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The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration's requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The vote was 52-48. The measure now goes to the Democratic-led House,…

With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a safe place for those seeking…

The World Health Organization says new data is emerging every day about the potential impact of the new omicron variant on the coronavirus pandemic, but that it is premature to draw conclusions about the severity of the infection. Since omicron was detected two weeks ago…

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to "leverage" the federal government's scale and purchasing power to make it carbon neutral, cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 65% in less than a decade and establish an all-electric fleet of vehicles. The order will cut…

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that there is a lot to learn about the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but the world is not defenseless against it and nations need to act now to keep it from spreading.  At a briefing at the agency's…

A Japanese billionaire and his producer rocketed to space Wednesday as the first self-paying space tourists in more than a decade.  Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa and producer Yozo Hirano, who plans to film his mission, blasted off for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was exposed to the coronavirus Tuesday by a U.N. official who already had COVID-19 and is isolating for the next few days, diplomatic sources said.  Guterres, 72, has canceled his upcoming in-person engagements, sources told AFP.  The U.N. chief was…

The omicron variant is making headlines as the world's newest strain of coronavirus. In the United States, where nearly 200,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University, top public health officials warn Americans to stay vigilant even as vaccination rates rise and…

As South Africa struggles with a new surge of COVID-19 infections due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus, a new study suggests omicron could be less severe than other forms of the virus. The New York Times reports doctors at the Steve Biko Academic…

More than 5 million people worldwide have had their lives cut short by COVID-19, and the number keeps rising as many countries experience another wave of transmission.  The best defense against this disease is a vaccine, experts say.    Since the outbreak was first reported in 2019, the best scientists all…

More than 5 million people worldwide have had their lives cut short by COVID-19, and the number keeps rising. The best defense against this virus is a vaccine. VOA's Carol Pearson explains one approach in making a vaccine that's been effective against polio, measles, Ebola…

Three 2021 Nobel Prize laureates said Monday that climate change is the biggest threat facing the world — yet they remain optimistic — as this year's winners began receiving their awards at scaled-down local ceremonies adapted for pandemic times.  For a second year, COVID-19 has…

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the U.S. space agency, NASA, says it has new software that will allow its Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) to better assess potential threats posed by asteroids that can come close to Earth.  In a press release…

Rick Levin is trying to keep the waters of Chesapeake Bay clean by building oyster reefs. VOA's Zdenko Novacki visits him in Pasadena, Maryland, to learn how oysters filter water and about the benefits of oyster reefs for the environment and other marine life.  Camera: Philip Alexiou, Zdenko Novacki  Produced by: Zdenko Novacki ...

In early 2020, a team of scientists from the University of Vermont, Tufts University and Harvard University took stem cells from African clawed frog embryos and turned them into tiny living robots. As if that isn’t amazing enough, then something unexpected happened. Maxim Moskalkov has…

The World Health Organization reports a significant rise in malaria cases and deaths in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions in malaria services. Over the past two decades, global malaria death rates have been cut in half, saving the lives of 10.6 million people. New data…

One of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is warning that the next pandemic may be more contagious and more lethal unless more money is devoted to research and preparations to fight emerging viral threats. In excerpts released before a speech Monday, Professor Sarah…

America's winter wonderland is starting out this season as anything but traditional.  The calendar says December, but for much of the country, temperatures beckon for sandals. Umbrellas, if not arks, are needed in the Pacific Northwest, while snow shovels are gathering cobwebs in the Rockies. …

Cameroon has begun a measles vaccination drive on its northern border with Nigeria after several dozen children were found with the infection at a demobilization center. Cameroon says most of those infected are children of former fighters fleeing Boko Haram terrorism. A mother comforts her…

The World Health Organization has recognized Botswana for its efforts to prevent the transmission of HIV from expectant mothers to unborn children. Officials say no children born to HIV-positive mothers this year had the virus. WHO awarded Botswana the ‘silver tier’ status this week; The silver tier certification is given to countries that have lowered…