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MADISON, Wisconsin — A sprawling storm that pelted much of the nation's midsection with more than a half a foot of snow and gusty winds created whiteout conditions that closed parts of two interstate highways and prompted officials to close schools and government offices in several states Tuesday. Up to 20 to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow could blanket a broad area stretching from southeastern Colorado all the way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, including western Kansas, eastern Nebraska, large parts of Iowa, northern Missouri and northwestern Illinois, said Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland. Nearly 8 inches (19 centimeters) of snow fell in the northern city of Athol, Kansas, on Monday. The weather service office in Lincoln, Nebraska, predicted an additional 3-5 inches (8-13 centimeters) was possible overnight, with winds possibly gusting as high as 40 mph (64 kph). Whiteout conditions in central Nebraska closed a long stretch of Interstate 80, while Kansas closed Interstate 70 from the central city of Russell all the way west to the Colorado border due to dangerous travel conditions. Several vehicles slid off I-70 in the northeastern part of the state, authorities said. In Nebraska, federal courts in Omaha and Lincoln closed Monday, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased the water flow at a Missouri River dam on the Nebraska-South Dakota border near Yankton to reduce the chance of ice jams forming. Dubuque, on Iowa's eastern border with Illinois, closed its city offices Tuesday. Schools in Cedar Rapids in eastern Iowa were among those also closing. The weather has already affected campaigning for Iowa's Jan. 15 precinct caucuses, where the snow is expected to be followed by frigid temperatures that could drift below minus 18 Celsius (0 Fahrenheit). It forced former President Donald Trump's campaign to cancel multiple appearances by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders and her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who had been scheduled to court Iowa voters on Trump's behalf Monday. Parts of northern Missouri braced for up to a foot of snow as the system moved east. Officials in Kansas City, Missouri, said City Hall would be closed Tuesday and municipal courts would operate remotely. Madison, Wisconsin, was under a winter storm warning until early Wednesday, with as much as 23 centimeters (9 inches) of snow and 64 kph (40 mph) winds on tap. City officials canceled garbage collection to prevent residents from putting trash cans along curbs and making it difficult for snowplows to navigate. Northwestern Illinois was also under a winter storm warning with forecasts calling for  18 to 30 centimeters (7 to 12 inches) of snow by early Wednesday. The Chicago area as well as Gary, Indiana, were under winter storm advisories, with forecasts calling for up to 15 centimeters 6 inches) of snow and wind gusts of up to 48 kph 30 mph). The Illinois Tollway, a state agency that maintains toll roads across 12 northern Illinois counties, urged drives to take a "go it slow" attitude. Disruptions extended as far south as the Oklahoma panhandle, where Cimmaron County emergency managers asked citizens to stay home. More than a dozen motorists were stranded there Monday afternoon, with whipping winds and blizzard conditions leading to near-zero visibility, said Lea Lavielle, the county's emergency management director. "At this point in time, we are advising individuals to shelter in place the best they can," Lavielle said. Another storm was on the way that will affect the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies, Oravec said. Blizzard warnings were out for much of the Cascade and Olympic ranges in Washington and Oregon.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

SYDNEY — Australia is considering setting up a disaster relief force to help the military cope with regular natural disasters.   The plan was suggested Tuesday by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as communities in the country's southeast were evacuated due to flooding. Residents in low-lying parts of the Australian state of Victoria north of Melbourne were told it was too late to leave as floodwaters rose following record-breaking rainfall.   Other residents were advised to move to higher ground after rivers burst their banks.   Landslide warnings also were issued. In Yea, 115 km northeast of Melbourne, emergency services officials said the flooding was "probably a one in 200-year event.”   Some homes affected by flooding in 2022 were inundated again. Victoria was the latest state to be battered by the wild summer weather. More wet weather hit the northern state of Queensland as authorities there warned of intense rainfall and possible flash flooding. The increasing incidence of natural disasters in Australia raised concerns among politicians, environmental activists and scientists about the impacts of global warming. Tuesday, Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the government was considering creating a relief force to help the military respond to natural disasters. “Victoria is also having flooding impact tragically as well, with several towns in central Victoria affected as well," he said, "Tragically in this beautiful country of ours, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more intense. We were told that that would be an impact of climate change and unfortunately, we are seeing that play out in practice.” In recent weeks, northeastern Australia was hit by record-breaking rainfall from an ex-tropical cyclone, while other parts of the country have been battling bushfires. While the rain stopped in Victoria, rivers were expected to rise for several days. Near Brisbane, severe thunderstorms Tuesday caused flash flooding. The floods come after Australia endured some of its worst bushfires over the "Black Summer" of 2019-‘20, followed by a series of devastating floods on the country’s east coast in 2022. Australia’s government has legislated a target to cut carbon emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030 and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday leaders in the Middle East are determined to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading and that there is broad recognition on the need to "chart a political path forward for the Palestinians."  "The West Bank and Gaza should be united under Palestinian-led governance," Blinken told reporters at Al Ula airport in Saudi Arabia.  "The future of the region needs to be one of integration, not division and not conflict," said Blinken, adding "for that to happen, we need to see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."  In a statement following talks with Blinken, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored the importance of halting military operations in the Gaza Strip and the need to create conditions for restoring peace and stability. Local media have reported that this effort aims to ensure the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights and achieve a just and lasting peace.  On Monday, Blinken met with the United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and senior officials from Saudi Arabia before heading to Israel.  The chief U.S. diplomat said he would push Israeli officials for more humanitarian aid to Gaza and more protection for civilians. He also plans to discuss efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages and how to ensure the conflict does not spread to other parts of the region.    When asked about the U.S.-led talks to normalize the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Blinken stated that there is "a clear interest" in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the region, in pursuing that goal but "it will require that the conflict end in Gaza, and it will also clearly require that there be a practical pathway to a Palestinian state."  Saudi Arabia has paused diplomatic talks to normalize ties with Israel amid the military conflict between Hamas militants and Israeli forces.  After an Israeli airstrike killed a key Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Monday — the latest sign of a possibly widening conflict in the Middle East — Blinken told reporters it's clearly not in the interest of Israel, Lebanon, or Hezbollah to see an escalation outside Gaza and "the Israelis have been very clear with" the U.S. that "they want to find a diplomatic way forward."  Hezbollah has identified the commander as Wissam al-Tawil. Last week, senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike in Beirut. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, whose militant allies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also been carrying out longer-range attacks against Israel.      In meetings Sunday with Jordan King Abdullah II and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the top U.S. diplomat spoke of the need for Israel to curb civilian casualties during the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza and significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching famished Palestinians in Gaza.  But the U.S. has continued to support Israel in refusing Arab demands for a cease-fire to halt the fighting in the three-month war. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it believes the threat of future Hamas attacks has been eradicated and the militant group no longer controls Gaza, a narrow strip of territory along the Mediterranean Sea.  Jordan's royal court said King Abdullah "warned of the catastrophic repercussions" of Israel's war in Gaza against Hamas while calling on the U.S. to press for an immediate cease-fire. Israeli and U.S. officials have said they believe that a cease-fire would only allow Hamas to be able to regroup in its fight against Israeli forces.  While in Amman, Blinken also visited a World Food Program warehouse where trucks are loaded with aid for famished Palestinians in Gaza.  "The efforts right here to collect and distribute food to people in need are absolutely essential," Blinken said. "The United States has worked from day one to open access routes into Gaza."  "We continue to work on that every single day, not only to open them but to multiply them, to maximize them and to try to get more assistance, more effectively," he said. "We're determined to do everything we possibly can to ameliorate the situation for the men, women and children in Gaza." Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7. Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 captives taken in the terror attack. Gaza health officials say close to 23,000 Palestinians, a large percentage of them women and children, have been killed in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The United States has stated its opposition to forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza. The U.S. is also working on a postwar road map for the Palestinian territories. "Gaza cannot, once again, serve as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Israel," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told VOA last week. "What we ultimately want to see is Gaza and the West Bank reunited under Palestinian leadership," and "certainly there's no role for Hamas in that." Some material for this report was provided by Reuters and The Associated Press.   

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would discuss “the way forward” as he met Tuesday with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv, amid a push to prevent the war in Gaza from spreading in the region and for Israeli officials to do more to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.   Speaking alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken said he would have the opportunity to meet with the families of the some of the hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza, and to relay to Israeli leaders some of what he heard from other leaders in the region during stops in Turkey, Greece, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Herzog thanked the United States for “standing steadfast with Israel” and said the war against Hamas is one that “affects international values and the values of the free world.” Herzog also rejected a lawsuit filed at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, calling the accusation “atrocious and preposterous.” Hearings in the case are due to begin Thursday, and Herzog said Israel will “present proudly our case of using self-defense under our most inherent right under international humanitarian law.” U.S. officials have called on Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza, and that message was one Blinken planned to repeat in his meetings Tuesday. Gaza health officials say close to 23,000 Palestinians, a large percentage of them women and children, have been killed in Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has criticized Hamas for locating its operations in civilian areas, including the use of tunnels under cities.  Herzog said Tuesday that Israel is “doing our utmost under extremely complicated circumstances” to ensure there are no civilian casualties. Blinken said Monday that leaders in the Middle East are determined to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading and that there is broad recognition on the need to “chart a political path forward for the Palestinians.” “The West Bank and Gaza should be united under Palestinian-led governance,” Blinken told reporters in Saudi Arabia. “The future of the region needs to be one of integration, not division and not conflict,” Blinken said, adding “for that to happen, we need to see the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.” In a statement following talks with Blinken, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman underscored the importance of halting military operations in the Gaza Strip and the need to create conditions for restoring peace and stability. When asked about the U.S.-led talks to normalize the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Blinken said there is “a clear interest” in Saudi Arabia, as well as in the region, in pursuing that goal but “it will require that the conflict end in Gaza, and it will also clearly require that there be a practical pathway to a Palestinian state.” Saudi Arabia has paused diplomatic talks to normalize ties with Israel amid the military conflict between Hamas militants and Israeli forces. After an Israeli airstrike killed a key Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Monday — the latest sign of a possibly widening conflict in the Middle East — Blinken told reporters it is clearly not in the interest of Israel, Lebanon, or Hezbollah to see an escalation outside Gaza and “the Israelis have been very clear with” the U.S. that “they want to find a diplomatic way forward.” Hezbollah has identified the commander as Wissam al-Tawil. Last week, senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri was killed in a drone strike in Beirut. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran, whose militant allies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen have also been carrying out longer-range attacks against Israel.   The United States has urged Israel to shift to smaller scale military operations in Gaza but has continued to support Israel in refusing Arab demands for a cease-fire to halt the fighting in the three-month war. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it believes the threat of future Hamas attacks has been eradicated and the militant group no longer controls Gaza, a narrow strip of territory along the Mediterranean Sea. Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 captives taken in the terror attack. Some material for this report was provided by Reuters and The Associated Press.    

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel after meeting with Arab leaders in an attempt to keep the war from exploding into a broader conflict. Taiwan will hold a presidential election on Saturday. And using robots and AI to attack mosquitos carrying dengue fever.

As two more journalists are killed covering the war in Gaza, the United Nations says it is alarmed by the historically high death toll, with nearly 80 media workers killed since October. VOA press freedom editor Jessica Jerreat has the story.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The loud "boom" was startling enough, and the roaring wind that immediately filled the airline cabin left Kelly Bartlett unnerved. Still, it wasn't until a shaken teenager, shirtless and scratched, slid into the seat next to her that she realized just how close disaster had come. A section of the Boeing 737 Max 9's fuselage just three rows away had blown out — at 4.8 kilometers (3 miles ) high — creating a vacuum that twisted the metal of the seats nearby, and snatched cellphones, headsets and even the shirt off the teenager's back. "We knew something was wrong," Bartlett told The Associated Press on Monday. "We didn't know what. We didn't know how serious. We didn't know if it meant we were going to crash." The first six minutes of Alaska Airlines flight 1282 from Portland to Southern California's Ontario International Airport on Friday had been routine, the Boeing 737 Max 9 about halfway to its cruising altitude and traveling at more than 640 kph (400 mph). Flight attendants had just told the 171 passengers that they could resume using electronic devices — in airplane mode, of course — when it happened. Then suddenly a 61-centimeter-by-122-centimeter (2-foot-by-4-foot) piece of fuselage covering an unoperational emergency exit behind the left wing blew out. Only seven seats on the flight were unoccupied, and as fate would have it, these included the two seats closest to the blown-out hole. The oxygen masks dropped immediately, and Bartlett saw a flight attendant walking down the aisle toward the affected row, leaning forward as if facing a stiff wind. Then flight attendants began moving passengers from the area where the blowout occurred and helped them move away. Among them was the teenage boy moved next to Bartlett. "His shirt got sucked off of his body when the panel blew out because of the pressure, and it was his seatbelt that kept him in his seat and saved his life. And there he was next to me," she said, adding that his mother was reseated elsewhere. "We had our masks on, and the plane was really loud so we couldn't talk. But I had a ... notes app on my phone that I was typing on. So I typed to him and I asked him if he was hurt," Bartlett said. "I just couldn't believe he was sitting there and what he must have gone through, what he must have been feeling at the time." She said the boy typed back that he was OK, but a bit scratched, adding "that was unbelievable" and "thank you for your kindness." The exit door plug landed in the southwest Portland backyard of high school physics teacher Bob Sauer. Sauer said his heart "did start beating a little faster" when he saw it in the beam of his flashlight Sunday night as he searched for any debris. "It was very obviously part of a plane," he told a group of reporters outside his home on Monday. "I thought, 'Oh my goodness, people have been looking for this all weekend and it looks like it's in my backyard.'" Sauer said he and the seven National Transportation Safety Board agents who came to his home to pick up the door plug were amazed it was intact. It appeared that tree branches had broken its fall. A headrest landed on the patio of Sauer's neighbor, Diane Flaherty. Flaherty didn't realize what the charcoal-colored cushion was until a friend emailed her to say federal agents were looking for airplane parts in her neighborhood. An NTSB agent came by to pick it up. "What are the chances that a headrest cushion falls out of the sky into your backyard?" she said. The pilots and flight attendants have not made public statements and their names have not been released, but in interviews with National Transportation Safety Board investigators they described how their training kicked in. The pilots focused on getting the plane quickly back to Portland and the flight attendants on keeping the passengers safe and as calm as possible. "The actions of the flight crew were really incredible," NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a Sunday night news conference. She described the scene inside the cabin during those first seconds as "chaos, very loud between the air and everything going on around them and it was very violent." Bartlett echoed praise for the crew, saying the entire time she felt like the plane was under control even though the roaring wind was so loud she couldn't hear the captain's announcements. "The flight attendants really responded well to the situation. They got everyone safe and then they got themselves safe," she said. "And then there was nothing to do but wait, right? We were just on our way down and it was just a normal descent. It felt normal." Inside the cockpit, the pilot and co-pilot donned their oxygen masks and opened their microphone, but "communication was a serious issue" between them and the flight attendants because of the noise, Homendy said. The pilots retrieved an emergency handbook kept secure next to the captain's seat. The co-pilot contacted air traffic controllers, declaring an emergency and saying the plane needed to immediately descend to 3,048 meters, (10,000 feet) the altitude where there is enough oxygen for everyone onboard to breathe. "We need to turn back to Portland," she said in a calm voice that she maintained throughout the landing. In the cabin, the flight attendants' immediate focus was on the five unaccompanied minors in their care and the three infants being carried on their parents' laps. "Were they safe? Were they secure? Did they have their seat belts on or their lap belts on? And did they have their masks on? And they did," Homendy said. Some passengers began sending messages on social media to loved ones. One young woman said on TikTok that she was certain the plane would nosedive at any second and she wondered how her death would affect her mother, worrying that she would never recover from the sorrow. But she and others said the cabin remained surprisingly calm. One passenger, Evan Granger, who was sitting in front of the blowout, told NBC News that his "focus in that moment was just breathe into the oxygen mask and trust that the flight crew will do everything they can to keep us safe." "There were so many things that had to go right in order for all of us to survive," Granger said. Video taken by those on board showed flight attendants moving down the aisle checking on passengers. Through the hole, city lights could be seen flickering past. Evan Smith, an attorney traveling on the plane, told reporters the descent and landing were loud but smooth. When the plane touched down at Portland International about 20 minutes after it departed, the passengers broke into applause. Firefighters came down the aisle to check for injuries, but no one was seriously hurt. Homendy said that if the blowout had happened a few minutes later, after the plane reached cruising altitude, the accident might have become a tragedy. Bartlett's mind also keeps returning to the what-ifs. "I'm glad that it is not any worse than it was — that's all. I keep coming back to it," she said. "Like, how lucky Jack got. That was his name, the kid who sat next to me. His name was Jack, and how lucky he was that he had a seatbelt on." On Sunday, a passenger's cellphone that had been sucked out of the plane was found. It was still operational, having survived its plunge from the sky. It was open to the owner's baggage claim receipt.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Washington — President Joe Biden made a heartfelt appeal to Black voters on Monday, speaking passionately at a storied South Carolina church scarred by racially motivated tragedy and seeking support as members of the state’s large Black community head to the nation’s first Democratic primary next month. Before a packed congregation at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Biden spoke of “a poison that’s for too long haunted this nation,” echoing words from former President Donald Trump, who has made waves on the campaign trail by accusing immigrants of “poisoning the blood” of the nation.  “What is that poison?” Biden continued. “White supremacy. ... Throughout our history, it’s ripped this nation apart. This has no place in America. Not today, tomorrow or ever.”  With those words, Biden became the first sitting American president to speak from the pulpit of one of the nation’s oldest and most respected Black spiritual institutions. The stately church, founded more than two centuries ago, was the scene of a gruesome mass shooting in 2015 in which nine people, including the church’s pastor, were killed by a white supremacist. President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy at the Reverend Clementa Pinckney’s funeral in 2015, which was held in TD Arena at the College of Charleston.  The tragedy prompted South Carolina’s governor at the time, Nikki Haley — who is now running for the Republican presidential nomination — to remove the Confederate flag that flew over the state Capitol. Biden also capitalized on the venue by indirectly mentioning Haley’s reluctance in a recent public forum to acknowledge that disagreements over slavery caused the Civil War. “Let me be clear for those who don't seem to know: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War,” he said, to applause. “There is no negotiation about that.” Racism an election issue Groups that work to mobilize overlooked voters say racism is a top issue that emerges time and again in polls and focus groups. Cynthia Wallace founded the New Rural Project after her unsuccessful congressional run in 2020 showed that 60,000 registered voters of color in her North Carolina district didn’t turn up at the polls. “When we look at the top issues that concern folks, and we look at it by demographics, African American infrequent voters — these are part of those 60,000 folks who didn't show up, who we are actually specifically targeted to speak to — one of their top issues, whether it's from the polling or the focus groups, is racism,” she told VOA.  But, she added, “We continue to hear most of the rural folks that we speak to focus on the kitchen-table issues.”  South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn hit some of those points in introducing Biden, listing what he saw as Biden’s achievements and contrasting him with Trump. Clyburn outlined Biden’s attempts at student loan forgiveness, his appointment of an unprecedented number of Black female judges, his support of abortion rights, his work to reduce health care costs and his efforts to help veterans.  “We know Joe,” he said. “But most importantly, Joe knows us well.” “I rest my case,” Biden quipped after Clyburn’s speech, as attendees chanted “Four more years!” in support of Biden’s reelection. But Clyburn’s rousing words contrasted with his weekend comments on CNN, where he said he was “very concerned” about the Biden campaign’s ability to “break through that MAGA wall” — a reference to Trump’s Make America Great Again motto — and communicate his message to voters.  Polls show that Biden faces challenges with Black voters, who propelled him to victory over Trump in 2020. A poll conducted late last year by the GenForward Survey project found that 17% of Black voters said they would vote for Trump, and 20% would vote for “someone else.” Sixty-three percent said they would vote for Biden. 'Cease-fire now' or 'four more years'? Some of the disagreements appeared in real-time on Monday, when a heckler, referring to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, led a chant of “cease-fire now” — which was then drowned out by louder chants of “four more years.” Biden acknowledged the hecklers, saying, “I understand their passion.” He added, “I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza. I’ve been using all that I can to do that.” Democratic strategist Douglas Wilson, speaking to VOA from North Carolina, said the Black community is divided on perceptions of the war in Gaza, with younger voters viewing “Palestinians as being people of color and look at the end of the Israelis as occupiers or as colonizers.” “That's a course that's up for debate,” he added. “I don't agree with that personally. But there is a segment of the community that feels that way.” Misinformation and the economy  Wallace, of the New Rural Project, noted the role of misinformation in skewing attitudes. She said that only one Black voter she spoke to raised the issue of Gaza and falsely claimed that Biden supports Hamas, the militant group that launched the stunning attack on Israel on Oct. 7.  Biden has repeatedly called Hamas “terrorists,” described their acts as “evil” and has given material and moral support to Israel. Hamas is a U.S.-designated terrorist group. “I think in this information-heavy world, I think it's hard for information to cut through,” Wallace said. “You’ve got to make sure that people actually know what things you've done and what things you plan to do more of and what things you're fighting for.” Wilson added that more details on Black economic empowerment could also shift voter support.  “I would have liked to hear him give a brief outline of what his economic agenda will be in a second term for Black America,” he said. “And I think that if he can begin to articulate that, then it will give Black voters a reason to come out and vote for him in high numbers.” South Carolina voters participate in the Democratic presidential primary on Feb. 3, in which Representative Dean Phillips and author and self-professed spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson are also on the ballot.

Russia launched a large-scale missile assault on several Ukrainian regions at the start of peak morning hours on Monday, with all of the country under air raid alerts. Anna Chernikova in Kyiv provides an update. Unlike last winter, when the Kremlin's forces targeted Ukraine's power grid, Russia is now aiming at Kyiv's defense industry. Karolina Hurd, Russia Team Deputy Lead with the Institute for the Study of War provides insights into what increasing Russian attacks mean and the implications for Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself going forward without U.S. military aid. Ukraine’s counteroffensive has not achieved the success it had hoped for, as some analysts say Kyiv is losing global confidence it can win the war. Steven Pifer, former US Ambassador to Ukraine and current non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute provides analysis. A Ukrainian-born doctor in New York City has stepped up to help his medical peers in the country he once called home.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.