a foreign agent, as well as visa restrictions. Intelligence agencies have previously charged that Russia was using disinformation to try to interfere in the election.  In a speech last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Russia was themore

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Musk’s Starlink will comply with judge’s order to block X in Brazil

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SAO PAULO, brazil — Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service provider Starlink backtracked Tuesday and said it will comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice’s order to block the billionaire’s social media platform, X.  In a statement posted on X, Starlink said it will heed Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ order despite him having frozen the company’s assets. Previously, it informally told the telecommunications regulator that it would not comply until de Moraes reversed course.  “Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil,” the company statement said.more

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US seeks to reassure voters that presidential election will be safe

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washington — Top U.S. election security officials are asking American voters to tune out the noise and reject what they describe as unfounded claims that the coming presidential election will be rigged.  Instead, in the first of a series of election security briefings planned in the run-up to November’s election, they say U.S. voters should have confidence that when they go to the polls their votes will be counted accurately.  “Throughout the next few months, you are going to hear a lot of different things from different sources. The most important thing is to recognize the signal through the noise, themore

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