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Seoul —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis-riven South Korea where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president. Blinken arrived in the snow-covered capital on what will likely be his final trip as the top U.S. diplomat before…

While much remains unknown about the man who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s and another who died in an explosion in Las Vegas the same day, the violence highlights the increased role of people with military experience in ideologically driven attacks, especially those that seek mass casualties. In New Orleans,…

Her greatest fear, dormant for decades, came rushing back in an instant: had she adopted and raised a kidnapped child? Peg Reif’s daughter, adopted from South Korea in the 1980s, had sent her a link to a documentary detailing how the system that made their family was rife with fraud: documents falsified, babies switched, children…

NAIROBI, KENYA —  Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to make a state visit to sub-Saharan Africa. He once called helping with Zimbabwe’s transition from white rule to independence “our greatest single success.” And when he died at 100, his foundation’s work in rural Africa had nearly fulfilled his quest to eliminate a disease…

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA —  Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on Jan. 20. Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Meloni with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according…

ATLANTA, GEORGIA —  Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter began Saturday in Georgia, where he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The first events reflected Carter’s climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, to decades on the global stage as a humanitarian and…

Two Federal Reserve policymakers said Saturday they feel the U.S. central bank’s job on taming inflation is not yet done, but also signaled they do not want to risk damaging the labor market as they try to finish that job. The remarks, from Governor Adriana Kugler and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, highlight the…

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden and his family were given tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from foreign leaders in 2023, according to an annual accounting published by the State Department on Thursday, with first lady Jill Biden receiving the single most expensive present: a $20,000 diamond from India’s leader. The 7.5-carat diamond from…

WASHINGTON —  An investigation by a U.S. Senate panel has found that troubled investment bank Credit Suisse concealed information during previous inquiries into Nazi-controlled bank accounts during World War II. Tens of thousands of documents discovered during an ongoing examination have provided new proof of the existence of account holders linked to the Nazis, the…

NEW YORK —  Your car is spying on you. That is one takeaway from the fast, detailed data that Tesla collected on the driver of one of its Cybertrucks that exploded in Las Vegas, Nevada, earlier this week. Privacy data experts say the deep dive by Elon Musk’s company was impressive but also shines a…

WASHINGTON —  Secretary of State Antony Blinken will embark on what is expected to be his final overseas trip in office this weekend, traveling to South Korea, Japan and France. The State Department announced Friday that Blinken would visit Seoul, South Korean, Tokyo and Paris beginning Sunday. In South Korea, which is in the midst…

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA —  Venezuelan opposition politician Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who fled the country after a tumultuous election and subsequent police crackdown, said Saturday he plans to speak with U.S. President Joe Biden. Speaking in Argentina, where he met with President Javier Milei, Gonzalez added that he was traveling to the United States on Sunday,…

LONDON —  Prince William expressed his shock and sadness Saturday at the news of the death of his former nanny’s stepson in the New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people. London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed Saturday that they are supporting the family of 31-year-old Edward Pettifer, including helping them through the process…

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. State Department has informed Congress of a planned $8 billion weapons sale to Israel, U.S. officials say, as the American ally presses forward with its war against Hamas in Gaza. Some of the arms in the package could be sent from current U.S. stocks, but the majority would take a year…

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. congressional joint session to count electoral votes on Monday is expected to be much less eventful than the certification four years ago that was interrupted by a violent mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who tried to stop the count and overturn the results of an election he lost to…

ATLANTA, GEORGIA —  Six days of funeral observances for former President Jimmy Carter begin Saturday in Georgia, where he died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100. The first events reflect Carter’s climb up the political ladder, from the tiny town of Plains, Georgia, to decades on the global stage as a humanitarian and…

WASHINGTON —  The highly decorated Special Forces soldier who died by suicide in a Cybertruck explosion on New Year’s Day confided to a former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse that he faced significant pain and exhaustion that she says were key symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was…

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE —  Just days after Tennessee announced it had a new manual for executing death row inmates, the state’s top prison officials said they aren’t going to release the document to the public. The Tennessee Department of Correction had told The Associated Press to file a public records request to obtain a copy of…

honolulu —  In recent years, occasions large and small — parties, Super Bowls, mixed martial arts fights, even Thanksgiving — have provided a reason for residents across Hawaii to set off illegal fireworks. The increasingly sophisticated displays, loved by some and loathed by others, are so prevalent that some people consider them part of the…

DETROIT —  U.S. new car sales in 2024 continued to rise from their pandemic lows, bolstered by replenished inventories, higher incentives and surging demand for hybrid vehicles, automakers reported on Friday. Sales of new vehicles finished at 15.9 million last year, according to Wards Intelligence, up 2.2% from the prior year, and the highest since…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration announced Friday that it will allocate $306 million to bolster the nation’s bird flu response before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. The new funding will support national, state and local preparedness and monitoring programs, as well as research into potential medical countermeasures against the H5N1 virus. “While…

washington —  President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will make his final visit to India next week to emphasize Washington’s partnership with New Delhi, the White House announced Friday. The visit will cap the Biden administration’s efforts to maximize ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, in its strategic focus to counter China’s…

An Army soldier who died in an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was a stunt to serve as a “wake-up call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in the note…

WASHINGTON —  On Feb. 15, 1951, Army Private Bruno R. Orig was returning from a mission when he found his fellow soldiers under attack in what’s now known as the Battle of Chipyong-ni. The infantryman provided first aid to his comrades wounded in the Korean War attack and began helping move those men to safety.…

A strong snow and ice storm followed by brutally cold conditions will soon smack the eastern two-thirds of the United States as frigid air escapes the Arctic, plunging as far south as Florida, meteorologists said. Starting Saturday, millions of people are going to be hit by moderate to heavy snow from Kansas City to Washington…

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will attend his final meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany next week, the Defense Department said Friday. The group of more than 50 nations, also known as the Ramstein group, includes members of NATO as well as most of the European Union.…

Before the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump to power, migrants who remain in Mexico with the intention of entering the United States express concern about the possible cancellation of the CBP One mobile application. Click here for the full story in Spanish. This post was originally published on here

The holidays came with a side of flu for many Americans, with 40 states reporting high or very high levels of illness last week, according to the latest government health data. “A lot of flu out there,” said Carrie Reed of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of course, there are a number of…

NEW YORK —  In an extraordinary turn, a judge Friday set President-elect Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case for Jan. 10 — just 10 days before he’s due to return to the White House — but indicated he wouldn’t be jailed. The development nevertheless leaves Trump on course to be the first president…

washington —  Law enforcement and security agencies in and around Washington are bringing in reinforcements as they prepare to secure three high-profile events in the nation’s capital, following the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans and the Cybertruck bombing in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. The first event will…

washington —  U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson retained the speakership in a first-round ballot Friday, as the 119th Congress came into session. Johnson won 218 votes, just enough to keep his job. Both the House and the Senate enter the new session with Republicans in the majority, the party having taken control from Democrats in…

The U.S. Homeland Security Department and the FBI are warning federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to be vigilant for potential copycat incidents inspired by the New Year’s Eve truck-ramming attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people. In a joint intelligence bulletin released Friday and obtained by VOA and other news…

WASHINGTON/LONDON —  Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the U.S. surgeon general said Friday in a move that could signal a shift toward more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including…

WASHINGTON —  The United States on Friday issued fresh cybersecurity sanctions against Integrity Technology Group, a Chinese company involved in computer programming, a posting on the Treasury Department website showed. The Beijing-based company has previously been accused by Western officials of being behind a major Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Flax Typhoon.” Speaking at a cybersecurity…

Washington —  President Joe Biden has made good on his months of public opposition to the proposed purchase of American company U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, announcing Friday he is blocking the $14.9 billion takeover. The acquisition would “place one of America’s largest steel producers under foreign control and create risk for our national…

WASHINGTON —  The 119th U.S. Congress will come into session Friday. After a contentious government funding battle last month, though, Republican Party control of both houses of Congress and presidency faces challenges. The Senate enters the new session as Republicans take the majority from Democrats and Senator Mitch McConnell steps away from party leadership for…

WASHINGTON —  The federal courts will not refer allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have violated ethics laws to the Justice Department, the judiciary’s policymaking body said Thursday. Thomas has agreed to follow updated requirements on reporting trips and gifts, including clearer guidelines on hospitality from friends, the U.S. Judicial Conference wrote to…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could be “decisive” in the outcome of the yearslong war between Ukraine and Russia. “Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with Ukrainian television. Zelenskyy said Trump had told him he would be one…

washington —  Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has a complex legacy on the Korean Peninsula, former U.S. officials say, including the vital role he played in defusing a crisis between the United States and North Korea in 1994. Thomas Hubbard, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2001 to 2004, told VOA Korean by phone…

In the latest escalation of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, China on Thursday announced export control measures targeting 28 U.S. companies and added 10 U.S. companies to a list of entities barred from doing business in China. The larger group of companies is made up primarily of firms active in defense contracting…

The 119th U.S. Congress will come into session Friday. But after a contentious battle over government funding last month, the Republican Party’s seemingly unified control of the Senate, House of Representatives and presidency faces challenges. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more, with Kim Lewis contributing.This post was originally published on here

President-elect Donald Trump threatened recently to retake the Panama Canal because of what he called “exorbitant” rates and China’s influence. What threats could China pose to the U.S. if it were able to exert strategic control over the canal? Click here for the full story in Mandarin. This post was originally published on here

Washington —  A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission did not have legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules. The decision is a blow to the outgoing Biden administration that had made restoring the open internet rules a priority. President Joe Biden signed a 2021 executive order encouraging the FCC…

LAS VEGAS, Nevada —  The person who authorities believe died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. Two law enforcement officials identified the man inside…

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to award the nation’s second highest civilian honor to 20 people at a White House ceremony Thursday. The recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal include Congressman Bennie Thompson and former Congresswoman Elizabeth Cheney, who led a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by…

TOKYO —  Asian shares mostly slipped Thursday, as the region’s main stock market in Tokyo stayed closed for the New Year’s holidays. Investors remained cautious amid worries about what incoming U.S. President Donald Trump might mean for policy changes, while the political uncertainty in South Korea added to a wait-and-see mood. Australia’s S&P/ASx 200 rose…

The FBI says it believes the suspect in the New Year’s Day truck ramming attack in New Orleans that killed at least 14 people had acted alone and was inspired by the Islamic State terror group. Officials had previously said they were looking into the possibility that the suspect had coordinated with others. FBI officials…

WASHINGTON —  Even before the shock from the deadly New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans could subside, early indications from the investigation pointed to a scenario U.S. law enforcement and security officials have long feared – a plot at least inspired by the Islamic State terror group. The FBI Wednesday confirmed reports the…

The Tournament of Roses Parade is an annual New Year’s Day tradition with lavishly decorated floats brightening the streets of Los Angeles. Genia Dulot shows us a float highlighting efforts to give military veterans second careers in computer coding and cybersecurity.This post was originally published on here

Quantum computing is emerging as a revolutionary technology capable of solving complex problems that traditional computers cannot address. The U.S. leads in quantum innovation, driven by companies like Google and IBM, robust government funding and top-tier research institutions. China, however, has rapidly advanced through massive state-led investments, dominating global quantum patents and establishing specialized research…