She is known as “nonna” in Italian, “abuelita” in Spanish and “Grandma” in English. But across cultures, the grandmother is the matriarch and foundation on which the family unit is built. In ethnically diverse East Boston, home to a large immigrant community, a new mural serves as a visual tribute …
your ad hereArctic Not So Chilly During Record Warm Winter, Scientists Say
Winter at the top of the world wimped out this year. The Arctic just finished its warmest winter on record. And sea ice hit record lows for this time of year, with plenty of open water where ocean water normally freezes into thick sheets of ice, new U.S. weather data …
your ad hereIsraeli Shepherdess Uses Modern Sheep Breed to Revive Ancient Shofar Sound
The piercing note of a shofar – a ram’s horn used in Jewish religious ceremonies – cuts through the mountain air of the Galilee. Here in northern Israel, shepherdess Jenna Lewinsky is raising a flock of Jacob Sheep, pictured here, as a religious calling. With anything up to six horns …
your ad hereFacebook, Twitter Urged to Do More to Police Hate on Sites
Tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Google are taking steps to police terrorists and hate groups on their sites, but more work needs to be done, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said Tuesday. The organization released its annual digital terrorism and hate report card and gave a B-plus to Facebook, a B-minus …
your ad hereCDC: Rate of Opioid Overdoses Increasing, Especially in Midwest
“We’ve got an emergency on our hands,” said acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Anne Schuchat, as the agency released a report saying emergency room visits due to opioid overdose have increased an average of 30 percent nationwide. The CDC released its report Tuesday, noting the Midwestern …
your ad hereReview: Jimi Hendrix Studio Archives Plucked for New Album
Jimi Hendrix, “Both Sides of the Sky” (Experience Hendrix/Sony Legacy) Elvis has left the building but Jimi is still busy in the studio. Or so it would seem from the staggering number of posthumous Hendrix albums that record labels, bootleggers and — for the past two decades — his …
your ad hereZinke Says US Interior Should Be Partner with Oil Companies
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says his agency should be a partner with oil and gas companies that seek to drill on public land and that long regulatory reviews with an uncertain outcome are “un-American.” Speaking Tuesday to a major energy-industry conference, Zinke described the Trump administration’s efforts to increase offshore …
your ad hereLatin Hitmaker Residente to Receive BMI Champion Award
Grammy-winning Latin rapper Residente will receive the BMI Champion Award at the BMI Latin Awards this month. The performing rights organization says in a statement Tuesday that Residente will be the first act to receive the honor in the 25-year history of its Latin Awards. The event takes place …
your ad hereEU Cool Toward British ‘Associate Membership’ in Bloc’s Agencies
The European Union is cool to the idea of Britain’s “associate membership” in various agencies of the bloc as proposed by London to make Brexit less disruptive for British business. Britain started a process to leave the EU last year because it no longer wants to accept the authority of …
your ad hereTrump Falls on Forbes Billionaires List; Bezos Rises to Top
U.S. President Donald Trump’s net worth fell by $400 million last year, down to an estimated $3.1 billion, causing him to plummet 222 places on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s billionaires, released Tuesday. Trump slipped from 544th richest in 2017 to 766th in 2018. It is the second consecutive year …
your ad hereNonagenarian Youth Soccer Coach Still Going Strong in Peru
With her brusque style, salty language and emphasis on discipline, 92-year-old youth soccer coach Maria Angelica Ramos is helping to turn young children into fully fledged footballers in Peru. Ramos, known by her players as “the Old Lady,” has been a coach for almost half a century, most of them …
your ad hereTrump Economic Adviser Gary Cohn to Resign
Top economic adviser Gary Cohn is leaving the White House after breaking with President Donald Trump on trade policy, the latest in a string of high-level departures from the West Wing. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, has been the leading internal opponent to Trump’s planned tariffs …
your ad herePorsche Says Flying Cab Technology Could Be Ready Within Decade
Porsche is studying flying passenger vehicles but expects it could take up to a decade to finalize technology before they can launch in real traffic, its head of development said Tuesday. Volkswagen’s sports car division is in the early stages of drawing up a blueprint of a flying taxi as …
your ad hereEinstein Letters of Admiration and Advice Auctioned in Jerusalem
A note written by Albert Einstein to an Italian woman scientist who had declined to meet him sold at auction Tuesday along with a batch of other letters left by the renowned physicist. “To the scientific researcher, at whose feet I slept and sat for two full days, as a …
your ad hereCrammed Cities Go Green for Climate, Health
In a square in central Barcelona, families with young children perch at picnic tables as traffic thunders past and high-rise blocks loom above them. But the concrete mecca that is Placa de les Glories Catalanes is about to undergo a major facelift that will create a new green public space …
your ad hereWind-Up Radio Inventor Dies
British inventor Trevor Baylis, the creator of the wind-up radio, died Monday at the age of 80. Acquaintances say Baylis died of natural causes after a lengthy illness. Baylis developed the BayGen radio in the early 1990s after seeing a television program about the spread of AIDS in Africa and …
your ad hereKenyan Coffee Risks Losing Significance as Production Struggles
Kenyan coffee has an international reputation for good quality. But Kenya’s coffee industry is struggling as production levels have dropped and a younger generation shows little interest in farming. VOA’s Daniel Schearf reports from Kirinyaga County, Kenya. …
your ad herePreventing Unauthorized Use of Face Recognition
Every day, billions of photos uploaded to the Internet contain faces. Experts say sophisticated algorithms can collect these images, compare and glean information – some for law enforcement agencies and some for hackers, intent on stealing and misusing that data. An Israeli company says there’s a way to prevent that. …
your ad hereSmart Shoes Provide the Right Beat for Health and Safety
Shoes that promote health and safety were featured last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Faith Lapidus reports. …
your ad hereTrump Not Backing Down on Steel, Aluminum Tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his pledge to impose stiff tariffs on imported steel and aluminum Monday. The plan sparked outcry and criticism from the international community, including from members of Trump’s party. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more. …
your ad herePlan to Open Drilling Off Pacific Northwest Draws Opposition
The Trump administration’s proposal to expand offshore drilling off the Pacific Northwest coast is drawing vocal opposition in a region where multimillion-dollar fossil fuel projects have been blocked in recent years. The governors of Washington and Oregon, many in the state’s congressional delegation and other top state officials have …
your ad hereWashington Becomes First State to Approve Net-neutrality Rules
Washington became the first state Monday to set up its own net-neutrality requirements after U.S. regulators repealed Obama-era rules that banned internet providers from blocking content or impairing traffic. “We know that when D.C. fails to act, Washington state has to do so,” Gov. Jay Inslee said before signing the …
your ad hereAndrew Lloyd Webber, Turning 70, Looks Back and Forward
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 70th birthday is coming up and it turns out there is something the composer really wants on his special day. More work. The man behind such blockbuster shows as “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and “School of Rock” has shows in London’s West End, Broadway …
your ad herePartygoer Jailed for Stealing Oscar from Frances McDormand
McDormand received the Oscar for Best Actress Sunday night — and promptly lost it. A man named Terry Bryant is in jail on $20,000 bail for allegedly trying to steal McDormand’s award during the Governor’s Ball in Hollywood, the post-show party. Bryant posted video of himself waving the Oscar around, …
your ad hereUS Trade Representative Says Progress Slow at NAFTA Talks
If Mexico, the U.S. and Canada don’t renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement in two months, Washington might put the talks on the back burner until after a new Mexican president is elected or takes office, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer said Monday. He spoke after the seventh …
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