USA

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday threatened bounties on the heads of Afghanistan’s Taliban leaders, sharply escalating the tone as he said more Americans may be detained in the country than previously thought. The threat comes days after the Afghan Taliban government and the United States swapped prisoners in one of the final acts of former U.S. President Joe Biden. The new …

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA — U.S. military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, authorities said Friday, as President Donald Trump moved to crack down on illegal immigration.  A total of 265 Guatemalans arrived on three flights — two operated by the military, and one a charter, the Central American country’s migration institute said, updating earlier figures.  Washington also sent four deportation flights to Mexico …

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used his executive authority Friday to restore U.S. participation in two international anti-abortion pacts, including one that cuts off U.S. family planning funds for foreign organizations if they provide or promote abortions. Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which opponents call the “global gag rule” because they say it silences pro-choice advocates. Established by former President Ronald Reagan in 1984, it …

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary Saturday, putting the South Dakota governor in charge of a sprawling agency that is essential to national security and President Donald Trump’s plans to clamp down on illegal immigration.  Republicans kept the Senate working Saturday to install the latest member of Trump’s national security team. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was confirmed in a dramatic tie-breaking …

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In 2016, Herschel Hepler was browsing Google Images to practice his paleography — the study of historical writing systems — when he stumbled upon an eerily familiar photo that would lead to a groundbreaking discovery. “I recognized it immediately and said, ‘That’s a manuscript in our collection,’” Hepler, a curator at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, recalls. The museum had recently acquired the …

TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN/WASHINGTON — Uzbekistan is expected to push to deepen relations with the United States in the coming year, a position that is broadly popular among Uzbeks across the country, VOA found during a recent reporting trip. With more than 37 million people, Uzbekistan, Washington’s strategic partner in Central Asia, accounts for more than half of the population of the region, which includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, …

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — From his home in northern California, Nick Russell, a former farm manager, is monitoring the Los Angeles-area fires. He knows that about 600 kilometers south, people in Los Angeles are relying on his team’s live neighborhood-by-neighborhood updates on fire outbreaks, smoke direction, surface wind predictions and evacuation routes. Russell is vice president of operations at Watch Duty, a free app that tracks fires …

U.S. President Donald Trump said the federal government is standing behind California 100% in the aftermath of devastating wildfires and said during a visit to the state on Friday that he would come back as much as needed. “The first lady and I are in California to express a great love for the people of California,” Trump told a gathering of local leaders at a …

WASHINGTON — The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt. The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in U.S.-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts. The U.S. provides more …

The U.S. government consists of three branches designed to keep each other in check, with Congress responsible for passing legislation. But presidents have some power to unilaterally direct government policy by using executive orders.  …

Days after a winter storm dropped ice and record-breaking snow, cleanup efforts were underway Thursday in several major Southern U.S. cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana, where crews were removing snow the same way they remove trash, drink cups and plastic beads after Mardi Gras celebrations.  Temperatures were gradually rising across the U.S. South, bringing hopes that remaining snow and ice would melt away.  “We …

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday barred Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes from entering Washington without the court’s approval after U.S. President Donald Trump commuted the far-right extremist group leader’s 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Capitol four years ago. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued the order two days after Rhodes visited the Capitol, where he met with at least …

In the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, the National Western Stock Show hosts nearly 30 professional rodeo events. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns takes us to a stock show competition for younger riders. And sheep. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. immigration agents rounded up undocumented migrants as well as American citizens in a raid of a Newark, New Jersey, worksite on Thursday that the city’s mayor said involved detaining a military veteran and violations of the people’s rights. The raid in New Jersey’s most populous city, hailed in the past by Mayor Ras Baraka for its “sanctuary” policies protecting migrants, follows President Donald …

NICOSIA, CYPRUS — Experts from the U.S. Air Force are looking at ways to upgrade Cyprus’ premier air base for use as a humanitarian staging post in future operations in the Middle East, a Cypriot official told The Associated Press on Thursday. Cyprus, which is only 184 kilometers from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has acted as a transit point for the repatriation of foreign nationals fleeing …

After U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, appointments scheduled for the asylum process through the CBP One application were canceled.   Click here for the full story in Spanish. …

NUUK, GREENLAND — The mineral wealth on the Arctic island of Greenland is in the global spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to take control of the territory from Denmark, prompting alarm from European allies. Trump’s words were echoed in a January 12 interview on “Fox News Sunday” by Vice President JD Vance, who said, “There is a deal to be made in …

Greenland’s mineral wealth is in the global spotlight after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to take control of the island from Denmark. But until now, Greenland’s mining industry has struggled to turn a profit. Could that be about to change? Henry Ridgwell reports from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk. …

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday invited global businesses to manufacture their products in the U.S. and promised them lower taxes but warned if they choose to produce their goods elsewhere, they would have to pay tariffs to export them to the United States.    “America is back and open for business,” Trump, in a video linkup from Washington, told corporate leaders meeting at the …

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would revoke China’s preferential trade status with the United States, phase in steep tariffs and end the “de minimis” exemption for low-value Chinese imports. The bill, introduced by John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives select committee on China, comes after President Donald Trump issued a memo on Monday asking his cabinet …

LOS ANGELES — Transgender cartel musical “Emilia Perez” topped this year’s Oscar nominations, earning 13 nods in an announcement on Thursday postponed by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. French director Jacques Audiard’s Mexico-set musical, released by Netflix, shattered the record for the most Academy Award nominations for a non-English-language movie. It was followed by epic immigrant saga “The Brutalist” and show-stopping musical adaptation “Wicked,” which each …

Calls to ban face masks in public are sparking debate in New York City. Supporters say it could curb subway crime, while critics argue it risks civil liberties. Aron Ranen has more. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday re-designated Yemen’s Houthi movement, known formally as Ansar Allah, as a “foreign terrorist organization,” the White House said. The move will impose harsher economic penalties than the Biden administration had applied to the Iran-aligned group in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against U.S. warships defending the critical maritime chokepoint. Proponents of …