USA

Usha Vance will be the next second lady of the United States, making the Yale-educated lawyer the first vice presidential spouse of South Asian origin. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell takes a look at her life story – and how it intersects with her husband’s political career and interests – as she prepares for a move to Washington. Kim Lewis contributed. …

WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, will face sharp questioning from Democratic senators at a confirmation hearing Wednesday expected to center on concerns that Trump will look to use the Justice Department’s powers to seek retribution against his adversaries. Bondi, a former Florida attorney general who was part of Trump’s legal team during his first of two Senate impeachment trials, …

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not inform Congress or the White House as required when he was incapacitated due to treatment for prostate cancer or when complications worsened his condition last year, the Pentagon’s watchdog concluded in a highly critical report released Wednesday.  The inspector general’s report faults Austin for the communications failures early last year in which he kept his hospitalization secret for …

Warnings were in place again Wednesday in the Los Angeles area for the prospect of strong winds combining with dry conditions to spread wildfires as firefighters battled a series of blazes in the region that have already killed at least 25 people. After winds were weaker than expected during the day Tuesday, the National Weather Service said the region was “not out of the woods …

Two moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the moon last year. Wednesday’s launch included a lander from Japanese …

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, faced resistance from Democrats in the Senate Armed Service Committee on Tuesday. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Tuesday an executive order to boost development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in America. A day earlier, his administration announced sweeping measures to block access to the most advanced semiconductors by China and other adversaries. But the U.S. left India, its strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific, off a list of 18 countries that are allowed unrestricted access to advanced …

BATON ROUGE — Before plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 14 people, the man who carried out the Islamic State group-inspired attack had researched how to access a balcony on the city’s famed Bourbon Street and looked up information about a similar recent attack at a Christmas market in Germany, the FBI said.  Nearly two weeks after …

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday ordered that flags at the Capitol be raised to their full height on Inauguration Day, pausing a 30-day flag-lowering order following the death of former President Jimmy Carter. The Republican leader’s decision means that President-elect Donald Trump will not take the oath of office for his second term under a half-staff flag, a prospect that he …

GENEVA — U.S. President Donald Trump will take part virtually in the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos just days after his inauguration, the forum president said Tuesday.  Borge Brende, a former Norwegian foreign minister who heads the Geneva-based organization, noted that Trump had twice attended the elite gathering of business, government and other leaders in person during his first term.  “On Thursday afternoon, he …

— U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order Tuesday directing the development of artificial intelligence data centers on six federal land sites, with a special focus on powering them with clean energy and upholding high labor standards.  Biden said in a statement that the United States is the world leader in AI, but cannot take that lead for granted.  “We will not let America be …

DES MOINES, Iowa — More than 150 recipients of the Nobel and World Food prizes released an open letter Tuesday calling for a dramatic increase in research and a commitment to new food distribution efforts with a goal of producing more crops and avoiding a global hunger crisis in coming decades. The letter notes that an estimated 700 million people now are “food insecure and desperately …

In a report to Congress released early Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith said his office had sufficient evidence to “obtain and sustain” a trial conviction of President-elect Donald Trump for efforts to overturn Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Smith said Trump “resorted to a series of criminal efforts to retain power” after it became clear that he had lost and …

The public could learn as early as Tuesday new details about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. A federal judge has cleared the U.S. Department of Justice to release special counsel Jack Smith’s report about Trump’s efforts to cling to power as he falsely claimed he won the election and a mob of his supporters stormed …

California firefighters backed by fresh reinforcements of manpower and equipment prepared for the potential of new or worsening wildfires in southern California on Tuesday amid warnings of high winds and dry conditions. The National Weather Service said wind gusts Tuesday could exceed 100 kph, putting large areas of southern California under extreme fire danger warnings. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Monday that …

Raging wildfires in Los Angeles, fueled by strong winds, have destroyed homes and businesses, including those owned by Indonesian diaspora in the area. The Indonesian Consulate in Los Angeles has urged vigilance and is offering emergency assistance for those impacted.    Click here for the full story in Indonesian. …

WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday warned of a potential public safety threat from violent extremists who might try to copy the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people. The warning comes a week before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. “The FBI and DHS are concerned about possible copycat or …

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department can publicly release its investigative report on President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case, a federal judge said Monday — the latest ruling in a court dispute over the highly anticipated document days before Trump is set to take office again. But a temporary injunction barring the immediate release of the report remains in effect until Tuesday, and it’s unlikely Judge …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on an extreme right-wing online network, designating the “Terrorgram” collective a terrorist group and accusing it of promoting violent white supremacy.  The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it had designated the group, which primarily operates on the Telegram social media site, and three of its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.  The State Department said …

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Trade Commission has vowed to continue the agency’s drive to break up Big Tech monopolies while adding a new focus: free speech. VOA’s Matt Dibble has the story. …

— The Biden administration announced Monday new restrictions on the export of the most advanced artificial intelligence chips and proprietary parameters used to govern the interactions of users with AI systems. The rule, which will undergo a 120-day period for public comments, comes in response to what administration officials described as a need to protect national security while also clarifying the rules under which companies in …

The deadly fires in the Los Angeles area have persisted for a week amid firefighters’ efforts to contain the infernos, which had killed at least 24 people by Sunday. Officials say more than 7,000 structures have gone up in flames in what has been called the Eaton Fire, including the home of a firefighter. VOA’s Genia Dulot met with him and his family. …

Firefighters in southern California are battling to bring multiple major Los Angeles area wildfires under control Monday as forecasters warn of renewed strong winds that could cause “explosive fire growth.” The new wind threat, with the biggest concern happening Tuesday, is expected to bring sustained winds of 80 kph and gusts up to about 110 kph, the National Weather Service warned. Strong winds and dry …

President-elect Donald Trump pledges to reduce government spending when he takes office. He has tasked billionaire businessman Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s worth an estimated $950 million, to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a proposed presidential advisory commission. It’s not a new concept. U.S. leaders have tried to reduce the role of government since the founding of the republic. …