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President-elect Donald Trump pledges to reduce government spending when he takes office. He has tasked billionaire businessman Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s worth an estimated $950 million, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a proposed presidential advisory commission. It’s not a new concept. U.S. leaders have tried to reduce the role of government…

For Irina Contreras, a program manager for Los Angeles County’s Department of Arts and Culture, outdoor education was a refuge for both her and her daughter during the pandemic. Now, much of that refuge has been burned in the raging wildfires around Los Angeles. Her 7-year-old daughter, Ceiba, hikes with a kid’s adventure group called…

ALTADENA, Calif. —  The sight of celebrity mansions and movie landmarks reduced to ashes can make it seem like the wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area affected a constellation of movie stars. But a drive through the charred neighborhoods around Altadena shows that the fires also burned through a remarkable haven for generations of…

New York —  On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, while much of Hollywood’s attention was on the wildfires that continue to rage in Los Angeles, Lionsgate’s “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” debuted atop the box office with $15.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Mid-January is often a slow moviegoing period, and that was…

Washington —  Vice President-elect JD Vance says people responsible for the violence during the Capitol riot “obviously” should not be pardoned, as President-elect Donald Trump is promising to use his clemency power on behalf of many of those who tried on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn the results of the election that Trump lost. Vance…

Roaring flames continued to ravage Los Angeles on Sunday as the top U.S. emergency official warned that increasing winds could pose new threats in the coming days. “The winds are potentially getting stronger and dangerous,” Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, told CNN’s “State of the Union” show. “You…

The death toll from the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area has risen to 16 as crews battle to cut off the spreading blazes before potentially strong winds return that could push the flames toward some of the city’s most famous landmarks, The Associated Press reported. The California Office of Emergency Services says 150,000 people…

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO —  The New Mexico Supreme Court on Thursday struck down abortion restrictions by conservative cities and counties, helping to ensure the state remains a go-to destination for people from other states with bans. The unanimous opinion, in response to a request from state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, reinforces the state’s position…

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden on Saturday honored Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the highest civilian award given by the president, saying the pontiff was “a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.” Biden had been scheduled to present the medal to the pope in…

CAPE CANAVERAL —  A quarter of a century after its founding, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is finally ready for its maiden orbital voyage with a brand-new rocket the company hopes will shake up the commercial space race. The launch initially scheduled for Sunday was pushed back a day due to “unfavorable” sea conditions, Blue Origin…

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who led the federal cases against Donald Trump on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and mishandling of classified documents, has resigned, as the Republican president-elect prepares to return to the White House. Smith resigned Friday from the Department of Justice, according to a court filing on…

LOS ANGELES —  After ripping through thousands of buildings, wildfires in Los Angeles were looming Saturday toward the celebrated Getty Center and its priceless collection. Nestled in the mountains above Los Angeles, the famed art museum is within a new evacuation warning zone as the Palisades Fire roars east. Dubbed a “beautiful fortress” and constructed…

LOS ANGELES —  The largest of the raging wildfires that have devastated parts of Los Angeles this week was reported to have shifted direction Saturday, triggering more evacuation orders and posing a new challenge to exhausted firefighters. Six simultaneous blazes that have ripped across Los Angeles County neighborhoods since Tuesday have killed at least 11…

JERUSALEM/CAIRO —  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday following his visit to Doha, Qatar, an Israeli official said, amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. A second Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks…

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump singled out Aurora, Colorado, as an example of immigrant crime that he would solve with mass deportations. Colorado’s governor says he welcomes federal help to deport gang members but will oppose broader plans for migrant deportation. From Aurora, Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports.This post was originally published on here

BANGKOK —  Nearly all of the world’s 35,000 online pharmacies are being run illegally and consumers who use them risk getting ineffective or dangerous drugs, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s annual report on “notorious markets.” The report also singled out 19 countries over concerns about counterfeit or pirated products. The report also named about…

boston —  The cost of college keeps spiraling ever higher, right? Not necessarily. New research indicates students are paying significantly less to attend public universities than they were a decade ago. And tuition increases at private colleges have finally slowed after years of hefty rises. Figures compiled by the nonprofit College Board indicate the average…

white house —  FILE – White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. Jake Sullivan, the outgoing U.S. national security adviser, is urging the incoming Trump administration to continue President Joe Biden’s strategy of bolstering ties with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter adversaries…

Prosecutors are demanding that former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez be given at least a 15-year prison sentence following his conviction for corruption that included acting as an agent of a foreign government. In the sentencing recommendation filed late Thursday in a Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said the 71-year-old Democrat who once represented New Jersey is…

WASHINGTON —  Rudy Giuliani was found in contempt of court Friday for the second time in a week, as a federal judge warned Giuliani he could be sent to jail if he doesn’t stop spreading lies about two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him. U.S. District Judge Beryl…

WASHINGTON —  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer chips in Arizona for U.S. customers, a milestone in the Biden administration’s semiconductor efforts, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters. In November, the Commerce Department finalized a $6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s U.S. unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time…

With less than two weeks before U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office, his aides are working with President-elect Donald Trump’s team in a last-ditch push for a ceasefire in Gaza. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. Anita Powell contributed.This post was originally published on here

Five political prisoners held in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj have issued a condemnation of the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death sentences of three political prisoners: Pakhshan Azizi, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. In their statement, the five said: “The weapon of execution can no longer heal the wounds of the frail and…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. intelligence agencies charged with investigating the spate of brain injuries and other serious health ailments that have struck hundreds of officials remain unconvinced that the illnesses are tied to the work of a foreign adversary. An updated intelligence assessment of what the U.S. government calls anomalous health incidents, or AHIs, released Friday…

MIAMI, FLORIDA —  About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 230,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hard-line immigration policies. Biden’s administration has strongly supported Temporary Protected Status, which he…

A New York judge Friday sentenced President-elect Donald Trump to an “unconditional discharge” over 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The sentence spares him penalties but allows the convictions to stand. During sentencing, the president-elect again said the case was politically motivated. VOA senior Washington correspondent Carolyn Presutti reports. Contributor: Kim Lewis; Video editor:…

GENEVA —  The World Meteorlogical Organization says that preventive action cannot avert natural disasters such as the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, but that it can help save lives and mitigate loss of property. “Land management and prevention, regular clearing of underbrush play a key role in fire management, and evacuation plans are important in…

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden’s administration announced Friday it’s expanding sanctions against Russia’s critically important energy sector, unveiling a new effort to inflict pain on Moscow for its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump gets set to return to office vowing to quickly end the conflict. The outgoing Democratic administration billed the…

James Earl Carter Jr. served a single term as the 39th president of the United States, but despite his short tenure, he had the most extensive post-presidential career in U.S. history, lasting from 1981 until his death in 2024. Carter was a peanut farmer before his presidency and placed the family farm in a blind…

WASHINGTON —  U.S. hiring picked up unexpectedly in December as employers added a strong 256,000 jobs, another sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. Job growth rose 212,000 last month from November, the Labor Department reported Friday. For all of 2024, the economy added 2.2 million jobs, a solid number…

New York —  In a singular moment in U.S. history, President-elect Donald Trump faces sentencing Friday for his New York hush money conviction after the nation’s highest court refused to intervene. Like so much else in the criminal case and the current American political landscape, the scenario set to unfold in an austere Manhattan courtroom…

Authorities in the western U.S. state of California say at least 10 people have been killed in massive wildfires that have ravaged the city of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County medical examiner late Thursday announced the new death toll, which doubled from earlier reports. Officials warn that number could increase once the fires have…

Technology companies, industry executives and entrepreneurs are in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week for CES, the consumer electronics show featuring the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, vehicle technology, robotics and more. Tina Trinh reports from Las Vegas.This post was originally published on here

A U.S. appeals court on Thursday declined to block the U.S. Justice Department from releasing a special counsel’s investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election. The ruling from the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit appeared to clear the way for the release of…

U.S. President Joe Biden said at a White House briefing Thursday afternoon that federal resources and additional funding have been made available to California to fight the wildfires that he described as the “worst fires to ever hit Los Angeles.” The money will be used, the president said, to cover all of the costs for…

Donald Trump will be sworn in January 20 as the only U.S. president with felony convictions, and this week saw a flurry of activity over the court cases still open against him. On Friday, a New York judge is to sentence Trump in one case. VOA Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti reports.This post was originally…

WASHINGTON —  President Joe Biden said wildfires ravaging Los Angeles show climate change is real, days before President-elect Donald Trump is to take office. Trump has threatened to pull back on U.S. efforts to combat global warming. “Climate change is real. … There is global warming, it’s real,” Biden told a crisis meeting at the…

washington —  Republican Vice President-elect JD Vance said Thursday that he would resign from his U.S. Senate seat from Ohio at midnight ahead of his inauguration later this month. President-elect Donald Trump and Vance defeated the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in the Nov. 5…

london —  Russia has said it is closely watching the situation with Greenland, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s refusal to rule out military or economic measures to take control of the territory from Denmark. “We are observing this rather dramatic development of the situation, but so far, thank God, [it remains] at the level of…

WASHINGTON —  As they filed into the front pews at the National Cathedral, wearing dark suits and mostly solemn faces, one current and four former presidents came together for Jimmy Carter’s funeral. For a service that stretched more than an hour, the feuding, grievances and enmity that had marked their rival campaigns and divergent politics…

LAS VEGAS —  So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers’ lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness, or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health. But not all innovation is…

WASHINGTON —  The Biden administration doubled down Thursday on its unusual court battle to derail a plea deal that the government itself had reached with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. It urged a federal appeals panel to block Mohammed’s guilty plea from going forward as scheduled Friday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Defense lawyers described…

Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President, is being honored with the pageantry of a state funeral in the nation’s capital, The Associated Press reported. He will later be honored a second service and burial in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage. This post was originally published on…

ALBANY, NEW YORK —  New York’s highest court on Thursday declined to block Donald Trump’s upcoming sentencing in his hush money case, leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the president-elect’s likely last option to prevent the hearing from taking place Friday. One judge of the New York Court of Appeals issued a brief order declining…

A look at some of the most popular short videos on the TikTok social media platform may prompt head-scratching about what the fuss is. There is Charli D’Amelio (nearly 156 million followers) from the state of Connecticut, dancing in an 11-second clip to a remix of a Chris Brown song. There is a smiling baby…

The United States Supreme Court has fast-tracked oral arguments on a challenge by the Chinese company ByteDance — the owner of TikTok — to a new law that would ban the social media platform on grounds of national security. VOA’s Steve Herman reports.This post was originally published on here

For the first time, a person in the United States has died after being infected with the bird flu. Louisiana health officials reported the death on Monday. The World Health Organization says the risk of infection for the general population remains low, but as VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, some medical experts are still sounding the…

PLAINS, Ga. —  The world knew Jimmy Carter as a president and humanitarian, but he also was a woodworker, painter and poet, creating a body of artistic work that reflects deeply personal views of the global community — and himself. His portfolio illuminates his closest relationships, his spartan sensibilities and his place in the evolution…

WASHINGTON —  Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is set to be honored Thursday with a funeral at Washington National Cathedral before being buried in his home state of Georgia. Carter’s living presidential successors – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden – are due to attend the Washington funeral, with…

More than 130,000 people in the Los Angeles area were under evacuation orders early Thursday as firefighters battled multiple major wildfires that already killed at least five people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures. A new, fast-moving fire broke out late Wednesday in the Hollywood Hills, prompting the latest round of orders for people to…