From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Larry London reporting.

Prosecutors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have charged a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man on a city street with first-degree manslaughter.

The charge comes less than a week after officer Betty Shelby shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on September 16.

Meanwhile, North Carolina's governor has declared a state of emergency in the city of Charlotte as protesters rallied for a second night on Wednesday in response to the police killing of an African-American man there.

Charlotte police say 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott was spotted getting out of a car with a gun Tuesday at an apartment complex. The officer fired after Scott ignored warnings to drop the gun. But Scott's family say he was instead carrying a book.

Police body cameras captured the shooting. Protesters are calling for the video to be made public.

The case is the latest in a long string of police shootings that highlight the use of force by officers, particularly against African-Americans.

Jeff Caster, VOA news, Washington.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds that Clinton's recent stumble didn't have quite the impact that Trump and his supporters wanted. Instead, it's Trump who's viewed as most disconnected and disrespectful.

Sixty percent of registered voters say he doesn't respect "ordinary Americans," according to the poll. That's far more than the 48 percent who say the same about Clinton.

Trump supporters had begun showing up at his rallies with shirts and signs riffing on the word "deplorable."

On Wall Street, the Dow gained 98 points. The S&P 500 rose 14. The NASDAQ Composite up 44.

This is VOA.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that if a cease-fire deal in Syria is to be salvaged, warplanes must stop flying over key parts of that country. His comments came during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council. VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

The United States and Russia agreed to a cessation of hostilities on September 9, but two deadly incidents since then have tested its viability.

"So I believe that to restore credibility to the process, we must move forward to try to immediately ground all aircraft flying in those key areas in order to de-escalate the situation and give a chance for humanitarian assistance to flow unimpeded. And if that happens, there is a chance of giving credibility back to this process."

Kerry said a flight ban would also prevent the Syrian military attacking civilian targets with the excuse that it is going after armed groups and terrorists. The ban would also help build confidence toward restarting intra-Syrian talks.

Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo is about to enter an unusual political limbo as his term officially expires in December but elections are nowhere in sight.

VOA's Anita Powell reports from Johannesburg that deadly protests over the delay have raised fears that the central African nation might be headed for a violent political crisis.

The date December 19 hangs over President Joseph Kabila's head, over the nation he has ruled for 15 years, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and over central Africa.

That should be the last day of his second and final term in office, according to the DRC constitution. But the nation's electoral commission says it will not be able to hold elections until late 2018. Kabila has not said publicly what he will do.

International Crisis Group's Central Africa Project Director Richard Moncrieff says the DRC has been torn apart by civil conflict in the past.

"So when we see the president try to undo that constitution for his own narrow ends, it's fairly natural and understandable that people are upset and angry about that."

Anita Powell, VOA news, Johannesburg.

Florida Governor Rick Scott, who has been highly critical of the federal response to the outbreak of the Zika virus, used his emergency powers Thursday to direct $25 million in state money toward helping to develop a vaccine for Zika.

It marks the third time this year that Scott has ordered the state to spend money fighting Zika. Until now, the state's efforts had been aimed at killing mosquitoes, training mosquito technicians and purchasing Zika prevention kits.

I'm Larry London in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.