Month: June 2019

Senior U.S. officials say they are already busy buttressing the nation’s defenses against foreign interference for the 2020 presidential election. Only they admit the public may be kept in the dark about attacks and intrusions. Intelligence and election security officials have warned repeatedly that Russia, among other state and nonstate actors, remains intent on disrupting …

The U.S. Treasury inspector general says he will look into why the Trump administration decided to scrap plans to put escaped slave turned abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the move last month, saying the change is because of “counterfeiting issues.” But Democratic Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer said …

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration Monday when it said a century-old law banning so-called obscene or immoral trademarks is unconstitutional. All nine justices agreed that the 1905 Lanham Act violated the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. “There are a great many immoral and scandalous ideas in the world, even more …

VOA’s national security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report. The United States is set to introduce new sanctions against Iran on Monday, seeking to put additional pressure on the country’s economy in order to extract changes in behavior from its government. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the new measures “significant,” but declined to …

A group of Oregon state Republican senators have gone into hiding to stop the passage of a landmark climate change legislation. The western state’s House bill 2020 would set limits to carbon emissions with permits auctioned off to polluting industries. Republicans say the bill would hurt rural Oregonians. Democrats have a majority in both chambers …

Four years ago on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples have the right to marry, a right guaranteed by the Constitution’s equal protection clauses. The landmark ruling accelerated a growing public acceptance of LGBTQ marriage, which includes lesbian, gay and other diverse sexual orientations. But as VOA’s Brian Padden …

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is “not looking for war” with Iran and willing to negotiate with its leaders without preconditions, but that under no circumstances can the Islamic Republic be allowed to mass a nuclear weapons arsenal. Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press show that if the U.S. went to war with Iran, …

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he wants to give opposition Democratic lawmakers “every last chance” to stiffen the country’s asylum laws and immigration policies before launching nationwide raids to deport undocumented migrants. Trump, without identifying the details of what he wants, said the lawmakers who oppose his tough immigration stance could “quickly negotiate simple …

U.S. President Donald Trump won under the U.S. electoral college system but lost the popular vote. His approval ratings have consistently been below 50 percent. Yet in a recent interview with TIME Magazine, Trump said he doesn’t need to reach out to independent voters because his “base is so strong.”  Who makes up Trump’s base, …

Iran has increased its offensive cyberattacks against the U.S. government and critical infrastructure as tensions have grown between the two nations, cybersecurity firms say.  In recent weeks, hackers believed to be working for the Iranian government have targeted U.S. government agencies, as well as sectors of the economy, including oil and gas, sending waves of …