U.S. lawmakers return to Washington this week facing heightened pressure to address gun violence in America after yet another mass shooting that claimed 17 lives at a Florida high school. VOA’s Michael Bowman has this report …

President Donald Trump says this month’s mass shooting at a Florida high school will be a key focus Monday as governors from across the country meet in Washington. “I think we’ll make that first on our list, because we have to end our country of what’s happening with respect to that subject,” he said during a welcome event Sunday night. Individual states have varying gun laws, and could take yet different approaches in deciding whether and how to enact any new gun controls. The federal government could take its own action, and lawmakers in the House and Senate return to work Monday after a week-long holiday recess back in their home districts. The U.S. debate over the proper response to try to thwart future school shootings is intensifying, but whether the killings will move Congress to act is open to question. In a country where the U.S. Constitution enshrines gun …

Michelle Obama’s memoir, one of the most highly anticipated books in recent years, is coming out Nov. 13. The former first lady tweeted Sunday that the book, to come out a week after the 2018 midterm elections, is called “Becoming.” “Writing ‘Becoming’ has been a deeply personal experience,” she said in a statement. “It has allowed me, for the very first time, the space to honestly reflect on the unexpected trajectory of my life. In this book, I talk about my roots and how a little girl from the South Side of Chicago found her voice and developed the strength to use it to empower others. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be. I can’t wait to share my story.” She and her husband, former President Barack Obama, last year reached a joint agreement with Penguin Random House for their …

The death toll rose to at least five on Sunday after severe thunderstorms swept through the central U.S., spawning a tornado that flattened homes, gale force winds and widespread flooding from the Upper Midwest to Appalachia. The system that stretched from Texas to the Canadian Maritime provinces had prompted several emergency declarations even before the dangerous storms arrived. In southwestern Michigan, the body of a 48-year-old man was found floating in floodwaters Sunday in Kalamazoo, city Public Safety Lt. David Thomas said. Police were withholding the release of his name until notifying relatives. Thomas said the death didn’t appear suspicious but the cause wasn’t known. An autopsy was planned as early as Monday. Kalamazoo has hard hit by flooding from last week’s heavy rains and melting snow. In Kentucky, authorities said three people died. Two bodies were recovered from submerged vehicles in separate incidents Saturday. A body was recovered from …

As immigration agents step up raids in California, fear is widespread in the immigrant community. Federal authorities rounded up more than 200 people in 122 workplace raids in Los Angeles last Friday, part of a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to target so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. California became a sanctuary state January 1, barring police in most cases from asking people about their immigration status. President Donald Trump has threatened to withhold federal safety grants from sanctuary cities, and on Thursday he suggested withdrawing immigration enforcement agents from California to leave the state on its own in fighting criminal aliens. “If we ever pulled our ICE out, and we ever said, ‘Hey, let California alone, let them figure it out for themselves,’ in two months they’d be begging for us to come back. They would be begging. And you know what? I’m thinking about doing it,” he said at the White …

U.S. President Donald Trump is sparring with a key Democratic lawmaker over allegations that the FBI engaged in surveillance abuses in 2016 as it sought to win court approval to monitor a Trump aide’s contacts with Russia. Congressman Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN Sunday, “The FBI acted appropriately.” His comment came hours after the minority Democrats on the panel released their rebuttal to a memo disclosed three weeks ago by Republicans contending that the law enforcement agency acted improperly in pursuing clandestine surveillance of Trump aide Carter Page. The Democratic memo pushed back against the Republican claim that the FBI failed to disclose the political motivations of a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, the author of a controversial dossier on Trump’s links to Russia that was partly used by the FBI in seeking approval from the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor …

The sheriff in the Florida county where a troubled 19-year-old man carried out a horrific mass shooting rampage vowed Sunday to investigate every aspect of his department’s response to the mayhem as it unfolded and the numerous missed signals about the gunman’s volatility it had received in the weeks before. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told CNN, “We will investigate every action of our deputies.” But he heaped scorn on one of them, Scot Peterson, the veteran lawman who stayed outside the Parkland, Fla., high school two weeks ago rather than charging inside to confront the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, as he allegedly gunned down 14 students and three adults. “It makes me sick to my stomach that he didn’t go in,” Israel said of Peterson, calling his actions “dereliction of duty.” Israel said that when he saw the video of Peterson outside the school during the shooting, he suspended him …

It’s not easy to be a spy. The job requires a unique set of skills, including mastery of a wide range of gadgets and devices. Visitors to the new Spyscape museum in New York have an opportunity to explore secret missions and see for themselves if they have what it takes to be a secret agent. Faiza Elmasry has this story narrated by Faith Lapidus. …

Concerned about a “war by blunder,” Sam Nunn, the former U.S. senator from Georgia who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, says he favors “tightening the screws in sanctions” on North Korea, but the U.S. needs to communicate with the country at the same time. clear weapons. VOA Contributor Greta Van Susteren interviewed Nunn, who is co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, on February 20, 2018. …

Hailing the Pyeongchang Olympics as “the games of new horizons”, the International Olympics Committee declared the 2018 winter games closed Sunday. In his speech at the Games’ closing ceremony, IOC president Thomas Bach praised North and South Korea for marching together during the opening ceremony, saying, “You have shown how sport brings people together in our fragile world; you have shown how sport builds bridges,” Bach told the Korean athletes. Bach handed the Olympic flag to the mayor of Beijing, which will host the next winter Olympics in 2022.  The Chinese capital will be the first city to host both the summer and winter Olympic games, after it hosted the summer edition in 2008.     Following his closing speech, Bach posed for photos with a few standout athletes, including Tongan cross-country skier Pita Taufatofua, who attended both ceremonies bare-chested, despite the cold. South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO performed for …

Stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration law has created uncertainty for migrants who have been living in the United States for many years, despite having entered the country illegally. Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles that a widespread crackdown and recent workplace raids have prompted some to seek legal advice. …

China says it plans to scrap a two-term limit for the country’s president and vice president, a move that could allow Chinese leader Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely.   Expectations that Xi, China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, was considering staying in office for more than the typical 10 years has been building for some time now.  But the outline of amendment proposals announced by state media Sunday,  including Article 79, confirmed those changes could soon become a reality.   Xi, 64, has been China’s president since 2013 and is expected to be formally re-elected at a meeting of the country’s largely rubber-stamp legislature early next month.  The proposed constitutional amendments will also be voted on at the meeting of the National People’s Congress that begins March 5.   Zhang Lifan, a historian and political commentator says the move paves the way for Xi to stay in …

The Trump administration is responding tepidly following North Korea’s expression of willingness to hold talks with the United States.   “We will see if Pyongyang’s message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization.   In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are a dead end,” said a statement issued by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.   She emphasized that the U.S., South Korea and the international community “broadly agree that denuclearization must be the result of any dialogue with North Korea.  The maximum pressure campaign must continue until North Korea denuclearizes.  As President Trump has said, there is a brighter path available for North Korea if it chooses denuclearization.“   Sanders, in South Korea, accompanied President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, to Sunday’s closing ceremony of …

A band of thunderstorms reaching across the lower Mississippi Valley into Ohio on Saturday killed two people and threatened more flooding in an area that has seen evacuations because of high water. The storm system packing hail, high winds and possible tornados was forecast to drop from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) of rain by early Sunday from Arkansas into the Ohio Valley. Much of the area was under flash flood warnings or watches after being saturated by rain in the past week or so, the National Weather Service said. “It’s a pretty high-impact event over a very large area,” Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the agency’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said by telephone. Emergency declarations Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued a disaster emergency for 11 counties because of damage from widespread flooding, especially from the Kankakee River in northern Indiana. In Ohio, Governor …

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke revamped a plan for a sweeping overhaul of his department Friday with a new organizational map that more closely follows state lines instead of the natural boundaries he initially proposed. The changes follow complaints from a bipartisan group of Western state governors that Zinke did not consult them before unveiling his original plan last month. The agency oversees vast public lands, primarily in the U.S. West, ranging from protected national parks and wildlife refuges to areas where coal mining and energy exploration dominate the landscape. Zinke said in an interview with The Associated Press that his goal remains unchanged: decentralizing the Interior Department’s bureaucracy and creating 13 regional headquarters. Regional map redrawn The redrawn map, obtained by AP, shows that states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming would fall within a single region instead of being split among multiple regions. Other states remain divided, …

Brazil’s government is seeking the extradition of a Brazilian man it said was arrested by U.S. authorities at his Miami home early on Saturday, allegedly for shipping automatic weapons to the South American country. The arrest of Frederik Barbieri, confirmed by a Brazilian law enforcement officer, comes one week after Brazil resorted to the military to try to control violence and crime in Rio de Janeiro, where heavily armed drug gangs control the city’s slums. The United States is the largest source of guns entering Brazil that end up in the hands of armed criminals and drug traffickers, according to a Brazilian police report seen by Reuters last month. Brazil has sought Barbieri’s arrest since 60 automatic riles, including AK-47s and other combat rifles, were found at Rio de Janeiro airport in June hidden in a shipment of pool heaters. Barbieri denied involvement in gun running at that time, but Brazilian police have suspected his involvement since a container of ammunition was found in his …

Investor Warren Buffett says Wall Street’s lust for deals has prompted CEOs to act like oversexed teenagers and overpay for acquisitions, so it has been hard to find deals for Berkshire Hathaway. In his annual letter to shareholders Saturday, Buffett mixed investment advice with details of how Berkshire’s many businesses performed. Buffett blamed his recent acquisition drought on ambitious CEOs who have been encouraged to take on debt to finance pricey deals. “If Wall Street analysts or board members urge that brand of CEO to consider possible acquisitions, it’s a bit like telling your ripening teenager to be sure to have a normal sex life,” Buffett said. Berkshire is also facing more competition for acquisitions from private equity firms and other companies such as privately held Koch Industries. Sticking with guideline Buffett is sitting on $116 billion of cash and bonds because he’s struggled to find acquisitions at sensible prices. …

Well-wishers lined freeway overpasses and small-town streets to honor the late Rev. Billy Graham as his motorcade crossed his beloved home state of North Carolina for four hours Saturday from his mountain chapel to namesake library in the state’s largest city. Adults and children stood behind wooden barricades and yellow tape, police officers saluted, and admirers captured the moment on cellphones along the route. Fire trucks parked on overpasses along Interstate 40. Pallbearers, followed by family members, carried the coffin into the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, which will serve as a backdrop for the evangelist’s funeral. Franklin Graham said he was fulfilling a promise to take his father’s body to Charlotte. He said was overwhelmed by the “outpouring of love we are seeing as we travel.” The motorcade for “America’s Pastor,” which began at the training center operated by Graham’s evangelistic association in Asheville, was a chance for residents …

The White House on Saturday released a redacted version of a Democratic congressional memo that rebuts a Republican account of alleged FBI surveillance abuses. The release of the Democratic memo came three weeks after the release of the Republican version of events, which was compiled by staffers of House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California. Saturday’s release followed negotiations between the FBI and the House intelligence committee’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, over what information should not be released. Research dossier The Republican memo alleged that the FBI suppressed information about Democratic ties to an opposition research dossier used to obtain a federal warrant for surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. Schiff, who wrote the Democratic memo, and fellow Democrats on the intelligence panel alleged that the Republican version of the story omitted and misrepresented facts. They also accused President Donald Trump of ignoring concerns about disclosing …

U.S. Congress releases redacted Democratic memo pushing back on GOP claims of surveillance abuses in FBI’s Russia probe. …

China responded angrily Saturday to new sanctions the United States imposed on North Korea, maintaining they were counterproductive to efforts to halt Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range missile development programs. U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday what he called the “largest ever” set of sanctions against North Korea and threatened a “phase two” if the measures weren’t effective. The sanctions target one person, 27 companies and 28 ships registered in China and seven other countries with the intent of eliminating North Korea’s illicit shipping and trade. They block assets held by the companies in the U.S. and prohibit U.S. citizens from interacting with them. China’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Beijing “resolutely opposes” the U.S. for “enacting unilateral sanctions” and vowed to “seriously handle” the issue in accordance with the law. The ministry also demanded that the U.S. immediately lift the sanctions “to avoid harming bilateral cooperation in the …