Category: United States

ISANTI, Minn. — The young Buddhist lama sat on a throne near an altar decorated with flowers, fruits and golden statues of the Buddha, watching the celebrations of his 18th birthday in silence, with a faint smile.  Jalue Dorje knew it would be the last big party before he joins a monastery in the Himalayan foothills — thousands of kilometers from his home in a Minneapolis suburb, where he grew up like a typical American teen playing football and listening to rap music.  But this was not an ordinary coming-of-age celebration. It was an enthronement ceremony for an aspiring spiritual leader who from an early age was recognized by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders as a reincarnated lama.  From the stage, he saw it all: The young women in white long bearded masks who danced, jumping acrobatically and twirling colorful sticks to wish him luck in a tradition reserved for dignitaries. The banging of drums. The procession of hundreds – from children to elderly — who lined up to bow to him and present him with a “khata” — the white Tibetan ceremonial scarves that symbolize auspiciousness.  From a throne reserved for lamas, he smelled the aroma of Tibetan dishes prepared by his mother over sleepless nights. He heard the monks with shaved heads, in maroon and gold robes like his own, chant sacred mantras. Behind them, his shaggy-haired high school football teammates sang “Happy Birthday” before he cut the first slice of cake.  One of his buddies gave him shaker bottles for hydrating during training at the gym; another, a gift card to eat at Chipotle Mexican Grill.  “I was in awe!” Dorje recalled later. “Usually, I’d be at the monk section looking up to whomever was celebrating. But that night it was for me.”  Watching Monday Night Football and memorizing ancient Buddhist prayers  Since the Dalai Lama’s recognition, Dorje has spent much of his life training to become a monk, memorizing sacred scriptures, practicing calligraphy and learning the teachings of Buddha.  After graduation in 2025, he’ll head to northern India to join the Mindrolling Monastery, more than 11,500 kilometers from his home in Columbia Heights.  Following several years of contemplation and ascetism, he hopes to return to America to teach in the Minnesota Buddhist community. His goal is “to become a leader of peace,” following the example of the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela and Gandhi.  “There’s … “Teenage Buddhist lama marks last birthday in US before joining monastery in Himalayas” →

President-elect Donald Trump will come into office in January 2025 with unified control of the U.S. Congress. Republicans will hold majorities in both the Senate and House as the result of a mandate from American voters. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from Capitol Hill. …

Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue. Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year. Spirit said it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption. Shares of Miramar, Florida-based Spirit dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. It was just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018 — when Spirit was still making money. CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talking to advisers of its bondholders about the upcoming debt maturities. He called the discussions a priority, and said the airline was trying to get the best deal it could as quickly as possible. “The chatter in the market about Spirit is notable, but we are not distracted,” he told investors during an earnings call. “We are focused on refinancing our debt, improving our overall liquidity position, deploying our new reimagined product into the market, and growing our loyalty programs.” People are still flying on Spirit Airlines. They’re just not paying as much. In the first six months of this year, Spirit passengers flew 2% more than they did in the same period last year. However, they are paying 10% less per mile, and revenue per mile from fares is down nearly 20%, contributing to Spirit’s red ink. It’s not a new trend. Spirit failed to return to profitability when the coronavirus pandemic eased and travel rebounded. There are several reasons behind the slump. Spirit’s costs, especially for labor, have risen. The biggest U.S. airlines have snagged some of Spirit’s budget-conscious customers by offering their own brand of bare-bones tickets. And fares for U.S. leisure travel — Spirit’s core business — have sagged because of a glut of new flights. The premium end of the air-travel market has surged while Spirit’s traditional no-frills end has stagnated. So this summer, Spirit decided to sell bundled … “Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy as financial losses pile up and debt payments loom” →

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States signed on Monday a military intelligence-sharing deal in a further deepening of defense ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region. Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila’s military headquarters where both officials also broke ground for a combined coordination center that will facilitate collaboration between their armed forces. Called the General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, the pact allows both countries to share classified military information securely. “Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations,” said Philippines’ defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong. Security engagements between the United States and the Philippines have deepened under President Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China’s aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan. The two countries have a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea. “I want to start by underscoring our ironclad commitment to the Philippines,” Austin said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the coordination center. Austin said the coordination center should enable real-time information sharing between the two defense treaty allies and boost interoperability. ‘’It will be a place where our forces can work side by side to respond to regional challenges,” Austin said. The Philippines has expressed confidence the alliance will remain strong under incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. Both the Philippines and the United States face increasingly aggressive actions from China in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce, which it claims almost entirely as its own. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China’s claims had no legal basis, siding with the Philippines, which brought the case. But China has rejected the ruling, leading to a series of sea and air confrontations with the Philippines that have turned the highly strategic South China Sea into a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing. “The United States’ presence in the Indo Pacific region is essential for maintaining peace and stability in this region,” Teodoro said during the inauguration, echoing previous … “Philippines, United States sign military intelligence-sharing deal” →

U.S. President Joe Biden began a historic trip to Brazil Sunday, becoming the first sitting American president to visit the Amazon rainforest to mark his efforts on fighting climate change. He will attend the summit of the 20 largest economies, the G20, Monday in Rio de Janeiro, where climate, poverty reduction and other global clauses will be discussed. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara is traveling with the president and has this report from Rio. …

NEW ORLEANS — Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a New Orleans parade route and celebration attended by thousands on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests. Officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m. on an avenue in the city’s St. Roch neighborhood found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department. All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Police later said a ninth wounded person arrived at a hospital via a private car. About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revelers were crossing the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, just over .8 km to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at a hospital, police said. A third victim was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition, police said. No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released. The St. Roch neighborhood is outside the city’s French Quarter that is popular with tourists, located several blocks northeast of the quarter. Thousands had gathered for the annual outing of the Nine Times Social Aid & Pleasure Club in the 9th Ward, organizer Oscar Brown told NOLA.com. “It is a wonderful event, and we want to keep it a wonderful event,” Kirkpatrick said. The Almonaster Bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation. Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives didn’t immediately know if the incidents were related. “They were … different kinds of approaches,” she said of the shootings, which occurred in the area where a “second line,” a celebration following a parade, was taking place. It was the second major shooting in the South since gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Nov. 10, leaving one person dead and injuring 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said. …

U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades. The U.S. Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 99,000 square kilometers in Oregon, Washington and California. The plan was adopted in 1994 under President Bill Clinton amid pressure to curb destructive logging practices that resulted in widespread clearcuts and destroyed habitat used by spotted owls. Timber harvests dropped dramatically in subsequent years, spurring political backlash. But federal officials now say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency. Increased logging also would provide a more predictable supply of trees for timber companies, officials said, helping rural economies that have suffered after lumber mills shut down and forestry jobs disappeared. The proposal could increase annual timber harvests by at least 33% and potentially more than 200%, according to a draft environmental study. The number of timber-related jobs would increase accordingly. Harvest volumes from the 17 national forests covered by the Northwest Forest Plan averaged about 445 million board feet annually over the past decade, according to government figures. Cutting more trees would help reduce wildfire risk and make communities safer, the study concluded. That would be accomplished in part by allowing cuts in some areas with stands of trees up to 120 years old — up from the current age threshold of 80 years. The change could help foster conditions conducive to growing larger, old growth trees that are more resistant to fire, by removing younger trees, officials said. A separate pending proposal from President Joe Biden’s administration aims to increase protections nationwide for old growth trees, which play a significant role in storing climate change-inducing carbon dioxide. “Much has changed in society and science since the Northwest Forest Plan was created,” Jacque Buchanan, regional forester for the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Region, said in a statement. He said the proposal would help the agency adapt to shifting conditions, as global warming increases the frequency of droughts and other extreme weather events. The proposed plan also calls for closer cooperation between the Forest Service and Native American tribes to tap into tribal knowledge about forest management. Tribes were excluded when the 1994 plan was crafted. … “More logging is proposed to help curb wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest” →

Las Vegas, Nevada — Picketing continued Sunday outside a hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip that remained open with no talks scheduled between management and union members striking for a new contract.  Workers are seeking a pay raise and benefits comparable to pacts reached last year at other resorts.  The walkout by the Culinary Workers Union laborers at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas comes a week before the second annual Las Vegas Grand Prix is due to draw hundreds of thousands of fans for Formula 1 racing on the Strip and nearby streets. It’s the first open-ended strike since 2002 for the largest labor union in Nevada, which has about 60,000 members.  No new negotiations were scheduled, said union spokesperson Bethany Khan and Terri Maruca, media representative for Virgin Hotels, owner of the 1,500-room property.  Maruca said the company has fielded applications from more than 600 prospective contract and temporary workers since Friday. The union pays striking workers $500 per week for at least five days for picketing shifts.  Guest room attendants, cocktail and food servers, porters, bellmen, cooks, bartenders and laundry workers are among those carrying picket signs at the property, where workers also staged a 48-hour job action last May to call for Virgin Hotels to agree to a new five-year deal with expanded benefits and increased wages.  Other casinos on and off the Strip reached deadline agreements with the union just before the Formula 1 race a year ago, with contracts containing salary increases of about 32% over five years for tens of thousands of workers at properties including the Bellagio, Paris Las Vegas, MGM Grand and Caesars Palace.  In a statement on Sunday, Virgin Hotels called those contracts “economically unsustainable” and said it wants a “reasonable agreement” for its 1,710 employees. It has accused union leaders of refusing to engage in “meaningful negotiations.”  Culinary Union members last went on strike in 2002 for 10 days at the Golden Gate hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. …

Firefighters in New York said Sunday that a voluntary evacuation overnight helped them protect more than 160 homes from a stubborn wildfire near the New Jersey border as officials in much of the Northeast coped with hundreds of brush fires in tinder-dry and windy conditions. Communities in New England dealt with a similar surge in late fall fires, and many parts of the Northeast remained under red flag alerts this weekend. Across the country, California made good progress against a 83-square-kilometer fire in Ventura County that has destroyed more than 245 structures, most of them houses. The Mountain fire was 95% contained. Windy conditions renewed a wildfire Saturday that escaped a containment line and prompted emergency officials to enact the voluntary evacuation plan affecting about 165 houses in Warwick, New York, near the New Jersey border. No structures were in danger as of Sunday afternoon as firefighters worked to tame the Jennings Creek blaze, New York Parks Department spokesman Jeff Wernick said. The voluntary evacuation will remain in place at least until Monday, Wernick said. The wildfire had burned close to 20 square kilometers across the two states as of Friday and was burning primarily in New York’s Sterling Forest State Park, where the visitor center, the lakefront area at Greenwood Lake and a historic furnace area remained open. Woodland activities including hunting were halted, Wernick said. It was 90% contained on the Passaic County, New Jersey, side of the border, and about 88% contained in Orange County, New York, where a state of emergency was extended on Sunday, officials said. New York Army National Guard and state police helicopters dropped water on the blaze to support ground crews’ efforts. “Residents in the voluntary evacuation area are asked to continue sheltering so that crews can effectively suppress the fire,” according to a statement posted on Facebook by village officials in Greenwood Lake, New York, where schools will be closed on Monday. “There is currently no threat to structures but crews are actively working to ensure structure protection.” The blaze claimed the life of an 18-year-old New York parks employee who died when a tree fell on him as he helped fight the fire in Sterling Forest on Nov. 9. The fire’s cause remains under investigation. New York City’s Fire Department is creating its first-ever brush fire task force to respond to what officials say is a historic increase in brush … “Wildfire threat continues in much of US Northeast as dry conditions persist” →

Washington — President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.  The decision is a major U.S. policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.  The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people.  The people were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Memes, inspirational quotes, and even dance videos have brought President-elect Donald Trump to a new height of fame on Chinese social media since his election. On Xiaohongshu, a media platform most similar to Instagram, the search term “Trump” shows more than 200,000 posts on the topic and 880 million views, with recent top posts each accruing more than 72,000 views and thousands of comments. Videos of the president-elect dancing to the song YMCA by the band Village People have been circulating in Chinese cyberspace. Many commenters find the content funny, calling him a jokester or comedian, while others view it as inspirational, seeing the older soon-to-be two-time American president as a role model. Trump’s popularity stems from a kind of vitality and enthusiasm that he displayed throughout his campaign, analysts said, attracting many young Chinese who grew up looking up to more somber and rigid communist idols within their own country. Videos of Elon Musk at a pre-election Trump rally have also made an impression on Chinese social media platform users. On these posts, commenters describe him as “a good kind of capitalist” and “someone who will make America strong.” ‘They need an idol’ These impressions come amidst a general malaise facing the Chinese economy that has sparked the young Chinese people to ‘lie flat’, meaning to cease striving for a better life in face of a competitive job market and other pressures. One comment commonly posted under many Trump-related posts reads: “He is 78 years old, was hit by a bullet in the ear and bled profusely, was convicted of a felony and nearly sent to jail, had appealed over 60 times but still continued to work hard to find a job and found the best job for himself. What excuse do you have for not working hard?” Liu, a writer from Jiangsu province, said Trump’s difficult path back to the presidency is precisely what inspires Chinese youth when compared to the traditional Communist Party heroes. Liu only gave his surname, because talking to foreign media is dangerous, he says. “They need an idol who represents the possibility of individual success. Trump fits this image: he gets stronger with each setback, continually fights back, and still works hard even at an older age,” Liu said, adding that “more importantly, young Chinese long for the kind of fair and just environment that has allowed Trump to succeed.” Trump … “A dancing Trump finds internet fame in China” →

Sydney — Australia, Japan and the U.S. on Sunday committed to closer military cooperation in training their forces as the countries deepened their ties in a bid to counter China’s military strength. Australia’s minister of defense, Richard Marles, hosted U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani on Sunday for the trilateral ministers’ meeting — the first to be held in Australia. Under the new agreement, Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade — an elite marine unit — will be deployed to Darwin to regularly work and train alongside Australian and U.S. forces. “It is a very important statement to the region and to the world about the commitment that our three countries have in working with each other,” Marles said. “This is going to build interoperability between our three countries.” Austin said the partnership would increase intelligence “surveillance and reconnaissance activities” among the three countries, which will “advance our goals for a secure and peaceful Indo Pacific.” The U.S. defense chief said he was proud of what his office had done to “strengthen alliances” in the region and work with “countries that share the vision of a free and open Indo Pacific.” Canberra has drawn ever nearer to longtime ally the United States, bolstering its military in an attempt to deter the might of a rising China. Besides rapidly developing its surface fleet, Australia plans to deploy stealthy nuclear-powered submarines in a tripartite deal with the United States and Britain known as AUKUS. Some fear U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could jettison or try to rewrite the pact, returning to his “America first” style of foreign policy. But Australian officials said this month they have a “great deal of confidence” that the pact will remain.  …

On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru, U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in their last in-person engagement before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from Lima. …

NEW YORK — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump celebrated his election victory on Saturday night by attending an Ultimate Fighting Championship event with billionaire friend Elon Musk and cheering fans at a heavily guarded Madison Square Garden in New York City. Known by some in the mixed martial arts world as the “Combatant in Chief,” Trump counts UFC President Dana White as a close friend and considers fans of the sport part of his political base. Trump sat between White and Musk and paid rapt attention to the fights. He entered the arena to loud music and waved to the crowd, many of whom returned the gesture. Among those joining him were House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Tesla CEO Musk, a close Trump adviser, singer Kid Rock and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he plans to nominate for secretary of health and human services. His visit to the storied Manhattan arena brought him back to the scene of a controversial campaign rally he held there on October 27, when a warm-up comedian mocked Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” Saturday’s headline event in the octagon at UFC 309 was a battle for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. A Trump aide posted a photo on social media showing Trump watching some of the undercard fights while seated on his plane next to Kennedy. A handful of visitors in Madison Square Garden, an arena with a seating capacity of nearly 20,000, wore red “Make America Great Again” hats. One of them, Sean Allen, 22, traveled to the event from Monroe in upstate New York, where he lives and works for a county department. He said he had voted for Trump and borrowed his MAGA hat from a friend after learning that the Republican president-elect, who won a decisive victory on November 5 over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, might come to the fight. “I’d never voted before. That was my first time voting,” Allen said, adding that he could have voted at the previous election but did not care about politics. “When I woke up, I was like, ‘OK, wow, Trump won big.’” Nicholas Defilippo, 39, another visitor in a MAGA hat, also put it on to express his support for Trump after voting for him. Defilippo lives in New Jersey and works in law enforcement. “He’s the most courageous man on the … “Trump in New York for UFC fight at Madison Square Garden” →

Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, has died. He was 82. USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No cause of death was given. Karolyi and wife, Martha, trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. “A big impact and influence on my life,” Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram. Yet Karolyi’s strident methods sometimes came under fire, most pointedly during the height of the Larry Nassar scandal. When the disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment, over a dozen former gymnasts came forward saying the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to run unchecked for years. While the Karolyis denied responsibility — telling CNN in 2018 they were unaware of Nassar’s behavior — the revelations led to them receding from the spotlight. USA Gymnastics eventually exited an agreement to continue to train at the Karolyi Ranch north of Houston, though only after American star Simone Biles took the organization to task for having them train at a site where many experienced sexual abuse. The Karolyis receded from the spotlight in the aftermath after spending 30-plus years as a guiding force in American gymnastics, often basking in success while brushing with controversy in equal measure. The Karolyis defected from Romania to the United States in 1981. Three years later Bela helped guide Retton — all of 16 — to the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor after Strug’s vault secured the team gold for the Americans. Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women’s elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport’s gold standard. It did not come without a cost. He was removed from the position after the 2000 Olympics when it became apparent his leadership style simply would not work, though he remained around the sport after Martha … “Bela Karolyi, controversial Olympic gymnasts coach, dies at 82” →

NEW YORK — Health officials said Saturday they have confirmed the first U.S. case of a new form of mpox that was first seen in eastern Congo.  The person had traveled to eastern Africa and was treated in Northern California upon return, according to the California Department of Public Health. Symptoms are improving and the risk to the public is low.  The individual was isolating at home and health workers are reaching out to close contacts as a precaution, the state health department said.  Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with a virus that’s in the same family as the one that causes smallpox. It is endemic in parts of Africa, where people have been infected through bites from rodents or small animals. Milder symptoms can include fever, chills and body aches. In more serious cases, people can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.  Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in Africa that was spread through close contact including through sex. It was widely transmitted in eastern and central Africa. But in cases that were identified in travelers outside of the continent, spread has been very limited, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  More than 3,100 confirmed cases have been reported since late September, according to the World Health Organization. Most of them have been in three African countries — Burundi, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Since then, cases of travelers with the new mpox form have been reported in Germany, India, Kenya, Sweden, Thailand, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom.  Health officials earlier this month said the situation in Congo appears to be stabilizing. The Africa CDC has estimated Congo needs at least 3 million mpox vaccines to stop the spread, and another 7 million vaccines for the rest of Africa. The spread is mostly through sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups.  The current outbreak is different from the 2022 global outbreak of mpox where gay and bisexual men made up most of the cases.  …

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, the founder of an oilfield services company, to lead the Energy Department, as his new administration continues to take shape.  The transition team officially announced the choice on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, Trump announced a new National Energy Council to be led by his Interior Department pick, former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. In this role, Burgum will direct a panel that crosses all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, Trump said in a statement. As chairman of the National Energy Council, Burgum will have a seat on the National Security Council, the president-elect said.  Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy based in Denver, Colorado, has no political experience. He is an advocate for the oil and gas industry, including fracking. In 2019, he drank fracking liquid to show that it was not dangerous.  According to a March 2024 report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. has produced more crude oil than any nation at any time, according to its International Energy Statistics, for the past six years in a row. Average monthly U.S. crude oil production established a monthly record high in December 2023 at more than 13.3 million barrels per day.  Earlier announcements  The Trump-Vance transition team announced Steven Cheung will return to the Trump White House as communications director. He held the same position for the Trump-Vance 2024 presidential campaign and served in the White House during Trump’s first term as director of strategic response.    On Friday evening, Trump announced that his campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, would be his White House press secretary. She served as assistant press secretary in his previous term in office.  Trump has swiftly named an array of political loyalists to key Cabinet positions. Most of them are likely to win quick Senate approval after confirmation hearings.     Having won majorities in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, Republicans are set to take full control of the U.S. government by the third week in January.   “Republicans in the House and Senate have a mandate,” newly reelected House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week. “The American people want us to implement and deliver that ‘America First’ agenda.”  Trump will be sworn in as the country’s 47th president on January 20, two weeks after the new Congress has been … “Trump chooses oil industry executive as energy secretary “ →

LIMA, PERU — President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the importance of maintaining dialogue to manage the U.S.-China rivalry, at a summit held Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru.        The U.S.-China relationship is the “most important” in the world, Biden said, stressing both leaders’ responsibility not to allow competition to veer into conflict.   “These conversations prevent miscalculations,” Biden said of their meetings. “Over the last four years, I think we’ve proven it’s possible to have this relationship,” he said.   Xi expressed similar sentiments, saying both countries “should bear in mind the interest of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world.”      The positive expressions belie long-standing issues between the two countries.      At the summit, Biden is set to reiterate his “long-standing concern” over China’s “unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices” that hurt American workers, said a senior administration official who spoke ahead of the meeting under the condition of anonymity.    The president also will be relaying to Xi his “deep concern” over Beijing’s support for Moscow’s war against Ukraine and the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia, as well as Beijing’s increased military activities around Taiwan and the South China Sea.        Additionally, Biden is set to warn China over its alleged role in hacking private telecommunications providers used by U.S. government and presidential campaign officials, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday aboard Air Force One en route to Lima.    “We have made clear over time that we will respond when we see actions taken, in terms of cyberattacks, cyber espionage, cyber intrusions,” Sullivan said.     Multilateralism and free trade  Just hours before his meeting, Xi presented himself as a defender of “multilateralism and an open economy,” to APEC leaders.  In a speech, Xi urged leaders to “tear down the walls impeding the flow of trade, investment, technology and services.”    Foreign diplomatic sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity told VOA they are concerned that the U.S. would turn more protectionist and isolationist under the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated in January.        Under his first term as president, Trump withdrew from various multilateral agreements including the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact and the Paris Climate Accord. He imposed punitive tariffs … “Biden, Xi reiterate importance of managing US-China rivalry” →

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA — On the last night of their lives, Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two young children tried to slip into the U.S. across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border.  Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius) that night in January 2022 as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van. They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night.  The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: “Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.”  Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed “Dirty Harry.” On the U.S. side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Patel at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say.  The two men, whose trial is scheduled to start Monday, are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the U.S. Both have pleaded not guilty.  Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border.  “16 degrees cold as hell,” Shand messaged during an earlier trip. “They going to be alive when they get here?”  On the last trip, on Jan. 19, 2022, Shand was to pick up 11 more Indian migrants, including the Patels. Only seven survived.  Canadian authorities found the Patels later that morning, dead from the cold.  In Jagdish Patel’s frozen arms was the body of his 3-year-old son, Dharmik, wrapped in a blanket.  Dreams of leaving India  The narrow streets of Dingucha, a quiet village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, are spattered with ads to move overseas.  “Make your dream of going abroad come true,” one poster says, listing three tantalizing destinations: “Canada. Australia. USA.”  This is where the family’s deadly journey began. Jagdish Patel, 39, grew up in Dingucha. He and his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, lived with his parents, raising their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and Dharmik. (Patel is a common Indian surname and they are unrelated to Harshkumar Patel.) The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports say.  The family was fairly well off by local standards, living in a well-kept, two-story house with a front patio and a wide veranda.  … “Indian family froze to death crossing Canada-US border” →

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300 billion after a recent buyback offer, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, even as the tech giant’s popular TikTok app faces the prospect of a looming ban in the United States. The TikTok parent in recent days told investors it was looking to buy back shares at about $180 a share, the newspaper said. ByteDance investors have viewed President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House as an overall positive for TikTok’s hopes in the U.S., as per the report. At a Bloomberg BusinessWeek interview in June, Trump said, “I’m for TikTok because you need competition. If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram.” Trump had previously called TikTok a national security threat but soon after he, too, joined the platform, which is used by about 170 million Americans. A law signed by U.S. President Joe Biden on April 24 gives ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. The White House has said it wants to see Chinese-based ownership ended on national-security grounds but not a ban on TikTok. TikTok and ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court in May, seeking to block the law signed by Biden. TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. …

DALLAS, TEXAS — The first batch of artwork from the Boy Scouts of America’s collection raised over $3.7 million at auction Friday to help pay the compensation owed to those who were sexually abused while in scouting. The 25 works that sold are among over 300 from the Boy Scouts that Heritage Auctions in Dallas will be offering over the next few years. With the standard buyer’s premium added to the final hammer price, the 25 works sold for over $4.6 million. Hoping to survive a barrage of sexual abuse claims, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan allowed the organization to continue operating while it compensated survivors. The plan went into effect last year. In addition to the art, other contributions to the survivors’ settlement trust are coming from sources that include insurers and the sale of Boy Scout properties. Many of the works being sold are as interwoven into American life as the 114-year-old organization itself, having been featured on magazine covers, calendars and even used to sell war bonds. Friday’s auction included five of the nearly 60 works by Norman Rockwell that are part of the collection. Rockwell’s painting “To Keep Myself Physically Strong” shows a Cub Scout standing on a chair to measure the chest of his older brother, a Boy Scout who has taped his fitness record to his bedroom wall. It sold for over $1.1 million, including the buyer’s premium. J.C. Leyendecker’s painting “Weapons for Liberty,” which depicts a Boy Scout clutching a sword in front of a flag-draped, shield-wielding depiction of Lady Liberty, sold for $312,500, including the buyer’s premium. It was featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1918 and was adapted as a poster to sell World War I bonds. Barbara Houser, a retired bankruptcy judge overseeing the survivors’ settlement trust, has said over 82,000 people filed abuse claims during the bankruptcy case, and of those, over 64,000 have filled out a detailed questionnaire to assert their claims. Houser said in a news release Friday that she was grateful to those who participated in the auction, noting that the proceeds “play an integral part in acknowledging decades of silent pain” that survivors suffered. The Boy Scouts announced this year that it is rebranding to Scouting America, a change intended to signal the organization’s commitment to inclusivity. The group now welcomes girls, as well … “First batch of Boy Scout art raises over $3.7 million for abuse victims” →

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iranian media were divided Saturday over a reported meeting between Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations and tech billionaire Elon Musk — unconfirmed by Iranian authorities — with some describing it as “positive” while others called it “treason.” The New York Times reported Friday that Musk, who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met earlier this week with Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Amir Saeid Iravani. The Times cited anonymous Iranian sources describing the encounter as “positive,” although neither the Trump transition team nor Iran’s U.N. mission immediately confirmed the meeting. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Saturday “categorically” denied the Times report on the Musk meeting, state media reported. In an interview with state news agency IRNA, spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was reported as “categorically denying such a meeting” and expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard.” However, Iranian media outlets, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports President Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms. The Ham Mihan reformist daily noted that “the strategy of the Iranian diplomatic team is on target and has elicited a reciprocal and positive response from the American side.” Sazandegi, another reformist outlet, interpreted the meeting as an indication of Iran engaging in “secret diplomacy” with the United States. While it portrayed the meeting as a “positive” development, it nevertheless stressed that it should not be exaggerated. Musk has been tapped as the co-chair of Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency. The Shargh newspaper from the same political camp suggested that the encounter reflects “the result of Donald Trump’s active diplomacy.” In contrast, the ultraconservative Kayhan daily criticized the reported meeting as “naivety or treason” against Iran, slamming Trump for exiting the Iran nuclear deal. The paper said Trump “must pay damages to Iran for violating the nuclear agreement,” which was signed in 2015 between Iran and Western powers. The deal gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for controls on its nuclear program, which Iran has consistently maintained is for peaceful purposes. The conservative Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper stated that the interaction “can be viewed as the beginning of a new path in Iran’s foreign policy,” although it did not name Musk, instead describing him as Trump’s representative. In the weeks leading up to Trump’s reelection, Iranian officials signaled a willingness to resolve issues with the West. Iran and the United … “Iranian press divided over envoy’s reported meeting with Elon Musk” →

CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe — Gertrude Siduna appears to have little appetite for corn farming season.  Rather than prepare her land in Zimbabwe’s arid southeastern Chipinge district for the crop that has fed her family for generations — and bitter about repeated droughts that have decimated yields — she turns her thoughts to the prices for chilies and techniques for growing them. “I pick my chilies from the fields and take them to the processing center close to my home. It’s simple,” said Siduna, 49. She’s received about $400 from the drought-resistant crop and plans to grow more. “Chilies are far better than corn.”  Siduna has been growing chilies for a year since being trained under a climate-smart agriculture program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program was designed to strengthen small-scale farmers’ resilience to climate change-induced droughts, many requiring food assistance from the government or international donors. But as climate change worsens droughts and floods worldwide, government agencies and local operators have found that aid efforts can still be made more effective and financially sustainable.  Experts say rich nations like the United States, which have been the biggest contributors of planet-warming emissions historically, have a responsibility to fund humanitarian aid in the countries that are experiencing its effects first and most severely.  The U.S. is the world’s largest international donor of food aid, reaching over 60 million people in about 70 countries annually with direct contributions of food or via programs to help farmers adapt to extreme weather. USAID plans to mobilize $150 billion for climate-related initiatives, according to the agency’s climate strategy report.  In Zimbabwe, around 7.7 million people — almost half the country’s population — require food assistance, according to government and U.N. figures. Frequent droughts are decimating people’s ability to feed themselves, a phenomenon worsened by climate change.  Switching crops Water-guzzling white corn has been the staple crop of choice for rural farmers in Zimbabwe since its introduction to much of sub-Saharan Africa by the Portuguese in the 17th century.  But with the threat of drought, some, like Siduna, now think it may be better to buy the staple than grow it.  “I don’t lack corn meal. I just use my earnings from chilies to buy it from the local shops,” she said.  Unlike corn or other crops that she has typically grown, chilies do well in the hotter, drier conditions. And, because they end up in … “Food aid can cut hardships from climate change; should more be done?” →

The U.S. FBI said on Friday that a spate of offensive text messages sent out in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential election win and apparently aimed at Black Americans had expanded to target Hispanic and LGBTQ people. In a statement, the bureau said it was aware of the messages, many of which used ethnic slurs and instructed the recipients to pick cotton, a reference to past enslavement of Black people in the United States. The FBI said on Friday that a new wave of messages was sent to Hispanics and LGBTQ people, with “some recipients reported being told they were selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp.” The texts, some of which referred to Trump’s election win, drew widespread revulsion after several recipients shared them on social media last week. Both federal and state authorities have said they are investigating. They have not said anything about who might be behind the messages or how many people have received them. Some Black Americans have said they fear a rollback of civil rights after Trump, a Republican, won the November 5 presidential election. Trump, who takes office on January 20, has pledged to end federal diversity and inclusion programs. The Trump campaign has said it has nothing to do with the messages.  …

As President-elect Donald Trump gets ready to take office, a carefully coordinated process is under way to transfer power from the outgoing administration to the new one. Experts share their perspectives on how the federal government prepares for this pivotal moment in American democracy. VOA’s Salem Solomon has more. Video editor: Salwa Jaafari …

STATE DEPARTMENT — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Taiwan’s envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Lin Hsin-I, on Thursday ahead of the bloc’s Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru. The discussion centered on economic cooperation, as Blinken highlighted in a social media post. “Met with Lin Hsin-i in Lima. We spoke about our growing economic relationship and our enduring shared commitment to foster an open, dynamic, and peaceful Indo-Pacific,” Blinken wrote on X. The pull-aside meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, was not previously announced in Blinken’s official schedule. “We discussed our important economic cooperation,” Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, who also participated in the meeting, told reporters during a phone briefing late Thursday. In a readout, Taiwan said that Blinken and Lin exchanged views on strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan partnership and discussed strategies for ensuring regional peace and stability. Lin, a former vice premier of Taiwan and a senior presidential adviser to President Lai Ching-te, was chosen to represent Taiwan at this year’s APEC leaders meetings in Peru. On Friday, the White House announced that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s leading advanced semiconductor producer, will receive up to $6.6 billion in CHIPS & Science Act funding. That supports TSMC’s $65 billion investment to build three facilities in Arizona, creating tens of thousands of jobs by the decade’s end. The White House called it the largest foreign direct investment in a completely new project in U.S. history. Taiwan’s role in APEC APEC, an international forum comprising 21 member economies from the Pacific Rim, promotes free trade and economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. Although Taiwan holds full membership in APEC, it faces restrictions due to pressure from China and has to send special envoys instead of its presidents to the annual leaders meetings. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, it has never governed Taiwan but continues to view the self-ruled democracy as part of its territory. Upcoming Biden-Xi talks Blinken will accompany U.S. President Joe Biden at Saturday’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the third in-person talks between the two leaders. Biden is expected to “underscore the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and express his concerns that the PRC’s increased military activities around Taiwan are destabilizing and eroding the status quo,” according to U.S. officials. On … “Blinken discusses economic cooperation with Taiwan’s APEC envoy” →