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Washington — Kash Patel, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, portrayed himself Thursday as the right leader of a law enforcement agency he said had lost public trust and told senators he would commit himself to “due process and transparency” if confirmed as director. At his confirmation hearing, Patel braced for deeply skeptical questioning from Senate Democrats about his loyalty to the president and stated desire to overhaul the bureau. He is a Trump loyalist who, before being nominated to lead the FBI, railed against the bureau over its investigations into the president and said that Jan. 6 rioters were mistreated by the Justice Department. Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the FBI is critical in keeping America safe from terrorism, violent crime and other threats, and the nation “needs an FBI director who understands the gravity of this mission and is ready on day one, not someone who is consumed by his own personal political grievances.” Patel was picked in November to replace Christopher Wray, who led the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency for more than seven years but was forced out of the job Trump had appointed him to after being seen as insufficiently loyal to him. A former aide to the House Intelligence Committee and an ex-federal prosecutor who served in Trump’s first administration, Patel has alarmed critics with rhetoric — in dozens of podcasts and books he has authored — in which he has demonstrated fealty to Trump and assailed the decision-making of the agency he’s now been asked to lead. He’s also identified by name officials he believes should be investigated. In one such podcast interview last year, he said that if he oversaw the FBI, he would “shut down” the bureau’s headquarters building on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and “reopen it the next day as a museum of the ‘deep state.’” “And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to go chase down criminals. Go be cops,” he added. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Wednesday night, Patel did not address some of his more incendiary comments or criticism of the FBI, except to say that his time as a House staffer investigating flaws in the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation had shown him how “the FBI’s immense powers can be abused.” “I spearheaded the investigation that found … “Trump’s FBI chief pick, Kash Patel, says bureau has lost trust which he will restore” →

President Donald Trump is widely expected to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as early as February 1 as part of a plan he says will boost the U.S. economy. But with much about the specifics still unknown, economists, business owners and everyday consumers are still trying to understand how it could impact them. Johny Fernandez reports from New York City. (Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov) …

Days after Chinese upstart DeepSeek revealed a breakthrough in cheap AI computing that shook the U.S. technology industry, the chief executives of Microsoft and Meta defended massive spending that they said was key to staying competitive in the new field. DeepSeek’s quick progress has stirred doubts about the lead America has in AI with models that it claims can match or even outperform Western rivals at a fraction of the cost, but the U.S. executives said on Wednesday that building huge computer networks was necessary to serve growing corporate needs. “Investing ‘very heavily’ in capital expenditure and infrastructure is going to be a strategic advantage over time,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a post-earnings call. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said the spending was needed to overcome the capacity constraints that have hampered the technology giant’s ability to capitalize on AI. “As AI becomes more efficient and accessible, we will see exponentially more demand,” he said on a call with analysts. Microsoft has earmarked $80 billion for AI in its current fiscal year, while Meta has pledged as much as $65 billion towards the technology. That is a far cry from the roughly $6 million DeepSeek said it has spent to develop its AI model. U.S. tech executives and Wall Street analysts say that reflects the amount spent on computing power, rather than all development costs. Still, some investors seem to be losing patience with the hefty spending and lack of big payoffs. Shares of Microsoft — widely seen as a front runner in the AI race because of its tie to industry leader OpenAI – were down 5% in extended trading after the company said that growth in its Azure cloud business in the current quarter would fall short of estimates. “We really want to start to see a clear road map to what that monetization model looks like for all of the capital that’s been invested,” said Brian Mulberry, portfolio manager at Zacks Investment Management, which holds shares in Microsoft. Meta, meanwhile, sent mixed signals about how its bets on AI-powered tools were paying off, with a strong fourth quarter but a lackluster sales forecast for the current period. “With these huge expenses, they need to turn the spigot on in terms of revenue generated, but I think this week was a wake-up call for the U.S.” said Futurum Group analyst Daniel Newman. “For AI right now, … “Microsoft, Meta CEOs defend hefty AI spending after DeepSeek stuns tech world” →

A small Chinese company sent shockwaves around the tech world this week with news that it has created a high-performing artificial intelligence system with less computing power and at a lower cost than ones made by U.S. tech giants. Michelle Quinn reports. …

WASHINGTON — The State Department on Wednesday sought to clarify President Donald Trump’s order to freeze and review foreign development aid after the top U.S. diplomat blunted some of the chaos that ensued with an emergency order that could shield the world’s largest HIV program from the 90-day funding freeze.    At the White House, Trump said his pauses to foreign and domestic funding are part of his administration’s effort to root out “tremendous waste and fraud and abuse.”  Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s late-Tuesday waiver exempts humanitarian aid, which he classifies as “life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance.”     The United Nations’ AIDS program welcomed the news, emphasizing the value of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which serves 20 million people in 55 countries.   “UNAIDS welcomes this waiver from the U.S. government, which ensures that millions of people living with HIV can continue to receive life-saving HIV medication during the assessment of U.S. foreign development assistance,” said Executive Director Winnie Byanyima. “This urgent decision recognizes PEPFAR’s critical role in the AIDS response and restores hope to people living with HIV.”  ‘Blocking woke programs’ In a Wednesday memo sent to journalists, the State Department explained its rationale for the freeze during the review and lauded early cost cuts, saying that “even at this early stage, over $1,000,000,000 in spending not aligned with an America First agenda has been prevented.”   The U.S. spent about $70 billion in foreign aid in fiscal year 2023, the most recent data available.  “We are rooting out waste,” the memo said. “We are blocking woke programs. And we are exposing activities that run contrary to our national interests. None of this would be possible if these programs remained on autopilot.”   The president, who said Wednesday at the White House that he “could stand here all day” and give examples of wasted fraud and abuse in the U.S. government, highlighted a few.  “We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas,” he said. “Fifty million. And you know what’s happened to them? They’ve used them as a method of making bombs. How about that?”    The State Department echoed this, saying in a statement, “Without the pause, U.S. taxpayers would have provided condoms [and other contraceptive … “State Department says Trump froze foreign aid to ‘root out waste’” →

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the nation’s top health official, faced tough questions from senators Wednesday about his views on vaccinations, COVID-19 and the nation’s health care system. A member of one of America’s most famous political families, Kennedy could face a tough road to confirmation. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more. …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate kicked off Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing Wednesday. Candidates for the President’s Cabinet must be confirmed by the Senate. But individuals considered for politically appointed positions are thoroughly vetted during presidential transitions by a president-elect’s legal team. What to know about this process.  Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …

NEW YORK — Former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt — crimes his own lawyer said earned him the nickname “Gold Bar Bob.”  U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein announced the sentence after the Democrat tearfully addressed the judge, saying he’d lost everything he cared about, except for his family.  “You were successful, powerful, you stood at the apex of our political system,” the judge said. ”Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know when it was, you lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good.”  Menendez’s actions, the judge said, feeds the cynicism of voters.  “What’s been the result?” he said, noting a lengthy investigation of a five-year crime. “You lost your senate seat. You lost your chairmanship and you lost your good name.”  Menendez, 71, who tearfully told the judge in court that he was chastened, was defiant when he stepped before cameras at a bank of microphones outside the Manhattan courthouse, saying: “I am innocent.”  He then railed against the judicial system and aligned himself with President Donald Trump’s recent criticisms of the judicial system, particularly in New York City.  “President Trump is right. This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,” he said, reading from a sheet of paper and calling himself the victim of “the Wild West of political prosecutions.”  Prosecutors had requested a 15-year prison term for Menendez, who was convicted of multiple charges including acting as an agent for Egypt for selling his once-considerable clout in Washington for bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Menendez: I’ve done more good than bad Given a chance to speak in court, Menendez broke down several times as he described his accomplishments.  “You really don’t know the man you are about to sentence,” Menendez told Stein as he stood before him with his hands in his pockets, except when he wiped his face several times with a tissue.  “Your honor, I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions,” he added. “I’ve done far more good than bad. I ask you, your honor, to judge me in that context.”  Attorney Adam Fee told Stein … “Former US Senator Menendez gets 11 years in prison for bribes, acting as agent of Egypt” →

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s budget office on Wednesday rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. The Monday evening memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding. The reversal was the latest sign that even with unified control of Washington, Trump’s plans to dramatically and rapidly reshape the government has some limits. The White House confirmed that OMB pulled the memo Wednesday in a two-sentence notice sent to agencies and departments but said that Trump’s underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas such as diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change remained in place. Administration officials said the notice to halt loans and grants was necessary to conduct a review to ensure that spending complies with Trump’s recent blitz of executive orders. Agencies had been directed to answer a series of yes or no questions on each federal program by Feb. 7. The questions included “does this program promote gender ideology?” and “does this program promote or support in any way abortion?” Still, the vaguely worded memo, combined with incomplete answers from the White House throughout the day, left lawmakers, public officials and average Americans struggling to figure out what programs would be affected by the pause. Even temporary interruptions in funding could cause layoffs or delays in public services. The freeze was scheduled to go into effect at 5 p.m. Tuesday but was stayed by a federal judge until at least Monday after an emergency hearing requested by nonprofit groups that receive federal grants. An additional lawsuit by Democratic state attorneys general was also pending. “The Executive Orders issued by the President on funding reviews remain in full force and effect and will be rigorously implemented by all agencies and departments,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, blaming the confusion on the courts and news outlets, not the administration. “This action should effectively end the court case and allow the government to focus on enforcing the President’s orders on controlling federal spending.” Administration officials insisted that despite the confusion, the order still had its intended effect by underscoring to federal … “White House rescinds memo freezing federal grants” →

According to Harvard University, about 200 copies of the original Declaration of Independence were produced in 1776. Only about two dozen remain. In New York, a new copy from the times of the Founding Fathers was discovered. On Jan. 24, it was put on auction. Elena Wolf has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Videographer: Michael Eckels …

Washignton — President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. has ignited a legal and political debate, raising questions about the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the extent of presidential power. The amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. “We’re the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know. And it’s just absolutely ridiculous. But, you know, we’ll see. We think we have very good grounds and certain people have wanted to do this for decades,” Trump said while signing the executive order on his first day in office. The United States is one of about 30 countries that grant automatic citizenship to individuals born on their soil, including Brazil, Mexico, and Canada, among others. The practice is known as jus soli (Latin for “right of the soil”). But the U.S. remains notable for its broad application of unconditional jus soli, as enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Are there limits to 14th Amendment? The amendment, ratified in 1868, was designed to address citizenship questions following the U.S. Civil War and to overrule the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision, which denied African Americans citizenship. The text reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” “This language ratifies the traditional understanding that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen,” John Yoo, a professor at University of California Berkeley Law School and visiting fellow at the Hoover Institute, told VOA in a phone intervie However, critics argue that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” implies that at least one parent must be a U.S. citizen for a child to be granted citizenship. According to Yoo, this interpretation aligns more closely with the European jus sanguinis, or “law of blood” approach, which ties citizenship to parentage rather than birthplace. “To me, that just doesn’t make sense of the language of the 14th Amendment and historical practice,” Yoo said. “The Supreme Court, in cases like United States v. Wong Kim Ark, has consistently interpreted the amendment to mean birthright citizenship.” Critics of Trump’s executive order say the 14th Amendment is a cornerstone of civil rights in the United States. However, supporters of the executive order argue a more limited interpretation of the amendment is warranted. “President Trump … “Debate rages over Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship” →

Washington — The Trump administration has ended extended protections for Venezuelans with Temporary Protected Status, TPS, in the United States, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News in an interview on Wednesday.  Noem said Homeland Security would not follow a Biden-era move that gave Venezuelans in the U.S. with the TPS program an additional 18 months of protections, adding: “We are going to follow the process, evaluate all of these individuals that are in our country, including the Venezuelans that are here.”  …

The Trump administration issued a memo Tuesday offering federal government workers a financial incentive to leave their posts by the end of September. The resignation program is part of the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce. An email to many of the 2 million federal workers said they could remain on the government payroll until Sept. 30, the end of the government’s fiscal year, and could have their work duties reduced or eliminated in the interim. Those workers would also be exempt from a Trump mandate that employees need to return to working in their offices full time. Employees have until Feb. 6 to accept the offer, and were directed to do so with an email reply with the word “resign.” The potential impact of the program on tax-payer services was not clear. “While a few agencies and even branches of the military are likely to see increases in the size of their workforce, the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,” the memo said. People working in immigration, national security and for the Postal Service were not part of the offer. The memo also said the “federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work.” Unions representing federal employees criticized the administration’s move. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 federal workers, told its members the resignation memo “is designed to entice or scare you into resigning” and said “we strongly urge you not to resign in response.” Everett Kelley, head of the American Federation of Government Employees union that includes some VOA employees, said in a statement that the offer “should not be viewed as voluntary” and that the administration’s actions show its goal is “to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.” Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters …

WASHINGTON — America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card. The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind. Given every two years to a sample of America’s children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading. “The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.” Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. It’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points. For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress. The average math score for eighth grade students was unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment. Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character’s motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word “industrious” means “to be hard working.” Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind. … “US children fall behind in reading, make little improvement in math” →

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said on Tuesday it will allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented migrants at Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado, further widening the Pentagon’s role in President Donald Trump’s undocumented immigration crackdown. The decision comes on top of U.S. military deportation flights of undocumented migrants out of the country and the deployment of just over 1,600 active-duty troops to the U.S. border with Mexico following Trump’s emergency declaration on undocumented immigration last week. The U.S. military’s Northern Command said in a statement it started providing facilities at Buckley to ICE starting on Monday “to enable U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stage and process criminal aliens within the U.S.” “ICE requirements for the facility include a temporary operations center, staging area, and a temporary holding location for the receiving, holding, and processing of illegal aliens,” Northern Command said in the statement. “This facility will be manned by ICE senior leaders, special agents, and analysts, as well as members of (Department of Homeland Security) components and other federal law enforcement agencies.” Northern Command did not say how many undocumented migrants might be detained at Buckley or whether additional U.S. military bases might soon be opening for detention of undocumented migrants. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Buckley Space Force Base is located in the city of Aurora, a Denver suburb, which figured prominently during Trump’s presidential campaign last year. Trump said during his campaign that apartment complexes in Aurora had been taken over by members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a claim refuted by top city officials at the time. During a campaign event there in October, Trump pledged to launch an Operation Aurora targeting gang members. This is not the first time a military has been used to house undocumented migrants. The Pentagon had approved requests to house unaccompanied migrant children under Joe Biden’s administration and undocumented migrant children and families during Trump’s first term. Trump, a Republican, issued an array of executive orders on Monday aimed at deporting record numbers of migrants in the U.S. without legal status. In a little more than a week in office, Trump rolled back Biden-era guidance that limited arrests of non-criminal migrants, ordered other federal law enforcement to assist with immigration work, and scrapped a Biden policy that restricted enforcement at schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations. Immigration arrests have reached … “ICE to use U.S. military base in Colorado to detain undocumented migrants” →

Caroline Kennedy, a member of the famed U.S. political family, urged senators on Tuesday to reject her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the top U.S. health agency, calling him a “predator” and his healthcare views “dangerous.” The daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy said that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known as RFK Jr., has discouraged vaccinations for his own profit. She added he does not have the medical, financial or government experience to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Republican President Donald Trump nominated him in November. A spokesperson for RFK Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Senators will question RFK Jr. on Wednesday starting at 10 a.m. about his views before they vote on whether to confirm his nomination. The Washington Post first reported the letter. RFK Jr. has long sown doubts about the safety and efficacy of vaccines that have helped curb disease and prevent deaths for decades. He disputes the anti-vaccine characterization and has said he would not prevent Americans from getting inoculations. “Bobby has gone on to misrepresent, lie and cheat his way through life today,” Caroline Kennedy said in a video on social media platform X, in which she read her letter addressed to senators. U.S. doctors, nurses, researchers, scientists and caregivers “deserve a secretary committed to advancing cutting-edge medicine, to save lives, not to rejecting the advances we have already made,” said Caroline Kennedy, a former ambassador to Australia and Japan who served during the Democratic Biden and Obama administrations. “They deserve a stable, moral and ethical person at the helm of this crucial agency.” In written testimony for the Finance committee, RFK Jr. said he is not “anti-vaccine” or “anti-industry” and that he believes “vaccines have a critical role in healthcare,” pointing to his own children being vaccinated, according to the document seen by Reuters. However, RFK Jr. has led the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and in a 2023 interview with podcaster Lex Fridman said no vaccines are safe and effective. RFK Jr. has said he wants to work to end chronic disease, break any ties between employees at the U.S. drug regulator and industry and advise U.S. water systems to remove fluoride. RFK Jr. has faced new scrutiny over his ties to Wisner Baum, a law firm specializing in pharmaceutical drug injury cases. He has an arrangement to earn … “Caroline Kennedy calls on US lawmakers to oppose RFK Jr.’s health post” →