Newsletter Archive

Flattened buildings and bombed-out vehicles litter the road to eastern Mosul. Driving Islamic State from Iraq’s second-largest city is unlike most battles Iraqi soldiers have fought against the terror group, mostly because of the many civilians who could be caught in the crossfire. VOA is on the ground in Mosul, where children play in the streets until they’re ordered to take cover when nearby gunfire becomes too intense.

Entire districts of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, are back under government control for the first time in years. The success of army forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, backed by their Russian allies, has some wondering whether the end is near for the six-year-old Syrian rebellion.

Transition central for President-elect Donald Trump is his eponymous luxury building on New York’s tony 5th Avenue. Trump Tower — home to the rich and famous, as well as high-end stores like Gucci —is now attracting more security, reporters and tourists than ever before. VOA visits the president-elect’s signature building for a look at the new normal at Trump Tower.

Foreign students added about $30 billion to the U.S. economy in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants, Latinos and Muslims has some international students and their parents worried about the safety of studying in the United States. Fewer foreign students could potentially result in more than a monetary loss for American institutions of higher learning.

Candidate Donald Trump used his Twitter account like a megaphone, speaking directly to the public in an apparently unfiltered style at odds with traditional modern political communications. This week, Trump warned online that he might reverse the current U.S. warming of relations with Cuba, marking the first time he’s made a significant foreign policy statement via Twitter as president-elect. Trump’s off-the-cuff style might appeal to supporters, but it could pose a unique challenge to those trying to conduct U.S. foreign policy.

VIDEO: ‘Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.’ No one in U.S. history embodies America’s innovative spirit quite like Thomas Edison, probably the most well-known American inventor. He created the first long-lasting electric lightbulb, phonographs, mimeographs, storage batteries, the first talking doll, and hundreds of other products. The New Jersey home where Edison lived and worked is a place where visitors can step back in time.