Actor Burt Reynolds, the charismatic star whose career lasted for more than half a century, died Thursday at 82. His agent announced the actor’s death in Jupiter, Florida, but did not give a cause. The rugged, mustached, handsome Reynolds was an icon of 1970s America and its fixation on Hollywood …
your ad hereBurberry Ends Bonfire of the Luxuries After Waste Outcry
Britain’s Burberry will no longer burn unsold luxury goods to protect its brand after an admission that it destroyed almost $40 million worth of stock last year sparked a furor over waste in the fashion industry. Burberry also said on Thursday it would no longer use real fur such as …
your ad hereNY Fashion Show Highlights People With Disabilities, Adaptive Clothing
New York Fashion Week has opened its glamorous tent wider to feature models with disabilities wearing adaptive clothing designs by Tommy Hilfiger, Nike and Target. Organized by the Runway of Dreams Foundation, the show on Wednesday included a catwalk welcoming to wheelchairs, crutches, walking canes and more. Actor and model …
your ad hereBrazil Museum Fire Destroyed 700 Ancient Egyptian Artifacts
Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry says a preliminary report shows that the fire that engulfed Brazil’s National Museum destroyed all of its artifacts including those in the pharaonic hall, which contained 700 pieces. Thursday’s statement says Egypt’s diplomatic missions in Brazil are communicating with the museum’s Egyptology department head to know …
your ad hereFashion Art Installation Questions What It Means to Be You
High heels that are part of your feet. Matching bespoke beating hearts. Bioreactive necklaces and bioluminescent filaments that serve as a Medusa-esque back ornament. Enter the world of A. Human, a fictional brand that serves as both commentary on the touchy nature of body modifications today and the external focus …
your ad hereHow Artificial Intelligence is Powering the US Open
Tennis fans have descended on New York to watch the world’s best players at the US Open — one of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments in the world. With so much action on the courts, staying on top of the matches is a nonstop job. But officials are employing extra …
your ad hereFacebook, Twitter, Step Up Defenses Ahead of Midterm Election
Facebook and Twitter executives defended their efforts to prevent Russian meddling in U.S. midterm elections before congressional panels Wednesday. The social media companies’ efforts to provide assurances to lawmakers come amid warnings from internet researchers that Moscow still has active social media accounts aimed at influencing U.S. political discourse. VOA’s …
your ad hereGordon Fizzles; Hurricane Florence Waits in the Wings
Tropical Storm Gordon weakened Wednesday into a tropical depression, while forecasters kept their eyes on a strong storm churning in the Atlantic. Gordon never strengthened into a hurricane but still brought misery along the central U.S. Gulf Coast. The storm knocked out power, caused floods and spawned several tornadoes. It was responsible for at …
your ad hereWarnings of Huge Disruption as Britain Prepares for Possible Cliff-Edge Brexit
Britain risks huge disruptions to its economy and society, including trade, transport, health care and citizens’ rights, if it leaves the European Union next March without a deal. That’s the conclusion of a new report on the short-term risks of a so-called ‘no-deal Brexit.’ The report comes as lawmakers return …
your ad hereMuseum: Centuries-old Torah Not Burned in Rio Blaze
Brazil’s National Museum said Wednesday that centuries-old Torah scrolls, considered to be some of Judaism’s oldest documents, had been moved before a massive fire ravaged the place and gutted much of the largest collections of national history artifacts in Latin America. Questions about the fate of the scrolls had swirled …
your ad hereCanada’s Strong-willed Foreign Minister Leads Trade Talks
She is many things that would seem to irritate President Donald Trump: a liberal Canadian former journalist. That makes Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland an unusual choice to lead Canada’s negotiations over a new free trade deal with a surprisingly hostile U.S. administration. Recruited into politics by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, …
your ad hereMajor Opioid Maker to Pay for Overdose-Antidote Development
A company whose prescription opioid marketing practices are being blamed for sparking the addiction and overdose crisis says it’s helping to fund an effort to make a lower-cost overdose antidote. OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma announced Wednesday that it’s making a $3.4 million grant to Harm Reduction Therapeutics, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit, …
your ad hereTrump Team, Canada Officials Resume Talks to Revamp NAFTA
Trump administration officials and Canadian negotiators are resuming talks to try to keep Canada in a North American trade bloc with the United States and Mexico. “We are looking forward to constructive conversations today,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters as she entered a meeting with U.S. Trade …
your ad hereKim Kardashian Meeting with Trump on Prison Reform
Reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who successfully pushed President Donald Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender earlier this year, returned to the White House on Wednesday for a meeting with senior aides as part of the administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform. Kardashian …
your ad hereTranscript: ‘Russian Troll Hunter’ on Unmasking Phony Online Profiles
Josh Russell works as a systems analyst and programmer at Indiana University, has two daughters, and exposes Russian internet trolls in his spare time. Russell first became interested in the phenomenon of Russian trolls during the 2016 presidential election, when he noticed a large amount of misinformation distributed about Democratic …
your ad hereEast Africa Gets Easy Money Transfer System
An international money transfer company has launched an online service for East Africans to send and receive money more easily. Analysts say WorldRemit will lower the cost of transferring money and boost African trade and economies. Africa has become a thriving market for money transfer companies as its telecommunication facilities …
your ad hereFacebook, Twitter Executives Testify on Capitol Hill; Google Absent
Facebook and Twitter executives insisted at a Senate hearing Wednesday that they were aggressively trying to identify foreign actors who wanted to inflict damage on the U.S. before the November midterm elections. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told the Senate Intelligence Committee her company was “now blocking millions of attempts …
your ad hereCollapsing Emerging-Market Currencies Spark Concerns
First it was Argentina, quickly followed by Turkey. Now anxious investors and policy-makers are watching with alarm the plummeting currencies of several emerging-market economies, most of which have borrowed heavily in dollars. The nosediving currencies are prompting fears of a repeat of the 1997 Asian financial crash or the “Tequila …
your ad hereArt Collection Depicts Africa as a Woman Being Lured by China
Kenyan artist Michael Soi is criticizing China’s relationship with Africa through his collection of paintings at Nairobi’s Circle Art Gallery that depict the interest that China is showing in Africa. The 74-piece collection underscores China’s heavy involvement in the continent by depicting Africa as a woman being lured by China. …
your ad hereTranscript: Target in Latest Hack says Journalist, Researcher Attacks ‘More Widespread than People Realize’
Ben Judah is the author of This Is London and Fragile Empire, a contributing writer at Politico, and an expert at the Hudson Institute. His think tank project on modern-day kleptocracy was recently targeted in a cyberattack that Microsoft has linked to the Fancy Bear (ATP28) hacking unit associated with …
your ad hereScientist Trains Cameroon’s Future Innovators with Focus on Girls
The technology sector provides many jobs for today’s innovators. But one scientist and teacher in Cameroon says there’s no reason why women should not be part of that technological growth. She’s making it her goal to prepare more young girls to enter the workforce. Arash Arabasadi reports. …
your ad hereLevel Up: With Xbox Adaptive Controller, Anyone Can Play
Many people enjoy playing video games but take for granted that they can hold and easily operate game controllers. Now Microsoft is making it possible for disabled gamers to join in the fun. Tina Trinh reports. …
your ad hereWild Blueberries Sing the Blues, With Industry in Decline
In the era of superfoods, Maine blueberries aren’t so super. The Maine wild blueberry industry harvests one of the most beloved fruit crops in New England, but it’s locked in a downward skid in a time when other nutrition-packed foods, from acai to quinoa, dominate the conversation about how …
your ad hereFacebook, Twitter to Face US Lawmakers Over Politics, Internet
Top Twitter and Facebook executives will defend their companies before U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday, with Facebook insisting it takes election interference seriously and Twitter denying its operations are influenced by politics. But no executive from Alphabet’s Google is expected to testify, after the company declined the Senate Intelligence Committee’s request …
your ad hereFragments Found in Brazil Museum Fire Provide Some Hope
Firefighters found bone fragments from a collection in the still-smoldering National Museum, an official said Tuesday, raising hopes that a famed skull might somehow have survived a massive blaze that turned historic and scientific artifacts to ashes. Flames tore through the museum Sunday night, and officials have said much of …
your ad here