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Federal Reserve’s Powell says US making ‘modest’ progress on inflation
Washington — The U.S. Federal Reserve is making “modest” progress in its inflation fight, the head of the U.S. central bank told lawmakers Tuesday, on the first of two days of testimony in Congress. When prices surged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fed responded by hiking interest rates to a two-decade high as it attempts to cool down the U.S. economy and return …
American mountaineer found mummified in Peru 22 years after vanishing
LIMA, Peru — The preserved body of an American mountaineer — who disappeared 22 years ago while scaling a snowy peak in Peru — has been found after being exposed by climate change-induced ice melt, police said Monday. William Stampfl was reported missing in June 2002, aged 59, when an avalanche buried his climbing party on the mountain Huascaran, which stands more than 6,700 meters (22,000 …
Searing heat grips parts of US, causes deaths in the West
death valley, california — A searing heat wave gripped large parts of the United States on Monday, with record daily high temperatures in Oregon suspected to have caused four deaths in the Portland area following a motorcyclist’s death in dangerous heat over the weekend in Death Valley, California. More than 146 million people around the U.S. were under heat alerts Monday, especially in the Western states. …
Review of prescribed fires finds gaps in key areas as US Forest Service looks to improve safety
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two years after the U.S. Forest Service sparked what would become the largest and most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history, independent investigators say there are gaps that need to be addressed if the agency is to be successful at using prescribed fire as a tool to reduce risk amid climate change. The investigation by the Government Accountability Office was requested by …
NATO secretary-general: Quickest way to end Ukraine war is to lose it; but won’t bring peace
WASHINGTON — As NATO prepares to convene on Tuesday a three-day summit in Washington to celebrate its 75th birthday, the alliance is reinforcing its support for Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia. During a news conference with a handful of reporters Sunday previewing the summit, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said all NATO members want peace, and that can be achieved if Russian President Vladimir Putin …
US troops leave Niger base at Niamey
Niamey, Niger — U.S. troops have completed a withdrawal from their base in Niger’s capital of Niamey and will fully depart from Agadez in the north before a Sept. 15 deadline set by the country’s military rulers, both countries said Sunday. Niger’s military leaders scrapped a military cooperation deal with Washington in March, after seizing power in a July 2023 coup. The United States had around …
Biden’s reelection bid faces consequential week
This coming week could be consequential for U.S. President Joe Biden’s reelection bid as voices continue to grow for him to leave the race amid concern over his age and capacity to lead. So far however, he still has the support of many of his peers, even as they acknowledge Democratic voters’ worries. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …
Beryl bears down on Texas, where it’s expected to hit Monday and regain hurricane strength
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Powerful winds and rain approached Texas Sunday morning as Beryl was expected to turn back from a tropical storm into a hurricane overnight and pound a long stretch of coast with heavy downpours, howling gusts and dangerous storm surge. A long stretch of Texas’ shoreline was under a hurricane warning as Beryl’s outer bands were forecast to begin lashing the coast Sunday. …
An Alaska tourist spot will vote whether to ban cruise ships on Saturdays to give locals a break
JUNEAU, Alaska — Each year, a crush of tourists arrives in Alaska’s capital city on cruise ships to see wonders like the fast-diminishing Mendenhall Glacier. Now, long-simmering tensions over Juneau’s tourism boom are coming to a head over a new voter initiative aimed at giving residents a respite from the influx. A measure that would ban cruise ships with 250 or more passengers from docking in …
North Dakota tribe goes back to its roots with a massive greenhouse operation
BISMARCK, North Dakota — A Native American tribe in North Dakota will soon grow lettuce in a giant greenhouse complex that when fully completed will be among the country’s largest, enabling the tribe to grow much of its own food decades after a federal dam flooded the land where they had cultivated corn, beans and other crops for millennia. Work is ongoing on the Mandan, Hidatsa …
US records may shatter as excessive heat threatens 130 million
portland, oregon — Roughly 130 million people were under threat Saturday and into next week from a long-running heat wave that already has broken records with dangerously high temperatures — and is expected to shatter more from East Coast to West Coast, forecasters said. Oppressive heat and humidity could team up to spike temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the …
For immigrants, Biden offers some protections; Trump, mass deportations
U.S. presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump differ sharply on immigration. Both sparred over immigration at their first presidential debate. VOA’s immigration correspondent Aline Barros has the story. …
Beryl heads for Texas after causing damage, no deaths in Mexico
Tulum, Mexico — Beryl weakened to a tropical storm Friday after hitting Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, with fierce winds causing material damage but no injuries along the touristic Yucatan Peninsula. Now headed for the Gulf of Mexico, Beryl is expected to intensify as it moves toward northeastern Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas by the end of the weekend, according to the Miami-based …
Storm Beryl spares Mexico’s Yucatan beaches, takes aim at Texas
CANCUN/TULUM, Mexico — Tropical Storm Beryl was blowing out to the Gulf of Mexico on Friday afternoon and appeared likely to reach Texas by late Sunday, after its strong winds and heavy rain largely spared Mexico’s top beach destinations. The core of the storm, downgraded from a hurricane, crossed the Yucatan Peninsula by Friday afternoon, with its maximum wind speeds slowing to around 105 kph after …