NASA, SpaceX launch crew to space station to retrieve stuck astronauts

The replacement crew for the International Space Station was launched late Friday, paving the way for the return home of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two NASA astronauts stuck on the space station for nine months.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying Crew-10 members: NASAs Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japans Takuya Onishi and Russias K...

Starbucks hit with $50 million fine for spilled drink injury

A California jury Friday imposed a $50 million fine on Starbucks in the case of a delivery driver burned by a scalding cup of hot tea at a company location in Los Angeles.

Michael Garcia was picking up three drinks in 2020 but one, he claimed, was negligently unsecured and spilled in his lap. He claimed that he consequently suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals ...

US Appeals court allows DEI crackdown

A U.S. federal appeals court Friday lifted a block on the Trump administrations crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, pausing a lower court ruling blocking enforcement of a series of presidential executive orders halting support of DEI initiatives.

The three-judge panel on the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, in Richmond, Virginia, found that the directives by President ...

Forecasters warn of tornadoes in US in coming days

U.S. weather forecasters warned of the threat of tornados in multiple states this weekend following at least five twisters in the state of Missouri on Friday.

Fridays storms left some 100,000 buildings without power as severe weather continued into the night.

The tornado risk was expected to continue into the weekend in a slew of states including Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Accuweather predic...

Trump vows accountability for those who pursued him in court cases

U.S. President Donald Trump promised to seek accountability for those who pursued legal cases against him when he was out of office, speaking Friday at the Justice Department.

Our predecessors turned this Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice. But I stand before you today to declare that those days are over, and they are never going to come back. Theyre never coming back, Trump said.

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2 judges rule mass firings of agency employees to be illegal

Federal judges in two separate cases ruled this week that recent mass firings of employees as part of President Donald Trumps push to cut the size of the federal workforce were illegal and ordered thousands of probationary employees to be reinstated — at least for now.

The Trump administration pushed back, filing appeals in both cases.

This injunction is entirely unconstitutional, White House press...

Pi Day counts on never-ending numerical sequence for March 14 celebrations

March 14 is Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant of pi, representing the ratio of a circles circumference to its diameter.

The holiday is observed on March 14 or 3/14 because 3.14 are the first three digits of the infinite number pi — 3.14159 ... and on and on.

The celebration of Pi Day was the brainchild of physicist Larry Shaw and was first observed in 1988 at San Franciscos...

Senate averts government shutdown, overcomes Democratic opposition

The U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Friday evening, averting a partial government shutdown and overcoming Democratic opposition to the measure.

The bill passed 54-46 after clearing a more difficult procedural hurdle to stop debate on the measure, which required at least 60 votes.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this week to meet a March 14 deadlin...

US envoy says Hamas misrepresented release of hostage

U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said a Hamas statement issued Friday announcing it had agreed to release an American-Israeli soldier was, in reality, a condition of a bridge ceasefire proposal offered by U.S. officials earlier this week.

Early Friday, the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas issued a statement saying it had agreed to release Edan Alexander, believed to be the last livin...

Trump intent on imposing global tariffs

The on-again, off-again tariffs between the United States and other countries are again under scrutiny, with the U.S. president not budging. VOA White House Correspondent Carolyn Presutti reports.

Kremlin: Reasons to be optimistic about ceasefire deal

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there were reasons for cautious optimism regarding a proposed ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia, following talks between a U.S. envoy and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Speaking to reporters in a telephone news briefing, Peskov referenced comments from Putin on Thursday in which he expressed qualified support for a U.S. ceasefire proposal...

Report: US bird population is declining

The U.S. bird population is declining at an alarming rate, according to a report published Thursday by an alliance of science and conservation groups.

Habitat loss and climate change are among the key contributing factors to the bird population losses, according to the 2025 U.S. State of the Birds report.

More than 100 of the species studied, have reached a tipping point, losing more than half their ...

Shortage of Marines’ amphibious warships worries top US military officers

Officials tell VOA the shortage of amphibious warfare ships has reached a breaking point. While the ships make up just 10% of the fleet, they are the go-to alternative to aircraft carriers when commanders need something more precise or expedient. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports.

Homeland Security, rights group to meet in court over migrants at Guantanamo Bay

PENTAGON — U.S. government lawyers are expected to face off with attorneys for civil and immigration rights groups over the use of a U.S. naval base in Cuba to hold migrants slated for deportation.

Arguments in the two lawsuits over operations at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, filed against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem, are set for a U.S. District Court in Washington on Fr...

Ukraine peace, global security top G7 agenda as diplomats convene in Canada

CHARLEVOIX, QUEBEC — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial nations gathered Thursday in Charlevoix, Quebec, as host country Canada outlined its top agenda, focusing on achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and strengthening security and defense partnerships as the G7 marks 50 years.

During the opening remarks, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said, Peace and stability is ...