Imagine a magical place where lights are designed in the shape of the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower and dragons. It’s a place where children can enjoy a maze made of Chinese lanterns or see death-defying acts by gymnasts. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes us to Light-Up…a Christmas festival near Washington designed, built, and managed by Chinese workers visiting the U.S. …

Laws pertaining to minimum wage, gun use and sexual harassment are some of those that will changed across the country starting Tuesday. Here is a look at what to expect:  Minimum wage The National Employment Law Project says 19 states and 21 cities will increase minimum wage, which has remained stagnant at $7.25 per hour since 2009. In Alaska, the minimum wage will increase only pennies, from $9.84 to $9.89 an hour. But eight states, Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York and Washington, will raise the minimum wage in phases to up to $15 per hour. Guns and violence California will require gun shops to post signs warning of the rules and dangers of handling guns. It will also increase the minimum age to buy a long gun to 21 years old.  Illinois will enforce a mandatory 72-hour waiting period before the purchase of any firearm, not just …

As technology advances, there are new tools for the military to train and be better prepared for combat. To assist the U.S. Department of Defense, researchers at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies have been working on a project that creates 3D landscape models to be used in virtual and augmented reality to enhance military training exercises. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details. …

Human feces, overflowing garbage, illegal off-roading and other damaging behavior in fragile areas were beginning to overwhelm some of the West’s iconic national parks, as a partial government shutdown left the areas open to visitors but with little staff on duty. “It’s a free-for-all,” Dakota Snider, 24, who lives and works in Yosemite Valley, said by telephone Monday, as Yosemite National Park officials announced closings of some minimally supervised campgrounds and public areas within the park that are overwhelmed. “It’s so heartbreaking. There is more trash and human waste and disregard for the rules than I’ve seen in my four years living here,” Snider said. The partial federal government shutdown, now into its 11th day, has forced furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal government employees. This has left many parks without most of the rangers and others who staff campgrounds and otherwise keep parks running. Unlike shutdowns in some …

U.S. authorities fired tear gas into Mexico during the first hours of the new year to repel about 150 migrants who tried to breach the border fence in Tijuana. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement later Tuesday that the gas was used to target rock throwers apart from the migrants who were trying to cross. “No agents witnessed any of the migrants at the fence line, including children, experiencing effects of the chemical agents, which were targeted at the rock throwers further away,” the statement said.  An Associated Press photographer saw at least three volleys of gas launched onto the Mexican side of the border near Tijuana’s beach that affected the migrants, including women and children, as well as journalists. The AP saw rocks thrown only after U.S. agents fired the tear gas. The agency said agents saw “toddler sized children” being passed over concertina wire with …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that the United States would continue to cooperate with Israel over Syria and in countering Iran in the Middle East, even as President Donald Trump plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he met with Pompeo in the Brazilian capital that he planned to discuss how to intensify intelligence and operations cooperation in Syria and elsewhere to block Iranian “aggression.” In his first public comments on Trump’s decision, Pompeo said it “in no way changes anything that this administration is working on alongside Israel.” “The counter-ISIS campaign continues, our efforts to counter Iranian aggression continue and our commitment to Middle East stability and the protection of Israel continues in the same way it did before that decision was made,” he said. Trump announced last month that he planned to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, declaring …

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart urged the World Anti-Doping Agency to reinstate the ban on Russia, calling the country’s return to the sports fold “a total joke.” “The situation is a total joke and an embarrassment for WADA and the global anti-doping system,” Tygart said in a statement on Tuesday, after Russia missed a December 31 deadline to hand over data from its anti-doping laboratory in Moscow. The deadline was set in September, when WADA lifted a ban on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, paving the way for Russian athletes to return to competition across all sports after a report which uncovered a state-sponsored doping program in Russia. “In September, WADA secretly moved the goal posts and reinstated Russia against the wishes of athletes, governments and the public,” Tygart said. “In doing this WADA guaranteed Russia would turn over the evidence of its state-supported doping scheme by today. “No one …

The partial U.S. government shutdown is in its 11th day at the dawn of 2019, with lawmakers and President Donald Trump remaining at odds over his demand for money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Democrats in the House of Representatives say that when they assume control of the chamber on Thursday, they plan to quickly approve legislation to reopen the quarter of government operations that have been closed since Dec. 22, although passage in the Senate is uncertain. The Democrats’ spending plan includes no money for Trump’s border wall, which the U.S. leader is deriding. “The Democrats will probably submit a Bill, being cute as always, which gives everything away but gives NOTHING to Border Security, namely the Wall,” Trump said in a New Year’s Eve Twitter comment. As the calendar turned to the new year, Trump said, in an all-caps tweet, that Americans would have a …

President Donald Trump’s most prominent GOP critics on Capitol Hill are days away from completing their Senate careers, raising the question of who — if anyone — will take their place as willing to publicly criticize a president who remains popular with nearly 9 in 10 Republican voters. Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee engaged in a war of words with the president on myriad issues over the past 18 months, generating headlines and fiery tweets from a president who generally insists on getting the last word. Those battles put them on the outs with many in their own party, and they paid a price. Both decided to retire rather than take on a difficult re-election campaign. Flake was far and away Trump’s most consistent critic among Senate Republicans. Corker weighed in less often, but his description of the White House as an “adult day care …

The top U.S general in Afghanistan told NATO troops on Tuesday to prepare themselves to deal with “positive processes or negative consequences” as peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban to end a 17-year war gain momentum. General Scott Miller, who commands U.S. forces and the NATO-led non-combat Resolution Support (RS) mission in Afghanistan reiterated the need for a political settlement to end the conflict. “Peace talks [are] out there, regional players pressing for peace, the Taliban talking about peace, the Afghan government is talking about peace,” Miller told dozens of NATO soldiers who had gathered at RS headquarters in Kabul for an exercise session. Dressed in gym gear, Miller participated in a 60-minute open-air morning workout of sprints, squats, burpees and push-ups. He did not comment on reports that the United States was considering pulling out almost half of the 14,000-strong force currently deployed in Afghanistan. A White …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is warning that the current goodwill with the United States could end if Washington continues to impose sanctions to force his regime to denuclearize. In his annual New Year’s Day address, Kim said it was his “firm will” that North Korea will no longer produce or test nuclear weapons, nor would it “use or spread” its arsenal. He added he was prepared to hold another meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this year. But he said his country may have to take another path unless Washington takes “corresponding measures.” He also called on the United States and South Korea to end all joint military drills. Kim Jong Un and President Trump signed a vague agreement during their historic summit in Singapore last June, but further negotiations have stalled over Pyongyang’s demand for front-loaded sanctions relief tied to small progress, and its opposition to Washington’s …

Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan said Tuesday the department “remains focused on safeguarding our nation,” as he officially took over the post left by the resignation of Jim Mattis. “I now look forward to working with President Trump to carry out his vision alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the Joints Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” Shanahan said in a statement. Unlike Mattis, who came to the Pentagon as a revered former Marine general who served in Afghanistan, Shanahan does not have any military experience. Shanahan came to the Defense Department in 2017 from aviation giant Boeing, where he spent more than 30 years overseeing both civilian and military related programs. Mattis resigned on December 20 following a White House meeting with Trump during which the two men disagreed over the president’s decision to withdraw all …

The United States and Israel officially quit of the U.N.’s educational, scientific and cultural agency at the stroke of midnight, the culmination of a process triggered more than a year ago amid concerns that the organization fosters anti-Israel bias. The withdrawal is mainly procedural yet serves a new blow to UNESCO, co-founded by the U.S. after World War II to foster peace. The Trump administration filed its notice to withdraw in October 2017 and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed suit. The Paris-based organization has been denounced by its critics as a crucible for anti-Israel bias: blasted for criticizing Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, naming ancient Jewish sites as Palestinian heritage sites and granting full membership to Palestine in 2011. The U.S. has demanded “fundamental reform” in the agency that is best known for its World Heritage program to protect cultural sites and traditions. UNESCO also works to improve education …

U.S. leaders remain at an impasse as House Democrats plan to pass legislation Thursday that would fund many of the government agencies currently shut down, but without money for a border wall that President Donald Trump insists is necessary for security. The legislative effort, which is set to take place when the new Congress goes into session with Democrats holding a majority in the House, has two pieces.  One would fund most shuttered agencies through the end of September, while the other would give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) its funding through Feb 8. As with previous Democratic proposals, the DHS funding would not include money for the wall. Trump has taken to Twitter several times to express his viewpoint, including fresh posts Monday saying “without the Wall there can be no Border Security.” “The Democrats will probably submit a Bill, being cute as always, which gives everything away …

The year 2018 was one of box office successes and awards of artistic recognition for black films, from Marvel Comic’s action flick Black Panther to the fact-based drama Blackkklansman. Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, about a fictional African king with superhero powers and his technologically advanced country, Wakanda, has received dozens of awards, including three Golden Globe nominations. The American Film Institute recognized it as one of the year’s ten best movies for its social and artistic significance celebrating African and African-American cultures. Musing about the film’s power, producer Nate Moore told VOA, “I think that for African-American audiences there is a lot to pull from. And hopefully there is some inspiration again learning about the roots where African-Americans came from.” Black Panther, with the first black Superhero lead actor, grossed over a billion dollars domestically and internationally, making it the third highest grossing film ever in the U.S. It has …

2018 was a year of box office successes and awards of artistic recognition for black films. Marvel’s action flick “Black Panther” introduced the first black superhero lead actor and grossed over a billion dollars domestically and internationally. Other films with black leading characters also did well with audiences and critics. Do these distinctions signal that black films are finally part of the Hollywood mainstream? VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more. …