WASHINGTON — An attorney who represented the far-right Oath Keepers pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges stemming from a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including members of the extremist group. Kellye SoRelle, who was general counsel for the anti-government group and a close associate of its founder, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17 by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in …
US official holds talks in Africa on responsible use of military AI
Abuja, Nigeria — A U.S. State Department official was in Nigeria this week to meet with local and regional authorities about the responsible use of artificial intelligence in military applications. Mallory Stewart, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability, said her two-day visit with Nigerian officials from the regional bloc ECOWAS was part of the United States’ commitment to deepen …
China ‘concerned’ after report alleging US nuclear strategy change
Seoul, South Korea — China on Wednesday said it was “seriously concerned” after a report alleged the United States recently approved a secret plan to shift some of the focus of its nuclear strategy away from Russia to deal with Beijing’s nuclear weapons buildup. In a report late Tuesday, The New York Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden in March approved a new “nuclear employment …
Former president Obama rallies Democrats for Harris in Chicago
Former President Barack Obama addressed Democrats in his home city of Chicago Tuesday, saying Vice President Kamala Harris is the right choice to take on Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election this November. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from the second night of the Democratic National Convention. …
DNC’s Day 2: Double dose of Obama firepower, a doting spouse and a dance party
CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention’s second night showcased a double dose of Obama firepower to validate Vice President Kamala Harris and deliver an unsparing indictment of Republican Donald Trump. The convention also served up a raucous roll call of states that was essentially one big dance party. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ducked out of Chicago to hold a rally just …
Obamas close DNC’s second night with rousing Harris endorsement
CHICAGO — Warning of a difficult fight ahead, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages to the Democratic National Convention that were at times both hopeful and foreboding. “America, hope is making a comeback,” the former first lady declared. She then tore into Republican Donald Trump, a sharp shift from the 2016 convention …
From ‘Cobra Kai’ to ‘Blue Beetle’: Actor Xolo Maridueña’s journey to first Latino superhero
Xolo Maridueña is currently starring in the sixth and final season of the hit karate series “Cobra Kai,” which premiered on Netflix in July. But he also made waves last year when he was cast as the first Latino superhero lead in “Blue Beetle.” The actor spoke with Veronica Villafañe about the impact of these roles in his career and the need for Latino representation …
Powell may use Jackson Hole speech to hint at how fast and how far the Fed could cut rates
Washington — Federal Reserve officials have said they’re increasingly confident that they’ve nearly tamed inflation. Now, it’s the health of the job market that’s starting to draw their concern. With inflation cooling toward its 2% target, the pace of hiring slowing and the unemployment rate edging up, the Fed is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high. How fast it …
US sanctions former Haitian president over drug trafficking
WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Haiti’s former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over drug trafficking, accusing him of playing a significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said Martelly “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States.” The department said he also worked …
Final report on Lewiston mass shooting to be released
LEWISTON, Maine — After more than a dozen public meetings, scores of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, a special commission created to investigate the deadliest shooting in Maine history is ready to issue its final report on Tuesday. The independent commission began its work a month after the Oct. 25 mass shooting by an Army reservist that killed 18 people at a bowling alley …
Firefighters significantly tame California’s fourth-largest wildfire on record
CHICO, Calif. — California’s largest wildfire this year has been significantly tamed as the state’s initially fierce fire season has, at least temporarily, fallen into a relative calm. The Park Fire was 53% contained Monday after scorching nearly 1,738 square kilometers in several northern counties, destroying 637 structures and damaging 49 as it became the state’s fourth-largest wildfire on record. A large portion of the fire …
Biden gets rousing ovation, gives Harris enthusiastic endorsement
Chicago — President Joe Biden delivered his valedictory address to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, as his decision to end his reelection bid released newfound energy within his party with Vice President Kamala Harris’ elevation to the top of the ticket. After 52 years rising to the pinnacle of influence within his party, Biden, 81, received a hero’s welcome for the act of stepping …
US intelligence officials blame Iran for hacks targeting Trump, Biden-Harris campaigns
washington — U.S. intelligence officials said Monday that they were confident that Iran was responsible for the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, casting the cyber intrusion as part of a brazen and broader effort by Tehran to interfere in American politics and undermine faith in democratic institutions. Although the Trump campaign and private-sector cybersecurity investigators had previously said Iran was behind the hacking attempts, it …
Washington, DC, councilmember arrested on bribery charge
Washington — A Washington, D.C., councilmember known for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories has been arrested on charges that he accepted over $150,000 in bribes in exchange for using his elected position to help companies with city contracts, according to court records unsealed on Monday. Trayon White Sr., a Democrat who ran an unsuccessful mayoral campaign in 2022, was arrested on a federal bribery charge by the …
House Republicans release impeachment report on Biden but next steps are uncertain
Yearlong probe stops short of alleging any criminal wrongdoing by president …
Fed’s pandemic-era vow to prioritize employment may soon be tested
Washington — Four years after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made fighting unemployment a bigger priority during the COVID-19 pandemic, he faces a pivotal test of that commitment amid rising joblessness, mounting evidence inflation is under control, and a benchmark interest rate that is still the highest in a quarter of a century. High interest rates may be on the way out, with the U.S. central …
50 years on, Harlem Week shows how a New York City neighborhood went from crisis to renaissance
NEW YORK — In 1974, Harlem’s deserted streets and tumbledown tenements told the story of a neighborhood left behind. Decades of disinvestment had culminated in a mass exodus known as urban flight and residents watched as their wealthier, more educated counterparts left the New York City neighborhood in droves. But the tide turned when Percy Sutton, then the Manhattan borough president and New York City’s highest-ranking …
Thousands of activists expected at Democratic convention to call for Gaza cease-fire
CHICAGO — Thousands of activists are expected to converge on Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, hoping to call attention to abortion rights, economic injustice and the war in Gaza. While Vice President Kamala Harris has energized crowds of supporters as she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination, progressive activists maintain their mission remains the same. Activists say they learned lessons from last month’s …