VOA常速英语:人权观察组织称特朗普是人权的灾难

The head of Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that U.S. President-elect Joe Biden should bring fundamental change to American policy on human rights and allow criminal investigations of President Donald Trump to show that the president is not above the law. Kenneth Roth lamented what he called "four years of Trump's indifference and often hostility to human rights" and his support for autocratic leaders and dictators in ways that eroded U.S. credibility. "To sum it up, Donald Trump was a disaster for human rights. His flouting of human rights at home and his embrace of friendly autocrats around the world severely eroded U.S. credibility on human rights.” Roth's comments came as Human Rights Watch issued its annual "World Report 2021" that chronicles concerns about human rights in more than 100 countries around the world.

Coronavirus cases and deaths continue to rise in some U.S. states as mass vaccination programs expand. AP's Ed Donahue reports. Leaders of some Arizona hospitals say they may have to rush in life-saving care. Dr. Marjorie Bessel at Banner Health says they are facing one of the worst infection rates in the country. "About one in ten Arizonans is currently infected.” Bessel says staffing should not be an issue. "Health care workers have been vaccinated.” New York's Javits Center is open for mass vaccinations. But State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker says supply is a big issue. "We only get 300,000 doses each week from the federal government and at that rate it could take up to six months to vaccinate everyone currently eligible.” Supply is also an issue in California but the state is immediately allowing people 65 and older to get the vaccines. I'm Ed Donahue.

Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says he will fly home to Russia this week. AP's Charles De Ledesma has more. Navalny is making this move despite the Russian prison service's latest motion to put him behind bars for allegedly breaching the terms of his suspended sentence and probation. The Kremlin critic is convalescing in Germany from an August poisoning with a nerve agent that he has blamed on Russia. He charges that Russian President Vladimir Putin is now trying to deter him from coming home with new legal motions. Despite all this, he says he will nevertheless come back from Germany on Sunday. Navalny is Putin's most outspoken critic. I'm Charles De Ledesma.

A mixed day on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrials off slightly but the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 closing in positive territory. The Dow was down 0.03 percent, the NASDAQ was up 0.43 percent, the S&P gained 0.23 percent. Reporting by remote, I'm David Byrd, VOA news.