Consumer Spending Drops as Inflation Continues to Rise

VOA — A key inflation indicator was up 5.8% over last year, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was the indicator’s highest jump since 1982. The rise came in the government’s personal... Read more »

Iran Sentences French Citizen to 8 Years for Spying

VOA — PARIS — A French national who has been in Iranian custody since May 2020 was sentenced Tuesday by an Iranian court to eight years and eight months in prison for... Read more »

UK police to investigate Downing Street lockdown parties

DW — London's Metropolitan Police are now investigating reports that parties were held at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street offices during Britain's pandemic lockdowns. Johnson says he will "cooperate fully" with... Read more »

US Supreme Court to Hear Challenges to Race-Based College Admissions

VOA — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear two cases that could determine if race can be used as a factor for college admission. The cases, brought by... Read more »

Thousands March in Washington Against Mask, Vaccine Mandates

VOA — Thousands of anti-mask and vaccine mandate protesters rallied on the mall in Washington, D.C., on Sunday to voice opposition to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mask and vaccine policies. Gathering at... Read more »

Trump’s Legal Troubles Expand in Jan. 6 Probe and in New York State

VOA — WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles intensified Wednesday, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he cannot use executive privilege to shield hundreds of pages of documents related... Read more »

White House Launches Website to Order Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

VOA — The White House on Tuesday launched a website for U.S. citizens to order free at-home COVID-19 tests one day earlier than the launch was set to go online. Americans can... Read more »

Millions Hunker Down As Storm Hits Eastern US

VOA — WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans hunkered down as a major winter storm hit the eastern United States with heavy snow and ice knocking power out for an estimated 130,000 customers... Read more »

Twitter Bans Account Linked to Iranian Leader Over Video Threatening Trump

VOA — WASHINGTON — Twitter said Saturday it had permanently suspended an account linked to Iran’s supreme leader that posted a video calling for revenge for a top general’s assassination against former... Read more »

Coronavirus digest: Global cases surge due to omicron

DW — Much of Europe, the US and even Australia are logging record COVID caseloads as the omicron variant spreads. The WHO has warned that the variant still posed a "very high"... Read more »