Women's March on Washington Draws its Own Protests

This is What’s Trending Today: On January 20, hundreds of thousands of Americans will gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to watch Donald Trump be sworn in as the 45th president. The next day, hundreds of thousands of protesters are also expected to gather on the National Mall. The biggest protest group will be the Women’s March on Washington. About 200,000 people are expected to participate. The idea for the women’s march began on Facebook. Several women around the country who were upset about the presidential election results started Facebook pages, and called for action. One of those women was Teresa Shook. She is a retired lawyer who lives in Hawaii. Upset by the results of the election, she decided to create a Facebook page for people who also were not happy with the results. When she woke up the next day, more than 10,000 people had joined the page. Many voiced concerns, among other things, about comments President-elect Trump had made about women. Bob Bland is a fashion designer in Brooklyn, New York. She was also upset by the results of the presidential election. She, too, created a similar page on Facebook. And, she joined together with Shook’s efforts. Together, they and other women called for a march in Washington, D.C. The march would take place on January 21, Trump’s first full day as president. The original name for the movement was “Million Women March.” But, organizers changed the name because “Million Women March” had been used by a protest group in 1997. The movement became known as the "Women's March on Washington.”  The event’s website says the march’s aim is to “send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’s rights are human rights.” The movement has received criticism on social media. On Thursday, the hashtag #RenameMillionWomenMarch trended on Twitter in the United States. People suggested new names for the protest. Some suggestions mocked the protesters for not being able to accept the results of the election. Others criticized the movement for not being inclusive. Women who oppose abortion, for example, have not felt welcome to join. However, others noted that the trending hashtag and comments about the movement are good reasons why a women’s march is needed. The women’s march is just one of several groups that plan to protest in Washington on Friday and Saturday. Protest groups had to apply for permits from the National Park Service if they planned to gather at sites it maintains. These sites include the National Mall and other famous places in Washington. More than 30 groups applied for permits, the Associated Press reported earlier this month. People will also be joining the women’s march online. Sonya Huber organized an online Disability March. She asked that people who could not participate in person send in a photo and explain why they wished to protest. Washington officials have received 1,800 requests for permits to park buses near the National Mall on Saturday, January 21. They received about 200 bus permits for Inauguration Day itself. I’m Jill Robbins.   Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Now it’s your turn. Are there similar protests going on in your country? What causes are women worried about where you live? We want to hear from you. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   inclusive - adj. open to everyone or not limited to certain people abortion - n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus

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Trump Supporters Excited to Attend Inauguration

  Donald Trump takes the oath of office to become the 45th president of the United States on the U.S. Capitol steps on Friday. A special Congressional committee offered 250,000 tickets for people to attend the inauguration. Those without tickets can watch from more distant spots around the Capitol. Washington D.C. officials expect 1 million to attend inaugural events or demonstrations against Trump’s presidency. Some people traveling to Friday’s presidential inauguration of Donald Trump say they want to witness history. Others say they want to cheer the man they supported. And some say they want to see the peaceful changing of power from one president to another -- in this case Democrat Barack Obama to Republican Donald Trump. On his Bucket List Scott Naill says attending a presidential inauguration was on his “bucket list.” By “bucket list,” he means something he wanted to do before he dies. Naill and his wife are driving 500 miles from their home in Springfield, Ohio, so they can watch Donald Trump take the oath of office. Scott Naill is excited about Trump’s promise to create more American jobs. “I see him as a non-politician, somebody who is a businessman and knows how to keep jobs in America,” Naill told Voice of America. Naill, 46, teaches high school students how to service heating and air conditioning systems. Naill hopes Trump will help produce the jobs his students need when they graduate. “I think these issues of keeping jobs in America resonated with voters,” Naill added. Wasn’t Sure Trump Would Win Trump’s promise to bring back jobs is a major reason he carried three important Midwest industrial states – Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. Winning those states allowed him to win the presidency, despite losing the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump blamed bad trade deals and illegal immigration for the loss of industrial jobs. Freda Graham, 65, of Monroe, Louisiana, said she is excited to be coming to Washington -- partly because like many others she thought it might be Hillary Clinton taking the oath of office on Friday.  “We saw the polls and they said he wasn’t going to win,” Graham told VOA. “I had my doubts. I didn’t even want to watch the election results on television. I was so nervous about the outcome.” Graham said she was “so happy” when Trump won. She is sure Trump will do what he promised -- to “make America great again” and produce more jobs for Americans.” Graham said she understands some people are worried Trump could do damage to the United States. She does not share those concerns. “You have to understand that we’ve never had anyone like this before,” Graham said of Trump. “Some people weren’t comfortable with him. Trump came in like a bull in a china cabinet. But many of us liked his directness. I think he’s going to be great for this country.” Graham helped set up the medical records system at a Louisiana hospital. She has an adult son and two grandchildren.  Hopes Trump Will Unify Country Karen Aversa lives in Staten Island, New York and also plans to watch Trump take the oath of office from a seat outside the U.S. Capitol. “The reason that I’m going is because I saw this country for the last eight years going in a terrible direction,” Aversa said. “The racial divisions I haven’t since I was young and I’m 63.”  Trump often uses strong language to criticize opponents. He called Clinton, his Democratic opponent, “crooked Hillary.” He recently complained that John Lewis, the congressman and civil rights leader, was “all talk.” His criticism came after Lewis said he would not attend the inauguration because he didn’t think Trump won the election fairly. But Aversa said Trump can bring people together, even Clinton supporters, by producing more jobs for all people. “Donald Trump ran for president not for himself, or a political action committee, or a lobbyist,” Aversa said. “He did this out of a pure interest in helping this country.”  Aversa is married and the mother of three. She has nine grandchildren. Wanted Son to Watch History Sarah Swanson Partridge is from Glasgow, Montana. She wanted to take her 15-year-old-son, Cale Swanson, to see America’s peaceful change of government power in person. She does not quite know what to expect from the Trump presidency, though she says he was the best choice for president. “I hope he takes the country in the right direction,” she said. Her son, Cale, is more certain Trump will makes thing better. “I think he’ll surprise a lot of people and do a good job,” he said. “He will probably make it easier for people to own a gun and hunt in Montana. It is really hard to do that right now.” His mother operates stores in Montana that sell farm equipment. Happy His County Went Big for Trump Greg Homan says his Ohio county gave Trump a bigger percentage victory than any other county in Ohio. Eighty percent of Mercer County voters chose Trump. “I think it is exciting to be part of the celebration and welcome a new president,” Homan said before making the trip to Washington for Friday’s inauguration. “He (Trump) is not a politician and isn’t the most polished speaker,” Homan said. “But I look at his experience in business, all his success, so I feel very good he can produce what the American people want.” Homan, 42, is a father of seven, a county legislator and a professor at an Ohio college teaching classes on agriculture and leadership. I'm Bruce Alpert. I'm Marsha James. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   oath - n. a formal and serious promise to tell the truth or to do something resonate - v. to have particular meaning or importance for someone poll - n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something comfortable - adj. causing no worries bull in a china cabinet – this is an idiom that means he says and does things that anger and upset people lobbyist - n. a person who works to get government officials to act on their client’s interests polished - adj. very skillful

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New US President Faces Politically-Divided Country

  Donald Trump faces a deeply divided country as he takes office Friday as the 45th president of the United States. That divide can be seen in results from public opinion studies. In a national poll, Marist College found that 53 percent of those asked said they believe Trump will do more to divide the country than to unite it. Forty-three percent said he is more likely to unite the nation, while 4 percent were unsure. Marist polling director Lee Miringoff said “Trump’s transition to the presidency is lacking a political honeymoon. The president-elect has been reaching out to his base but has not broadened his support,” he said. Larry Sabato is a political scientist at the University of Virginia. In his words, Trump “has not reached out to reunify a badly divided country in any sustained way."  Mr. Sabato said "as a result, he has the lowest ratings of any modern president-elect during the transition period.” In mid-December, another polling company, Gallup, found that 48 percent of Americans approve of how Trump is handling his presidential transition. This compares to 75 percent for Barack Obama in 2009, 65 percent for George W. Bush in 2001 and 67 percent for Bill Clinton in 1993. Republican Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas and other Trump supporters have urged his opponents to give the new president a chance. Brady told VOA that he thought President Barack Obama was divisive. He said he is hopeful that when Trump takes office, he, in his words, “will continue to reach out with Congress and with different groups across the country, listen and see if we can’t pull together as a country. That is my hope.” Democratic opposition Democrats in Congress say they might willing to work with Trump on such areas as a major infrastructure bill to pay for the repair of roads and bridges. But Democrats say they will oppose Trump on other issues. The new Senate Democratic leader -- Charles Schumer of New York -- said Democrats will, in his words, “fight him tooth and nail when he appeals to the baser instincts that diminish America and its greatness.” Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, an Independent from the state of Vermont, told Democrats at a gathering at the U.S. Capitol after the election that “When we stand together, Donald Trump and nobody, nobody is going to stop us," he said."Let's go forward together." John Hudak is with the Brookings Institution, a research group in Washington, DC. He said how Trump chooses to deal with the divide is important. “It is incumbent upon him to start building bridges to the nearly 70 million Americans who voted for someone else,” Hudak says. “That is a real challenge, and it’s not a challenge every president faces, and it will be an important challenge." David Eagles is the Director for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service. He believes Americans will welcome any attempt by Trump to unify the country. “I’m very hopeful,” he says. “When you look at history in these periods of time, the American public has generally given a halo effect, if you will, on an incoming president to get their job done.” I’m Caty Weaver.   VOA National Political Correspondent Jim Malone reported and wrote this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do 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   poll – n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something honeymoon – n. a pleasant period of time at the start of something (such as a relationship or a politician's term in office) when people are happy, are working with each other, etc. base – n. something (such as a group of people or things) that provides support for a place, business, etc. (usually singular) sustained – adj. consistent; continuing tooth and nail – expression with a lot of effort and determination base – adj. not honest or good incumbent upon – expression necessary as a duty for (someone) halo effect – expression a reputation as a morally good person

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US Secret Service Settles Discrimination Case

  The United States Secret Service has agreed to pay $24 million to settle a case involving more than 100 African-American agents. The agents claimed they faced discrimination at work because of their race. The Secret Service also agreed to take steps to help its employees move up within the organization. Secret Service agents have been in the news this week because of increased security for the swearing-in of Donald Trump as president. The Secret Service guards the president, his family and other U.S. officials. The agency also investigates financial crimes. In 2000, ten agents asked a federal court to force the agency to make changes in the way it promoted its agents. They said the Secret Service showed discrimination in deciding who was offered employment, moved to a higher position, sent to other offices and received bonus payments. They also said race played a deciding role in how people were punished for wrongdoing. Reginald Moore worked as a Secret Service agent for more than 20 years. He claimed that between 1999 and 2002, he asked for a job promotion more than 180 times but was never chosen. Moore was later promoted twice. But in court documents he said those moves happened only after he was moved to another office, made an official protest against the agency, and then took legal action. Many of the other agents said they had similar experiences. A 2006 court document says top agency officials had for many years failed to act on their criticisms. The agents said the Secret Service, in their words, “has failed to protect its African-American Special Agents from racial discrimination in virtually every aspect of their employment. Discrimination against African-American Agents in the Secret Service has become part of the fabric of the agency and has spanned several decades.” The agreement reached this week says the agents who made claims will be paid up to $300,000. The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security. Jeh Johnson leads the department. In a statement, he said the agreement is “the right thing to do.” He said the agency has made changes to its policies. “I am pleased that we are able to finally put this chapter of Secret Service history behind us. Had the matter gone to trial, it would have required that we re-live things long past, just at a time when the Secret Service is on the mend.” Court documents note that the agency’s promotion system begins with examiners rating agents on their writing and speaking ability. The agents are also rated on their ability to lead and direct others and to consider problems and suggest solutions. Those ratings are then used to create a list of agents who the examiners believe are best-qualified for promotion. Having the top rating does not guarantee that an agent will be promoted, however. Instead, a senior agency official makes a suggestion to a group of other leaders. This group then tells the director of the agency who it believes should be promoted. The agreement notes that the agency has made changes to the first step in this process -- the rating system. These changes were based on the suggestions of experts who do not work for the agency. The agreement says the second part of the process -- choosing the agents to be promoted -- will also be changed, using ideas from non-agency experts. The group of officials who tell the agency director which agents should be promoted is now required to note why each agent was chosen. The group must also note why agents were not chosen. Also, the Secret Service will pay a non-agency expert to examine the process to decide if any parts of it cause harm to African-American candidates. If the experts find that harm is caused, they will advise the agency on ways to end it. I’m Christopher Jones-Cruise.   VOA’s Chris Hannas wrote this story. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it into 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   bonus – n. an extra amount of money that is given to an employee role – n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation promotion – n. the act of moving someone to a higher or more important position or rank in an organization virtually – adv. very nearly; almost entirely aspect – n. a part of something fabric – n. the basic structure of something span – v. to cover or include (a wide area, a large number of things, etc.) decade – n. a ten-year period of time chapter – n. a period of time that is often very different from the period of time that follows it on the mend – expression becoming better after a bad or poor period qualified – adj. having the necessary skill, experience or knowledge to do a particular job or activity; having the qualifications to do something

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Learn 10 Separable Phrasal Verbs

Welcome back to Everyday Grammar from VOA Learning English. Today we return to a very common verb form in English – phrasal verbs. You will find one phrasal verb in every 192 words of written English. They will make your English sound more natural once you begin using them correctly. In an earlier program, we explained how and why English speakers use them. Today we look at some often-used phrasal verbs. This type of phrasal verb allows a direct object to come between the verb and the preposition or adverb. As you will hear, there is a special rule that learners should know about when using these 10 phrasal verbs. The structure of phrasal verbs As you know, a phrasal verb is a phrase with two or more words: a verb and a preposition or adverb or both. We call the preposition or adverb a particle when it combines with a verb. Here are two examples:        "Please put the lamp on the desk."        "I think you're putting me on." In the first sentence, on is a preposition showing the position of the lamp. In the second sentence, on is an adverbial particle. Put on is a phrasal verb meaning "fool" or "trick" in this sentence. An important point is that a regular verb+preposition combination has two meanings. A phrasal verb, that is, a verb+particle, has a single meaning within a sentence. Many phrasal verbs have a number of different meanings in different situations. Yet the meaning of the verb+particle can usually be expressed with a single Latin-based verb. Here are two sentences with the same meaning: "They tore down the old building." "They demolished the old building." The verb tear has its own meaning, and so does the preposition down. They can combine with other words when they are alone. But as a phrasal verb, tear down, they have one meaning: "destroy." In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan visited West Germany. He told a crowd in the divided city of Berlin, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Separable phrasal verbs Now for the tricky part. You know that some verbs are transitive, which means they have a direct object. When such verbs appear as phrasal verbs, an object can either separate the phrase or follow it. Here’s an example.        "I decided to throw out my old jeans."        "I decided to throw my old jeans out." Both of these sentences are correct. The object of the phrasal verb throw out is jeans. You can use a pronoun instead of jeans and ask,        "Are you sure you want to throw them out?" However, you cannot ask, "Are you sure you want to throw out them?" Here, the pronoun them must appear between the verb and the particle. Finding the frequent phrasal verbs In recent years, language experts began to use computers to examine a large collection, or corpus, of written and spoken language. When researchers look for phrasal verbs, they find that many deal with an activity. They also find a few verbs combine with many particles. Among the most common verbs are come, put, get, go, pick, sit and take. These combine with the adverb particles up, out, in, on, off, and down to make up a group of very useful phrasal verbs. Now, let’s look at transitive phrasal verbs. See the list at the end of the article. The verb get is part of many phrasal verbs. For example, we use get up to mean "to wake oneself up" or "to awaken someone." For example: "My son loves to sleep late. I got him up on time to catch the bus this morning." Remember, the pronoun has to come between the verb and the adverb, so we cannot say, "I got up him." Notice how the Norwegian group A-ha uses a separable phrasal verb two ways in their song, "Take On Me." Which one is correct in formal grammar? I'll be coming for your love, OK? Take on me, (take on me) Take me on, (take on me) I'll be gone In a day or two Remember, singers and poets have the right to use language as they please. For Learning English Everyday Grammar, I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m John Russell. Now it’s your turn. Write a sentence that uses a separable phrasal verb and we will give you feedback in the Comments Section.   Dr. Jill Robbins and Adam Brock wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   transitive - grammar, of a verb. having or taking a direct object adverb – grammar. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree preposition – grammar. a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object object - grammar. a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that receives the action of a verb or completes the meaning of a preposition corpus – n. a collection of writings, conversations, speeches, etc., that people use to study and describe a language   Here’s our list of 10 useful phrasal verbs: Phrasal Verb Meanings Example put on wear, produce, fool, pretend That cannot be true. You must be putting me on. put off postpone, disturb The report is due today. Stop putting it off and turn it in. put down criticize, write Her boss was always putting her down so she resigned. give up surrender, stop trying Your singing is beautiful – don’t give it up. give away give, offer That radio station gives turkeys away for Thanksgiving. give back return, restore I got so much help from the town, I want to give something back. get off leave, finish, send Please get the letter off to them today. get up awaken, rise Mom had to get us up every day for school. pick up collect, lift, learn, bring, clean I picked the living room up before our guests arrived. take on assume, fight The union took on the huge oil company.

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January 19, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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News Words: Speculation

Find out what speculation means and what makes it go away in this week's News Words.

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NEW A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Part Four

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US Presidential Inaugural Traditions

The Presidential Inauguration Day in America is filled with customs and traditions. Learning English takes a look at some of those traditions using footage from past Inaugurations.

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Vietnam, China Work to Ease South China Sea Tensions

  Vietnam and China have agreed to try to end their dispute over their conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea. On Saturday, the two nations released a joint statement in Beijing. In the statement, they said they would try to peacefully settle their conflicting claims in the Sea. State-run media in both countries reported on the statement. It was released during a four-day visit to China by Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit. The Vietnamese news website Vietnamnet.vn reported that the two leaders agreed to speed up talks on joint development in the Gulf of Tonkin. The report said the agreement means “effectively stepping up” joint projects in “less sensitive” areas. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan also claim parts of the Sea. The area holds rich fishing areas and could hold large amounts of oil or gas. Unlike Vietnam, countries with claims to the area usually do not publicly criticize China’s naval activities in the South China Sea or its island-building activities.   Frederick Burke is one of the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Baker & McKenzie multinational law firm. He says improved relations between China and Vietnam could help protect ships that bring exports from Asia to markets in the West. He says it will also make the commercial fishing industry safer. “There was a concern about instability, and that this might be a flashpoint for conflicts as China’s military capacity continues to grow. I think those concerns won’t disappear overnight, but this is a very strong positive message that the parties will work things out.” Some experts say Vietnam is the strongest opponent of China’s expansion into the 3.5 million-square-kilometer Sea. It competes with China for control of the Spratly group of islands. Vietnam also has criticized China’s control of the Paracel Islands, which are east of Vietnam and southwest of Hong Kong. In 1974, China seized some of the Paracel islands, which were controlled by South Vietnamese troops at the time. South Vietnam fell to the communist North in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. In 1988, 70 Vietnamese sailors were killed in a naval battle with China. Most recently, boats from the two countries rammed into one another in 2014. The incident caused deadly anti-China riots in Vietnam. Hoang Viet Phuong is the head of institutional research and investment advisory at SSI Securities Services in Hanoi. She said the agreement has not caused people in Vietnam to change their beliefs about China yet, especially about economic relations. “At this point in time we haven’t seen any real development except for the recent visit to China, but the real impact, we need to work on that. I think people might not be that excited, except for the fact that last year we know that quite a lot of tourists came to Vietnam," she said. Experts say it is too early to know the result of the new effort by the two countries. I’m Mario Ritter.   Correspondent Ralph Jennings reported this story from Taipei. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted the story into Learning English. Mario Ritter 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   stepping up –v. to increase, to bring to a higher level flash point –n. a situation where sudden conflict or violence could happen capacity –n. ability to put something into use work things out –v. to find a solution ram –v. to crash into tourists –n. someone who travels to a country for pleasure

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January 18, 2017

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

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