USA

washington — Spamouflage networks with connections to China are posting antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, casting doubt on Washington’s independence from alleged Jewish influence and the integrity of the two U.S. presidential candidates, a joint investigation by VOA Mandarin and Taiwan’s Doublethink Lab, a social media analytics firm, has found. The investigation has so far uncovered more than 30 such X posts, many of which …

WASHINGTON — America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that the U.S. labor market is still solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy.  Last month’s hiring gain was far more than economists had expected, and it was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August. And after rising for most of 2024, the unemployment …

Washington — Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, who began his term this week, may advocate for forming a nuclear body with the United States that is similar to an arrangement between the U.S. and South Korea aimed at planning for nuclear warfare contingencies. “The U.S.-ROK [Republic of Korea, or South Korea] approach is probably a good example of where the U.S. and Japan might go …

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Three former Memphis police officers were convicted Thursday in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, but were acquitted of the harshest charges they faced for a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing. Jurors deliberated for about six hours before coming back with the mixed verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith. All were convicted …

NEW YORK — The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on September 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score. “The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments,” said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive …

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WASHINGTON — The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, was in the state and criticized the federal response to the storm, which has killed at …

chicago — California is investigating a possible case of bird flu in a dairy worker who had contact with infected cattle, the state’s public health department said Thursday.  The virus’ jump to cattle in 14 states and infections of 13 dairy and poultry farmworkers this year have concerned scientists and federal officials about the risks to humans from further spread.  The worker had a “presumptive positive” …

Washington — As the fall semester begins, a women’s college in Boston, Massachusetts, has retooled its media-related curriculum to best reflect the ideals of the school’s namesake, the late journalist Gwen Ifill. Simmons University announced it would relaunch the media school as the Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences. A search committee also named media scholar Ammina Kothari as the new dean. The …

MOSCOW — The trial of a 72-year-old American man whom Russia accuses of working as a mercenary for Ukraine will take place behind closed doors, and the verdict will be announced Monday, Russian state media reported. Stephen Hubbard is accused of signing a $1,000-per-month contract with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022. He was captured by Russian forces in …

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NEW DELHI — In the small South Indian village of Thulasendrapuram, where U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s maternal grandfather once lived, locals and priests have prayed to the local deity at a Hindu temple for her victory as she runs for the U.S. presidency. In the capital, New Delhi, many express pride that one of the candidates for the world’s most powerful office has Indian roots …

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday visited areas hit hard by Hurricane Helene, where more than a million people remain without power and the death toll is climbing. Biden offered as many as 1,000 active-duty soldiers to support the response effort. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

Carlisle, Pa. — The remains of nine more Native American children who died at a notorious government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania over a century ago were disinterred from a small Army cemetery and returned to families, authorities said Wednesday. The remains were buried on the grounds of the Carlisle Barracks, home of the U.S. Army War College. The children attended the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School, …

washington — It came as no surprise that one of the tensest moments in Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate between Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Republican Senator JD Vance was over immigration, one of the most divisive issues in America. Debate moderators muted Vance’s microphone after he claimed that “millions of illegal immigrants” had overwhelmed American cities, including Springfield, Ohio, where many Haitians have been encouraged …

WASHINGTON — The United States and China are planning a call between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in the coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This call would follow their last conversation in April 2024 and their face-to-face meeting in Woodside, California, in November 2023. After his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi …

Madrid — In their coverage of the U.S. presidential election, countries with repressive media such as Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have taken aim at the American system of government and, to some degree, the candidates themselves. Following the two assassination attempts targeting Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Cuban state-run newspaper Granma ran a headline, “The guns speak again in the U.S. elections,” an apparent reference to …

SWANNANOA, North Carolina — Many residents of the Carolinas still lacked running water, cellphone service and electricity Wednesday as rescuers searched for people unaccounted for after Hurricane Helene caused catastrophic damage across the Southeast and killed at least 166 people.  President Joe Biden will survey the devastation in the two states as floodwaters receded and revealed more of the death and destruction left in Helene’s path.  …

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Cabrel Ngounou’s life in Cameroon quickly unraveled after neighbors caught the teenager with his boyfriend. A crowd surrounded his boyfriend’s house and beat him. Ngounou’s family learned of the relationship and kicked him out. So Ngounou fled — alone and with little money — on a dangerous, four-year journey through at least five countries. He was sexually assaulted in a Libyan prison, …

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U.S. vice presidential nominees Tim Walz and JD Vance met for the first and only vice presidential debate of this election season. Tina Trinh reports from New York. …

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