USA

washington — A South Korean senior official has rekindled debate over the U.S. commitment to that nation’s defense, bringing up the possibility of the U.S. rolling back its nuclear umbrella if former President Donald Trump is reelected. Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s deputy national security director, said in a Seoul forum Tuesday the reelection of Trump could “weaken a U.S. nuclear umbrella” designed to protect South Korea …

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States will continue enforcing sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following the seizure and investigation of two aircraft linked to him earlier this week in the Dominican Republic. On Friday, Blinken held discussions with Dominican President Luis Abinader during his first official visit to Santo Domingo as the top …

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For over a century, dams have blocked fish migration on California’s second-largest river. VOA’s Matt Dibble takes us to the removal of the last of four dams, a major victory for Native Americans who depend on the river. …

Music cassette tapes are making a comeback in the U.S, with more than 430,000 sold in 2023 – about five times the number sold just a decade ago. Cassette tapes are especially popular with younger generations who grew up with digital music. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. Videographer: Sergii Dogotar …

Caracas, Venezuela — A U.S. Navy sailor held in Venezuela since late last month was arrested for entering “without any type of document,” the South American country’s attorney general said Thursday. An American official on Wednesday announced the sailor had been detained at a time of soaring tensions between Washington and Caracas in the aftermath of disputed elections in Venezuela, with the opposition party claiming it …

Port-au-Prince, Haiti — During a trip to Haiti on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $45 million in new humanitarian aid for the Caribbean nation, which has been wracked by violence for years.   He also called for the renewal of the United Nations mandate for the Multinational Security Support, or MSS, mission to combat the armed gangs that dominate much of the capital. …

beijing — The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program, and the United States is seeking clarification on how the decision will affect hundreds of American families with pending applications to adopt children from China. In a phone call with U.S. diplomats in China, Beijing said it “will not continue to process cases at any stage” other than those cases covered by an exception clause. …

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London — The United States announced new sanctions Thursday on ships that transport Russian gas from Moscow’s Arctic LNG 2 terminal in Russia’s Murmansk region. The measures target the owners of two LNG tankers, the New Energy and the Mulan. The U.S. State Department said the New Energy had used “deceptive shipping practices, including shutting off its automatic identification system, to load cargo from the U.S.-sanctioned …

Washington — The United States has charged five Russian intelligence officers and one Russian civilian in connection with a major cyberattack, described by U.S. prosecutors as the first shot in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The Justice Department unsealed the superseding indictment Thursday, accusing the Russians of carrying out the January 2022 “WhisperGate” malware attack that sought to debilitate Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure ahead of the Russian …

A shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday was a stark reminder that firearms kill more Americans per capita than in any other large, high-income country, according to health experts. Vice President Kamala Harris wants stricter gun regulation. Her opponent, former President Donald Trump, pledges to roll back gun restrictions. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias explains. …

Los Angeles — Hunter Biden arrived Thursday at a Los Angeles courthouse for the first day of jury selection in his federal tax trial, just months after the president’s son was convicted of gun charges in a separate case. The case accuses Hunter Biden of a four-year scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while pulling in millions of dollars from foreign business …

Washington — Efforts by Beijing to limit Taiwan’s participation in the recently concluded Pacific Islands Forum underscore the intense and ongoing tug-of-war between Western democracies and China for influence in the region, analysts say. During the Pacific Islands Forum, or PIF, which wrapped up Friday, Beijing ally Solomon Islands tried unsuccessfully to block Taiwan from future participation. Then, on Saturday, the PIF removed a reference to …

WINDER, Ga. — More than a year ago, tips about online posts threatening a school shooting led Georgia police to interview a 13-year-old boy, but investigators didn’t have enough evidence for an arrest. On Wednesday, that boy opened fire at his high school outside Atlanta and killed four people and wounded nine, officials said. The teen has been charged as an adult in the deaths of …

WASHINGTON — The White House is signaling an openness to blocking the acquisition of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel, as a government review of the proposed takeover by the Japanese company is wrapping up.  The Washington Post reported Wednesday that President Joe Biden plans to stop the deal from going forward. A White House official, insisting on anonymity to discuss the matter, did not deny the …

Ukraine faces wildly different prospects under a potential Donald Trump or Kamala Harris U.S. presidency. But as their campaigns race to the finish line, neither candidate has laid out exactly how they plan to deal with Russia’s war on Ukraine. Experts say in that same space of time, the battlefield in Ukraine has itself radically changed, giving more power to Ukraine in determining its own …

state department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Thursday, marking his first visits to both Caribbean nations as the top U.S. diplomat. Blinken’s visit to Port-au-Prince underscores U.S. support for Haiti, with additional humanitarian assistance anticipated as the country grapples with gang violence. His trip to Santo Domingo follows the start of Dominican Republic President Luis …

Pentagon — The United States is planning to send Michael Chase, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, to China’s top annual security forum this month, two U.S. defense officials have confirmed to VOA. One of the officials, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity ahead of the forum, called Chase’s upcoming attendance “consistent participation from the U.S.”  Chase is more …

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new york — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, thwarting the former president’s latest bid to overturn his felony conviction and delay his sentencing. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein denied Trump’s lawyers permission to file paperwork asking the U.S. District Court in Manhattan to take control of the case. He said they had …

Peace continues to elude Gaza as the conflict there speeds toward the one-year mark, with public rage over the recent killing of hostages, fears over the spread of polio — and amid all this, ongoing, delicate negotiations helmed by Washington. Anita Powell files from the White House. …

SAO PAULO, brazil — Elon Musk’s satellite-based internet service provider Starlink backtracked Tuesday and said it will comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice’s order to block the billionaire’s social media platform, X.  In a statement posted on X, Starlink said it will heed Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ order despite him having frozen the company’s assets. Previously, it informally told the telecommunications regulator that it would …