South Australia has picked Tesla to install the world’s largest grid-scale battery, which would be paired with a wind farm provided by France’s Neoen, in a major test of the reliability of large-scale renewable energy use. South Australia, the fifth-biggest state with a population of 1.7 million, has raced ahead …
your ad hereMinnesota’s Measles Outbreak Appears to Be Tapering Off
Measles was officially wiped out in the United States 17 years ago. But outbreaks still happen when someone carries the virus back from a country where measles exists. The state of Minnesota is battling the biggest outbreak of measles since 1990, and state health officials are hoping it is now …
your ad hereSecurity Apps Help Users Avoid Shooting Incidents in Violent Cities
Street violence and gang shootings are on the rise in many big cities worldwide. Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro sees an average of 15 gun battles a day, and innocent bystanders are often caught in the crossfire. But people in Rio can now avoid street violence thanks to several smartphone apps. …
your ad hereDisease-carrying US Tick Population Exploding After Mild Winter
After a mild winter, the northeastern United States is in for a banner year when it comes to ticks. That would be little more than a nuisance if it were not for the fact that the tiny bloodsuckers carry some potentially deadly diseases. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
your ad hereDisease Carrying Tick Population Exploding After Mild Winter
After a mild winter, the northeastern United States is in for a banner year when it comes to ticks. That would be little more than a nuisance if it were not for the fact that the tiny bloodsuckers carry some potentially deadly diseases. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …
your ad hereTurning Carbon Dioxide Into Stone
While our fossil fuel-dependent civilization keeps releasing greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, scientists are racing to find a viable method for lowering the emission of the most harmful one — carbon dioxide. It can be captured and stored underground, or it can be turned into a harmless rock. The price …
your ad hereAs Puppies Join Police Forces, Veteran Dogs Retire
Not every police officer patrols on two legs. Some have four legs, and fur. Faith Lapidus reports on some new recruits and some veterans leaving police work behind. …
your ad hereWHO: Spread of Untreatable ‘Superbug’ Gonorrhea Imminent
At least three people worldwide are infected with totally untreatable “superbug” strains of gonorrhea, which they are likely to be spreading to others through sex, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday. Giving details of studies showing a “very serious situation” with regard to highly drug-resistant forms of the sexually …
your ad hereRobot Wars: Knee Surgery Marks New Battleground for Companies
The world’s top medical technology companies are turning to robots to help with complex knee surgery, promising quicker procedures and better results in operations that often leave patients dissatisfied. Demand for artificial replacement joints is growing fast, as baby boomers’ knees and hips wear out, but for the past 15 …
your ad hereJudge: Bill Cosby to Be Retried on Sex Assault Charges in November
Entertainer Bill Cosby will be retried on charges of sexually assaulting a former employee of his alma mater in November, five months after his first trial on those charges ended in a hung jury, a Pennsylvania judge ruled on Thursday. Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O’Neill said …
your ad hereInfosys Plans 2,000 New Tech Jobs in North Carolina by 2021
India-based Infosys, an information technology outsourcing firm, announced Thursday it will hire 2,000 workers over the next four years for a technology hub in North Carolina, the second of four planned hubs in the U.S. Infosys executives were joined by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper at a news conference …
your ad hereStates Sue Over EPA’s Decision to Keep Pesticide on Market
Several states are seeking to join a legal challenge to a Trump administration decision to keep a widely used pesticide on the market despite studies showing it can harm children’s brains. Led by New York, the coalition filed a motion Wednesday to intervene in a legal fight over the continued …
your ad hereBrazil: Main Points of Mercosur-EU Trade Deal Need to Be Concluded in December
The main points of market access in a trade deal between the South American Mercosur bloc and the European Union need to be concluded by December, Brazil’s chief negotiator said on Thursday. The EU and Mercosur have committed to a series of negotiations until the end of the year in …
your ad hereUS to Speed Approval for Oil, Gas Exploration on Federal Land
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday signed an order to hold more lease sales and to speed up approving permits to explore for oil and gas on federal land, a process he said got bogged down under former President Barack Obama. The order is the latest move by the …
your ad hereDirector Franco Zeffirelli Gets Museum Featuring Life’s Work
Director Franco Zeffirelli’s art works and personal library have been moved from his Roman villa to his native Florence to fill a museum honoring his life’s work. The museum and performing arts center will display around 500 sketches of production sets that Zeffirelli made during his vast career, make …
your ad hereUS Judge Allows Twitter Lawsuit Over Surveillance to Move Forward
A U.S. judge ruled on Thursday that Twitter could move forward with a lawsuit that aims to free technology companies to speak more openly about surveillance requests they receive from the U.S. government. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, said in a written order that the U.S. …
your ad herePediatric Unit Built by Madonna in Malawi to Open July 11
Madonna says the children’s wing at a hospital in Malawi she has been building for two years completed its first surgery last week and will officially open July 11. The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care, located at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city of …
your ad herePence Vows: ‘American Boots on the Face of Mars’
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence pledged to usher in a “new era” of American leadership in space during a tour of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Thursday. “Our nation will return to the Moon, and we will put American boots on the face of Mars,” Pence told the cheering …
your ad hereMicrosoft to Lay Off Thousands of Workers in Sales Shake-up
Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees in a shake-up aimed at selling more subscriptions to software applications that can be used on any internet-connected device. Most of the people losing their jobs work in sales and are located outside the U.S. The Redmond company confirmed that it began sending …
your ad hereUS Grants Gambian Students Visas for Robotics Contest
There is a happy ending for a team of Gambian students who planned to compete in a major global robotics contest in Washington later this month. The five-members were granted visas Thursday to come to the United States after being turned down earlier this week. They say they are still …
your ad hereCalifornia Governor Plans to Host 2018 Global Climate Summit
California Governor Jerry Brown has announced that a Global Climate Action summit will be held in San Francisco in September 2018, in a challenge to President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord. Nearly 200 nations have signed the 2015 agreement to reduce greenhouse …
your ad hereAt 70, John Prine is the Hippest Songwriter in Nashville
The first time a new country songwriter named Kacey Musgraves saw one of her songwriting heroes, John Prine, she had an unusual proposition when she approached. “I said, ‘Hey, my name is Kacey and I am a really big fan. I don’t want to offend you or anything, but …
your ad hereBringing the Internet to the World’s Far-flung Corners
Without adequate power, even the best smartphone or laptop can quickly become useless. It’s a simple concept that’s often taken for granted in industrialized nations. But not in the developing world where basic internet access is a challenge. “You have a very large population of people who are not on …
your ad hereFrance Vows to End Sales of Gas, Diesel Cars by 2040
France will stop selling gasoline and diesel cars by 2040. The move, announced by the country’s ecology minister Nicolas Hulot, is part of a plan to meet emissions targets set forth in the Paris climate accord. “We are announcing an end to the sale of petrol and diesel cars by …
your ad herePhysicists Find New Particle With a Double Dose of Charm
Scientists have found an extra charming new subatomic particle that they hope will help further explain a key force that binds matter together. Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe announced Thursday the fleeting discovery of a long theorized but never-before-seen type of baryon. Baryons are subatomic particles made …
your ad here