Young YouTubers, TikTokkers Create Channels of Revenue
Some content creators on social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube report making millions of dollars for videos on subjects like eating the spiciest foods, dancing to popular music or doing something potentially dangerous but somehow hilarious to millions of viewers.Really? “You know, everyone wants to make a lot of money doing something that they love to do. It’s like a dream job,” said Max Reisinger, a recent high school graduate from Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina who has attracted nearly 400,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel. “That’s how I viewed it when I started,” he said.In his second year of high school, Reisinger spent seven months in Aix-en-Provence, France, while his mother, a French professor at Duke University in North Carolina, conducted research. Reisinger thought he’d document life abroad to share with friends and to look back on later, he said. He has not stopped creating videos since.For the 2021-22 academic year, the University of California-Santa Clara student is taking a gap year, or year off, to create content full time, making videos that show a day in the life of an American teenager, including the reverse cultural shock of returning to the United States after living abroad. The work …
Chinese Students in Australia Call Out Intimidation from Officials at Home
Human Rights Watch says Chinese students enrolled in Australian universities have been so intimidated by authorities back home they are self-censoring their actions and behaviors.The organization issued a report Wednesday highlighting incidents of harassment directed at Chinese students, based on interviews with 24 students from mainland China and Hong Kong, who expressed pro-democracy views. They said their pro-Beijing classmates threatened to expose their addresses and other personal information online, a process known as doxxing, or report their activities to the Chinese Embassy.The report also mentioned three cases where police in China warned family members about a student’s activities in Australia. It also revealed the students were threatened by their pro-Beijing classmates.Sophie McNeill, the author of the report, said the students curbed their activities out of fear for the well-being of their families back in China. McNeill says the students did not report the incidents to their universities because they believed officials cared more about maintaining their relationships with Beijing.McNeill also says more than half of 22 academics interviewed for the report say they have become more cautious about what they discuss about China during their lectures.Human Rights Watch is calling on the Australian government to issue an annual report on …
COVID Prompts Universities to Forgo Standardized Tests
Even before the COVID pandemic shutdown, some colleges had announced they would no longer consider standardized tests like the SAT and ACT for admission. But as Anush Avetisyan reports COVID may have permanently altered the role these tests play in student admissions.Camera: Sergey Sokolov …
Supreme Court Says No Right to Hearing for Some Immigrants
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the government can indefinitely detain certain immigrants who say they will face persecution or torture if they are deported to their native countries. Over the dissent of three liberal justices, the court held 6-3 that the immigrants are not entitled to a hearing about whether they should be released while the government evaluates their claims. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court that “those aliens are not entitled to a bond hearing.” The case involves people who had been previously deported and, when detained after re-entering the United States illegally, claimed that they would be persecuted or tortured if sent back. One man is a citizen of El Salvador who said he was immediately threatened by a gang after being deported from the U.S. An immigration officer determined that the immigrants had a “reasonable fear” for their safety if returned to their countries, setting in motion an evaluation process that can take months or years. The issue for the court was whether the government could hold the immigrants without having an immigration judge weigh in. The immigrants and the Trump administration, which briefed and argued the case before President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January, pointed to different provisions of …
COVID-19 Leaves Long-Term Scars on Europe’s Youth
European borders and economies are opening up this summer, thanks to falling coronavirus cases and rising vaccination numbers. But experts warn the pandemic’s scars could be long term and profound—especially for young people, a generation Europe cannot afford to lose. Things are looking up for young Parisians. Bars and restaurants have reopened, also schools and universities, for the last weeks before summer vacations. Young people having coffee in Paris. France reopened bars and restaurants mid-may as coronavirus cases dropped. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)At a community room with other students, Sorbonne University student Katarzyna Mac is studying for final exams. She is grateful that months of coronavirus confinement are over. At a community room with other students, Sorbonne University student Katarzyna Mac is studying for final exams. She is grateful that months of coronavirus confinement are over. With France’s rolling lockdowns, Mac says, it was difficult and stressful to be alone all day in front of the computer. Like other students in France, she spent most of her academic year taking online classes from home. Katazyna Mac studies for final exams at her student housing outside Paris. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Experts point to multiple ways the crisis has and continues to hit Europe’s youth — causing economic, social and …
Investigated, Not Interviewed, for US Student Visa
“Are any of your family members involved with the Taliban?” was among the many probing questions the U.S. Consulate asked me when I interviewed for my F-1 visa to study in the United States.That’s not unusual in Afghanistan, where the U.S. and my country have been allies in fighting the Taliban since the September 11, 2001, terror attacks that brought down four planes, destroyed New York’s World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed almost 3,000 people. The answer to the question was no, and six years ago, I came to study in the U.S. at age 17 at a high school in Connecticut on a private scholarship sponsored by a generous couple in New York City. I am now a rising junior at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Not all Afghan students are so lucky. Only 422 came to the U.S. for a higher education last year on F-1 student visas, according to the Institute of International Education in New York. That’s a tiny fraction of the more than 1 million international students admitted to the U.S. each year to study. The effort is not purely educational. The U.S. grants student visas from Afghanistan and other nations as part of …
Harvard Admissions Case Challenges Who is a Minority
The Supreme Court recently asked the Biden administration for its input on a Harvard University admissions lawsuit. For VOA, Connor Smith has more. …
Uprooted Again: Venezuela Migrants Cross US Border in Droves
Marianela Rojas huddles in prayer with her fellow migrants, a tearful respite after trudging across a slow-flowing stretch of the Rio Grande and nearly collapsing onto someone’s backyard lawn, where, seconds before, she stepped on American soil for the first time. “I won’t say it again,” interrupts a U.S. Border Patrol agent, giving orders in Spanish for Rojas and a dozen others to get into an idling detention van. “Only passports and money in your hands. Everything else — earrings, chains, rings, watches — in your backpacks. Hats and shoelaces too.” It’s a frequent scene across the U.S.-Mexico border at a time of swelling migration. But these aren’t farmers and low-wage workers from Mexico or Central America, who make up the bulk of those crossing. They’re bankers, doctors and engineers from Venezuela, and they’re arriving in record numbers as they flee turmoil in the country with the world’s largest oil reserves and pandemic-induced pain across South America. Two days after Rojas crossed, she left detention and rushed to catch a bus out of the Texas town of Del Rio. Between phone calls to loved ones who didn’t know where she was, the 54-year-old recounted fleeing hardship in Venezuela a few …
VP Harris Visits the US-Mexico Border
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to El Paso, Texas, on her first official visit to the U.S. southern border on Friday. Her focus – following up on her Guatemala and Mexico trips and seeing firsthand the detention centers that hold migrants and how U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is managing the situation. VOA News’ Celia Mendoza has the story from El Paso, Texas. Camera: Celia Mendoza …
US Vice President Wraps Up Visit to Mexico Border
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her first trip to the U.S. southern border on Friday, saying the Biden administration had “made progress” in addressing the record number of migrants who have reached the border in recent months. The migration surge under U.S. President Joe Biden has cast a spotlight on the plight of Central Americans who face dangerous conditions and human traffickers as they travel to the United States. The situation has drawn criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats. During her trip, Harris appeared to cast at least some of the blame for the border problems on the previous administration, telling faith-based leaders, shelter operators and legal service providers in El Paso, Texas, “We inherited a tough situation.” “In five months, we’ve made progress, but there’s still more work to be done. But we’ve made progress,” she said. The vice president’s trip is part of the Biden administration’s effort to curb the surge in migrants attempting to enter the United States, with increased attention to the root causes of migration from Central America. Vice President Kamala Harris talks to Gloria Chavez, Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Sector, as she tours the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Central Processing …
Texas Governor Abbott Leads GOP Push for Trump-Style Border Measures
Promises to build a wall. Descriptions of American homes “invaded” by immigrants and a trail of “carnage.” Plans to arrest border crossers and haul them to jail. It’s not Donald Trump in 2016. It’s Texas Gov. Greg Abbott 2021. The ambitious Republican is first among a group of GOP governors who have picked up where the former president left off when it comes to hard-line immigration measures. In recent weeks, Abbott has rolled out get-tough plans and rhetoric not seen before even in Texas, where Republicans have spent a decade making border security the centerpiece of their agenda. Abbott, who is viewed as a potential presidential contender in 2024, even promised to continue building Trump’s border wall and has adopted a questionable method of helping paying for it: crowdsourcing and solicitations. Abbott’s new push has been called political theater, which he has rejected as the number of border crossers remains high. But it has gained Trump’s attention. The former president is due to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time since leaving the White House in January. He will appear with Abbott on Wednesday and is expected to be joined in Texas by other …
Vice President Harris Visits US-Mexico Border
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in the border town of El Paso, Texas, Friday as part of her effort to curb the surge in migrants attempting to enter the United States, while examining the root causes of migration from Central America. It is her first visit to the border as vice president.She was accompanied by Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas. The vice president was met by local Democratic congresswoman Veronica Escobar. She also is scheduled to talk with faith-based leaders and organizations involved in sheltering and providing legal services to the migrants. “I’m glad to be here. It was always the plan to come here, and I think we’re gonna have a good productive day,” she said after arriving in El Paso.Vice President Kamala Harris, left, with Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, salutes as they board Air Force Two, June 25, 2021, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to El Paso, Texas.Guatemala, Mexico visitsHarris visited Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month, pointedly telling migrants, “Do not come” to the U.S. But thousands of migrants from those two countries, along with those from Honduras and El Salvador, have been making the long trek to the border, many on foot, escaping poverty and crime in their homelands, …
A Snapshot of US-Mexico Border Ahead of Harris Visit
Kamala Harris is scheduled to visit the U.S.-Mexico border Friday for the first time since becoming U.S. vice president and taking a lead role in the Biden administration’s response to a decades-high surge in migration.Harris travels to El Paso, Texas, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. She previously visited the southern border as a U.S. senator and California attorney general. Republican lawmakers have sharply criticized her for not taking a first-hand look at critical problems at the border as vice president.It’s been 83 days since VP Harris was named the border czar and she has yet to actually go to the border. Actions speak louder than words. VP Harris says ‘don’t come ’ but the actions of the Admin say ‘our borders are open’.— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) A “#HUGS NOT WALLS” banner is displayed along the border wall as part of 8th annual event on the Rio Grande, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, June 19, 2021.On June 11, the White House announced plans to return more than $2 billion in funds that the previous administration redirected from the Pentagon to help pay for the wall.As a presidential candidate last year, Biden criticized new wall construction. Testifying recently on Capitol Hill, …
Kentucky to Allow College Athletes to Earn Off Likeness
Kentucky’s governor signed an order Thursday allowing the state’s college athletes — including players on the nationally renowned Kentucky and Louisville men’s basketball teams — to make money through the use of their name, image or likeness.Gov. Andy Beshear said he wielded his executive authority as a matter of fairness for college athletes, adding that for decades companies and institutions have profited off them.”Those athletes deserve to be compensated for their image and likeness,” the Democratic governor told reporters. “Think about what image and likeness is? It’s your name. It’s what you look like. It is intrinsically yours. And while I don’t think these athletes mind that they also lift up their school, they deserve to be a part of that as well.”His executive order also will spare Kentucky’s colleges from being at a competitive disadvantage with rival schools in other states that will have laws enabling athletes to profit off their name, image or likeness, Beshear said.Beshear said his executive order takes effect July 1, when similar measures passed in several other states will become law. His office said he was the first governor to make the change by executive order. Existing state law gave him the authority to …
Border Patrol Chief Who Supported Trump’s Wall Forced Out
The chief of the U.S. Border Patrol was forced out of his job Wednesday, after less than two years in a position that lies in the crosshairs of polarizing political debate. Rodney Scott wrote to agents that he will be reassigned, saying he “will continue working hard to support you over the next several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.” Scott told top agency officials during a call to discuss budgets and other issues that he had 60 days to decide whether to be reassigned or retire, according to an official with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was not intended for public release. He said he was undecided. Raul Ortiz, Scott’s deputy, will serve as interim chief, Scott told officials on the call. Scott, a career official, was appointed head of the border agency in January 2020 and enthusiastically embraced then-President Donald Trump’s policies, particularly on building a U.S.-Mexico border wall. President Joe Biden has canceled wall construction, one of his predecessor’s top priorities. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Border Patrol, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Scott hasn’t responded to a text or …
Health Care Job Opportunities Spike in US After Pandemic
The fastest growing jobs in the fastest growing field — STEM, or science, tech, engineering and mathematics — are in health care. “Health care is still booming,” said Marisa Streelman, the national director of the Academy of Medical Surgical Nurses, a professional association for nurses in the U.S.“Cybersecurity in healthcare, physical security, system improvements, telehealth, and the need for monitoring in the home and community health,” Streelman said, are some of the jobs in health care that are experiencing swift growth.Among the top 30 fastest-growing professions are medical and health services managers, physician assistants, speech pathologists, substance abuse and mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The highest paying jobs in health care, according to BLS, are physician assistants, who make $115,390. Tech jobs like software developers by comparison make $110,140. Epidemiologists, or those who investigate patterns and causes of diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, make an average of $74,560, according to BLS figures.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can FILE – Critical care workers insert an endotracheal tube into a COVID-19 patient in the intensive care unit at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida, Feb. …
US Vice President Harris to Visit US-Mexico Border
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to visit the U.S.-Mexico border Friday as part of her effort to curb the surge in migrants attempting to enter the United States, while examining the root causes of migration from Central America.Her office said Wednesday that Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas would accompany her to El Paso, Texas, one of the main migrant entry points.Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico earlier this month, pointedly telling migrants “do not come” to the U.S.But thousands of migrants from those two countries, along with those from Honduras and El Salvador, have been making the trek to the border, many on foot, trying to escaping poverty and crime in their homelands, they say.U.S. border agents are facing the biggest number of undocumented migrants in two decades. They apprehended more than 180,000 at the border in May, mostly single adults. The figure was up slightly from the 170,000-plus numbers in both March and April.Most of the migrants are coming from Latin America, but many also are from Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and some African nations.The surge has grown since President Joe Biden and Harris took office in January, with Biden saying he was adopting what he called a more …
US Gives More Asylum-seekers Waiting in Mexico Another Shot
Thousands of asylum-seekers whose claims were dismissed or denied under a Trump administration policy that forced them to wait in Mexico for their court hearings will be allowed to return for another chance at humanitarian protection, the Homeland Security Department said Tuesday.Registration begins Wednesday, June 23, 2021, for asylum-seekers who were subject to the “Remain in Mexico” policy and either had their cases dismissed or denied for failing to appear in court, The Associated Press has learned.Under that criteria, it is unclear how many people will be eligible to be released into the United States pending a decision on their cases, according to a senior Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not been made public.FILE – A group of migrants mainly from Honduras and Nicaragua wait along a road after turning themselves in upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, in La Joya, Texas, May 17, 2021.But Michele Klein Solomon, the International Organization for Migration’s director for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, told the AP that she expected at least 10,000. Her organization is working closely with the administration to bring people to the border and ensure they test negative for COVID-19 before …
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