It’s been 45 years since the break-in at the Watergate Office Complex in June of 1972. Initially it was viewed as just another attempted burglary. But it grew into a scandal involving high-profile figures close to the White House. Consequently, Richard Nixon was forced to resign. VOA Russian’s Rafael Saakov visited the Watergate hotel and the Washington Post whose journalists played key roles in the investigation. …
How to respond to North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction was the top agenda item when President Donald Trump hosted his South Korean counterpart. VOA White House Bureau Chief Correspondent Steve Herman reports that the trade relationship between Washington and Seoul was also discussed. …
One of the themes of this year’s Smithsonian Folk Life Festival is immigration. As part of the festival events, a group of 25 children were sworn in as U.S. Citizens, just ahead of America’s Independence Day holiday. VOA’s Elizabeth Cherneff reports. …
Backyard cooks looking to grill this summer have another option: hot dogs without “added nitrites.” Are they any healthier? Oscar Mayer is touting its new hot dog recipe that uses nitrite derived from celery juice instead of artificial sodium nitrite, which is used to preserve the pinkish colors of processed meats and prevents botulism. Kraft Heinz, which owns Oscar Mayer, says sodium nitrite is among the artificial ingredients it has removed from the product to reflect changing consumer preferences. The change comes amid a broader trend of big food makers purging ingredients that people may feel are not natural. But nitrites are nitrites — and the change makes little difference — according to those who advise limiting processed meat and those who defend it. Kana Wu, a research scientist at Harvard University’s school of public health, said in an email that it is best to think of processed meat made …
A growing number of U.S. states refused Friday to give voters’ names, addresses and sensitive personal information to a commission created by President Donald Trump to investigate alleged voter fraud, saying the demand was unnecessary and violated privacy. “This commission was formed to try to find basis for the lie that President Trump put forward that has no foundation,” Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said. Claims unsubstantiated Republican Trump made unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. He established the panel by executive order in May despite evidence that voter fraud was not widespread. Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent a letter to all 50 states Wednesday asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliation, felony convictions and voting histories. The …
The Trump administration said Friday that it would begin arresting parents and other relatives who hire smugglers to bring their children into the U.S., a move that sent a shudder through immigrant communities nationwide. The new “surge initiative” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement marked the latest get-tough approach to immigration by the federal government since President Donald Trump took office. The government says the effort aims to break up human smuggling operations, including arresting people who pay coyotes to get children across the U.S. border. That marks a sharp departure from policies in place under President Barack Obama’s administration, during which time tens of thousands of young people fleeing spiraling gang and drug violence in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador crossed the border. The children are then placed with “sponsors” — typically parents, close relatives or family friends — who care for the minors while they attend school and their …
