Newsletter Archive

More than 150 years ago, Virginia was the epicenter of the American Civil War. Today, the commonwealth is a battleground of a different sort, a mix of the traditional and the new, where changing demographics and shifting political outlooks have turned this once reliably Republican enclave into a state that is now competitive for both parties, and that could play a pivotal role in deciding the next president.

One by one, key Islamic State leaders are being picked off, caught in the crosshairs of U.S. and coalition aircraft. Eighteen IS officials have been killed in the past 30 days. The terror group leaders are being removed from the battlefield as Iraqi forces prepare for a final assault on the IS-held city of Mosul.

Asian-Americans care about the same core issues as most voters — jobs, health care and skyrocketing housing prices. But something that has emerged as a vital election issue, not only for many of the 1.6 million Vietnamese-Americans, but also the 2.6 million Filipino-Americans, is the South China Sea dispute.

They wear leather jackets or superhero costumes, and hold their trumpets and helmets. They are poets, musicians, bikers and soldiers. They’re also Sikh Americans who defy stereotypes.

QUICK TAKE VIDEO: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently said women in Iran can’t ride bicycles in public or in the presence of strangers. VOA’s Persian Service took to the streets of New York City to see what people think about women not being allowed to cycle in public.

Can South America solve the world’s refugee problem? Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay might not be popular refugee destinations, but they could soon begin taking in many more refugees under a new plan that’s designed to share the burden of refugee resettlement.

When India was declared leprosy-free back in 2005, the system dedicated to detecting leprosy cases and providing medical care for them pretty much fell apart. Since then, new infections have gone up, people remain untreated for years, and India is now coping with a rise in physical disabilities, but the world’s first leprosy vaccine could change that.

VIDEO: Robots are poised to take over the pizza-making industry. The pizza you order in the near future could be prepared and baked by a robot. Several pizza makers, including a California startup, have put robots to work in the kitchen. The company hopes to increase profits, but what about human workers?