Tench Lee drying up articles of impeachment the White House has declined to participate in the committee hearing calling the proceedings baseless and highly partisan Jackie Quinn once into a chap Anees aid worker Dr Titus Nakamura and 5 colleagues were gunned down and killed today in eastern Afghanistan it happened in Jalalabad on the capital of the heart province feel his eye has gone an Islamic Jihad says Dr Nakamura his death represents a major loss for the Afghan people. In 1980 or like the Soviet forces invaded. And it did leave millions. Of families in the country and most ended up in poverty in the border city of Charlotte and back. In 1904 and. A medical clinic staple white services to the family I believe and then you know one think who he gradually moved up racing to the other side of the border and continue to work that was v.o.a. As I use go in Islamabad anxious investors are watching us stock markets today after Tuesday's sharp drop triggered by President Trump's comments on a yet to be achieved trade deal with China here's a.p. Correspondent Tim acquire this remark at the NATO summit sent Wall Street into a sharp dip in some ways I like the idea to wait till after the election of President Trump's response to a question about his expectations of a trade deal soon which up new tariffs on Chinese goods kick in on the 15th of this month he also talked about a 100 percent tariff on French wines and cheese because of a tax on high tech companies including Facebook Google and Amazon at one point the Dow is down by more than 400 points before losing 280 s. And p. 500 slipped 20 and the Nasdaq off once more than 100 recovered to lose just 47 points on the day I had to McGuire more news if you know News dot com online Gene Randall v.o.a. News. Begin Can. Have to. Use. I wore myself from Charley is the latest on the l a one the headline day before that it's been a big year for a long run so she recently won an a.m.a. To add to our 3 Billboard Awards or 2 Grammys her album how can it be is the number one album on the Christian top albums chart for the 2010 and by the way the song we heard you say is from that project I got shade out next are you ready it's trampoline and half. It's. Tricky. To. Why and. Welcome to learning English daily 30 minute program from the Voice of America Jonathan Evans and I'm Ashley Thompson this program is aimed at English learners so we speak a little slower and we use words and phrases especially written for people learning English. Today on the program you will hear from Brian Levin and ball and Katie Weaver. Later we will present our American history series The Making of a nation but 1st. The 1st lady of the United States Molony a truck is celebrating American patriotism at the White House this Christmas. She has also honored American design inventions and buildings the traditional gingerbread White House sits beside the statue of liberty and the Golden Gate Bridge it is with great joy that our family welcomes you to the White House this holiday season as we celebrate the spirit of America President Donald Trump and his family say in a sign to book that visitors will receive We hope you enjoy our tribute to the traditions customs and history that make our nation great White House officials showed the decorations to reporters on Monday before the president and the 1st lady traveled to London reporters also were permitted into the Naval Observatory the official home of the u.s. Vice president in northwest Washington d.c. Part of the White House is lined with glass panels at least with more than 60 examples of American design innovation and architecture they include at structures like the Woolworth Building in New York City and the Space Needle in Seattle a Christmas tree honors Gold Star families that lost a relative during military service it stands at the beginning of the hallway while a 2nd tree is decorated with the Trump family ornament an American flag East Room decorations are inspired by the u.s. Flag and have red and blue ribbons and golden eagles on top of the Christmas tree. In the State Dining Room American design is highlighted. The gingerbread White House covered with 11 kilograms of icing and 16 kilograms of chocolate reproduces the South Portico including you know a staircase made using spaghetti the blue room holds a tree Yf I've meters tall brought from a farm in the state of Pennsylvania it is death aerated with flowers representing every state and u.s. Territory Mrs Trump continues her tradition of hanging wreaths on all 106 windows at the White House late Sunday she showed Twitter followers a short video of some of the decorations as she walked through the state floor of the White House more than 225 volunteers came from around the country to help decorate the White House during Thanksgiving weekend decorations in the public areas include 58 Christmas trees and more than 2500 groups of light the Naval Observatory is home to Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen more than 40 volunteers decorated the Pence's residence using 640 meters of white lights and a 7 tree ease from a farm in Belvedere New Jersey Mrs Pence said the decorations show the rich history of the residents and highlights the beauty of the special house that we are blessed to call home. But the United Nations whether agency says the past 10 years were likely the hottest decade since scientists began keeping records in a new report the World Meteorological Organization or w.m.o. Blames the rising temperatures mainly on greenhouse gases produced by human activities average temperatures for the 5 year 2015 to 2019 and 10 year 2010 to 2019 periods are almost certain to be the highest on record the w.m.o. Said the report predicted that 2019 would become the 2nd or 3rd warmest year on record final temperature measurements will not be available for several months Petrie Talos is the secretary general of the w.m.o. He says severe heat waves and floods that used to happen about once every 100 years have become regular events. Countries ranging from the Bahamas to Japan to Mozambique suffered the effect of devastating tropical cyclones wildfires swept through the Arctic and Australia he noted. Said that one of the main effects of climate change is the lack of predictable rainfall this presents a threat to successful harvests and will likely create food security problems in some countries in the future he said the report said climate change was a main driver of a recent increase in world hunger after 10 years of decrease it estimated that about 820000000 people suffered from hunger in 2018 the w.m.o. Said that weather disasters have displaced millions of people this year and affected rainfall from India to northern Russia to the central United States and other areas oceans which taken an estimated 90 percent of the extra heat produced by greenhouse gases are now at their highest recorded temperatures seawater is also 25 percent more acidic than it was 150 years ago the report said this is threatening ocean environments that provide food and jobs for billions of people levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached a record $407.00 parts per 1000000 in 2018 and continued to rise in 2019. Experts say carbon dioxide can be damaging because it can remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and in the ocean for even longer on Monday at the opening of a climate meeting in Spain United Nations secretary general on Tonio good Tara she warned that $400.00 parts per 1000000 had once been considered unthinkable the u.n. Climate Change Conference brings together representatives from around the world to seek solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I am Brian Len. Students from China and Singapore came out on top in an international survey of educational achievement results of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment or Pisa were released Tuesday the test is given every 3 years to 15 year olds around the world it measures their knowledge in reading Science and Mathematics. The best performing students in all 3 subjects were in China they attend schools in and around Beijing and Shanghai and 2 provinces to and Judge Young Singapore finished in 5th place in the study overall the test results show American students scoring above average in reading and science but below average in math the test is administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or o.e.c.d. Officials reported that about 600000 students in 79 nations and educational systems took part in the 2 hour computer based exam last year they said schools in each country are chosen randomly to make sure that students come from a wide mix of backgrounds and abilities. Is the largest measure of international education performance the test scores are watched closely by education policy makers here are some of the P.'s the findings the average u.s. Corps have not changed in a major way in any of the 3 subjects sense 2015 the u.s. Scores are mostly unchanged sense when the test was 1st given in 2004 reading and in 2003 for math American science scores have risen since 2006. Out of the $79.00 areas only 7 have seen an improvement in their Pisa scores since they started offering the test the 7 are Albania Colombia my cow Moldova her Rue Portugal and Qatar the o.e.c.d. Is a group of $36.00 mostly industrial countries including the United States finance saying the amount of money spent on education is important but not always necessary for high test scores take a stone e.f. For example it was $1.00 of the top scoring countries yet education spending there is 30 percent below the o.e.c.d. Average with reading being the main focus of the test this year one of every 4 students in o.e.c.d. Countries could not complete basic reading tasks on average across the o.e.c.d. Countries one in 10 disadvantaged students was able to score in the top quarter of the reading performance of their country the us results showed that the highest performing students were doing better in reading and math while the lower performing students did not improve This is similar to results from another nationwide test the National Assessment of Educational Progress. It's another red flag that this is something to think about said Peggy Carr the associate commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics She noted that the United States is clearly struggling in math what is not clear about the group of Chinese students tested is whether they represent all Chinese students Carr noted that the 4 test areas are home to more wealthy people than China as a whole the Chinese areas displaced the top school system in the 2015 Pisa the Asians city state of Singapore Tom Loveless an educational researcher from California said the Chinese provinces that were tested saw a substantial increase in their scores he said China is the only country where the national government chooses the provinces that are tested it still makes it very difficult to interpret the Chinese scores he said loveless describes the overall performance of American students as mediocre the u.s. Is basically doing what it's done sense pieces started which is hanging around the middle of the group he said entre is striker is director for the o.e.c.d. Directorate of Education and Skills he said there is hope for countries where there is not much difference in the performance of students from wealthy and poor backgrounds. Advocation he says remains a way for poor children in some countries to be success. And Katie Weaver and I may on ball. Welcome to the making of a nation American history in video way special English the Civil War began in $861.00 as a struggle over the right of states to leave the Union President Abraham Lincoln firmly believed that a state did not have that right and he declared war on the southern states that tried to leave. Lincoln had only one reason to fight to save the Union in time however there was another reason to fight to free the black people held as slaves in the south today Cagle and to Andheri Monroe continue the story of how President Lincoln dealt with this issue. Lincoln I had tried to keep the issue of slavery out of the war he feared it would weaken the northern war effort nanny men throughout the North would fight to save the union they would not fight to free the slaves Lincoln also needed the support of the 4 slave states that had not left the union Delaware Kentucky Maryland and Missouri he could not be sure of their support if he declared that the purpose of the war was to free the slaves. Lincoln was able to follow this policy at 1st but the war to save the Union was going badly the North had not won a decisive victory in Virginia the heart of the Confederacy to guarantee continued support for the war Lincoln was forced to recognize that the issue of slavery was in fact a major issue and on September 22nd 1862 he announced a new policy on slavery in the rebel southern states his announcement became known as the Emancipation Proclamation American newspapers printed the proclamation this is what it said I brought him Lincoln President of the United States and commander in chief of the Army and Navy do hereby declare that on the 1st day of January $863.00 all persons held as slaves within any state then in rebellion against the United States shall then become and be for ever free the government of the United States including the military and naval forces will recognize and pro tech to the freedom of such persons and will interfere in no way with any efforts they may make for their actual freedom for political reasons the Proclamation did not free slaves in the states that supported the Union. Nor did it free slaves in the areas around Novack Virginia and New Orleans Louisiana most anti-slavery leaders praise the Emancipation Proclamation they had waited a long time for such a document but some did not like it they said it did not go far enough it did not free all of the slaves in the United States only those held by the rebels. Lincoln answered that the Emancipation Proclamation was a military measure he said he made it under his wartime powers as commander in chief as such it was legal only in enemy territory Lincoln agreed that all slaves should be freed it was his personal opinion but he did not believe that the Constitution gave him the power to free all the slaves he hoped that could be done slowly during peace time Lincoln's new policy on slavery was welcomed warmly by the people of Europe it won special prayers in Britain the British people were deeply concerned about the Civil War in America the United States Navy had blocked Southern exports of cotton the British tech still industry which depended on this cotton was almost dead factories were closed hundreds of thousands of people were out of work the British government watched and worried as the war continued month after month. Finally late in the summer of 1862 British leaders said the time had come for them to intervene they would try to help settle the American dispute Britain would propose a peace agreement based on Northern recognition of Southern rights if the North rejected the agreement Britain would recognize the Confederacy Then came the news that President Lincoln was freeing the slaves of the south suddenly the Civil War was a different war no longer was it a struggle over southern rights now it was a struggle for human freedom the British people strongly opposed to slavery when they heard that the slaves would be freed they gave their support immediately to President Lincoln and the North Britons peace proposals were never offered the Emancipation Proclamation had cost the south the recognition Britain and France the South was furious over the proclamation Southern newspapers attacked Lincoln they accused him of trying to create a slave rebellion in states he could not occupy with troops they also said the proclamation was a invitation for a Negroes to murder whites the Confederate Congress debated several resolutions to fight Lincoln's proclamation one resolution would make slaves of all Negroes soldiers captured from the Union Army. Another called for the execution of white officers who led black troops some southern lawmakers even proposed the death sentence for anyone who spoke against slavery in the north most people cheered the new policy on slaves some however opposed it they said the policy would cause the slave states of the Union to secede those states would join the Confederacy or they said it would cause freed slaves to move north and take away jobs from whites. There also was another reason $862.00 was a congressional election year the Democratic Party was the opposition party at that time the party leaders believe their candidates would have a better chance of winning if they opposed the policy Democrats said the policy was proof that anti-slavery extremists were in control of the government as we said Abraham Lincoln announced to the a mancipation proclamation on September 22nd 862 but Lincoln said he would not sign the proclamation until the 1st day of $863.00 that gave the southern states $100.00 day is to end their rebellion or face the destruction of slavery. Some people thought Lincoln would withdraw the proclamation at the last minute they did not believe he would sign a measure that was so extreme they said the new policy would only make the south fight harder and as a result the civil war would last longer Others charge that the proclamation was illegal they said the Constitution did not give the president the power to violate the property rights of citizens Lincoln answered the charges he said I think the Constitution gives the commander in chief special powers under the laws of war the most that can be said if so much is that slaves are property is there any question that by the laws of war property both of enemies and friends may be taken when needed just before the 1st of the year a congressman asked the president if he still planned to sign the Emancipation Proclamation my mind is made up Lincoln answered it must be done I am driven to it there is no other way out of our troubles but although my duty is clear it is in some way painful I hope that the people will understand that I act not in anger but in the expectation of a greater good the morning of New Year's Day was a busy time for Lincoln it was a tradition to open the White House on that day so the president could wish visitors a happy new year. After the last visitor had gone Lincoln went to his office he started to sign the Emancipation Proclamation then he stopped he said I never in all my life felt more sure that I was doing right than I do in signing this paper but I have been shaking hands all day until my arm is tired when people examine this document they will say he was not sure about that but anyway it is going to be done with those words he wrote his name at the bottom of the paper he had issued one of the greatest documents in American history. And that's our program for today listen again tomorrow to learn English 3 stories from around the world Jonathan Evans and I'm Ashley Thompson. This is the only news I'm Jane Randel the next phase of what might be called the impeachment drama starring u.s. President Donald Trump is in the spotlight today on Capitol Hill we have a report from a.p. Correspondent Jackie Quinn the House Judiciary Committee will assess whether President Trump engaged in significant misconduct in his dealings with Ukraine as alleged in a $300.00 page report from the House Intelligence Committee but it's up to Congress to decide if his actions rise to the impeachable level of high crimes and misdemeanors Judiciary Committee members will be questioning legal experts as they discuss the constitutional framework for potentially drawing up articles of impeachment the White House has declined to participate in the committee hearing calling the proceedings baseless and highly partisan Jackie Quinn Washington the 70th anniversary NATO summit is underway in London at the outset the host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sounded a theme for the future of this council we have the opportunity to strengthen the unity of purpose that has made NATO the greatest and least successful alliance in history. I'm to take the news deads the dobro find it necessary to ensure you know the city is of peace and security President Trump Meanwhile met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel he also called on Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau he called and called him 2 faced for being part of an overheard conversation that echoed the view that Mr Trump held to many long news conferences Mr Trump later canceled a news conference scheduled for after his meeting with Merkel Russian President Vladimir Putin a signed a bill that amends an existing law on media outlets that critics say is used to muzzle dissent the new law gives permits permission to authorities to label reporters who work for organizations officially listed as foreign agents to be designated as foreign agents themselves from Washington this is v.o.a. News a Japanese aid worker Dr Titus knuckle and 5 colleagues were gunned down and killed today in eastern Afghanistan it happened in Jalalabad in the capital of Nagar province the always I use golden isn't a bad describe the incident to Steve Miller here in Washington they came up with that why. That one of the public eye in denial about it and people there reminding Welby at the he's attacking and because they have vehicles open wide and then.