Lerone Bennett Jr., an African-American history author and former editor of Ebony magazine, has died at age 89. A.A. Rayner and Sons Funeral Home in Chicago said Thursday that Bennett died Tuesday. Ebony magazine tells the Chicago Sun-Times that Bennett had vascular dementia. The Rev. Jesse Jackson on Thursday called …
your ad hereOlympians Balance Parenthood With Chasing Career Goals
After finishing her fourth Winter Games in Sochi, Kikkan Randall decided: It was time to have a baby. But the cross-country skiing champion wasn’t ready to give up her Olympic goals. So, at 32, she looked at the calendar and plotted her window: 2016, a gap year. No World …
your ad herePay-As-You-Go Service Offers Smartphone Access to the Cash-Strapped
Until recently, Javier, a 60-year-old line cook, couldn’t afford a smartphone. Now, thanks to a Silicon Valley company, Javier has a Galaxy S8, one of Samsung’s high-end smartphones. Javier said he relies on it for everything. Once a month, he walks into a mobile phone store near San Francisco and …
your ad herePay-As-You-Go Smartphone Gives the Poor Access to Better Technology
In the U.S. and around the world, many poor people don’t have access to smartphones. But a Silicon Valley company is offering phones to customers in the U.S. and Mexico who pay in installments. If they don’t pay, the phone is turned off remotely. VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports. …
your ad hereAmid Record Sales, SUV’s Take Center Stage at Chicago Auto Show
High gas prices and poor fuel economy led to the decline of sport utility vehicle sales in the United States in the mid-2000s, a time when customers preferred smaller, more affordable cars, some with new electric motor technology. But now, SUV’s have made a comeback, as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports …
your ad hereUSA’s Shiffrin, Norway’s Svindal Win Gold on Slopes at Pyeongchang Games
American skier Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom event Thursday at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. Shiffrin beat Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel by nearly four-tenths of a second on her final run to win her second career Olympic gold medal, following her triumph in …
your ad hereNigerian Women’s Bobsled Team Excited About Winter Olympic Debut
As competition day gets closer, Nigeria’s bobsled team members say they are super excited about their Winter Olympic debut in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The team, which is making history as Africa’s first bobsled team to compete in the Winter Games, is led by Nigerian-American Seun Adigun, a hurdler who represented …
your ad hereFirst Blood Test to Help Diagnose Brain Injuries Gets US OK
The first blood test to help doctors diagnose traumatic brain injuries has won U.S. government approval. The move means Banyan Biomarkers can commercialize its test, giving the company an early lead in the biotech industry’s race to find a way to diagnose concussions. The test doesn’t detect concussions and the …
your ad hereFlu-stricken Texas Teacher’s Death Puts Focus on Antivirals
A Texas elementary school teacher who died almost a week after getting sick from the flu became a talking point online after her husband said she didn’t immediately fill her prescription for an antiviral drug after deeming the $116 insurance co-pay too high. While her husband told the Wall Street …
your ad hereStudy: Partial Dose of Yellow Fever Vaccine Provides Protection
When stockpiles of yellow fever vaccine run low, partial doses are effective, according to a new study. The report on the vaccine, which currently is in short supply, comes as officials in Brazil attempt to contain an outbreak with what they describe as the largest-ever mass vaccination campaign using partial …
your ad hereRights Group Sounds Alarm Over Chechnya’s Role in Soccer World Cup
Human Rights Watch has said world soccer’s governing body must tackle rights abuses in Russia’s Chechnya region now that one of the teams in this year’s World Cup in Russia has chosen Chechnya as the location for its base camp. Rights groups and Western governments allege that the authorities in …
your ad hereUber’s Net Loss Widens to $4.5B for Tumultuous 2017
Ride-hailing giant Uber’s full-year net loss widened to $4.5 billion in 2017 as the company endured a tumultuous year that included multiple scandals, a lawsuit alleging the theft of trade secrets and the replacement of its CEO. The results also showed that Uber cut its fourth-quarter net loss by 25 …
your ad hereHow Best to Treat Opioids’ Youngest Sufferers? No One Knows
Two babies, born 15 months apart to the same young woman overcoming opioid addiction. Two very different treatments. Sarah Sherbert’s first child was whisked away to a hospital special-care nursery for two weeks of treatment for withdrawal from doctor-prescribed methadone that her mother continued to use during her pregnancy. …
your ad hereFries, Not Flowers: Fast-Food Chains Try to Lure Valentines
Is that love in the air or french fries? White Castle, KFC and other fast-food restaurants are trying to lure sweethearts for Valentine’s Day. It’s an attempt to capture a bit of the $3.7 billion that the National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend on a night out for the …
your ad hereUS Inflation Increases Most in a Year
The U.S. on Wednesday reported its biggest increase in consumer prices in a year, pushing stocks lower in early trading. The consumer price index, which follows the costs of household goods and services, advanced by a half percentage point in January, up from two-tenths of a point in December. The …
your ad hereReviving Traditional Treatment, Polish Company Breeds Leeches for Export
The use of blood-sucking leeches in treating disease may seem like a relic of the Middle Ages, but one Polish company says there is growing demand by doctors for the worms. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereNYC E-Bike Ban is Disaster for Immigrant Delivery Workers
Electric powered bicycles, known as “e-bikes,” are a common sight among New York’s immigrant delivery workers, who consider the bikes a necessity to make a living wage. The problem is, they’re illegal to operate in the city, creating a dilemma for these immigrants who feel they have no alternative employment …
your ad here‘Can You Dig It?’ Africa Reality Show Draws Youth to Farming
As a student, Leah Wangari imagined a glamorous life as a globe-trotting flight attendant, not toiling in dirt and manure. Born and raised in Kenya’s skyscraper-filled capital, Nairobi, the 28-year-old said farming had been the last thing on her mind. The decision to drop agriculture classes haunted her later, …
your ad hereLand Fight Simmers Over Brasilia’s Shrine of Shamans
Brasilia – It is one of the most expensive areas in the Brazilian capital – and one of the most sacred. A plot in downtown Brasilia – known as Santuário dos Pajés or Shrine of the Shamans – is at the center of a conflict between indigenous people hoping to …
your ad hereSolar Power Push Lights Up Options for India’s Rural Women
In her village of Komalia, the fog swirls so thick at 7 a.m. that Akansha Singh can see no more than 15 meters ahead. But the 20-year-old is already cycling to her workplace, nine kilometers away. Halfway there she stops for two hours at a computer training center, where she’s …
your ad hereColombia: Need International Aid to Cope With Venezuela Crisis
Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday the country needs international aid to help cope with the humanitarian crisis caused by hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing over the border to escape the economic crisis at home. “I appreciate the offers of financial and other aid from the international …
your ad hereCanada, US Exchange Barbs Over NAFTA Talks
Canada and the United States exchanged barbs Tuesday over sluggish negotiations to update NAFTA, reflecting mounting tensions over trade talks that appear unlikely to conclude on schedule. The talks have effectively stalled as Canada and Mexico seek to address wide-ranging U.S. demands for changes to the North American Free Trade …
your ad hereSurgical Infections More Common in Low-Income Countries, Study Finds
Surgeries in low-income countries had higher rates of infections than those in higher-income countries, according to a new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The authors said their report provided a starting point for making surgery safer. Infections at the site of surgery are the most common complications after operations. These …
your ad hereUS Postal Service Enters Digital, Virtual, Augmented Worlds to Attract Customers
Even though the U.S. Postal Service delivers about 46 percent of the world’s total mail, competition is getting tougher every day. The post office is turning to technology to stay current. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee shows how the USPS is using virtual and augmented realities, along with email, to attract business. …
your ad hereUS Social Media Firms Step Up Help on Security Efforts, Intelligence Leaders Say
Leaders of U.S. national security and law enforcement agencies said Tuesday the U.S. private sector has been helpful in efforts to keep the country safe. While the leaders did not name companies, industry sectors or what specific help has been provided, they did discuss the challenges of monitoring social media. …
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