USA

New York — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism.  A Manhattan jury cleared Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week because the jury deadlocked on that count.  …

TikTok asked a federal appeals court on Monday to bar the Biden administration from enforcing a law that could lead to a ban on the popular platform until the Supreme Court reviews its challenge to the statue.  The legal filing was made after a panel of three judges on the same court sided with the government last week and ruled that the law, which requires …

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Musical thriller “Emilia Perez” and historical epic “The Brutalist” led the roster of films nominated on Monday for the 2025 Golden Globes, the Hollywood honors that kick off the movie awards season leading to the Oscars. “Emilia Perez,” released by Netflix NFLX.O, scored 10 nods and “The Brutalist,” from independent distributor A24, earned seven. Taking home a Globe can help movies in …

The results of the 2024 U.S. presidential election rattled the country and sent shockwaves across the world — or were cause for celebration, depending on who you ask. Is it any surprise then that the Merriam-Webster word of the year is “polarization”? “Polarization means division, but it’s a very specific kind of division,” said Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor at large, in an exclusive interview with …

Both U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump reacted Sunday to the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria. Given its strategic interests in the Middle East, the U.S. is expected to keep a close eye on what lies ahead in Syria. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports. …

Washington — Celebrities, cultural icons and a few surprise guests are gathering for the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebration Sunday evening in Washington.  This year’s recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment are director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. In addition, the venerable Harlem theater The Apollo, which has launched generations of Black …

Washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is vowing to make swift and sweeping changes as he takes office on January 20, deporting millions of migrants in the country illegally, imposing tariffs on imported goods that could raise consumer prices for Americans and pardoning rioters who tried to upend his 2020 reelection loss. Six weeks ahead of taking office for a new four-year tenure in the White …

The Walt Disney Co.’s animated film “Moana 2” remained at the top of the box office in its second weekend in theaters as it brought in another record haul.  The film added $52 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That brings its domestic total to $300 million, surpassing the original, and its global tally to a staggering $600 million. The amount set a record gross …

The oldest known wild bird in the world has laid an egg at the ripe age of about 74, her first in four years, U.S. wildlife officials said.  The long-winged seabird named Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago and laid what experts estimate may be her 60th egg, the Pacific Region of …

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — Richard Andre Newman thought he would live the rest of his life in his quiet, leafy neighborhood in suburban Virginia. He was born and raised in Bren Mar Park, where children ride their bikes and neighbors wave hello. But now, as he’s approaching 60, he’s considering selling his Fairfax County home and moving away. That’s because he’s getting a new neighbor: Plaza 500, …

LOS ANGELES — The White House said Saturday that U.S. priorities in Syria now are to ensure the country’s conflict does not encourage a resurgence of the Islamic State militant group or lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe.” U.S. President Joe Biden and his team are monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” are in touch with regional partners, the White House said on Saturday. “President Biden and …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote next week on an annual defense bill that includes just over $3 billion for U.S. telecom companies to remove equipment made by Chinese telecoms firms Huawei and ZTE 000063.SZ from American wireless networks to address security risks. The 1,800-page text was released late Saturday and includes other provisions aimed at China, including requiring a report …

WASHINGTON — The United States on Saturday announced a new $988 million military assistance package for Ukraine as Washington races to provide aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.  It nearly halves the available $2.21 billion remaining in Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) as the Biden administration works to commit to buying weapons from industry, rather than pull from U.S. weapons stocks.  Trump’s victory …

NEW YORK — New York’s mayor said Saturday “the net is tightening” on the man suspected of gunning down a top health insurance executive before fleeing the city.  Mayor Eric Adams said detectives knew the name of the fresh-faced suspect, an image of whom was released by investigators Thursday and who has now been on the run for almost four days.  Adams praised “the manner in …

Pearl Harbor “changed the future of the world,” U.S. President Joe Biden said at a White House event for veterans and their families on Friday, the eve of the anniversary of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The president recalled that he “heard so much” about Pearl Harbor when he was growing up and talked about his uncles who enlisted in the military after the …

Efforts to reduce the nation’s persistently high maternal mortality rates involve state panels of experts that investigate and learn from each mother’s death. The panels — called maternal mortality review committees — usually do their work quietly and out of the public eye. But that’s not been the case recently in three states with strict abortion laws. Georgia dismissed all members of its committee in …

A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday upheld a law requiring the wildly popular social media app TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese owner or face closure in the United States by next month. The court cited “persuasive” and “compelling” arguments presented by the federal government that TikTok poses a risk to national security. The ruling could leave the 170 million Americans who …

WASHINGTON — A retired Washington, D.C., police officer charged with lying about his private communications with former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio testified Friday that he never leaked sensitive police information to the far-right extremist group leader.  Taking the witness stand at his federal trial, former Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Shane Lamond said he was upset that a prosecutor labeled him as a Proud Boys …

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO — New Mexico environmental regulators issued a $47.8 million fine Friday on allegations of excess air pollution at a natural gas processing facility in a prolific oil production region near the Texas state line. The state Environment Department issued the sanctions including a cease-and-desist order against Houston-based Targa Resources at its processing plant near Jal, New Mexico, alleging permit violations and excess …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday offered a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled choice to lead the Defense Department, whose confirmation by the Senate is in doubt as he faces questions over allegations of excessive drinking, sexual assault and his views on women in combat. “Pete Hegseth is doing very well,” Trump posted on his social media site. “He will …

NEW YORK — As the investigation into a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers moved into its third day Friday, possible leads emerged about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene.  UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked from his …

Through social media posts, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to imposed tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico – three of the top trading partners for the United States. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more about the potential economic impact if Trump follows through. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he is choosing former Sen. David Perdue of Georgia to be ambassador to China. Trump said in a social media post that Perdue, a former CEO, “brings valuable expertise to help build our relationship with China.” Perdue pushed Trump’s debunked lies about electoral fraud during his failed bid for Georgia governor. Perdue lost his Senate seat to Democrat …

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attended the annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony Thursday night on the Ellipse, south of the White House. “During this season of reflection,” Biden said, “may we continue to seek the light of liberty and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.” The president said the event is a favorite of his wife’s and that she …