DES MOINES, Iowa — A house that was teetering on the edge of an eroding riverbank near a Minnesota dam collapsed into the river in the latest jarring example of extreme weather gripping the upper Midwest. Video shows the house owned by the Barnes family falling into the flood-swollen Blue Earth River near Mankato on Tuesday night. The dam’s west abutment failed Monday, sending the river …
US Supreme Court rules for Biden administration in social media dispute with conservative states
Washington — The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. By a 6-3 vote, the justices threw out lower-court rulings that favored Louisiana, Missouri and other parties in their claims that officials in the Democratic administration leaned …
US transportation official says railroad company interfered with derailment probe
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that Norfolk Southern repeatedly tried to interfere with the agency’s investigation into the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and shape its conclusions about the flawed decision to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside. The NTSB also confirmed at Tuesday’s hearing that the February 2023 derailment was caused …
Ecuador ends visa-free entry for Chinese nationals
Austin, Texas — Ecuador says it will suspend visa-free entry into the country for Chinese citizens, starting July 1, citing a “worrying” increase in irregular migration. Over the past few years, Ecuador has been the starting point for many of the thousands of Chinese citizens who have decided to take the long and treacherous journey through South America, Central America and Mexico to reach the southern …
In deal with US, WikiLeaks’ Assange pleads guilty, secures freedom, ends legal fight
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has pleaded guilty to a single felony charge for publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that secures his freedom and concludes a drawn-out legal saga that raised divisive questions about press freedom and national security. The plea was entered Wednesday morning in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana …
On Gaza pier, US troops confront waves, destruction and aid backlog
Trident Pier, off Gaza Coast — Baking under the summer sun, U.S. troops find shelter in containers stationed on what is known as the “parking lot” of a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea that aims to boost the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Just over the horizon, destroyed buildings and thick black smoke can be seen rising in the enclave of …
Judge allows Trump to talk about jurors, witnesses in hush money conviction
NEW YORK — A judge on Tuesday modified Donald Trump’s gag order, freeing the former president to comment publicly about witnesses and jurors in the hush money criminal trial that led to his felony conviction but keeping others connected to the case off limits at least until he’s sentenced July 11. Judge Juan M. Merchan’s ruling — just days before Trump’s debate Thursday with President Joe …
US slaps sanctions on network it accuses of moving billions for Iran’s military
WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on nearly 50 entities and people it accused of moving billions of dollars for Iran’s military. The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said those targeted on Tuesday constitute a “shadow banking network” used by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both of which are under U.S. sanctions. …
WikiLeaks founder Assange to plead guilty in deal with US, be freed from prison
washington — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will free him from prison and resolve a long-running legal saga that spanned multiple continents and centered on the publication of a trove of classified documents, according to court papers filed late Monday. Assange is scheduled to appear in the federal court in the …
Decline of American students in China could mean fewer experts
washington — The number of Americans studying in China has dropped dramatically in recent years from around 11,000 in 2019 to 800 this year, and the slump is so bad that some China scholars worry the United States could lose a generation of “China experts” as a result. David Moser, an American who has lived and worked in China for more than three decades and is …
How Biden, Trump differ over Ukraine policy
U.S. presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump meet Thursday for the first of their two scheduled debates. Russia’s war on Ukraine is expected to be one of the top foreign policy questions. VOA’s Tatiana Vorozhko looks at how the two candidates differ in their approach to Ukraine. …
Financial survey: Women in US have just 1/3 of men’s retirement savings
New York — Women in the U.S. have saved just a third of the amount that men have set aside for retirement, setting up a potential crisis among female retirees, according to a Prudential Financial survey released on Monday. On average, men had saved $157,000 for retirement, while women had only put aside $50,000 according to a survey of 905 U.S. adults between the ages …
Climate protesters run onto green, spray powder, delaying finish of PGA Tour event
CROMWELL, Conn. — Six climate protesters stormed the 18th green while the leaders were lining up their putts for the final hole of regulation at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship on Sunday, spraying smoke and powder and delaying the finish for about five minutes. The protesters waved smoke bombs that left white and red residue on the putting surface before Scottie Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay …
Dalai Lama arrives in US for knee treatment
New York — Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived Sunday in New York to undergo knee treatment, drawing a warm and festive welcome from thousands of followers. His office in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, his adopted home, announced earlier this month that the 88-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader would travel to the United States to undergo “medical treatment” on his knees, but no further …
On thorny issues, Trump, Biden campaigns hold their ground ahead of debate
The first of two U.S. presidential debates in this year’s contest will take place Thursday. But the candidates’ rhetoric around sensitive topics such as immigration and former President Donald Trump’s recent hush money trial conviction is already heating up. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …
Democrats wrestle with whether to attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress
Washington — The last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress, nearly 60 Democrats skipped his speech nine years ago, calling it a slap in the face to then-President Barack Obama as he negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran. With Netanyahu scheduled to address U.S. lawmakers on July 24 and his government now at war with Hamas in Gaza, the number of absences …
Illinois may soon return land US stole from Prairie Band Potawatomi chief 175 years ago
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Some 175 years after the U.S. government stole land from the chief of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation while he was away visiting relatives, Illinois may soon return it to the tribe. Nothing ever changed the 1829 treaty that Chief Shab-eh-nay signed with the U.S. government to preserve for him a reservation in northern Illinois: not subsequent accords nor the 1830 Indian Removal …
Israel defense chief to discuss Gaza, Lebanon on US trip
Jerusalem — Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant headed to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict. Iran-backed Hezbollah has been trading fire with Israel since the Gaza war erupted more than eight months ago. The group has said it will not …