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Police in Madison, Wisconsin, said Tuesday that they were working to establish a motive for the shooting at a small, private Christian school that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six other people. “Identifying a motive is our top priority,” Police Chief Shon Barnes said of the shooting Monday that he called a…

WASHINGTON —  Congressional leaders are nearing the unveiling of a spending agreement that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. The stopgap measure would prevent a partial government…

WASHINGTON —  A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday proposed three bills aimed at cracking down on China’s role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis, with measures that would set up a U.S. task force to disrupt narcotics trafficking and pave the way for sanctions on Chinese entities. China is the dominant source of chemical…

President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of 3 percentage points in the state. The Register’s parent Gannett Co. on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit as meritless and said it…

Washington —  In a rare joint statement, the archivist and deputy archivist of the United States said Tuesday that the 1970s-era Equal Rights Amendment cannot be certified without further action by Congress or the courts, as Democrats press President Joe Biden to act unilaterally on its ratification before he leaves office next month. The five-decade…

The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden plans in its final weeks to “continue tightening the noose” around Russia’s key energy exports with new sanctions to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine, according to Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt. Pyatt over the past two weeks has traveled in Europe and…

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA —  A San Francisco jury on Tuesday found a tech consultant guilty of second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, which carries a sentence of 16 years to life. Jurors took seven days to deliver their verdict against Nima Momeni in the April 4, 2023, death of…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a strong push to project Turkey’s influence internationally in 2024. He scored foreign policy successes with the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Turkey’s growing ties to nations in Africa. Still, tensions remain between his country and the West over Israel and his strong relations with Russia. As…

Washington —  The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two people and one entity based in the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of being involved in a network that launders millions of dollars generated by IT workers and cybercrimes to support the North Korean government. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that…

NEW YORK —  An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs. Towana Looney is the fifth American given a gene-edited pig organ — and notably, she isn’t as sick as prior recipients…

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg to be his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, where Trump has promised to bring a quick end to the war. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko looks into Kellogg’s career, his vision for ending the war, and the challenges he might face in his new mission. Rafael…

Washington —  The United States hit North Korea and Russia on Monday with new sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s financial and military support to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which list North Korean banks, generals and other officials, as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest U.S. measure aimed at…

NEW YORK —  A judge Monday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to have his hush money conviction dismissed because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. But the case’s overall future remains unclear. Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan’s decision eliminates one potential off-ramp from the case ahead of Trump’s return to office next…

In a joint appearance Monday morning, President-elect Donald Trump and Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of the Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group, announced that the company would invest $100 billion in U.S. companies over the coming four years, saying that the infusion of cash would create 100,000 jobs in fields such as artificial intelligence. Son…

WASHINGTON —  The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who has been detained in Syria for more than 12 years, reiterated her call Monday for the Israeli military to pause strikes in a part of Syria where her son may be held. “I think it would be polite, to say the least, that perhaps they’re…

Los Angeles —  A California man was sentenced Monday to nearly 3½ years in prison for running an extensive business that helped pregnant Chinese women travel to the United States to deliver babies who would automatically have American citizenship. U.S. authorities had sought a more than five-year prison term for Michael Wei Yueh Liu, 59,…

The U.S. Census Bureau is changing how it counts immigrants in annual estimates by including more people who were admitted for humanitarian, and often temporary, reasons. The change is being made in an effort to better reflect population shifts this decade, officials said Monday. Population estimates, including immigration, are due to be released Thursday showing…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump contended Monday that the country’s military “for some reason” was keeping details secret about unexplained drones flying across the nighttime skies above the eastern United States, but the Pentagon quickly rebuffed his claim. “Our military knows … something strange is going on,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida…

WASHINGTON —  American forces carried out air strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria on Monday, killing a dozen of its fighters, the US military said. “The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade and defeat ISIS,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said…

LOS ANGELES —  A former FBI informant pleaded guilty Monday to lying about a phony bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden and his son Hunter that became central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress. Alexander Smirnov entered his plea to a felony charge in connection with the bogus story, along with a tax evasion…

It’s a marketing tradition that dates back more than a century. Each year, New York City’s most famous retailers unveil their opulent holiday window displays. VOA’s Dora Mekouar explores why the old-fashioned marketing device is still relevant in the modern world. Camera: Adam Greenbaum, Ihar Tsikhanenka.This post was originally published on here

MADISON, WISCONSIN —  Five people are dead and others injured after a shooting Monday at a private Christian school in Wisconsin, including a child who caused the attack, authorities said. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes was speaking to reporters when the death toll rose to five from three people. He offered no details on the…

On the U.S. West Coast, conservationists for the world’s largest dam-removal project are both celebrating initial successes and encountering short-term obstacles. VOA’s Matt Dibble has our story from the Klamath River on the border between California and Oregon. This post was originally published on here

In the Pacific Northwest, the world’s largest river restoration project has removed hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River to help migrating salmon. The project emptied a lake beloved to its surrounding community. VOA’s Matt Dibble went to the former Copco Lake to see how residents are adjusting.This post was originally published on here

Taipei, Taiwan —  Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defense ministry said Monday, reportedly the island’s first new tanks in 30 years. Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory. The M1A2…

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday thanked deep-pocketed Democratic donors who raised record sums in last month’s election loss to President-elect Donald Trump and urged them not to lose hope and to remain politically engaged. Biden and Harris, along with their spouses, in remarks at the Democratic National Committee…

Omaha, Nebraska —  A tornado near a mall in central California swept up cars, uprooted trees and sent several people to the hospital. In San Francisco, authorities issued the first-ever tornado warning. Elsewhere, inclement weather plagued areas of the U.S., with dangerous conditions including heavy snow in upstate New York, a major ice storm in…

Denver, Colorado —  Dozens of kids cheered on a festively decked-out plane in Denver on Saturday when the pilot announced their destination for the day: the North Pole. More than 100 children, some of whom have serious health issues, were then taken on a roughly 45-minute flight near the city before landing back at Denver…

It’s been a very long time since vendors sold the American chestnut on city sidewalks. It’s no longer the variety whose smell some people associate with Christmastime as it wafts from street carts. Because it’s virtually extinct. But memories of the American chestnut’s legacy keep resurfacing for the researchers who want to bring it back.…

The Spider-Man spinoff “Kraven the Hunter” got off to a disastrous start in North American theaters this weekend. The movie starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson earned only $11 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it one of the worst openings for a Marvel-adjacent property. Its box office take was even less than the film “Madame Web.”…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser says it’s time to figure out where dozens of unexplained drones flying over eastern U.S. states are coming from and whether any ill intent is involved. Republican Representative Michael Waltz, from Florida and set to join Trump’s White House team when the president-elect takes office January 20,…

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates communications in the United States. Carr, an FCC commissioner since 2017, has taken aim at big tech and China’s influence on U.S. communications. VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports.This post was originally published on here

A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey and the East Coast in recent weeks, sparking speculation and concern over who sent them and why. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on…

Hundreds of thousands of Rhode Island residents’ personal and bank information, including Social Security numbers, were likely hacked by an international cybercriminal group asking for a ransom, state officials said on Saturday. In what Rhode Island officials described as extortion, the hackers threatened to release the stolen information unless they were paid an undisclosed amount…

OMAHA, NEBRASKA —  A major ice storm created treacherous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska this weekend and prompted temporary closures of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road. Many events were canceled across the region when the storm hit Friday evening, and businesses announced plans to open late Saturday…

ABC News has agreed to give $15 million to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air involving the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, a court document filed on Saturday showed. The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in U.S.…

New York —  Unidentified drones were stoking security and safety fears over the U.S. Northeast at the weekend, prompting New York’s governor to seek federal help, as President-elect Donald Trump weighed in to suggest the devices be shot down. “This has gone too far,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Saturday, lamenting in a statement…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday named ally Devin Nunes, a former U.S. lawmaker who now runs Trump’s Truth Social platform, to serve as chairman of President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. Nunes, a longtime Trump defender who led the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee during part of Trump’s first White House term, will…

WASHINGTON —  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had hip replacement surgery Saturday at a U.S. military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress. Pelosi, 84, “is well on the mend,” said Ian Krager, a Pelosi spokesperson. Krager, said in a statement that she is “currently receiving…

AQABA, JORDAN —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s government but is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others. Blinken is the first U.S. official to publicly confirm…

BELGRADE, SERBIA —  The United States plans to introduce sanctions against Serbia’s main gas supplier, which is controlled by Russia, Serbia’s president said Saturday. President Aleksandar Vucic told state RTS broadcaster that Serbia has been officially informed that the decision on sanctions will come into force on January 1 but that he has so far…

The economy was one of the biggest issues for voters in this year’s U.S. presidential election. As they await Donald Trump’s return to power, many Americans say they expect improving the economy will be one of his first priorities. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story.This post was originally published on here

TOKYO —  The partial transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began on Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed on their realignment to reduce the heavy burden of American troop presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said. The relocation started with 100 members of III Marine Expeditionary Force stationed…

Americans should eat more beans, peas and lentils and cut back on red and processed meats and starchy vegetables, all while continuing to limit added sugars, sodium and saturated fat. That’s the advice released Tuesday by a panel of nutrition experts charged with counseling the U.S. government about the 2025 edition of the dietary guidelines…

WASHINGTON —  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized after she “sustained an injury” during an official engagement in Luxembourg, according to a spokesperson. Pelosi, 84, was in Europe with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Her spokesperson, Ian Krager, said…

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday sued a New York doctor for allegedly providing a Texas woman with abortion pills by telemedicine. The lawsuit by the Republican attorney general, which appeared to be the first of its kind, could offer a test of conservative states’ power to stop abortion pills from reaching their residents.…

WASHINGTON —  After more than two years of separation, Chinese migrant Duan Chunxia, 51, recently met face to face with her husband and daughter at Stewart Detention Center, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Georgia. “My wife has lost a lot of weight, and her hair turned gray,” her husband, Ni Jinfang, told…

WASHINGTON —  A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected an emergency bid by TikTok to temporarily block a law that would require its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest the short-video app by January 19 or face a ban on the app. TikTok and ByteDance on Monday filed the emergency motion with the U.S. Court…

NEW YORK —  President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has…

Patricia Hubbard Fox, the sister of the 72-year-old U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard sentenced to jail in Russia for almost seven years on charges of “being a mercenary” for his alleged participation in fighting in Ukraine, says in an exclusive VOA Russian interview that she is still unsuccessfully trying to find out the location of his…