Several hundred middle school and high school students from Senegal and surrounding countries spent last week in Dakar building robots. Organizers of the annual robotics competition say the goal is to encourage African governments and private donors to invest more in science and math education throughout the continent. Ricci Shryock reports for VOA from Senegal’s capital.
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A tattoo artist in California has created what many of us can’t imagine — a tattoo that also produces sound. Artist Nate Siggard inks audio soundwaves onto the skin that makes it possible to hear music or someone’s voice by using a smartphone app. VOA’s Deborah Block explains how he does it.
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The positive impact of exercise is old news. There really is no downside, mentally or physically, to getting up and moving around in any form from taking walks to lifting weights. But what if a pill could give you all those benefits. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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President Donald Trump is proposing to balance the federal budget within 10 years by slashing many social programs, including some that help the poor pay for food and medical care, called food stamps and Medicaid.
Officials have outlined some new details of the president’s first spending plan. A president’s budget has to be approved by Congress, so the final form is often quite different from what the chief executive proposes. Democrats oppose many of Trump’s plans, and the president’s Republican allies in Congress are divided on some budget issues.
In his campaign, Trump promised not to cut Social Security, a government-run old-age pension program, or Medicare, which helps elderly people pay for doctors, hospitals and medicine. That means deeper cuts to some other programs.
Critics of Trump’s budget, including a group called “Campaign to Fix the Debt,” says these popular and expensive programs make up just over half of government spending over the next 10 years. They say it is difficult to balance the budget without trimming this spending. They also say administration officials have based the budget on “unrealistic and rosy economic growth projections.”
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Ariana Grande is an American pop singer, dancer and actress. Grande was born in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1993 and began performing onstage when she was a child.
A role in a Broadway play at age 15, followed by some small TV roles, helped her land a role on TV’s “Victorious,” which was set in a performing arts high school. Grande was cast as a goofy aspiring singer-actress named Cat Valentine.
Her pop music career was set off by “Victorious,” and she was signed to the Universal Republic Record label. In 2012, her first single “Put Your Hearts Up” gained great attention, debuting at number 25 on the pop charts.
Her debut album, Yours Truly, was released in August 2013. Grande’s 2014 release, “My Everything,” sold 169,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 1.
In 2015, Grande released Christmas & Chill, a holiday album, and the single “Focus.” In February 2016, she released her third album Dangerous Woman, and the title track debuted at number 10 on the Hot 100 that March.
With it, Grande became the the first person in the history of that chart to have the lead single from each of her first three albums debut in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Grande’s accolades include three American Music Awards, the Music Business Association’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year, an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards and four Grammy Award nominations.
In 2016, Time magazine named Grande one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
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New sexual harassment and racial discrimination lawsuits are rocking the already scandal riddled Fox News Channel.
Three new lawsuits were filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Two allege racial harassment at Fox News, while a third alleges sexual harassment at Fox News Radio.
The cases increase to 23 the number of past or present Fox employees represented by attorney Doug Wigdor, the majority having cases alleging racial hostility by a since-fired financial executive. Fox said Monday that the lawsuits have no legal basis.
Kathleen Lee, a Fox News Radio employee of more than 10 years, alleges that radio anchor Ron Flatter subjected her to “unrelenting sexual harassment” after the network hired him in 2013.
A former Fox employee, Adasa Blanco, said she alerted Fox executives about racially hostile behavior on the part of former Fox controller Judith Slater more than eight years before the executive was let go. Slater has denied charges of racially hostile conduct. Blanco, who is Hispanic, said that Slater made fun of her accent.
In the lawsuit, Wigdor said Fox “knowingly harbored and protected” a racist employee for more than eight years and misrepresented to the public that it fired Slater quickly upon learning of her behavior.
Naima Farrow, another former Fox employee who worked for Slater, said she was fired without warning or explanation in 2015, less than three days after telling superiors she was pregnant. Farrow, who is black, said Slater mockingly referred to her as “girlfriend.”
Fox News said in a statement that it is committed to a diverse workplace free from discrimination, and takes any complaint seriously. In these cases, Fox “took prompt, effective and, when necessary, strong remedial action,” the network said. “We believe these latest claims are without legal basis and look forward to proving that the company at all times has acted appropriately, and lawfully, in connection with these matters.”
The new legal claims come as Fox News is battling a series of lawsuits that led to the resignations of former chief executive Roger Ailes, who died last week, star anchor Bill O’Reilly and network co-president Bill Shine.
Wigdor said he also is representing an unidentified black information technology employee who was subjected to racially insensitive remarks by Bob Beckel, an on-air host who was fired last week, days after the worker complained.
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