Should President Donald Trump and Twitter ultimately part ways, his campaign has a backup plan at the ready to get his voice out. Tensions between Trump and the messaging platform escalated last week after Twitter began to label some of his tweets with a fact-check. Trump responded with an executive order that threatens to … continue reading -> “With Rallies Halted And Tweets Fact-Checked, Trump Campaign Turns to Smartphone App”
Though Black Out Tuesday was originally organized by the music community, the social media world also went dark in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, joining voices around the world outraged by the killings of black people in the U.S. Instagram and Twitter accounts, from top record label to everyday people, were full of … continue reading -> “Social Media, Music World Go Dark for Black Out Tuesday”
Facebook employees walked away from their work-from-home desks on Monday and took to Twitter to accuse Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg of inadequately policing U.S. President Donald Trump’s posts as strictly as the rival platform has done.Reuters saw dozens of online posts from employees critical of Zuckerberg’s decision to leave Trump’s most inflammatory verbiage unchallenged where … continue reading -> “Facebook Staffers Walk Out Saying Trump’s Posts Should be Reined in”
The World Health Organization has warned that malaria deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa could double this year to 769,000 due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Nigeria has the highest cases of malaria in the world but with the global focus on controlling the spread of COVID-19, many malaria patients are not getting to hospitals and intervention could fall … continue reading -> “Nigerian E-health Start-up Improving Access to Quick Malaria Testing During Pandemic”
A soccer field every 6 seconds. That’s the rate at which the world lost mature tropical forests last year, according to new data from the Global Forest Watch monitoring program.Satellite data shows nearly 4 million hectares of tree cover disappeared, an increase from last year and the third-largest loss this century. Some experts find hopeful notes among … continue reading -> “Forest Losses Increased in 2019 to Third-Largest This Century”
A study conducted by a major hospital in Milan, Italy, has found that the viral load present in people who now test positive for the coronavirus is decreasing, suggesting the infection may be weakening, according to doctors, whose findings have been greeted with skepticism.Alberto Zangrillo, head of Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital, said the coronavirus might … continue reading -> “Is Coronavirus Weakening? “
The World Health Organization on Monday confirmed a second outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, just as an initial outbreak appeared to be ending.At a briefing Monday in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this new outbreak is near the northwestern city of Mbandaka in the DRC’s Equateur … continue reading -> “WHO Confirms New Ebola Outbreak in Northwest DRC”
The crew of the International Space Station welcomed U.S. astronauts Douglas Hurley and Bob Behnken after their privately built SpaceX capsule docked Sunday. NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner shook hands with their new station-mates as they climbed aboard. “Welcome to Bob and Doug. I will … continue reading -> “SpaceX Astronauts Welcomed Aboard International Space Station”
President Donald Trump posted identical messages on Twitter and Facebook this week. But while the two social platforms have very similar policies on voter misinformation and glorifying violence, they dealt with Trump’s posts very differently, proof that Silicon Valley is far from a united front when it comes to political decisionsTwitter placed a warning label … continue reading -> “Online Divisions: Twitter, Facebook Diverge on Trump’s Words”
India reported more than 8,000 new cases of the coronavirus in a single day, another record high that topped the deadliest week in the country.Confirmed infections have risen to 182,143, with 5,164 fatalities, including 193 in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Sunday.Overall, more than 60% of the virus fatalities have been reported … continue reading -> “Asia Today: India Reports over 8,000 New Virus Cases “
U.S. officials are predicting an “enhanced” Atlantic hurricane season that may create new challenges for Americans already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials briefed President Donald Trump on Thursday, outlining preparations for the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season.The season, which officially begins Monday, has already seen two named tropical storms, Arthur and … continue reading -> “FEMA Predicts Above-Average Year for Hurricanes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic”
Two American astronauts lifted off into space Saturday afternoon, for the first time on a private rocket, nearly a decade after the last launch of astronauts from American territory.Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken lifted off at 3:22 p.m. EDT, right on schedule, from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a rocket … continue reading -> “US Astronauts Blast Into Space Aboard SpaceX Rocket”
The U.S. is set to resume launching astronauts into space Saturday, for the first time on a private rocket, nearly a decade after the last launch of astronauts from American territory.Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will blast into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center on the SpaceX rocket, the first by a private company, … continue reading -> “US Astronauts Set to Blast Into Space Aboard SpaceX Rocket”
A final decision on a launch attempt for SpaceX’s milestone mission to the International Space Station on Saturday afternoon will take place after assessing the weather that morning, NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said Friday.Fears of a lightning strike postponed the initial takeoff attempt Wednesday of what would have been the first crewed rocket launch from … continue reading -> “‘No Decision’ on Next Launch Attempt for SpaceX-NASA Mission”
The World Health Organization accuses the tobacco industry of devious tactics to get children and young people hooked on their deadly tobacco and nicotine products. In advance of World No Tobacco Day (May 31), the WHO is launching a campaign to alert young people to the dangers they face from the industry’s manipulative practices.More than … continue reading -> “WHO Tells Tobacco Industry to Stop Marketing Deadly Nicotine Products to Children”
Wading into a politically charged issue, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday preached the importance of wearing masks in public as the nation’s economy reopens from the “cataclysmic” damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. During a tour of hospitals this week in his home state of Kentucky, the Republican leader has stressed wearing masks … continue reading -> “Mitch McConnell Stresses Need to Wear Face Masks in Public”
There are more than 5.8 million infections of COVID-19 around the world, with more than 360,000 deaths. Some countries are starting to loosen restrictions initiated to halt the spread of the devastating disease, while the number of cases is skyrocketing in other places. The Americas are the new epicenter of the outbreak. The U.S. has more than … continue reading -> “Nearly 6 Million Worldwide Infected with Coronavirus”
Over the past two months, as air travel ground to a halt, Mishel Zrian has crisscrossed the Atlantic and the United States dozens of times, sleeping in empty airports and unable to return home to see his family in Israel, all in a race against time to deliver life-saving transplants. Zrian is a courier hired … continue reading -> “Travel Disruptions Challenge Global Transplant Deliveries”
Scientists and environmentalists are urging an international moratorium on deep-sea mining after releasing a report indicating its impact on the Pacific Ocean and island states would be severe, extensive and last for generations.The report also said mining for polymetallic nodules, potato-sized lumps found in the seabed that contain metals used in battery manufacturing and high-tech … continue reading -> “Report Warns of Dangers From Deep-Sea Mining”
The United States almost sent two astronauts into orbit from American soil for the first time in nearly a decade. Circumstances on the ground and in the skies changed flight plans for the public-private partnership between NASA and commercial flight company, SpaceX. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi spoke with NASA to understand what happened and what happens … continue reading -> “This Week’s Space News”
U.S. President Donald Trump President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order aimed at curbing protections for social media giants, in the Oval Office of the White House, May 28, 2020.The order requires the Federal Communication Commission to clarify a section of the Communications Decency Act that largely exempts online companies from any legal … continue reading -> “Trump Signs Order to Try to Tighten Social Media Controls”
Fourteen Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee are requesting that Federal Trade Commission regulators investigate the popular video app TikTok for violations of children’s privacy.The Energy and Commerce Committee conducts oversight on the FTC’s privacy unit. The lawsuit filed Thursday follows claims submitted by the Center for Digital Democracy, … continue reading -> “Democratic Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over TikTok Privacy Regulations”
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) is warning that at least 14 million people could go hungry in Latin America, with the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to rise as jobs and economies decline under the weight of the pandemic.The WFP Latin America regional director, Miguel Barreto, has dubbed COVID-19 the “hunger pandemic. He said social protection … continue reading -> “UN warns of Latin America Hunger Crisis Amid COVID-19 Pandemic”
QUESTION: What is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act?ANSWER: Section 230 “is one of the most valuable tools for protecting freedom of expression and innovation” on the internet, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a U.S.-based global nonprofit digital rights group.The original purpose of the 1996 Communications Decency Act was to restrict free speech … continue reading -> “What is Section 230 of Communications Decency Act?”
Larry Kramer, the grandfather of fierce protests demanding action to fight the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s, died Wednesday at age 84. The author and activist founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, known as ACT UP, in 1987.ACT UP mounted dramatic and angry demonstrations credited with raising awareness of the plight of … continue reading -> “Larry Kramer Focused World’s Attention on AIDS Through Protests, Writing”