USA

eover plan that U.S. President Donald Trump suggested last week. On the ground in the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas truce resulted in another successful hostage for prisoners exchange. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …

The presidents of Ukraine and the United States are looking to make a deal. This comes as world leaders meet later this week in Munich to discuss, among other issues, the future of Ukraine’s security. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more. …

The Petersen family’s two-bedroom apartment in northern California is starting to feel small.  Four-year-old Jerrik’s toy monster trucks are everywhere in the 1,100-square-foot unit in Campbell, just outside of San Jose. And it’s only a matter of time before 9-month-old Carolynn starts amassing more toys, adding to the disarray, said her mother, Jenn Petersen.  The 42-year-old chiropractor had hoped she and her husband, Steve, a …

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism on Sunday that his country could avoid higher U.S. tariffs, saying President Donald Trump had recognized Japan’s huge investment in the U.S. and the American jobs that it creates. At his first White House summit on Friday, Ishiba told public broadcaster NHK, he explained to Trump how many Japanese automakers were creating jobs in the United States. …

Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. Historical precedent, legal questions swirl around Trump plan to detain migrants at Guantanamo The Trump administration’s expansion of migrant detention facilities, notably its use of the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reignited debate among human rights advocates and legal …

WASHINGTON — Before President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress can enact much of their legislative agenda, they must deal with some unfinished business — completing work on the current budget year’s spending bills. It’s a task that by all accounts is not going well.  The current stopgap measure lasts through March 14. After that, without congressional action, there would be a partial government shutdown.  Five …

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Groups representing some of South Africa’s white minority responded Saturday to a plan by President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks. The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump …

BANGKOK — The head of a Thai parliamentary committee that oversees border affairs and refugee camp officials told VOA the suspension by the United States of refugee admissions has halted a resettlement deal the U.S. struck with Thailand last year to take in thousands of Myanmar families. About 90,000 refugees from Myanmar are in Thailand in a string of nine sealed-off camps along the countries’ shared …

NEW YORK — A violin made in 1714 by the legendary luthier Antonio Stradivari sold for $11.3 million at an auction in New York on Friday, short of estimates that would have made it the most expensive instrument ever sold.  Sotheby’s auction house had estimated that the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” violin could sell for between $12 million and $18 million, with the higher end of the range …

JUNEAU, ALASKA — The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution Friday urging President Donald Trump to reverse course and retain the name of North America’s tallest peak as Denali rather than change it to Mount McKinley. Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to Mount McKinley, an identifier inspired by President William McKinley, who was from Ohio …

The U.S. Department of Justice will refocus much of its staff and resources on the “total elimination” of drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations in the U.S. while disbanding units dedicated to prosecuting white-collar crime and kleptocrats and tracking foreign efforts to influence U.S. elections. The change, announced in a set of memos issued this week by newly sworn-in Attorney General Pam Bondi, is part …

The wreckage of a small commuter plane missing in Alaska has been found, Coast Guard officials said Friday.  All 10 people aboard the plane – nine passengers and a pilot – are dead, according to media reports. Coast Guard spokesman Mike Salerno said rescuers saw the crash from their helicopter as they flew over the Cessna 208 Caravan’s last known location. Two rescue swimmers were …

PENTAGON — The top U.S. homeland security official was set to get a firsthand look at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, visiting the U.S. naval base in Cuba a day after sending a second flight of “high-threat illegal aliens” to be held there. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the trip Friday in a social media post on X, while sharing photos of detainees she …

washington — Casino mogul Steve Wynn has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal that, if granted, could give the justices a chance to revisit libel protections for journalists enshrined in a landmark 1964 ruling that has been questioned by two conservative justices and President Donald Trump.  The court established a stringent limit on defamation claims by public figures more than 60 years ago …

Afghan refugees in the United States are expressing concern about their status as the Trump administration cracks down on illegal immigration. In California, immigration lawyers are stepping in to address these concerns and clarify the potential effects on their status. Fahim Sediqi reports from Sacramento, California, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard. …

NEW YORK — All live poultry markets in New York City and some of its suburbs were ordered Friday to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of avian flu, which has also hit farms nationwide. Governor Kathy Hochul said that there was no immediate threat to public health and that the temporary closure of bird markets in the city and its Westchester …

NAIROBI, KENYA — African governments are gearing up for what is to come following the 90-day pause on most U.S.-funded foreign aid as they worry about the potential effects. In Kenya, for instance, Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said Wednesday in Nairobi that as her country navigates complex challenges, ensuring continuation of essential health services, especially with programs related to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, is essential. “For …

The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it was suspending acceptance of inbound packages from China and Hong Kong, then reversed that decision Wednesday. VOA’s Steve Herman reports. …

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration presented a plan Thursday to dramatically cut staffing worldwide for U.S. aid projects as part of its dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, leaving fewer than 300 workers out of thousands. Late Thursday, federal workers associations filed suit asking a federal court to stop the shutdown, arguing that President Donald Trump lacks the authority to shut down an agency …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would create a White House faith office and direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a task force on eradicating what he called anti-Christian bias within the federal government. Trump delivered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol and used his speech to call for unity, telling lawmakers his relationship with religion has changed …

WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee Russell Vought as budget director on Thursday, placing the reins of government funding in the hands of a hard-line conservative who has advocated for reducing Congress’s power over taxpayer dollars. The Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Vought after a marathon overnight session during which Democrats denounced him as a dangerous far-right ideologue and blasted Republicans …

STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States has a treaty obligation to protect the Panama Canal if it comes under attack, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday, amid confusion and what Panama has described as “lies” regarding whether U.S. Navy ships can transit the Panama Canal for free. “I find it absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we …

white house — The White House on Thursday said it was monitoring a complaint by China to the World Trade Organization that accuses the United States of making “unfounded and false allegations” about China’s role in the fentanyl trade to justify tariffs on Chinese products. The complaint was made Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods by 10%. The White House …

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Thursday new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, targeting an international network that facilitates the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China. In a release, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said the sanctions target Sepehr Energy, a front company through which Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, or AFGS, ships the oil. The …