Issues in the News - Voice of America

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara and political and foreign affairs correspondent Shayna Estulin about the ramifications of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, questions on how Americans and Afghan allies and their families will be evacuated from the country and the future of women's rights under a Taliban rule; compounding problems of natural disasters and political instability in Haiti and the science behind the Biden administration's recommendations for a COVID-19 booster shot.

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine and VOA senior national affairs correspondent Chris Simkins about reaction to the US Senate narrowly passing a $3.5 trillion budget resolution as well as a rare bipartisan vote of approval for a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, the fallout and resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo after an investigative report found he sexually harassed 11 women, the ongoing violence and human rights abuses in Afghanistan, the return to mask wearing and restrictions due to the COVID-19 delta variant and a new U.N. report on climate change calls for immediate and rapid action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA White House bureau chief, Steve Herman and columnist for Newsday, Dan Raviv about the status of COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible adults in the United States, new mask recommendations from the CDC and the latest efforts by the Biden administration to get vaccines to more countries; why both Democrat and Republican politicians find aspects of the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure proposal frustrating; increasing pressure on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after an investigation by the state's attorney general concluded he had sexually harassed almost a dozen women; and why people inside and outside of Afghanistan worry about the country's future.

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA Congressional correspondent, Katherine Gypson and VOA executive editor Steve Redisch about riveting testimony and video footage of four police officers who were overwhelmed by a mob during the attack on the Capitol, what's ahead after the GOP Senate voted to begin work on a $1 trillion national infrastructure plan, President Joe Biden's new foreign policy focus as the U.S. will end its combat mission in Iraq, the CDC's new mask wearing guidelines as COVID-19 variants continue to spread and world reaction to super star gymnast Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from some competitions at the Tokyo Olympics. Listen to Issues in the News on the Voice of America.

Issues in the News moderator Kim Lewis talks with VOA senior diplomatic correspondent, Cindy Saine, and senior reporter for Marketplace, Nancy Marshall-Genzer, about growing congressional challenges on infrastructure, police reform, COVID-19 and the economy facing the Biden administration, the ramifications of a widespread cyber-attack on Microsoft allegedly conducted by China, controversial Israeli phone surveillance software allegedly misused amid a global hacking scandal, the Tokyo Olympics and global concern over the spreading of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Listen to Issues in the News on the Voice of America.