USA

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his endorsement of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on Friday. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti reports from Glendale, Arizona, where the two politicians campaigned together for the first time. …

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JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — The Federal Reserve’s credibility in the eyes of financial markets helped in its battle against inflation over the past two years, but it had to be earned afresh with interest rate hikes that backed up policymakers’ verbal promises to restore price stability, according to new research presented at the Kansas City Fed’s annual research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A strong perception …

DALLAS, Texas — Nearly a century after Babe Ruth called his shot during the 1932 World Series, the jersey worn by the New York Yankees slugger when he hit the home run to center field could sell at auction for as much as $30 million. Heritage Auctions is offering up the jersey Saturday night in Dallas. Ruth’s famed, debated and often imitated “called shot” came as …

Seoul, South Korea — North Korea vowed Saturday to advance its nuclear capabilities, reacting to a report that the United States had revised its own nuclear strategic plan. The country will “bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate all sorts of security challenges that may result from Washington’s revised plan,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The New York …

williamsburg, virginia — Archaeologists in Virginia are uncovering one of colonial America’s most lavish displays of opulence: an ornamental garden where a wealthy politician and enslaved gardeners grew exotic plants from around the world.  Such plots dotted Britain’s colonies and served as status symbols for the elite. They were the 18th-century equivalent of buying a Lamborghini.  The garden in Williamsburg belonged to John Custis IV, a …

Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed support for Israel in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech. Pro-Palestinian delegates say they will push to condition U.S. military aid to Israel. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from the convention in Chicago, Illinois. …

Chicago — Hundreds of pro-Palestinian delegates were sidelined at the Democratic National Convention that ended with Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirming her support for Israel. “The people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7,” she said in her speech accepting the party’s presidential nomination Thursday evening. As anti-war protesters filled the streets throughout the week, …

washington — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate with a famous political pedigree but whose bid was overshadowed by a brain worm and a dead bear, has announced the suspension of his campaign, endorsing the Republican Party’s nominee, former President Donald Trump.  “In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to an electoral victory,” Kennedy said to a group of …

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Thursday, even as Washington works to get a better understanding of Kyiv’s incursion into Russia and how it advances the broader battlefield goals more than two years into the war.  U.S. officials said the latest package of aid includes air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Fires broke out Friday on a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week, with the vessel now appearing to be adrift in the Red Sea, authorities said. It wasn’t immediately clear what happened to the oil tanker Sounion, which was abandoned by its crew Thursday and reportedly anchored in place. The Houthis didn’t immediately acknowledge the …

BEIJING/SINGAPORE/NEW YORK — State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed. The U.S. government has restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China over the past two years, citing the need to limit the Chinese military’s capabilities. Providing access to such …

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JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — With the Federal Reserve considered certain to start cutting its benchmark interest rate next month, Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech Friday morning at an economic conference will be closely watched for any hints about how many additional rate cuts might be in the pipeline. Powell is expected to say the Fed has become more confident that inflation is nearing its 2% …

Just a month after US President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. She contrasted her record and vision to that of her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. …

CHICAGO — It was U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s big night Thursday, but she wasn’t the only U.S. Democrat to knock it out of the park during a week of rousing speeches, celebrity cameos and lashings of hope and joy. Here are some takeaways from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago: Star-studded convention Oprah Winfrey stole the show, exhorting voters to “choose joy” and Stevie Wonder …

CHICAGO — Disappointed Pro-Palestinian activists said Kamala Harris’ speech to close the Democratic convention in Chicago failed to demonstrate any break from the status quo, after a week in which the most divisive issue facing the party was mostly ignored. Under pressure to respond to critics of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza, the vice president used her Thursday night speech to repeat earlier calls …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, won by fewer than 11,000 votes four years ago. But in a 5-4 order, the court allowed some enforcement of regulations barring people from voting if they don’t provide proof of …

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TORONTO — Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon. Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without …

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accepted his party’s nomination as vice president during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. VOA Midwest Correspondent Kane Farabaugh has more from Chicago. …

CHICAGO — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his party’s nomination for vice president Wednesday night, using his Democratic National Convention address to thank the packed arena for “bringing the joy” to an election transformed by the elevation of his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris. “We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple, reason: We love this country,” Walz said as thousands of delegates hoisted vertical …

MEXICO CITY — The strange saga of how two Mexican drug lords were detained after landing in a plane in the United States in July just got stranger. The Mexican government now says it is bringing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, but not because he was a leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Instead, Mexican prosecutors are bringing …