Lava from Mauna Lao, the world’s largest active volcano, is inching its way toward the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, a key transportation artery on Hawaii’s Big Island. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in its latest update that the lava flow has “slowed down significantly over the past couple of days, as expected.” The observatory said, “Advance rates may be highly variable over the coming days and weeks due to the way lava is emplaced on flat ground. On flat ground, lava flows spread out and inflate. ... There are many variables at play and both the direction and timing of flow advance are expected to change over periods of hours to days, making it difficult to estimate when or if the flow will impact Daniel K. Inouye Highway.”

VOA White House correspondent Paris Huang spoke with John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications, on Dec. 2, 2022, about protests in China, the Chinese military, Taiwan, South Korea, and the Russian war in Ukraine

VOA News Center TV reporter Julie Taboh spoke with Sara Minkara, special adviser for international disability rights at the State Department, in advance of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Saturday. The interview focused on U.S. efforts to advance global human rights for persons with disabilities through the use of diplomacy.

The United States capital, Washington, has one of the oldest continuously operating seafood markets in the country. It is a source of employment and food for the city and its growing Hispanic community. For VOA News, Carolina Valladares has the story. Videographer: Carolina Valladares Video editor: Cristina Caicedo Smit 

Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who exposed the scale of secret surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA), has sworn an oath of allegiance to Russia and received a Russian passport, TASS reported Friday.  "Yes, he got [a passport], he took the oath," Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's lawyer, told the state news agency TASS.   Snowden, 39, did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment on the report.  President Vladimir Putin in September granted Russian citizenship to Snowden, who fled the United States after leaking secret files that revealed the extensive eavesdropping activities of the United States and its allies.  Defenders of Snowden hail him as a modern-day dissident for exposing the extent of U.S. spying. Opponents say he is a traitor who endangered lives by exposing the secret methods that Western spies use to listen in on hostile states and militants.   

Seven-year-old Lily Manson, who is from the US state of Illinois, learned about Russia’s war on Ukraine and decided she wanted to help. And with a lot of help, this little girl is making a big difference. Iryna Matviicuk has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.

Generation Z is the name given to people born between 1997 and 2012, and the oldest of them are well into adulthood. But for many, the traditional signs of adulthood — a steady job and home ownership — aren't yet part of the plan. Karina Bafradzhian has the story.

Chinese students in the U.S. have been attending rallies across the nation this week in support of protests throughout China against Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy. The mass demonstrations in China are the first since Tiananmen Square in 1989. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reports. VOA Mandarin Service video journalists Fang Bing and Jiu Dao in New York and Wang Ping in Washington contributed to this report. Camera: Genia Dulot Video editor: Elizabeth Lee

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed that they would never pressure Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, saying the US and France stand as united as ever with their NATO allies against Moscow's invasion. VOA's senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

Democrats control the U.S. Senate by a slim margin. But the final balance of power will be decided in the state of Georgia on December 6, when voters choose between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports.