Newsletter Archive

American students are learning to get real in a fake news world. Thousands of educators in the United States are teaching high-schoolers the critical thinking skills needed to assess the credibility of all the news and information they encounter. Sifting through what is real and what is fake isn’t easy, but the program aims to teach students that not all information is created equal.

The debate over the US’s legal authority to conduct military action overseas has been rekindled by the airstrikes on Syria ordered by President Trump last week. For years, Congress has delayed discussion of one the most serious of its powers — the decision to authorize the use of US military force abroad. Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to reopen the discussion on war powers.

Fewer Americans believe gun control is the most important issue facing the country. Immediately after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 17 people dead in February, gun control topped the listed of concerns for Americans. Now, a new poll indicates there are three other issues that are more critical than gun violence.

Americans are remembering the woman known as everyone’s grandmother. Barbara Bush died yesterday at the age of 92. The former first lady was known for her white hair, triple-strand false pearl necklace, plain-spoken ways and devotion to family. Along with Abigail Adams, Mrs. Bush had the distinction of being both the wife and mother of a US president.

VOA INTERVIEW: US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is emphasizing the strong US trade commitment to Latin America. In recent years, China has been making inroads in the region. Speaking with VOA on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Peru, Ross points out that the majority of US trade arrangements are with Latin America, that Latin America exports far more to the US than it does to China, and that Latin America has a surplus with the US and a deficit with China.

VIDEO: Her partner and the father of her child is locked up awaiting trial for rebellion in Spain. Jordi Cuixart is one of nine Catalan independence leaders being held in the continuing constitutional crisis between Madrid and Catalonia. Each week, Meritxell Bonet takes their toddler son to visit his father behind bars.

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