U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has launched her campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination to oppose President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. She formally launched her bid Sunday morning, not with a big speech, but instead with a video that poses the question, “WIll brave win?” “We need a leader who… more

A new test can quickly identify preeclampsia, a common and dangerous condition during pregnancy and help keep mothers and babies healthy and safe. When Jessi Prizinsky was pregnant with her first child, her feet started swelling. “Well, you hear, everybody tell you, you know, the swollen ankles, and get your feet up and all that,”… more

A new test can quickly identify a common and dangerous condition during pregnancy and help keep mothers and babies healthy and safe. VOA’s Carol Pearson has more. …… more

A Washington-based lawyer says a U.S. Navy veteran held in Iran, the first American known to be detained since President Donald Trump took office, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.   Mark Zaid told The Associated Press on Saturday that Michael White was convicted on charges of insulting Iran’s supreme leader and posting… more

Following the deadly shootings at two New Zealand mosques, U.S. President Donald Trump offered condolences but denied that white nationalism is a rising threat. The attacks are renewing debate in the U.S. about whether anti-immigrant political rhetoric is contributing to the rise of hate crimes. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …… more

When Pakistani immigrant Kazi Mannan came to the U.S. in 1996 as an impoverished young adult, he could only dream about success. He worked long hours in a series of tough jobs, saved money and learned everything he could about working and living in America. His hard work paid off. After more than 20 years,… more

The United States and China clashed Friday over Beijing’s $1 trillion “belt and road” global infrastructure program after the Security Council unanimously approved a bare bones resolution extending the mandate of the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan for six months. Last year’s resolution extending the mission’s mandate for a year welcomed and urged further efforts… more

Shahed Amanullah, a Muslim American tech entrepreneur from Northern Virginia, says it was hard to sleep after watching a video of a right-wing extremist open fire at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.  “It was the picture we’ve all had in our heads for years. And it became real,” Amanullah said of the 17-minute video,… more

President Donald Trump and his national security team had an hourlong, classified meeting on Afghanistan on Friday, a day after a top Afghan official openly complained that the Trump administration was keeping his government in the dark about its negotiations with the Taliban.    The meeting at the Pentagon included Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary… more

Oil is everywhere in Oklahoma, says local student Luke Kerr. But that has not deterred him from planning a protest calling for its phasing out in the state’s capital city on Friday – mirroring similar events due to be staged around the world by students skipping school. “It is very important that strikes and marches… more

On the day of a critical vote by British lawmakers to delay departure from the European Union, U.S. President Donald Trump again waded into the contentious debate on Brexit. He promised a “very large trade deal” with the UK- and threatened the European Union on trade. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …… more

The U.S. Congress has formally rejected President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to fund wall construction along the U.S.-Mexico border, triggering a near-certain presidential veto. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Capitol Hill, where the Senate joined the House of Representatives in disapproving a contentious executive action. …… more

A man said by federal prosecutors to have been a top leader of New York’s notorious Gambino crime family was shot and killed Wednesday on Staten Island. Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, 53, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his body at his home in the borough’s Todt Hill section just after 9 p.m.  … more

When you hear two middle-aged men in Green Bay, Wisconsin, talking about statistical records, it’s easy to assume they are discussing sports. After all, Green Bay is home to the legendary Packers of the National Football League, who so dominate the local culture that the city’s public buses have green and gold stripes to honor… more

A man reported to have been a top leader of New York’s notorious Gambino crime family was shot and killed Wednesday on Staten Island. Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali, 53, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his body at his home in the borough’s Todt Hill section just after 9 p.m. Cali was taken to… more

An Israeli organization has minted a coin emblazoned with the face of Nikki Haley, President Donald Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, to commemorate her defense of Israel in the world body. The Sanhedrin, a Jewish organization that dreams of restoring the Jewish Temple, where ancient temples once stood in Jerusalem’s Old City, is… more

The U.S. State Department changed its usual description of the Golan Heights from “Israeli-occupied” to “Israeli-controlled” in an annual global human rights report released Wednesday. Israel has been lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it effectively annexed in 1981. Israel says the area, captured from Syria in… more

President Donald Trump says the U.S. is grounding the model of an American-made jetliner that crashed and killed 157 people Sunday, making it last high-profile country to pull the aircraft out of service. Trump said “Boeing is an incredible company,” but added “the safety of all people is our paramount concern.” Earlier Tuesday, Canada banned… more

Lawyers for former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn say he doesn’t want to be sentenced yet because he has more cooperation to offer.   Flynn is expected to be a witness in a trial later this year in Virginia related to foreign lobbying work. He asked Tuesday for a sentencing date to be… more

The Defense Department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex, and require most individuals to serve in their birth gender. The memo outlining the new policy was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, and it comes after a lengthy and complicated legal battle.… more

Just when it looks like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may restart his ballistic missile testing program, U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed trimming the missile defense budget, as one set of deterrents is delayed by two years. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency — charged with developing, testing and fielding a ballistic missile defense… more

Believe it or not, there are other members of Congress besides Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.   You wouldn’t know that by how the freshman Democrat from New York has become a media fixation like no other politician since President Donald Trump. She’s been a cover subject in both New York tabloids, a punchline on “Saturday Night Live,”… more

A U.S. Coast Guard officer accused of plotting a domestic terror attack has pleaded not guilty to weapon and drug charges.  Lieutenant Christopher Hasson on Monday appeared in U.S. District Court in Maryland and was sent back to jail ahead of his trial. Hasson was arrested in February after police uncovered alleged plans to “murder… more

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is setting a high bar for impeachment of President Donald Trump, saying he is “just not worth it” even as some on her left flank clamor to start proceedings.   Pelosi said in an interview with The Washington Post that “I’m not for impeachment” of Trump.   “Unless there’s something so… more

Kelly Catlin, an Olympic track cyclist who helped the U.S. women’s pursuit team win a silver medal at the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro, has died at the age of 23. USA Cycling announced her death in a statement Sunday, saying the community has “suffered a devastating loss.” “Kelly was more than an… more

A law student at Georgetown University was one of the 157 people who perished in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight this weekend.  Cedric Asiavugwa, a third-year student at Georgetown Law, was on his way home to Nairobi, Kenya, following the death of his fiance’s mother, the university explained in a statement to students. … more