American banking giant Wells Fargo has agreed to pay federal regulators $1 billion to settle charges that it failed to identify and avert problems related to its mortgage and auto lending operations. The bank has admitted it sold unwanted or unnecessary automobile insurance to hundreds of thousands of its auto …
your ad hereCosby Lawyers Want Jurors to Hear from Accuser’s Confidante
Bill Cosby’s lawyers are scrambling to make sure jurors at his sexual assault retrial hear from accuser Andrea Constand’s confidante before deliberations get under way next week — but they’re having trouble getting the woman to cooperate. Sheri Williams isn’t responding to subpoena attempts, Cosby’s lawyers said. Now they’re seeking …
your ad hereAs Prince’s Health Waned, Alarm Grew in Inner Circle
Some of Prince’s closest confidants had grown increasingly alarmed about his health in the days before he died and tried to get him help as they realized he had an opioid addiction — yet none were able to give investigators the insight they needed to determine where the musician got …
your ad hereEarth Day Call to Arms: Skip the Straw
The United Kingdom is proposing a ban on disposable plastic straws. With Earth Day coming up this Sunday, advocates are asking everyone to follow suit and skip the straw. Straws and stirrers are among the top 10 items found in coastal cleanups worldwide, according to the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, which …
your ad hereScientists Coax Plastic-Munching Enzyme to Eat Faster
Recently, the world was stunned to learn that an island of mostly plastic trash, floating in the Pacific Ocean, grew to the size of France, Germany and Spain combined. Because plastics take centuries to decompose, could civilization someday choke in it? Scientists at Britain’s University of Portsmouth say they may …
your ad here‘Skip the Straw’: A Call For Earth Day
For every man, woman and child on Earth, there is roughly 1 ton of plastic trash, according to a recent study. Advocates say tackling such a huge problem can start with a tiny step. With Earth Day coming up April 22, they are asking people to “skip the straw.” VOA’s …
your ad herePalestinian-American Comedian Making Her Mark in Male Dominated Field
Comedy is a field still dominated by men, but that’s changing. Among the trendsetters is Suzie Afridi, a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian. Afridi says she’s probably not living the life her parents had wanted for her when she was growing up in the West Bank. But she says how else would …
your ad hereReports: $1B Fine for Wells Fargo for Illegal Sales
U.S. news reports say Wells Fargo will be fined as much as $1 billion for illegally selling customers car insurance policies they did not want or need, and for charging unnecessary fees in connection with mortgages. This would be the largest fine ever imposed by federal bank regulators and the Consumer …
your ad hereSenate Narrowly Confirms Trump’s Pick to Head NASA
NASA’s latest nail-biting drama was far from orbit as the Senate narrowly confirmed President Donald Trump’s choice of a tea party congressman to run the space agency in an unprecedented party-line vote. In a 50-49 vote Thursday, Oklahoma Representative James Bridenstine, a Navy Reserve pilot, was confirmed as NASA’s 13th …
your ad hereNo Criminal Charges to Be Filed in 2016 Death of Pop Star Prince
No criminal charges will be filed in the 2016 death of pop star Prince from an opioid overdose, a Minnesota prosecutor said on Thursday. “We simply do not have sufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime related to Prince’s death,” Carver County Attorney Mark Metz told a news conference …
your ad hereUS-China Trade Row Threatens Global Confidence: IMF’s Lagarde
The biggest danger from the U.S.-China trade dispute is the threat to global confidence and investment, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. The IMF chief said the tariffs threatened by the world’s two largest economies would have a modest direct impact on the global economy but …
your ad hereUnsold Aluminum Piling Up at Russian Sanctions-Hit Rusal Factory
Russian aluminum giant Rusal is stockpiling large quantities of aluminum at one of its plants in Siberia because U.S. sanctions imposed this month have prevented it from selling the metal to customers, five sources close to the company said. With the firm’s own storage space filling up with unsold aluminum, …
your ad hereUN Health Agency: Dengue Vaccine Shouldn’t Be Used Widely
The World Health Organization says the first-ever vaccine for dengue needs to be dealt with in “a much safer way,” meaning that the shot should mostly be given to people who have previously been infected with the disease. In November, the vaccine’s manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, said people who had never …
your ad hereRussia Demands Compensation for US Tariffs on Aluminum, Steel
Russia demanded compensation from the U.S. for its worldwide tariffs on foreign aluminum and steel Thursday, becoming the third influential member of the World Trade Organization to do so. China, the European Union and India have also objected, arguing the tariffs are a “safeguard” measure to protect U.S. domestic products …
your ad hereABBA Reunites With Avatars for TV Tribute
It’s the closest thing yet to an ABBA reunion: computerized avatars of Sweden’s legendary disco group will perform during a televised tribute to the quartet to be broadcast this autumn, ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus said Thursday. Agnetha Faltskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson split up in 1982 after …
your ad hereDe Beers Rolls out App to Clean up Sierra Leone Diamond Supply Chain
Global diamond giant De Beers is rolling out an app to help small-scale, artisanal diamond miners in Sierra Leone certify that gems they pry from the soil are legal, the Anglo American unit said on Thursday. The initiative is the latest attempt by the industry to clean up its image …
your ad hereMichael Phelps Promotes Water Conservation for Earth Day
The most decorated Olympian of all time, swimmer Michael Phelps no longer competes, but he’s never far from water. As Earth Day celebrations get underway, Phelps talks to VOA News about water conservation and what he does at home to preserve the precious resource. Tina Trinh reports. …
your ad herePot Holiday Traces Roots to California High School Stoners
Friday is April 20, or 4/20. That’s the numerical code for marijuana’s high holiday, a celebration and homage to pot’s enduring and universal slang for smoking. Festivities are planned worldwide, culminating with a synchronized smoke at 4:20 p.m. local time. How the marijuana-loving world came to mark the …
your ad hereIndia Moves to Fix Inexplicable Cash Shortages
As India battled an inexplicable currency shortage across many parts of the country, the government has quickly moved to assure the nation that it is fixing the shortfall. Hundreds of people this week have been encountering “Out of Cash” signs at automated teller machines which have run dry in some of the …
your ad hereCambodia’s Nice New TV Channel from China
Life is good at NICE TV. Staff enjoy generous benefits at the new Chinese network and their flashy building, directly inside Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior, boasts an elegant restaurant on the fifth floor with 360 degree views of the city’s political heartland. News manager Seang Sophorn is busy directing from …
your ad hereFears Grow at Malaria’s Resurgence; London Summit Urges Global Action
After 16 years of steady decline, malaria cases are on the rise again globally, and experts warn that unless efforts to tackle the disease are stepped up, the gains could be lost. Henry Ridgwell reports from a malaria summit Wednesday in London, where delegates called for a boost in funding …
your ad hereFears Grow as Malaria Resurges; London Summit Urges Global Action
After 16 years of steady decline, malaria cases are on the rise again globally, and experts warn that unless efforts to tackle the disease are stepped up, the gains could be lost. Henry Ridgwell reports from a malaria summit Wednesday in London, where delegates called for a boost in funding …
your ad hereOlympians, 13 Journalists Recognized by Advocates for Free Speech
Advocates of free speech recently honored about a dozen U.S. journalists who uncovered widespread sexual misconduct in politics, sports and movies, as well as a pair of Olympians who used their fame in a controversial bid to bring injustices to light half a century ago. In 1968, U.S. Olympians John …
your ad hereHouse Panel Cuts Food Stamps, Renews Farm Subsidies
A bitterly divided House panel Wednesday approved new work and job training requirements for food stamps as part of a five-year renewal of federal farm and nutrition policy. The GOP-run Agriculture Committee approved the measure strictly along party lines after a contentious, five-hour hearing in which Democrats blasted the legislation, …
your ad hereRocket With Planet-Hunting Telescope Lifts Off
A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off Wednesday carrying SpaceX’s first high-priority science mission for NASA, a planet-hunting space telescope whose launch had been delayed for two days by a rocket-guidance glitch. The Transit Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:51 p.m. EDT, starting the clock …
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