Are Facebook's Trending Topics Unfair?

  This is What’s Trending Today… Former Facebook workers said this week that the social media company often avoided letting news popular among conservative Americans appear in its “Trending” section. The former workers told the website Gizmodo that they were told to select stories to include in the Trending list, even if those stories were not actually trending. The former workers also said they were told not to include topics about Facebook itself into the trending list. One of the former workers told Gizmodo that the policies “had a chilling effect on conservative news.” Another accused Facebook of being biased in its selection of trending topics. The controversy did become the No. 1 trending topic on Facebook for part of the day Monday. Many Facebook users were surprised that the company permitted the discussion to even appear in its Trending section. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a Facebook official said the company has found no evidence to support the former workers’ claims. Tom Stocky, a company vice president, wrote in a Facebook post that the company does not permit political views to be suppressed.   Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee chairperson has sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The chair, John Thune, is a Republican. In the letter, he asked Zuckerberg to respond to several questions about the company’s alleged practice of suppressing conservative news. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Ashley Thompson. Ashley Thompson wrote this report with materials from Gizmodo and the Associated Press. Hai Do was the editor.  ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   chilling effect - n. a discouraging effect biased - adj. having or showing an unfair tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others suppress - v. to keep (something) secret : to not allow people to know about or see (something)

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Prince Harry Brings Invictus Games for Wounded Warriors to Florida

The 2016 Invictus Games began this week in Orlando, Florida. The games are a sports competition, similar to the Olympics, for former soldiers injured in combat. Britain’s Prince Harry started the games in 2014. He also served in the British military for 10 years. That time included two tours of duty in Afghanistan. At the end of his military service, he founded the games. The first competition was in London. Harry said the games serve as motivation for wounded soldiers working their way back to health. The games take place over five days and include 10 competitions. Closing ceremonies are May 12. Fifteen countries are sending athletes to the event. They include Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jordan and Afghanistan. More than 500 athletes are attending. The athletes compete in events like archery, cycling, volleyball, driving, swimming, rugby, weight lifting and indoor rowing. In a video message announcing the 2016 games, Prince Harry said the first games “focused the recovery of hundreds of wounded servicemen and women through sport … and inspired many hundreds more.” In another video, Prince Harry says the goal is to use the Invictus Games as a way for wounded soldiers to “get up off the sofa, dare themselves to do something, whether it’s sport, whatever it is.” William Reynolds is the captain of the team from the United States. He was injured by shrapnel from a bomb in Baghdad, Iraq in 2004. Reynolds recovered well enough to return to duty, but had his left leg amputated in 2013. Reynolds competed in short running and longer cycling events at the Invictus Games in 2014 and is competing in the same events this year. In an interview with Fox Sports, he said competing at Invictus is a good goal for people recovering from war injuries. Getting ready for a competition provides purpose for people who may be tired of physical therapy. “Adaptive sports helped me become an athlete again,” Reynolds said. The name Invictus comes from a 19th-century poem by English poet William Ernest Henley. It includes these lines: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” In Latin, the word invictus means unconquered. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. Will you follow this year’s Invictus Games? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   motivate – v. to give (someone) a reason for doing something inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create dare – v. to have enough courage or confidence to do something : to not be too afraid to do something shrapnel – adj. small metal pieces that scatter outwards from an exploding bomb, shell, or mine adapt – v. to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose master – n. a man who is in charge captain – n. an athlete who is chosen to be the leader of a team  

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General Motors, Lyft Partner to Develop Driverless Taxis

The American car-maker General Motors and Lyft Incorporated, a ride-sharing service, reportedly will start testing GM automobiles as driverless taxis.  The Wall Street Journal says the companies could be offering service “within a year.” The newspaper said the tests will involve GM’s electric-powered Chevrolet Bolt. But it did not say where the first test will take place. GM has reportedly invested $500 million in Lyft Inc. The partnership is seen as a way to compete against Uber, another ride-sharing company. GM also is planning to buy Cruise Automation Inc. for a reported $1 billion. The California-based company has been developing self-driving car technology for two years, the newspaper reported. The move is seen as a way for the automaker to sell the Bolt. It will be available later this year in a market for electric cars that the Journal described as “soft.” It is also seen as a way for GM to compete with U.S. technology companies interested in building driverless cars. Both Tesla Motors and Alphabet Inc. have been developing such vehicles for years. Alphabet is part of the U.S. technology company Google. Lyft reportedly is also developing driverless cars at its own research center in Pennsylvania. The company “is preparing for autonomous vehicles in its fleet by 2020,” the Wall Street Journal reported. It added that improvements in driverless cars are hurt by “a patchwork of regulations that govern the use of autonomous vehicles and liabilities.” The Wall Street Journal said Lyft will have drivers in the cars “ready to intervene” should something go wrong. I’m Bryan Lynn.   VOANews.com reported this story. Jim Dresbach adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   taxis – n. cars that carry passengers to a place for an amount of money that is based on the distance traveled soft – adj. gentle in manner; not strong patchwork – n. something that is made up of different things autonomous – adj. existing or acting separately from other things or people liability – n. the state of being responsible for something

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UEFA President Resigns

  Michel Platini has resigned as the president of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations. Platini announced his resignation on Monday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport failed to cancel his ban from the sport. However, the court did reduce the length of the ban, from six years to four. Platini was accused of taking $2 million from FIFA, the international governing body of football. In the United States, the sport is called soccer. The court found he received suspect payment for working as an adviser to Sepp Blatter, who was then FIFA’s president. Blatter resigned his position in 2015 while the organization was being investigated for corruption. The court said the payment was not linked to any kind of business agreement and was not part of Platini’s wages. It noted that he received the payment eight years after his work at FIFA ended. In a statement, Platini said the court’s “decision is inflicting (on) me a suspension whose length will de facto prevent me -- as if by chance -- from bidding for the next FIFA presidential election.” He called the decision a “profound injustice.” He said he will consider asking a court in Switzerland to find him innocent. Platini has led UEFA since 2007. His term as president was set to end in March 2019. The next election for FIFA president is to take place in May 2019. I’m Jonathan Evans.   VOANews.com reported this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   profound – adj. very strongly felt inflict – v. to cause someone to experience or be affected by (something unpleasant or harmful) de facto – adj. used to describe something that exists but that is not officially accepted or recognized

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Panama Papers Show 200,000 Offshore Accounts

Editor's Note: We will have an audio file with this story when it is available.   The country of choice for secret offshore accounts opened by Panamanian lawyers is a small island nation, the British Virgin Islands. That information comes from a new report Monday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. A consortium is a group of people who work together on a project. The consortium looked into documents that showed about 200,000 offshore businesses created for wealthy people by the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama. Some information was released last month. The documents, obtained from the law firm by a person known as “John Doe,” is called the “Panama Papers.” Panama is the home of Mossack Fonseca. John Doe is a name used by people who don’t want others to know who they are. Is is called an alias, or another name a person uses. The consortium said the Panamanian law firm set up shell companies, or companies for which there is very little information. There is very little business activity in a shell company. These were set up for wealthy people in countries to hide their money. More than 50 percent of the offshore businesses in the consortium’s large database were registered in the British Virgin Islands, or BVI. BVI is a Caribbean nation of 32,000 people listed as No. 21 by the Tax Justice Network of the world’s “most secret nations.” Other nations that registered offshore companies for Mossack Fonseca included Panama, the Bahamas, the Seychelles, Niue, Samoa, as well as the U.S. states of Nevada and Wyoming, according to the consortium. On Monday, the consortium released a database of nearly 214,000 offshore businesses. The database allows people to search by name, and learn if a person is listed as owner of an offshore company registered by Mossack Fonseca. Last month, the center reported how the rich and powerful used offshore companies to hide wealth. The information brought down leading government officials in Iceland and Spain. It also showed secret offshore companies registered to friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the father of British Prime Minister David Cameron. “The new database has been the potential for even greater impact, said Marine Walker Guevara, co-director of the consortium. She said the consortium is “putting the power back in the hands of citizens’’ who can search to see who in their country has secret offshore businesses. The consortium warned that since many names are similar, people should check information carefully before deciding a person is really the registered owner of an offshore company. Journalists working with the consortium said they found at least 36 Americans accused of financial wrongdoing who got offshore companies registered by Mossack Fonseca. Among them was Leonard Gotshalk, a former player with the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons.  He had a history of legal problems when he sought the law firm’s help. Mossack Fonseca at first told Gotshalk it couldn’t do business with him, because of “negative information.” He asked Mossack Fonseca to reconsider, saying in an email he had “held offshore accounts in the past in Europe, the Bahamas and Belize” without problems. Three months later – on May 21, 2010 – the U.S. government charged Gotshalk with illegal action to get higher prices for technology company stocks. On May 24, Mossack Fonseca recorded a $3,055 payment from Gotshalk to open up a company called Irishmyst Consultants Limited in the British Virgin Islands, according to the consortium. The consortium says that offshore accounts are not illegal, but people use them to avoid tax payments. Last week, President Barack Obama responded to the Panama Papers by calling on Congress to pass bills to require information about the owners of offshore companies. Among companies registered in the British Virgin Islands is a company called Wintris Incorporated. Former prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, and his wife, are part owners, according to the consortium. After the consortium of journalists reported the prime minister’s connection to Wintris, thousands protested outside Iceland’s parliament building. He resigned within 48 hours.   Carol Guensburg reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or share your views on our Facebook Page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   offshore accounts – n. Businesses set up in another country without information about the true owners. These accounts are often used to avoid taxes database – n. a collection of pieces of information that is organized and used on a computer potential – n. a chance or possibility that someone will gain from information impact – n. a powerful effect negative – adj. harmful or bad account – n. a record of money that has been paid and money that has been received

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Surprise Move Holds Off Rousseff Impeachment

In a surprise move, the acting speaker of Brazil’s lower chamber of Congress called for a new vote in the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff. Waldir Maranhao is the Acting Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. He said there were problems with the way the lower chamber voted to impeach Rousseff on April 17. The announcement came just days before the Senate was expected to approve putting Rousseff on trial. If that happens, she would immediately be suspended from her job for up to six months. This move means the process will go back to the lower chamber. It could delay the process by days or weeks. Brazil’s business markets reacted to the news by dropping in value. The currency weakened as much as 5 percent, and stocks fell quickly. Reuters News Agency reports the markets view the decision as decreasing the chances of a new business-friendly government. Rousseff is fighting charges that her government broke fiscal, or financial, rules. In last month’s lower house vote, Maranhao voted against the impeachment process. He took over as acting speaker when Speaker Eduardo Cunha was removed from office on corruption charges. Cunha had started the impeachment process against Rousseff. In a news release, Maranhao said the impeachment process should be sent back from the Senate, so the House chamber can vote again. He said the vote should happen quickly — within five sessions of the chamber after the case is returned. It is unclear whether the Supreme Court, the Senate, or a majority in the House can overrule Maranhao’s decision. Speaking at an event in the presidential palace, Rousseff was surprised to learn the news of the temporary annulment. Rousseff said the impeachment process has been suspended. But she warned cheering supporters: "It is not official, and I don't know the consequences, so let's be cautious." Rousseff has denied any wrongdoing. She has said she would fight it by all legal ways possible. What was not clear is whether she knew that Monday’s announcement was in the works. The impeachment comes as Brazil is dealing with a recession, a corruption investigation of top politicians and businessmen, and an outbreak of the Zika virus. The country is set to host the Olympics in August. I’m Anne Ball.   Anne Ball wrote this story with information from the Associated Press and Reuters News Agency. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on Facebook. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   impeachment – n. criminal charges against a public official when in office annulment – n. the act of saying officially that something is no longer valid cautious – adj. careful about avoiding risk or danger in the works - phrase.  something is being planned, being worked on

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Social Media Greets New London Mayor Khan

This is What’s Trending Today… Sadiq Khan is the new mayor of London. Khan is the son of Pakistani immigrants. He is the first Muslim elected as mayor of a major Western capital. Khan, a civil rights lawyer, was the British Labour Party candidate. He won 57 percent of votes in local elections last week to defeat Zac Goldsmith of the rival Conservative Party. In his acceptance speech, Khan said he never dreamed someone like him could be elected mayor of London. “I want every single Londoner to get the opportunities that our city gave to me and my family. The opportunities not just to survive, but to thrive …” After his election, Khan received a number of congratulations on social media. One came from American Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Clinton wrote: “Son of a Pakistani bus driver, champion of workers' rights and human rights, and now Mayor of London. Congrats.” Actor William Shatner also sent a message of congratulations. He did it in a way related to his part as Captain Kirk in the 1960s television show “Star Trek.” The TV series led to a number of “Star Trek” movies, including one called “The Wrath of Khan.” In the film, Captain Kirk shouts the name of his enemy, Khan, in a dramatic moment. William Shatner’s message to Sadiq Khan read: “Khaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn!!! Congratulations, Mr. Mayor!” This is Khan’s first week as mayor. He took over from Boris Johnson, who held the job for eight years. In one of his first official acts, Khan attended a memorial ceremony at a sports center in North London. He joined thousands of Jews there on Sunday to remember victims of the Holocaust during World War II. On Twitter, Khan wrote: “So important to reflect, remember and educate about the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust.” Monday morning, the new mayor took public transportation to work. The ride from his home in South London to City Hall took about 40 minutes. Khan had a big day Monday, his first full day as mayor. He made his first tweet from the @MayorofLondon Twitter handle. “I’m having a fantastic 1st day on the job as your new Mayor,” he wrote. “I felt very welcomed by all who greeted me this morning.”   And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. What do you think of London’s new mayor? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   rival – n. a person or thing that tries to defeat or be more successful than another dramatic – adj. often showing a lot of emotion : tending to behave and react in an exaggerated way thrive – v. to grow or develop successfully : to flourish or succeed mayor – n. the leader of government in a city or town  

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Duterte Expected Winner in Philippines Presidential Race

  Millions of people voted in the Philippines’ presidential election on Monday. Nearly complete, unofficial results show that Rodrigo Duterte won the most votes, the Associated Press reported.  Duterte is the long-serving mayor of the city of Davao. He was leading in public opinion surveys by as much as 10 percentage points over his closest competitors, Senator Grace Poe and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas. Roxas had the support of current President Benigno Aquino, who is leaving office. Voter turnout was expected to be close to 80 percent in the election. Duterte is 71 years old. He has gained support with his sometimes offensive speeches, in which he made promises to fight crime and corruption and to execute criminals. With his offensive language and open discussion of sexual activity, he has drawn comparisons to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Senator Poe was another key candidate. She is 47 years old. Her campaign slogan was “government with a heart.” As she cast her vote at a Manila-area elementary school Monday, she was surrounded by supporters and members of the media. She told the media she offered her choice to God, her father and her countrymen. Poe’s father was the local action film star Fernando Poe Jr. He ran for president in 2004 and narrowly lost. Voter concerns Outside the Manila school, retiree Freddy Flores said he voted for Poe. Flores said his main concern for the Philippines was the dispute with China over territory in the South China Sea.  “For the security of the country, of course, it’s better if you can blend well and have diplomacy. You can’t just be tough,” he said. Flores said he worried about his children’s future. He feared Duterte, with his tough talk, could cause the Philippines to be “wiped out” by China.  Duterte has said that as president he would ride a Jet Ski to the Scarborough Shoal. The area is part of the contested territory in the South China Sea. Duterte told voters he would plant a Philippine flag and expect to die a hero at the hands of the Chinese. Current Vice President Jejomar Binay was also among the top four presidential candidates.  Ferdinand Marcos Jr., son of the former Filipino dictator, is a candidate in the race for vice president. He has led in public opinion surveys against five other candidates.   Boxing star Manny Pacquiao is a candidate for the senate. Polling problems Officials have reported delays in voting because of technical difficulties. Some officials have reported that electronic voting machines were not working correctly. The Commission on Elections announced it would extend voting by one hour because of the problems. The military of the Philippines said it has witnessed shootings, explosions and other violent acts. The violence has resulted in 10 deaths and three injuries in western Mindanao, the central Philippines and Luzon Island. An election poll-monitoring group supported by the Roman Catholic Church said it told volunteers in some provinces to leave. Those volunteers left for their safety after they observed cheating. Ramon Casiple is the executive director of the Manila-based Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. He said this election may be having more problems because of the high number of registered voters. Nearly 54 million citizens of the Philippines have registered to vote. Casiple said he is trying to determine whether or not stories of election cheating are widespread. He called the races for top offices “hotly contested.”  He said that if the “process is compromised” by cheating, “that would mean the failure of democracy.”  I’m Jonathan Evans. And I'm Ashley Thompson   Simone Orendain in Manila reported this story for VOANews.com. Jim Dresbach adapted her report for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. What do you think about the presidential election in the Philippines? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   polls – n. the places where people vote during an election cast – v. to make a vote formally turnout – n. the number of people who go to or participate in something wiped out – phrasal verb. destroyed Jet Ski – n. a small and fast vehicle that is used on water and carries one or two people monitor – v. to watch, observe, listen to, or check (something) for a special purpose over a period of time province – n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

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Blood Test Shows Concussion Injury

A new blood test can tell doctors whether a person has suffered a concussion up to a week after he or she was injured.  A study describing the test was published in the journal JAMA Neurology. People who suffer a head injury should rest soon after they are hurt. Doctors say rest is important in helping the brain to heal after the injury. Individuals who have suffered a concussion do not always show symptoms. Experts say those warning signs can be delayed, especially in children. A concussion can lead to a feeling of dizziness, headaches and an inability to sleep. These problems can exist for a long time. Some concussion patients have experienced loss of memory, trouble thinking and feelings of anxiety. Doctors at Orlando Health System in Florida developed the new blood test. It shows if a biomarker is present in a person’s blood. The biomarker is called glial fibrillary acidic protein, or GFAP. The protein is only found in the brain and nervous system after a person suffers a concussion. Researchers examined the blood of 600 patients. They found the biomarker in the blood of those who had suffered a head injury. Concussion is a common injury in contact sports. A blood test soon after a head injury could show if an athlete has suffered a concussion. Without the test, sports team officials may not know whether the player has a concussion and could return him or her to the game. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA’s Jessica Berman reported this story for VOANews.com. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   concussion – n. an injury to the brain that is caused by something hitting the head very hard symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present dizziness – n. the act of being dizzy -- feeling that you are turning around in circles and are going to fall even though you are standing still anxiety - n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

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1900 UTC Hourly Newscast in English

From Washington, this is VOA News.     I’m Dave DeForest reporting. Brazil's political crisis deepens: The speaker of the lower house of Congress invalidated a vote last month that would launch an impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Interim Speaker Waldir Maranhao said the new vote would be taken on whether to impeach the 68-year-old leader. It is not clear why he annulled the earlier vote. A Mexican judge has ruled that drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman can be extradited to face charges in the United States. Mexico's federal court authority announced the approval of the extradition request Monday, but the final decision lies with the foreign ministry. Guzman's lawyers can appeal the decision. A British reporter was ordered by state authorities to leave North Korea. Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, along with his producer and cameraman, were detained Friday at the Pyongyang airport as they tried to leave the country.  The BBC says Wingfield-Hayes had recently been detained for allegedly "insulting the dignity" of the country in the run-up to the recent party congress. An alliance backing mainstream candidates is claiming victory in Lebanon's first round of local elections. Members of the Beirut list, an alliance backed by former prime minister Saad Hariri and other senior politicians, announced they had won all 24 seats in the Beirut municipality. Municipal elections were held in Beirut and the eastern Bekaa Valley. Sunday's elections were the first in Lebanon since 2010. The government has postponed parliamentary elections, citing security concerns linked to the conflict in neighboring Syria. Three other rounds of voting will take place in other parts of the country in the coming weeks.  This is VOA News.   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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Myanmar Wants US to Stop Calling Minority Group ‘Rohingya’

  A Myanmar government official says the country wants the U.S. Embassy to stop using the term “Rohingya” to refer to the nation’s mainly Muslim minority. The official, Myanmar’s permanent secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aung Lin, spoke to VOA on Wednesday. He said Myanmar would prefer that the U.S. Embassy no longer use the term because it is not helpful to the government. Myanmar’s government claims that those calling themselves Rohingya are Bengalis who entered the country illegally. But the U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar, Scot Marciel, said during a press conference last week that the United States does not plan to stop using the term. He said communities all over the world should be able to choose for themselves what name they are called. “The normal U.S. practice and the normal international practice is that communities anywhere have the right, or have the ability to decide what they are going to be called. And normally when that happens, we would call them what they asked to be called. It’s not a political decision, it’s just a normal practice.” The name “Rohingya” was chosen by the mainly Muslim minority itself. Members are mostly based in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, has been criticized for its treatment of the Muslim minority. Many Rohingya people are not given citizenship and are denied other basic human rights. Nationalists in Myanmar criticized the U.S. Embassy after it issued a statement of condolence for a recent accident during which as many as 40 Rohingya drowned. The victims were killed while traveling to a market and a hospital from a camp for internally displaced people in Rakhine state. The embassy statement linked the accident to restrictions on basic services in the state. It said the restrictions can lead community members to risk their lives in search of better living conditions. Some foreign observers had expressed hope that the plight of the Rohingya community might improve after Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party took power last month. But others noted that neither Aung San Suu Kyi nor her National League for Democracy party gave clear signs that policies would change regarding the Rohingya people. U.N. agencies estimate one-tenth of the Rohingya population has fled Myanmar since 2012, when an outbreak of religious violence left more than 200 people dead. I’m Bryan Lynn. Steve Herman reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bryan Lynn adapted this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   practice – n. something that is regularly done, often as a habit, tradition or custom predominantly – adv. mainly; for the most part condolence – n. an expression of sympathy displace – v. to force people to leave their homes, especially due to war, persecution or natural disaster plight – n. a dangerous, difficult or unfortunate situation outbreak – n. a sudden increase of fighting or disease  

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