Giant Wooden Trolls Enchant the Pacific Northwest

Six giant wooden trolls have taken up residency in the Pacific Northwest, inspiring “troll hunters' to walk in the woods to find them. This time, world-famous environmental artist Thomas Dambo collaborated on the project with local Native American tribes. Natasha Mozgovaya has more. House members voted again Thursday to punish one of th [Read more]

NASA celebrates a quarter century of human cooperation in space. Plus, a busy week of space launches, and 'America's Dad' wants you to see the moon like those who've been there. VOA's Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space [Read more]

The U.S. government on Thursday unveiled measures to combat Russian hackers accused of targeting U.S-based entities and individuals and meddling in a British election. The cyber actors targeted include the Callisto group, also known as Star Blizzard or COLDRIVER, which engaged in espionage and is connected to Russia's Federal Security S [Read more]

With just four working days left before its holiday recess, the U.S. Congress is no closer to passing the White House's $60 billion request for aid to Ukraine. Lawmakers are running out of time to negotiate a deal on border security that Republicans say must be included to overcome their concerns about funding foreign conflicts while le [Read more]

After a first-day blur of rare quick action and agreement, negotiators at a critical United Nations climate summit finished their first week Wednesday in a more familiar place: the murky middle where momentum and roadblocks intertwine. “Negotiations ... are a mixed picture right now. We see big differences between individual states in [Read more]

Iran said Wednesday that it had sent a capsule into orbit capable of carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years.  A report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour as saying the capsule was launched 130 kilometers into orbit.  Zarepour said the launch of the 500-kilogra [Read more]

A new optical ground station has been built by the Australian National University to help the U.S. space agency, NASA, and others explore space and safely reach Mars. The Australian team has developed a new type of space communication using lasers. Researchers say the system will allow them to connect with satellites and NASA-crewed m [Read more]

NASA celebrates a quarter century of human cooperation in space. Plus, a busy week of space launches, and 'America's Dad' wants you to see the moon like those who've been there. VOA's Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space [Read more]

In his closing arguments for remaining a member of the House, a defiant Representative George Santos depicted himself as a victim of a smear campaign by some of his colleagues and made clear that he would not resign before a vote Friday on whether he should be expelled. The first-term Republican congressman from New York could well beco [Read more]

A U.S. judge on Friday said Donald Trump does not have immunity from criminal charges for actions he took as president, rejecting a bid by the Republican to toss out the case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington found there was no legal basis for concluding that U [Read more]

In a single stroke on Tuesday, the Senate approved about 425 military promotions after U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over his opposition to a Pentagon abortion policy.  Tuberville, who represents the U.S. state of Alabama, had been under pressure from members of both sides of the political ais [Read more]

Two months after his historic ouster as leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy of California announced Wednesday that he will resign from his congressional seat by the end of the year. His announcement capped a stunning end for the one-time deli owner from Bakersfield, who ascended through state and natio [Read more]

In early November, Nigeria launched its first interconnected solar hybrid mini grid in Nasarawa State to make electricity more reliable, renewable and accessible. Gibson Emeka has this story from Abuja, Nigeria, Grace Oyenubi narrates. [Read more]

Spotify says it is planning to lay off 17% of its global workforce, amounting to around 1,500 employees, following layoffs earlier this year of 600 people in January and an additional 200 in June. The music streaming giant is continuing its effort to cut costs and work toward becoming profitable, said Spotify CEO Daniel Ek in a prepared [Read more]

Facebook and Instagram fail to protect underage users from exposure to child sexual abuse material and let adults solicit pornographic imagery from them, New Mexico's attorney general alleges in a lawsuit that follows an undercover online investigation. "Our investigation into Meta's social media platforms demonstrates that they are not [Read more]

A new optical ground station has been built by the Australian National University to help the U.S. space agency, NASA, and others explore space and safely reach Mars. The Australian team has developed a new type of space communication using lasers. Researchers say the system will allow them to connect with satellites and NASA-crewed m [Read more]

Several thousand members of the Free Union of Iranian Workers went on strike Saturday against the Isfahan Steel Company, seeking higher wages and better working and living conditions. The scale and extent of the strike was significant, drawing attention even from state news agencies. The Free Union of Iranian Workers Telegram channel di [Read more]

Stocks slipped on Wall Street Monday ahead of some key reports this week on the job market that might provide more insight into the Federal Reserve's thinking about interest rates. The S&P 500 was off 0.9%. The index is coming off its best month in more than a year, and reached its highest level in more than a year on Friday. The Dow [Read more]

As worries mount about unsustainable levels of debt in the Chinese economy, a major ratings firm on Tuesday announced that it has changed its outlook for China's sovereign debt to negative. Moody's Investors Service warned that high levels of debt among regional and local governments, many of which are struggling to remain current on th [Read more]

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded the outlook on Hong Kong's credit rating to negative from stable on Wednesday, following a similar change for China the day before. The city's economy was buoyed by China's post-pandemic reopening but recovery has slowed in the latter half of the year, with the government last month revising full-year g [Read more]