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Illinois Man Charged with Kidnapping Chinese Scholar Pleads Not Guilty

An Illinois man charged with kidnapping Chinese student Yingying Zhang pleaded not guilty Thursday and will go on trial Sept. 12. Brendt Christensen entered his plea at his brief arraignment before a federal judge in Urbana, Illinois, south of Chicago. Zhang has been missing since June 9. Investigators are sure she is dead, but have not found her body. Some of her relatives who came to Illinois from China to help with the search were in the courtroom Thursday. Zhang came to the...

Burundi Relying on US Police to Find Missing Robotics Teenagers - Official

Burundi is counting on U.S. law enforcement officials to find six teenagers who went missing after a robotics competition in Washington, an official with the east African country's embassy said on Friday. The teens, aged 16 to 18, were last seen on Tuesday after the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge, and two have since been spotted crossing the border into Canada, according to Washington, D.C., police. "We have been in touch with the Metropolitan Police Department; they told us...

Russia, Iran, North Korea Among CIA Chief's Topics at Forum

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Thursday that Russia has no plans to leave Syria and will continue to try to meddle in U.S. affairs to “stick it to America.” He reiterated his belief that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election and described the U.S.-Russia relationship as “complicated.” Pompeo also said he has seen only minimal evidence that Russia has pursued a serious strategy against Islamic State militants in Syria. He said any suggestion that Russia has been...

Eager for Triumph, Trump Pushes Divided Republicans on Health Care

The Republican-controlled Senate will make one more attempt to repeal Obamacare next week, hoping to make good on a major campaign pledge made by President Donald Trump. Trump and his Republican allies suffered a major setback when the latest effort to repeal and replace Obamacare failed in the Senate, riven by divisions between conservatives and moderates over what should come next. The next attempt at a vote will come Tuesday. On Thursday, the White House and GOP leaders looked for...

US Senate Rallies Behind John McCain

News that Republican Senator John McCain has brain cancer triggered expressions of shock and an avalanche of well wishes from across Washington and around the world. VOA's Michael Bowman reports, McCain's absence deprives the Senate of one of its strongest, most resolute voices and deprives Republicans of a vote they desperately need.

Allies Worry Russian War Games May Be 'Trojan Horse,' US General Says

U.S. allies in Eastern Europe and Ukraine are worried that Russia's planned war games in September could be a "Trojan horse" aimed at leaving behind military equipment brought into Belarus, the U.S. Army's top general in Europe said Thursday. Russia has sought to reassure NATO that the military exercises will respect international limits on size, but NATO and U.S. official remain wary about their scale and scope. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who heads U.S....

US Lawmakers Want Fresh Sanctions on Hezbollah

Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation on Thursday seeking to increase sanctions on Hezbollah, accusing the powerful Shiite Muslim political group of violence in Syria and amassing rockets along Israel's border. The bill, an amendment to existing sanctions on the group, seeks to further restrict its ability to fundraise and recruit, increase pressure on banks that do business with it and crack down on countries, including Iran, that support Hezbollah. Among...