When country singer Rissi Palmer was working on her debut album, she wanted a song like Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman,” a song that would introduce her and tell her story to fans. On her 2007 debut single, “Country Girl,” she …
The U.N.’s weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), says it has verified two “megaflashes” of lightning in South America that set records for longest distance and longest duration.The WMO says on its website Friday its Committee on Weather and …
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act.The administration’s latest high court filing came the same day the government reported that close to half a million …
Until this March, machines at the Broad Institute in Massachusetts were decoding the equivalent of an entire human genome every 10 minutes.The automated DNA sequencing facility is among the world’s largest genomics labs. Its technology descends from that which produced …
Country music trio The Dixie Chicks are now just The Chicks, joining other artists and companies who have recently altered their brands to discard names that connote racism or slavery. The Chicks’ release of a new protest song Thursday came …
A New York City judge on Thursday dismissed a claim by Donald Trump’s brother that sought to halt the publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece, saying the court lacked jurisdiction in the case. Surrogates Court Judge Peter …
Back in March, filmmakers Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz gathered their artist friends and a few journalists at Manhattan’s members-only social club, Soho House, for a screening of their first feature-length project, “Antebellum.”They wanted a constructively critical reaction ahead of …
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is known historically as an important nuclear research center. But as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, a critical present-day mission at the suburban Chicago facility is using some of the world’s most sophisticated …
The Eiffel Tower, one of France’s most iconic landmarks, reopened for the first time on Thursday after it was forced to close its doors for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.France was hit badly by the virus, recording 29,731 deaths …
Eastern Congo marked an official end Thursday to the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which killed 2,280 people over nearly two years, as armed rebels and community mistrust undermined the promise of new vaccines.Thursday’s milestone was overshadowed, though, by …
Disney is postponing the mid-July reopening of its Southern California theme parks until it receives guidelines from the state, the company announced Wednesday. Disney had hoped to reopen Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in Anaheim on July 17 after a …
A massive cloud of Saharan dust darkened much of Cuba on Wednesday and began to affect air quality in Florida, sparking warnings to people with respiratory illnesses to stay home.The dust cloud swept across the Atlantic from Africa over the …
Hannah Gjerde starts her day at her hot-mat yoga class on the front lawn of her parent’s home, right before settling onto the couch for the rest of the day. “Being home makes it hard because my dad will be in the …
Recent research finds that women are more likely than men to produce trustworthy news reports on the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Factual, a technology company in San Mateo, California, that measures the credibility of hundreds of news outlets.Phillip Meylan, …
Germany-based Bayer will pay nearly $11 billion to settle thousands of current and future lawsuits over claims its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, the company announced Wednesday. Bayer CEO Werner Baumann called it “the right action at the right time.” Along with the …
Germany is banning the sale of single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and food containers, bringing it in line with a European Union directive intended to reduce the amount of plastic garbage that pollutes the environment.The Cabinet agreed Wednesday to end …
The Boston City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a ban on the use of facial recognition technology by city government. The move makes Boston the second-largest U.S. city after San Francisco to enact a ban. The city joins several other …
Twitter has launched a new prompt to fight gender-based violence in response to a surge in sexual assaults and domestic attacks during lockdown, a company official said on Wednesday. The social network said the feature, currently available in 11 …
Google is tweaking its privacy settings to keep less data on new users by default. The search giant said that starting Wednesday, it will automatically and continuously delete web and app activity and location history for new users after 18 …
The Trump administration’s recent decision to roll back civil rights protections for transgender people in health care has outraged civil rights activists and organizations advocating for transgender rights. The administration move comes as the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark …
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday it is seeking to investigate record high temperatures reported from inside the Arctic Circle June 20. At a news conference in Geneva, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told reporters the U.N. weather agency …
Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia. The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade …
The coronavirus pandemic has some world athletes struggling to stay sharp for next year’s Tokyo Olympics after training facilities were shut down and competitions cancelled. Ugandan runner Halima Nakaayi, the gold medalist in the 800 meters at the 2019 World …
U.S. Major League Baseball announced Monday that it will proceed with a coronavirus-shortened season this year after the players’ union rejected a negotiated deal over a similar abbreviated season. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said team owners have approved a plan that …