VOA News U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Wednesday he opposes «a single technical approach» as a solution to the complex legal battle between Apple and the FBI. The FBI has asked the tech company for assistance unlocking the passcode to an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the shooters who killed 14 […]readmore
Katherine Gypson WASHINGTON—Illegal heroin and psychoactive substances pose emerging worldwide threats, an annual State Department report to Congress said. The International Narcotics Control Strategy report, released Wednesday, offers details on efforts by foreign governments to reduce drug production and trafficking and related money laundering and terrorist financing. Improved international reporting on drug use has led […]readmore
Yang Chen U.S. Representative Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts, is calling on his congressional colleagues to vote on a bill to rename the street address of China’s embassy in Washington to 1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza, after the imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate. The Senate in February unanimously passed a similar bill — introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, […]readmore
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today hailed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) final rule that explicitly bans the use of electronic cigarettes on commercial flights. The final rule applies to all scheduled flights of U.S. and foreign carriers involving transportation in, to, and from the United States. «This is a sensible rule […]readmore
VOA News A U.S. federal judge said Monday the north central state of Indiana cannot attempt to deter the resettlement of Syrian refugees, calling an order by Governor Mike Pence clearly discriminatory. After the November terror attacks in Paris, Pence ordered state agencies to suspend funding for groups that help refugees in Indiana. He said […]readmore
VOA News President Barack Obama is hosting Senate Republican leaders Tuesday to discuss his planned appointment to the Supreme Court. The nine-member court has an opening following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month. But Republicans have said Obama should not make an appointment to the lifetime position in his final year in office, […]readmore
VOA News All those selfies may turn out to be useful after all. Credit card company MasterCard says its customers could soon use selfie photos (and a fingerprint) instead of passwords to make payments online. The company thinks a biometric system that could read a photo of your face would be more secure and could […]readmore
Associated Press WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is moving ahead with a major project to learn how to better tailor treatments and preventive care to people’s genes, environment and lifestyle. As part of the Precision Medicine Initiative, the National Institutes of Health plans to be gathering data from at least 1 million volunteers by 2019, work that […]readmore
Ken Bredemeier The White House is vetting Republican Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, sources familiar with the process said Wednesday. Sandoval met with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Monday while the governor was in Washington for the National Governors Association meeting. A […]readmore
VOA News For the past 84 years, an exemption in U.S. law allowed the import of goods produced by slaves and others forced into labor, including children, as long as demand exceeded supply. In two weeks, that will be illegal. President Barack Obama signed a trade bill Wednesday that includes a provision closing a loophole […]readmore