Melania Trump is visiting a Boston hospital’s cuddling program that aims to help infants born dependent on drugs or alcohol.The first lady’s stop Wednesday at Boston Medical Center is part of her “Be Best” initiative.The hospital developed the program to nurture babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome. The hospital also …
your ad hereFrench Film Star Deneuve Hospitalized After ‘Limited’ Stroke, Media Report
French actress Catherine Deneuve, 76, was admitted to hospital in Paris after suffering a “limited” stroke, French media reported.”Catherine Deneuve has suffered a very limited and therefore reversible ischemic stroke. Happily, her motor control has not been affected. She will need a few days’ rest,” French news wire AFP and …
your ad hereDoris Day Auction to Feature Animal Artifacts, Golden Globe Awards
Doris Day’s four Golden Globe awards, her piano, and a collection of her gowns are among 800 items going up for auction next year, along with dozens of artifacts reflecting her passion for animals, Julien’s Auctions said on Wednesday.Day, the cheery, girl-next-door who was one of the biggest stars of …
your ad hereAustralia’s Male, Female Footballers to Get Equal Pay
Female footballers playing for Australia’s national team will earn the same as their male counterparts under a deal unveiled Wednesday in a big boost for gender equality.Under a new centralized contract system announced by Football Federation Australia, Matildas stars such as Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter will pocket the same …
your ad herePresident Trump’s Childhood Home in New York City Is on the Market
President Trump is breaking ties from the state of New York making his official residence in Florida. And now the five-bedroom house where the 45th president of the United States spent his childhood years is on the market. The New York house has changed owners a number of times since …
your ad hereApple Launches New Privacy Website, but Policies Unchanged
Apple is expanding its website on privacy with more explanations about its commitments, though its policies and practices aren’t changing.The new site Wednesday is part of Apple’s ongoing push to distinguish itself from data-hungry, advertising-fueled rivals such as Google and Facebook.Apple’s privacy website is mostly a users’ guide with papers …
your ad hereGroup Says Misinformation on the Rise on Facebook
An advocacy group tracking misinformation says it has found an increase in fake political news shared on Facebook ahead of the 2020 presidential elections.The group, Avaaz, said Wednesday that it found that viral misinformation is still being spread on the social network despite measures Facebook has put in place since …
your ad hereStudy: An Extra 15 Minute Daily Walk Could Boost Global Economy
The world economy could be boosted by as much as $100 billion a year if employers successfully encouraged their staff to meet World Health Organization guidelines on exercise, according to an analysis of the economic impact of activity.Adding an extra 15 minutes of daily walking, or jogging a steady one …
your ad hereAfrican-Made Mobile Phone Launched in Rwanda
Dubai-based Mara Group launched in October what it calls Africa’s first smartphone manufacturer in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Mara Phone says its device is the first high specification, affordable smartphone made in Africa to compete in a market dominated by South Korean and Chinese brands. As Ruud Elmendorp reports from …
your ad here‘This City is Not Livable’: New Delhi Residents Decry Dirty Air
Sakshi Chauhan has not left her house in a quiet inner-city slum in the Indian capital for the past six days on her doctor’s orders.The 22-year-old call center operator is recovering from a severe throat infection and the thick smog now blanketing New Delhi has made even breathing dangerous.”The moment I …
your ad hereBrazil Carbon Emissions Stable as Clean Energy Use Offsets Deforestation
Brazil’s carbon emissions have remained stable despite an increase in deforestation because they were offset by a larger use of clean energy sources such as ethanol and wind power, a report said on Tuesday.Brazilian emissions of gases blamed for global warming reached 1.939 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) …
your ad here11,000 Scientists Declare ‘Climate Emergency’
A global team of more than 11,000 scientists is warning that the planet “clearly and unequivocally faces a climate emergency.”In a report published Tuesday in the journal Bioscience warns in no uncertain terms that the world would face “untold human suffering” if it does not make deep and lasting shifts …
your ad hereTikTok Stresses Its Independence From China But US Lawmakers Unconvinced
TikTok, a video app popular with teens, stressed its independence from China in a letter to U.S. lawmakers but failed to convince Senator Josh Hawley, who chaired a hearing on Tuesday on the security of U.S. citizens’ personal data.TikTok, a unit of Chinese-based ByteDance Ltd., said in a letter to …
your ad hereUPS Drone Makes First Home Prescription Deliveries for CVS
United Parcel Service Flight Forward drones have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit’s first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health.Flight Forward’s maiden delivery flight on Friday in Cary, North Carolina, beat rivals in one phase of …
your ad here‘Goodness and Humor’ Celebrated as ‘Sesame Street’ Turns 50
Fifty years ago, beloved entertainer Carol Burnett appeared on the very first broadcast of a quirky TV program that featured a bunch of furry puppets. Blink and you might miss it, but Burnett followed a cartoon about a witch called Wanda, which was loaded with words beginning with the …
your ad hereNASA Probe Provides Insight on Solar System’s Border with Interstellar Space
The journey of NASA’s dauntless Voyager 2 spacecraft through our solar system’s farthest reaches has given scientists new insight into a poorly understood distant frontier: the unexpectedly distinct boundary marking where the sun’s energetic influence ends and interstellar space begins.The U.S. space agency previously announced that Voyager 2, the second …
your ad hereAcclaimed Novelist Ernest Gaines Dies at 86
Novelist Ernest J. Gaines, whose poor childhood on a small Louisiana plantation town germinated the stories of black struggles that grew into universal stories of grace and beauty, has died. He was 86.Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office on Tuesday released word of his death.Edwards said in a statement that …
your ad hereScientists Predict El Nino in 2020 Based on Earlier Warning Method
The complex El Nino weather pattern that can bring disastrous heavy rainfall and long droughts to countries around the Pacific — from Peru to Indonesia and Australia — will probably emerge again in 2020, researchers have predicted.An international team of scientists forecast an 80% chance next year of an El …
your ad hereHalal, Kosher, and Just Plain Tasty
A bakery located in a suburb of Long Island, New York is being held as a symbol of interfaith harmony by the local population and media. VOA’s Aunshuman Apte visited the bakery and spoke to its Pakistani American owner to find out why people of different faiths are attracted to …
your ad hereExclusive: Italy to Make Climate Change Study Compulsory in Schools
Italy will next year become the world’s first country to make it compulsory for schoolchildren to study climate change and sustainable development, Education Minister Lorenzo Fioramonti said.Fioramonti, from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, is the government’s most vocal supporter of green policies and was criticized by the opposition in September for …
your ad hereFueled by Teenagers, the Video App TikTok Raises Regulators Concerns
It has captured the attention of teenagers, celebrities and global brands.And now U.S. lawmakers and regulators are interested in TikTok, the video app downloaded by 1 billion people.According to Reuters, the U.S. government is launching a national security review into the Chinese company ByteDance’s 2017 acquisition of U.S. app Musical.ly. …
your ad hereUS Notifies UN It Will Withdraw From Paris Climate Deal
The United States announced Monday that it has notified the United Nations that it will begin its withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions. “President Donald Trump made this decision because the Paris Agreement unfairly burdens American businesses, workers and taxpayers while giving a free pass …
your ad hereCameroon Music Makers Edged Aside by Nigerians
Musicians in Cameroon are having a hard time making sales and getting airplay — blaming the popularity of Nigerian music. They say night clubs and media are promoting Nigerian songs over the local product. But the clubs say they are only responding to people’s requests.This song “One Ticket” by Nigerian pop …
your ad hereKitten Lounge Offers Play Time with Kittens and Hopefully Adoptions
If you have an extra 20 bucks you could spend it on a kitten or two. You can do just that at places in California or Washington, D.C. called the Kitten Lounge, and if you fall in love with one of these little furballs, well you can take one home. …
your ad hereSouth Africa Rugby Win Shows Power of Unity in Divided Nation
Thando Makasi has always been a rugby fan, she says — a rare black supporter in a sport long associated with her country’s white minority.But times are changing. On Saturday, South African rugby fans of all racial backgrounds cheered as a black player from her small, impoverished hometown, helmed the national …
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