NASCAR, the American stock car racing company, is celebrating its 75th anniversary and striving to bring diversity to the sport. Genia Dulot visited a preseason NASCAR race in Los Angeles and spoke to Daniel Suarez, the first Mexican-born racing driver to win a NASCAR cup series. Camera: Genia Dulot …
LeBron James Becomes US Pro-Basketball’s All-Time Scoring Leader
U.S. basketball star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer Tuesday. James hit a two-point basket late in the third quarter in the game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to surpass the 38,387 career points held by Lakers’ legend and Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar, who was…
New York-Based Railway Fans Help Fan Awareness of Trains
There are fans for all kinds of things, from sports to birds to stamps. This is true for trains as well. VOA’s Aunshuman Apte reports. …
Rushdie Says ‘Very Difficult’ to Write After Stabbing
British author Salman Rushdie said he finds it “very difficult” to write after being stabbed last year, in an interview published Monday ahead of the release of his new novel Victory City. Rushdie, whose “epic tale” of a 14th-century woman who defies a patriarchal world to rule a city hits U.S. shelves Tuesday, said the…
Singer Shervin Hajipour’s Grammy Win Thrills Iranian Social Media Users
Iran-based singer Shervin Hajipour’s Grammy Award for a song he produced last year in honor of Iran’s peaceful protest movement against Islamist rule has prompted an outpouring of positive reactions from Iranian social media users. U.S. first lady Jill Biden announced Hajipour’s win of the U.S. Recording Academy’s first-ever Song for Social Change Special Merit…
Antique Rugs From Caucasus, Iran, Turkey Reflect History in Patterns
Centuries-old weavings from the Caucasus, Iran and Turkey show the individual stories and intertwined histories of the region in a museum exhibit in the Western U.S. state of Colorado. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns has our story. …
Hmong Immigrant Story by Cambodian Filmmaker Set for Premiere
The success of the critically acclaimed 2022 film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has put a spotlight on Asian representation in the U.S. film industry. Now, an American actor of Hmong descent and a Cambodian American filmmaker have made a new movie about the Asian experience in the United States. VOA’s Chetra Chap reports. …
Schools Ban ChatGPT amid Fears of Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Cheating
U.S. educators are debating the merits and risks of a new, free artificial intelligence tool called ChatGPT, which students are using to write passable high school essays. So far, there isn’t a reliable way to catch cheating. Matt Dibble has the story. …
Manchester City Accused of Misleading Premier League over Finances
Manchester City was accused by the Premier League on Monday of providing misleading information about its finances over a nine-year period when the club was attempting to establish itself as a force in English and European soccer following its takeover by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. The explosive development came at the end of a four-year…
Iran Singer Who Faces Prison Wins Grammy for Protest Anthem
An Iranian singer who faces possible prison time for his song that’s become an anthem to the ongoing protests shaking the Islamic Republic wept early Monday after seeing he’d won a Grammy. Shervin Hajipour appeared stunned after hearing Jill Biden, the wife of President Joe Biden, announce he’d won the Grammy’s new song for social…
Beyonce Is Most Decorated Grammy Artist
Beyonce’s four wins were one of many highlights of Sunday’s Grammys, making her the artist with the most Grammys ever. Beyonce, the Queen Bee, can now proudly wear the crown of most decorated artist in Grammy history, breaking the 26-year record held by the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti. However, she was not in the…
Key Winners for the 2023 Grammy Awards
Here is a list of winners in key categories for the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles. Beyonce led the field with a total of nine nominations and scooped up four awards, making her the winningest artist in Grammys history. Harry Styles won the Album of the Year…
Amid Crisis, Haitians Find Unlikely Solace in Soup
For Wilfred Cadet, buying soup on Sunday is the equivalent of going to church. Seated on plastic chairs next to a street food stand tucked in an alleyway, the 47-year-old Haitian slurps orange-colored soup out of a metal bowl next to his 9-year-old son. Haitians mill past them cradling larger plastic containers, each eager…
Early Winners in Top Grammy Categories Announced
— Best alternative music performance: “Chaise Longue” by Wet Leg — Best alternative music album: “Wet Leg,” Wet Leg — Best rock album: “Patient Number 9,” Ozzy Osbourne — Best rock performance: “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile — Best rock song: “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile — Best rap performance: “The Heart Part 5,”…
At Sunday’s Grammys, Will Beyonce Finally Win Top Honor of Best Album?
Pop superstar Beyonce, winner of more Grammy awards than any other female artist, has never taken home the coveted album of the year trophy at the music industry’s highest honors. That could change on Sunday, according to industry experts and awards pundits, although it is not a sure thing in a formidable, wide-ranging field that…
Psychedelic Churches in US Pushing Boundaries of Religion
The tea tasted bitter and earthy, but Lorenzo Gonzales drank it anyway. On that night in remote Utah, he was hoping for a life-changing experience, which is how he found himself inside a tent with two dozen others waiting for the psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca to kick in. Soon, the gentle sounds of a…
Route to Super Bowl Dangerous for Mexico’s Avocado Haulers
It is a long and sometimes dangerous journey for truckers transporting the avocados destined for guacamole on tables and tailgates in the United States during the Super Bowl. It starts in villages like Santa Ana Zirosto, high in the misty, pine-clad mountains of the western Mexico state of Michoacan. The roads are so dangerous —…
Hasty Pudding Celebrates Coolidge as Its Woman of the Year
The White Lotus actress Jennifer Coolidge is being celebrated Saturday as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting…
Spanish-born Fashion Designer Paco Rabanne Has Died at Age 88
Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and for metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced Friday. “The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honor our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88. Among the most seminal fashion figures…
Thai Entrepreneur Who Bought Miss Universe Contest Says Brains and Beauty Drive Entrants’ Dreams
“Helloooo! Hello the Universe! Whoo!” shouted Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, the latest owner of the Miss Universe contest, from a stage filled with beauty queens. Jakkaphong, a Thai media tycoon and trans rights activist, bought the parent company, Miss Universe Organization (MUO), last year. She is the first non-American and first transgender woman to own the…
Iranian Film Director Panahi Released After Hunger Strike
Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been released on bail after starting a hunger strike protesting his almost seven-month detention, supporters said Friday. The director had been arrested months before the current anti-regime protests erupted, but his imprisonment became a symbol of the plight of artists speaking out against the authorities. Panahi was released from…
NFL Will Offer Free CPR Training During Super Bowl Week
Inspired by the lifesaving medical attention Damar Hamlin received on the field during a game last month, the NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the NFL Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center. Hamlin, the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills defensive back, needed to be…
Iranian Film Director Goes on Hunger Strike in Prison
An Iranian director who was arrested last summer, weeks before his latest film was released to widespread acclaim, has gone on a hunger strike to protest his continued detention amid more than four months of anti-government protests. Jafar Panahi, whose films have thrilled critics and won numerous international prizes, issued a statement saying he would…
Tom Brady Retires, Insisting This Time It’s For Good
Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement from the U.S. National Football League. Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting…
Cheaters Beware: ChatGPT Maker Releases AI Detection Tool
The maker of ChatGPT is trying to curb its reputation as a freewheeling cheating machine with a new tool that can help teachers detect if a student or artificial intelligence wrote that homework. The new AI Text Classifier launched Tuesday by OpenAI follows a weeks-long discussion at schools and colleges over fears that ChatGPT’s ability…
‘Laverne & Shirley’ Actor Cindy Williams Dies at 75
Cindy Williams, who played Shirley opposite Penny Marshall’s Laverne on the popular sitcom “Laverne & Shirley,” has died, her family said Monday. Williams died Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 75 after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis. “The passing of our…
Olympics-IOC Rejects ‘Defamatory’ Criticism From Ukraine
Ukraine official said Russian presence at Games would constitute giving the country ‘a platform to promote genocide’ …
‘Avatar 2’ Tops Box Office for 7th Weekend
“Avatar: The Way of Water” claimed the No. 1 spot on the domestic box office charts for the seventh weekend in a row with an additional $15.7 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It was a quiet weekend overall, notable mostly for the Hindi language blockbuster “Pathaan” that broke into the top five and…