Activists with the March for Racial Justice and the March for Black Women took to the streets Saturday in Washington to protest what they called “racist policing practices” in America. The two groups held individual rallies in the nation’s capital and then converged before marching together to the Justice Department building and the National Mall. Videos of the march posted on social media showed the protest group marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, past the Capitol, while chanting, “No justice, no peace” and “If we don’t get it, shut it down.” The protest march spanned several blocks as activists moved through the city before reaching their final destination on the mall. Organizers of the two marches planned the events on September 30 to mark the anniversary of the Elaine Massacre of 1919, in which 200 black people were killed by law enforcement officers and citizens in Arkansas. Farah Tanis, who planned the …

The Environmental Protection Agency said that an unknown amount of dangerous chemicals may have washed downriver from a contaminated site near Houston, Texas, in the flooding from Hurricane Harvey in late August. The EPA confirmed Thursday that the flooding damaged a protective cap at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits. The cap, made of rock and fabric, was meant to keep sediments contaminated with dioxins from spreading. Dioxin has been shown to cause cancer and birth defects. The EPA said its dive teams collected samples of river sediment that showed dioxin at concentrations 2,000 times higher than the level at which the EPA requires cleanup. The waste pits, which house decades-old refuse from a paper mill, are among 13 designated Superfund sites hit by the hurricane in August. The Houston Chronicle reported that the Superfund sites, which are identified as posing an environmental risk, were submerged for days at the …

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria delivered a message to cadets at the academy Friday: Racism will not be tolerated. Silveria had gathered cadets and staff members to denounce racism following an incident at the Academy’s preparatory school in which racial slurs were found scrawled on dormitory message boards. He told cadets that if they can’t treat other people with “dignity and respect,” then they should simply “get out” of the Air Force Academy. It was a blunt message, but one Silveria thought important for his students to hear. “It’s the power that we come from all walks of life, that we come from all parts of this country, that we come from all races, that we come from all backgrounds, gender, all make-up, all upbringing,” he said. “The power of that diversity comes together and makes us that much more powerful.” His words carry some weight. Silveria took over …

North Korea has shown no interest in pursuing talks on its nuclear and missile programs, the U.S. State Department said Saturday after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged the United States was communicating directly with Pyongyang. “North Korean officials have shown no indication that they are interested in or are ready for talks regarding denuclearization,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement, “despite assurances that the United States is not interested in promoting the collapse of the current regime, pursuing regime change, accelerating reunification of the peninsula or mobilizing forces north of the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone].” Tillerson was in Beijing on Saturday, seeking China’s cooperation on a “maximum pressure” campaign against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Tillerson revealed the U.S. had opened a direct channel of communication with North Korea and was investigating whether the government of Kim Jong Un was interested in pursuing talks to give up its …

At the turn of the century, Bangladeshi immigrant Shaker Sadeak packed his bags in New York City and headed to Michigan — a state that he says afforded him the opportunity to make a living and go to school at the same time. Seven years later, he took another step, opening his own wholesale and retail fabric shop, India Fashion, in Hamtramck, Michigan’s Banglatown. Surrounded by Bengali restaurants, spice shops and groceries, his business, like the street upon which it lives, has flourished over time. When VOA visited this summer, new and established businesses were steadily replacing abandoned lots along Conant Street, Banglatown’s commercial main street. “Back in 2000, you used to see one car in two minutes. Now we have thousands of cars driving on the streets,” Sadeak said. “All the immigrants came into this town and rebuilt the whole thing.” ‘Bread and butter’ issue In Rust Belt communities, …

U.S. President Donald Trump took the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico to task in a series of Saturday morning tweets in apparent response to her criticism of the administration’s effort to help the U.S. territory recover from the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Maria. Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz accused the Trump administration of “killing us with the inefficiency” and begged Trump to “make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives.” The Republican president initiated his tweets, some of which were apparently deleted minutes later, by suggesting Cruz’s criticism was instigated by Democrats. “The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.” “…Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers …

The president of Emily’s List rose to the podium at a recent New York fundraiser to make a proud announcement: More than 18,000 women had contacted the group since Election Day, looking to explore running for office, “an explosion,” she called it. Of course, they’re all Democrats. On the Republican side, there’s been no such explosion. While a tide of anti-Trump activism has led thousands of Democratic women to consider runs for office, their Republican counterparts are where they were before the 2016 election, with little chance of improving their representation. “Republican women look very much the same now as they did pre-Trump,” says Jennifer Lawless, professor at American University and co-author of a recent report that examined the persistent gender gap in political ambition, on both sides of the aisle. “They’re generally not interested in running for office, the overwhelming majority has not been recruited to run, they don’t …

The United States has opened a direct channel of communication with North Korea and is investigating whether the regime of Kim Jong Un is interested in pursuing talks to give up its nuclear weapons, according to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday, who is in Beijing, seeking China’s cooperation on a “maximum pressure” campaign against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We are probing so stay tuned,”  Tillerson told reporters after talks with Chinese officials. “We ask. We have lines of communication with Pyongyang. We’re not in a dark situation, a blackout. We have a couple, three channels open to Pyongyang.” Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Tillerson met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks on DPRK’s nuclear program, and they also were to cover trade and preparations for U.S. President Donald Trump’s first visit to China in November.   Earlier Saturday Tillerson met with China’s …

At least 16 people have died and millions are without power since Hurricane Maria walloped the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Once again, the U.S. military is answering the call to help federal government relief efforts. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest. …

At least 16 people have died and millions are without power since Hurricane Maria walloped the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Once again, the U.S. military is answering the call to help federal government relief efforts. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest. …

President Donald Trump capped what has been a difficult week politically with an all-out push for tax reform Friday. In a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, Trump promised to deliver on a “giant, beautiful, massive, the biggest ever in our country, tax cut.” Trump is eager to move past setbacks on health care reform and the results of a Republican Senate primary Tuesday in Alabama where he found himself on the losing side. The president and his administration also have been on the defensive over hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico. ​Health care defeat Senate Republicans put off a vote on a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare after it became clear they did not have enough votes to pass the measure, thanks to a handful of Republican defectors. Democrats expressed relief they had beaten back another attempt to undo former President Barack Obama’s signature achievement, …

President Donald Trump faced his share of political setbacks this past week, including another failure on health care and being on the losing side of a Republican Senate primary in Alabama. Trump’s public approval rating remains around 40 percent, but his political base appears to be sticking with him, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone. …

Louisiana regulators agreed to pay just more than $100,000 to resolve a federal lawsuit that accused state officials and inspectors of harassing and discriminating against a group of Vietnamese-American nail salon owners, court papers show. Records filed in federal court didn’t disclose any terms of the settlement agreement in June. But the deal’s monetary value, $100,000 plus an additional $400 for court costs, is disclosed in a document obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request. Four salon owners The settlement proceeds went to four salon owners and their attorneys. The deal resolved their claims against the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology and two board inspectors. The plaintiffs claimed the board disproportionately targeted Asian-American salon owners for frequent inspections, fines and disciplinary hearings because of their race. Board lawyers denied there was any evidence of racial bias in their regulatory activities. The plaintiffs said Vietnamese-owned businesses account for …

President Donald Trump asked a judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit alleging he is violating the Constitution by using his office to profit from his hotels and other properties. Trump is arguing that the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia do not have standing to bring the lawsuit because they have not shown they have suffered from the president’s actions, among other reasons. The motion to dismiss is Trump’s first response to the lawsuit. The attorneys general filed the lawsuit in June alleging Trump was violating the emoluments clauses of the Constitution that generally prohibits presidents from receiving payments from foreign and domestic governments. It is one of several filed against Trump that cite the clauses. Government ethics lawyers have widely condemned Trump for holding onto his vast business empire after taking office. They argue that gives plenty of opportunity for people who want to …

A U.S. citizen who joined al-Qaida was convicted Friday of participating in a failed suicide bombing in 2009 at an American military base in Afghanistan. A federal jury in New York reached the verdict in the case against Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, who’s originally from Houston. Farekh’s case drew extra attention because of reports that American officials had initially debated whether to try to kill him in a drone strike, a step almost never taken against U.S. citizens. President Barack Obama’s administration ultimately decided to try for a capture and civilian prosecution instead. Farekh was captured in Pakistan and brought to the U.S. in 2015. “Today, an American al-Qaeda member was brought to justice in a U.S. courtroom,” said Bridget Rohde, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, using an alternate spelling for the militant group’s name. She said Farekh faces the possibility of life in …

A Texas chemical plant where flooding during Harvey caused multiple explosions is under criminal investigation.   The Houston Chronicle reported Friday that the Harris County district attorney’s office confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation into Arkema’s actions before the explosions that sent fire and plumes of black smoke shooting into the air. Authorities in late August evacuated a 1.5-mile radius around the plant in Crosby, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Houston.   First responders are suing the company, claiming they were left vomiting and gasping for breath because of the fumes from the explosion of volatile organic peroxides. Their lawsuit says Arkema did not have proper procedures to keep the chemicals cooled in case of a flood or emergency.   Harris County commissioners have also approved filing a lawsuit against the company. …

The White House has made it official: The annual cap on refugees coming into the United States in fiscal year 2018 will be 45,000. Calling it the “America First Refugee Program,” the late Friday announcement says it is “a level that upholds the safety of the American people.” The new limit, which was submitted to Congress earlier in the week, puts the United States on track to accept fewer refugees in fiscal 2018 than in the past 37 years that the current refugee program, known as USRAP (United States Refugee Admission Program), has been in existence. The White House said Friday that the decision was made after consulting with the secretary of state, the secretary of homeland security, and the president’s national security team. White House: Safety first It said the new ceiling is “designed to accommodate additional vetting procedures” designed to “thoroughly and safely process applicants for potential threats …

Acting Homeland Security Administration Secretary Elaine Duke flew to hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico on Friday, reassuring residents the federal government understands the severity of the ongoing human catastrophe facing the U.S. territory. “I know the people of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are suffering,” Duke told a news conference in the capital, San Juan. “We are here and we have been here to help them. We are continuing to bring additional supplies and personnel to further assist distribution efforts on the ground.” Duke’s unannounced trip to the island came hours after the mayor of San Juan ridiculed comments the Homeland Security chief made at a White House briefing Thursday, where she described the life-saving efforts of relief workers as “a good news story.” In a widely publicized CNN interview, Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz replied angrily, saying, “This is not a ‘good news story.’ This is a ‘people are dying’ story. …

U.S. and Central American law enforcement authorities announced Friday that they have charged more than 3,800 members of the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs in coordinated law enforcement action since March. The charges, announced in Miami by acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco and the attorneys general of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, reflect a stepped-up effort by the Trump administration to root out transnational criminal gangs in the United States. With an estimated 10,000 members in the United States, MS-13 is the one of the largest street gangs in the country and the only one designated as a transnational criminal organization by the Treasury Department. The 18th Street gang, also known as Barrio 18, is a multiethnic gang that, like MS-13, operates in major U.S. cities. “MS-13 is one of the most violent and ruthless gangs in America today, endangering communities in more than 40 states,” U.S. Attorney …

White House officials say a federal force of 10,000 people, including 7,000 troops, are helping Puerto Rico dig out of the devastation left by Hurricane Maria. The U.S. Navy ship Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship based in the U.S. state of Virginia, is scheduled to depart the U.S. mainland for the island Friday. Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert said Puerto Rico has 44 operational hospitals out of a total of 69 facilities. The Pentagon has appointed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan to lead all military hurricane response efforts in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. WATCH: US Officials Say Damaged Infrastructure Slows Aid Distribution in Puerto Rico ​Critics: Help too slow Critics have accused the Trump administration of not responding more quickly to the disaster in the wake of the hurricane, which ravaged Puerto Rico on Sept. 17, taking out buildings, knocking out communications, and nearly destroying the island’s aging power grid. …

Having enough clean drinking water has been a challenge in many parts of the world, whether it’s a place where water is scarce or abundant. The World Health Organization finds 3 in 10 people globally still lack safe drinking water at home. The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced it is providing up to $15 million in funding for projects to develop solar desalination technology to create freshwater at a lower cost. Even before the announcement, researchers had been working on better ways to desalinate water. “We can take any quality of water that we’re starting with and we can turn it into any quality of water that we desire at the end, and the only real challenge or limitation has to be overcome is how much does it cost and how much energy does it take to go from here to here,” said Eric Hoek, co-founder and Chief …