Category: United States

Dozens of U.S. citizens and residents are unjustly held around the world. If confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for hostage envoy, Adam Boehler will be tasked with freeing them. Cristina Caicedo Smit reports. …

Republican Vice President-elect JD Vance rose from humble beginnings. He grew up in a struggling industrial town in the Midwestern state of Ohio. He went on to attend an Ivy League school and now will be one of the youngest vice presidents in history. VOA Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti takes us back to his roots. Lynn Davis contributed to this report. Videographers: Saqib Ul Islam, Henry Hernandez …

Donald Trump takes the oath of office Monday to become the 47th president of the United States. It is a historic return to power for a man who in just over nine years reshaped the Republican Party in an increasingly divided country. VOA’s Tina Trinh looks at Trump’s political comeback. …

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody will take Marco Rubio ‘s seat in the U.S. Senate, Governor Ron DeSantis announced Thursday, making Moody only the second woman to represent Florida in the chamber. Elected as the state’s top law enforcement officer in 2018, Moody campaigned on a pledge to voters that she’d be a prosecutor, not a politician. Along with DeSantis, Moody boosted her political profile during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling on the federal government to “hold China responsible” for the outbreak. Before running for statewide office, Moody worked as a federal prosecutor. In 2006, she was elected to the post of circuit judge in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa. As the state’s attorney general, Moody has been instrumental in defending DeSantis’ conservative agenda in court and has joined other Republican-led states in challenging the Biden administration’s policies, suing over changes to immigration enforcement, student loan forgiveness and vaccine mandates for federal contractors. Under Florida law, it’s up to the Republican governor to pick Rubio’s replacement, after President-elect Donald Trump picked the three-term senator to be his next secretary of state. Moody will serve in the Senate until the next general election, in 2026, when the seat will be back on the ballot. Moody fought unsuccessfully to keep an abortion rights measure off the ballot in Florida in 2024, saying proponents were waging “a war” to protect the procedure. The measure did go before voters but ultimately failed to get the 60% approval needed to pass. She was also among the state attorneys general to sign on to the lawsuit backed by Trump aimed at overturning Joe Biden’s election victory in 2020. Republican state Senator Joe Gruters, a key Trump ally in Florida, was among those who had pushed the president-elect’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as their top pick for the Senate seat. Lara Trump removed herself from consideration in December. Still, Gruters praised Moody, calling her “a winner here in Florida.” “She’s very popular. And I think people see the job that she does, and they appreciate her work and her effort at trying to … keep Florida safe,” Gruters said ahead of the announcement. Moody’s appointment opens a key vacancy in Florida’s Cabinet, giving DeSantis another shot at expanding his influence in the state. DeSantis will also get to pick a replacement for outgoing Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, who’s leaving his post to run … “Florida attorney general chosen to fill Marco Rubio’s open Senate seat” →

Southern California firefighters made some progress in containing two major wildfires, while forecasters said weather conditions in the coming days could bring welcome relief from the days of dry air and high winds that have plagued the region. The relief will give firefighters a key window to battle the Palisades Fire on the west edge of Los Angeles and the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of the city before another potential turn to dangerous conditions next week. “Good news: We are expecting a much-needed break from the fire weather concerns to close this week,” the National Weather Service said Wednesday. “Bad News: Next week is a concern. While confident that we will NOT see a repeat of last week, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected.” The Palisades Fire was 21% contained late Wednesday after burning 96 square kilometers, according to the California Department of Foresty and Fire Protection. The agency said the Eaton Fire was 45% contained and had burned 57 square kilometers. More than 82,000 people were under evacuation orders, while 8,500 firefighters from the United States, Canada and Mexico were battling the two fires and several smaller ones in the region. The fires have killed at least 25 people and burned 12,000 homes and other structures, according to authorities. The wildfires ignited Jan. 7, fueled by strong Santa Ana winds in a region that has been largely without rain for eight months. Weather forecasts show little to no chance of rain in the next week. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.  …

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, will be among several billionaires attending Donald Trump’s second presidential inauguration. Tesla CEO Musk was instrumental in Trump’s reelection with his contribution of over a quarter of a billion dollars to Trump’s campaign coffers, according to Forbes. Musk is set to head Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, the biotech entrepreneur. Reports say that Musk is slated to be seated at the inauguration with fellow billionaires Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. While it is not customary to invite foreign leaders, Trump has invited several. Argentinian President Javier Milei is expected to attend, according to Bloomberg. Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after he won November’s election. Trump has also invited Chinese President Xi Jinping who is sending an envoy. Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also received an invitation, but she has said she is not sure her schedule will allow her to attend. It is customary for all the living presidents to attend the inauguration. Outgoing President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend Monday’s ceremony. When Biden was sworn in four years ago, following Trump’s losing reelection bid, Trump did not attend because he held on to the belief that he had won the election. Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will also attend Trump’s inauguration. Bush and Clinton are set to be there with their wives, Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Former first lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement. It will be the second time in recent weeks, following her absence at President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, that she has not attended a public ceremony with other former presidents and their wives. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, are also expected to be at the ceremony Monday. Harris was the Democratic candidate in last year’s presidential election. …

In his farewell address from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, US President Joe Biden warned of the dangers in the concentration of power and wealth. The speech capped his decades-long political career and a four-year term bookended by Donald Trump, who in days is set to be inaugurated for a second time. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday removed the Republican chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, who was a vocal supporter of assistance for Ukraine and held other views that put him at odds with President-elect Donald Trump. Johnson told reporters late Wednesday that Representative Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, would no longer lead the committee, which oversees the nation’s intelligence agencies and holds tremendous influence over law enforcement and foreign policy. Johnson last year also gave two Trump allies highly sought spots on the panel. Johnson said he made the decision to remove Turner because the “intelligence community and everything related to (the committee) needs a fresh start.” The Republican speaker, who has aligned himself closely with Trump, said he would soon announce the new chairperson for the committee. Johnson went on to praise Turner and say he would play an important role in working with NATO. Turner’s stances on foreign policy had run afoul of the incoming president, who will take the White House next week with a vision of reshaping the federal government’s intelligence and law enforcement capabilities. Turner last year also pushed back on Trump’s false claims that Haitian migrants in his Ohio district were eating pets. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  …

One of the buildings that survived last week’s severe and deadly fire in California city of Pacific Palisades houses a local American Legion Post. The fire destroyed more than 5,000 structures and killed at least eight people. Today, U.S. veterans belonging to this chapter want to help the community recover from the disaster. VOA’s Genia Dulot has the report. …

Taiwan plans to spend $4.56 billion to boost its startup ecosystem and has set up a liaison center in Silicon Valley designated to attract American venture capital and talent to Taiwan. Liu Chin-ching, minister of the National Development Council of Taiwan, told VOA of the importance of the bridge between the U.S. and Taiwan, adding that the Taiwan government would support new tech sectors such as quantum computing, silicon photonics and next-generation drones.    Click here for the full story in Mandarin. …

On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it would implement new export controls on certain biotechnology equipment, citing national security concerns relating to artificial intelligence and data science. The Commerce Department warned that China could use the biotech equipment’s technology to bolster its military capabilities and help design new weapons using artificial intelligence. The department said the technology has many applications, including its ability to be used for “human performance enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically inspired synthetic materials and possibly biological weapons.” The sanctions effectively restrict shipments of the technology to countries without a U.S. license, such as China. The controls apply to parameter flow cytometers and certain mass spectrometry equipment, which according to the Commerce Department, can “generate high-quality, high-content biological data, including that which is suitable for use to facilitate the development of AI and biological design tools.” Last week, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said Beijing “firmly opposes any country’s development, possession or use of biological weapons.” This latest move by the United States follows recent policy decisions that reflect Washington’s broad aim to limit Beijing’s access to U.S. technology and data. Washington announced on Monday that it would tighten Beijing’s access to AI chip and technology exports by implementing new regulations that cap the number of chips that can be exported to certain countries, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. This month, the ban on popular Chinese-owned social media TikTok is planned to go into effect due to U.S. concerns over its potential to share sensitive data with China’s government. …

Usha Vance will be the next second lady of the United States, making the Yale-educated lawyer the first vice presidential spouse of South Asian origin. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell takes a look at her life story – and how it intersects with her husband’s political career and interests – as she prepares for a move to Washington. Kim Lewis contributed. …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — As TikTok’s Sunday deadline to divest or face a U.S. ban approaches, hundreds of American users of the popular social media video app say they are migrating to another Chinese social media app, Xiaohongshu, or RedNote.   Dubbing themselves “TikTok Refugees,” some say they are making the move in search of a new home; others say their exodus is a form of protest against the ban.  With just days to go before the deadline, users are facing growing uncertainty as they wait for a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether the ban will be upheld. Reports are now suggesting that TikTok may just shut down its operations in the United States if the ban goes through.  “Our government is out of their mind if they think we are going to stand for this TikTok ban,” said American user Heather Roberts in one video on Xiaohongshu. “We are just going to a new Chinese app and here we are.”  Sky Bynum, an 18-year-old makeup content creator in the eastern state of New Jersey, told VOA that she is joining Xiaohongshu because she wants to find another social media site with a sense of community.   “The best thing about TikTok is the community on there,” Bynum told VOA in a video interview via Zoom. “When I posted my first few makeup videos, TikTok pushed them to the makeup people and I instantly found my community. I think [the potential ban on TikTok] is awful because I’m not going to have the same thing that I had on TikTok.   “Xiaohongshu is really cool because a lot of TikTok users were trying to find new communities on Xiaohongshu,” Bynum added.  Founded in 2013, Xiaohongshu is similar to Instagram and Pinterest. It currently has around 300 million users, most of them in China, and is widely used to share travel tips, makeup tutorials, and fashion trends.   The name literally means “little red book” but the company says it’s not a reference to former Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong’s collection of sayings.  Downloads surge  With many promoting and talking about their exodus to Xiaohongshu on “TikTok Refugees,” Xiaohongshu became the most downloaded app on Apple’s U.S. App Store this week.   More than 700,000 new users have joined Xiaohongshu this week, according to Reuters. Downloads of the app rose more than 200% year-over-year this week, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower.  … “US ‘TikTok Refugees’ migrate to another Chinese app as ban looms” →

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden gives his farewell address from the Oval Office Wednesday evening, five days before he ends his term and President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.  In a letter released Wednesday morning, Biden reflected on how his administration began in the shadows of COVID-19 and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters intent on overturning the result of the 2020 election that Biden won.  “Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities,” he said in the letter. “But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.”  The president’s farewell address comes a day after Jack Smith, the special counsel who indicted Trump on charges of illegally trying to cling to power after the 2020 election, released his final report. Smith’s report said that the evidence would have been sufficient to convict the president-elect in a trial, had his 2024 election victory not made it impossible for the prosecution to continue.    Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and attacked the special counsel’s work as politically motivated.  Biden’s speech follows remarks he made Monday at the U.S. State Department defending his foreign policy record and will be his fifth and final formal address from the Oval Office. In his previous Oval Office address six months ago, Biden explained his decision to step aside and endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, to run against Trump in the 2024 election.  Biden reflected on the “battle for the soul of America” framework that he campaigned on in 2020 when he won against Trump.    “I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake,” Biden wrote, arguing that is still the case and that America is an idea based on the belief that “we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”   “We’ve never fully lived up to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either,” he said. “And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.”  Biden’s legacy  Biden is leaving office with a 39% approval rating, according to Gallup. He has been using the final weeks of his administration to cement his legacy.   Thomas Schwartz, presidential historian from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, … “Biden bids farewell with Oval Office address” →

Michael Carpenter, director for Europe at the National Security Council, spoke with VOA, defending the Biden administration’s policies on Ukraine, stating they were undeterred by Russia’s nuclear threats, and attributing Ukraine’s lack of success in regaining lost territories to manpower shortages. The following interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. (Camera: Anne-Marie Fendrick) …

Washington — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is promising to implement President-elect Donald Trump’s “America First” vision as secretary of state, vowing in his confirmation hearing Wednesday that the incoming administration will forge a new path by placing American interests “above all else.”  “Placing our core national interests above all else is not isolationism,” Rubio will tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to an opening statement obtained by The Associated Press. “It is the commonsense realization that a foreign policy centered on our national interest is not some outdated relic.”  “The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us,” Rubio says.  It’s a remarkable opening salvo from Rubio, who was born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, and who, if confirmed, would become the first Latino ever to serve as the nation’s top diplomat.  The confirmation hearing begins a new chapter in the political career of the 53-year-old Florida Republican, whose relationship with Trump has evolved over the last decade. Once rivals trading schoolyard insults as they campaigned for president in 2016, the two men became close allies as Trump campaigned for another White House term last year.  Rubio first came to Washington as part of the “tea party” wave in 2010 and once advocated for allowing a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally. But like other Republicans, Rubio’s views on immigration have shifted toward the hardline stance of Trump, who has pledged to aggressively pursue deportations once he takes office on Monday.  Unlike many of Trump’s Cabinet selections, Rubio is expected to easily win confirmation, notching support not only from Republicans but also Democrats who endorse him as a “responsible” pick to represent the U.S. abroad. Many expect he will be among the first of Trump’s Cabinet picks approved.  Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz, who served alongside Rubio on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he has high hopes that the Florida Republican will reject the isolationist approach of other Trump allies.  “I think Marco is a hawk, but he’s also an internationalist, and I think the challenge for him will be to maintain the long bipartisan tradition of America being indispensable in world affairs,” the Hawaii lawmaker told AP. “And there are people in the Trump world who want us to run away from being the leaders of the free world. And I’m hoping that Marco’s instincts towards American strength will … “Rubio vows to place US interests ‘above all else’ as Trump’s top diplomat “ →

Warnings were in place again Wednesday in the Los Angeles area for the prospect of strong winds combining with dry conditions to spread wildfires as firefighters battled a series of blazes in the region that have already killed at least 25 people. After winds were weaker than expected during the day Tuesday, the National Weather Service said the region was “not out of the woods yet,” with the potential for a surge in winds through early Wednesday afternoon. Utility companies shut off power to more than 77,000 households to prevent their power lines from sparking new blazes. The winds threatened to undermine incremental gains that firefighters have made in recent days as they try to control two main fires that have been burning since last week, as well as a smaller fire that sparked Monday. The California Department of Foresty and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said the Palisades Fire on the western side of Los Angeles had burned 96 square kilometers and was 18% contained as of early Wednesday. The Eaton Fire in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the east side of the city was 35% contained and has burned 57 square kilometers, Cal Fire said. About 88,000 people remained under evacuation orders with another nearly 85,000 being warned they might be ordered to evacuate. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna encouraged people to consider leaving when they get a warning without waiting for an order. He said deputies have had to rescue many people who waited until the last minute after receiving orders.  Authorities said nearly 30 people remain missing, and that the death toll was likely to rise as search crews gain access to areas that have already burned. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told reporters she took an aerial tour of the affected areas on Monday. “The massive, massive destruction is unimaginable until you actually see it,” Bass said.  Some information for this report is from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. …

Two moon landers built by private U.S. and Japanese companies are on their way to the moon after lifting off early Wednesday on a shared ride aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is the latest in a public-private program that put a spacecraft from Intuitive Machines on the moon last year. Wednesday’s launch included a lander from Japanese space exploration company ispace that is carrying a rover with the capability of collecting lunar dirt and testing potential food and water sources on the moon. The spacecraft is also carrying a small red “Moonhouse” built by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg. The ispace mission is expected to reach its destination on the moon’s far north in four to five months. The company is making its second attempt at a lunar landing, after a 2023 mission failed in the final stages.  Also aboard the rocket heading toward the moon is a lander from U.S. company Firefly Aerospace that is set to carry out 10 experiments for NASA. The planned experiments include gathering dirt and measuring subsurface temperatures. The spacecraft is expected to arrive in about 45 days. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters …

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, faced resistance from Democrats in the Senate Armed Service Committee on Tuesday. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Tuesday an executive order to boost development of artificial intelligence infrastructure in America. A day earlier, his administration announced sweeping measures to block access to the most advanced semiconductors by China and other adversaries. But the U.S. left India, its strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific, off a list of 18 countries that are allowed unrestricted access to advanced AI chips. Analysts say while a growing technological relationship between the two countries would likely make India eligible in the future to access advanced U.S. AI chips, New Delhi’s existing ties with Moscow and the perception of a less robust technology regulatory framework led to its exclusion from the top list. Exclusion not a surprise The Commerce Department’s policy framework divides the world into three categories. The first tier includes the U.S. and 18 countries with unrestricted access, followed by a list of more than 100 countries that will be subjected to new caps on advanced semiconductors with individual exemptions. The third tier includes adversaries such as China and Russia that face maximum restrictions. India falls in the second category, along with U.S. allies like Israel and close friends such as Singapore. Bhaskar Chakravorti, the dean of global business at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, said that India’s relationship with Russia “puts it outside a super safe category.” India has had close ties with Russia since the Soviet Union supported its desire for independence from Britain. It maintained those ties during the Cold War, when the U.S. sided with India’s rival Pakistan. Scott Jones, a non-resident fellow at Washington’s Stimson Center think tank, highlighted recent reports that accused a few Indian companies of aiding Russia’s war on Ukraine, but stressed that while being excluded is a disappointment, it’s “not a setback for India.” He also pointed to the perception that “India’s ability to control and manage technology is perhaps not as robust as evidenced in some of the 18 countries.” While India may be off the unrestricted list for now, analysts say its growing technological cooperation with the U.S. may shield it from some curbs. Richard Rossow, senior adviser and chair on India and Emerging Asia Economies at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the presence of caveats in the new framework would ensure India’s later participation. “The fact that they have announced that there will be a … “Why did US exclude India from unrestricted access to AI chips?” →

Elon Musk was sued on Tuesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the world’s richest person of waiting too long to disclose in 2022 he had amassed a large stake in Twitter, the social media company he later bought. In a complaint filed in Washington, the SEC said Musk violated federal securities law by waiting 11 days too long to disclose his initial purchase of 5% of Twitter’s common shares. An SEC rule requires investors to disclose within 10 calendar days, or by March 24, 2022, in Musk’s case, when they cross a 5% ownership threshold. The SEC said that at the expense of unsuspecting investors, Musk bought more than $500 million of Twitter shares at artificially low prices before finally revealing his purchases on April 4, 2022, by which time he owned a 9.2% stake. Twitter’s share price rose more than 27% following that disclosure, the SEC said. Tuesday’s lawsuit seeks to force Musk to pay a civil fine and disgorge profits he didn’t deserve. Musk eventually purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, and renamed it X. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Musk, in an email called the SEC lawsuit the culmination of the regulator’s “multi-year campaign of harassment” against his client. “Today’s action is an admission by the SEC that they cannot bring an actual case,” he said. “Mr. Musk has done nothing wrong and everyone sees this sham for what it is.” Spiro added that the lawsuit addresses a mere “alleged administrative failure to file a single form — an offense that, even if proven, carries a nominal penalty.” Musk, an adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is worth $417 billion according to Forbes magazine, through businesses such as the electric car maker Tesla and rocket company. He is worth nearly twice as much as Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest person at $232 billion, Forbes said. The SEC sued Musk six days before Trump’s January 20 presidential inauguration. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is stepping down that day, and Paul Atkins, who Trump nominated to succeed him, is expected to review many of Gensler’s rules and enforcement actions. Musk has also been sued in Manhattan federal court by former Twitter shareholders over the late disclosure. In that case, Musk has said it was implausible to believe he wanted to defraud other shareholders, and that “all indications” were that his delay was … “US SEC sues Elon Musk over late disclosure of Twitter stake” →

U.S. President Joe Biden says strong leadership under his administration has “laid the foundation” for the incoming Trump administration. He said U.S. support will help Kyiv eventually negotiate a just end to its nearly three-year fight against Russia’s invasion. White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

U.S. President Joe Biden notified Congress on Tuesday that he intends to delist Cuba as a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism in a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island.  Speaking on the condition of anonymity before the announcement, senior administration officials told reporters that dozens of political prisoners and others deemed unjustly detained by U.S. officials would be freed by noon on January 20.  The announcement also indicated the U.S. would aim to reduce economic pressure on the island nation.  “Today’s actions demonstrate that President Biden’s Cuba policy, which is focused on achieving practical results with respect to human rights in Cuba, will pay dividends for the Cuban people,” a senior official told reporters, acknowledging Havana’s “direct dialogue with the Catholic Church.”    Hours after Biden’s announcement, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said his government would gradually release 553 prisoners after talks with the church.   Earlier, his government expressed gratitude.   “Despite its limited scope, this is a decision that points to the right direction and is in line with the sustained and firm demand by the government and the people of Cuba,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a press release.  “The decision announced today by the United States, rectifies, in a very limited way, some aspects of a cruel and unjust policy,” it added.  In Congress, the backlash to Biden’s announcement was swift.   “Today’s decision is unacceptable on its merits,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz said in a statement. “The terrorism advanced by the Cuban regime has not ceased. I will work with President Trump and my colleagues to immediately reverse and limit the damage from the decision.”  Fellow Republican Representative Carlos Gimenez also criticized the announcement, predicting a quick reversal on the policy by President-elect Donald Trump.  “President Biden is a pathetic coward,” Gimenez posted on X. “Come January 20th, there will be a NEW SHERIFF in town & President Trump alongside Secretary of State @SenMarcoRubio will not only put #Cuba BACK on the list but PULVERIZE the regime once & for all!”  According to The Associated Press, human rights groups and activists, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have been pressing the Biden administration to lift the designation to ease the suffering of Cuban people who feel the impact of Cuba’s economic isolation.  Some information for this report is from The Associated Press.  …

BATON ROUGE — Before plowing a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing 14 people, the man who carried out the Islamic State group-inspired attack had researched how to access a balcony on the city’s famed Bourbon Street and looked up information about a similar recent attack at a Christmas market in Germany, the FBI said.  Nearly two weeks after Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s rampage, the FBI continues to uncover new information detailing the extensive planning by the 42-year-old Army veteran who scouted out the area multiple times in the months leading up to the attack. Authorities also have been piecing together a timeline of his radicalization.  In the early hours of New Year’s Day, Jabbar could be seen on video surveillance placing two containers with explosive devices, which would remain undetonated, in the French Quarter. Shortly after, about 3:15 a.m., Jabbar sped a white pickup truck around a police car blockading the entrance of Bourbon Street, where partygoers continued to wander around the street lined with bars. He drove through revelers before crashing and being killed by police in a shootout. Fifty-seven people were injured, authorities said.  Just hours before the deadly onslaught, Jabbar had searched online for information about an attack at a busy outdoor Christmas Market in east Germany that occurred just 10 days earlier and where a car was also used as a mass weapon, the FBI said on Tuesday. The attack in Europe left five people dead and more than 200 injured after a car slammed into a crowd. Police arrested a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who has renounced Islam and supports the far-right AfD party.  In other online searches, Jabbar had looked up how to access a balcony on Bourbon Street, information about Mardi Gras, and several recent shootings in the city, the FBI said.  But Jabbar’s research ahead of the attack was not limited to online: He also made a one-day visit to New Orleans from Houston on Nov. 10, during which he looked for an apartment, the FBI said. While Jabbar applied to rent the apartment, he later told the landlord that he changed his mind.  That was not his only visit to New Orleans, though. The FBI had previously reported that Jabbar had traveled to the city for a planning trip on Oct. 31, when he used glasses from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to record … “New Orleans attacker had researched similar rampage, and how to access Bourbon Street balcony” →

The White House says it has finalized rules that crack down on Chinese and Russian automobile technology effectively banning all personal smart cars from the two countries from entering the U.S. market. In a White House fact sheet detailing the decision, the Biden administration Tuesday said that while connected vehicles offer advantages, the involvement of foreign adversaries such as China and Russia in their supply chains presents serious risks granting “malign actors unfettered access to these connected systems and the data they collect.” “The Department of Commerce has issued a final rule that will prohibit the sale and import of connected vehicle hardware and software systems, as well as completed connected vehicles, from the PRC and Russia,” the fact sheet said. PRC is the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China. Connected vehicles are smart cars that are designed to be convenient for consumers and provide safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians through the use of many connected parts such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and satellite connectivity. “Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels; they’re computers,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo when speaking on the rule. “This is a targeted approach to ensure we keep PRC- and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads,” said Raimondo. The new rule is the “culmination of a year-long examination” of potential risks posed by connected vehicles and will “help the United States defend against the PRC’s cyber espionage and intrusion operations, which continue to pose a significant threat to U.S. critical infrastructure and public safety.” The crackdown on cars follows Washington’s announcement earlier this month that the U.S. consider new rules aimed at addressing risks posed by drones that utilize technology from China and Russia. The U.S. has repeatedly emphasized the need to balance technological progress with the protection of national security interests. …

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday ordered that flags at the Capitol be raised to their full height on Inauguration Day, pausing a 30-day flag-lowering order following the death of former President Jimmy Carter. The Republican leader’s decision means that President-elect Donald Trump will not take the oath of office for his second term under a half-staff flag, a prospect that he had previously complained about. It mirrors actions taken in recent days by some Republican governors who have announced that flags in their states would be raised on Inauguration Day to mark Trump’s second term. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee did so on Tuesday, noting in social media posts that U.S. flags across their states would be relowered on Jan. 21 in honor of Carter. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar notice on Monday. The 30-day flag-lowering period, set into motion with President Joe Biden’s order, affects flags at federal government buildings and their grounds, as well as at U.S. embassies and other facilities abroad, including military installations and vessels. It runs through Jan. 28, which encompasses Trump’s inauguration and first week in office. In line with Biden’s order, governors throughout the country issued their own orders to govern flags in their respective states. The incoming president has expressed consternation that flags would still be lowered when he takes the oath, and it’s possible that he could order the overall reversal of Biden’s decision once he’s installed as president on Jan. 20. “Democrats are all ‘giddy’” about the notion that flags will be lowered on Inauguration Day, Trump wrote Jan. 3 on social media. “Nobody wants to see this,” Trump wrote. He added that “no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump has already acted over the flags that he can control: at his home in Florida. In the days following Carter’s burial, a large U.S. flag at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club was observed flying at its full height, despite an order from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that mirrors Biden’s. As of Tuesday, DeSantis had not made alterations to the flag order in his own state. The U.S. flag code lays out parameters for lowering the U.S. flag to half-staff, including a 30-day period for current or former presidents to cover flags at federal government buildings and their grounds, as well … “US House Speaker orders Capitol flags raised to full height for Trump inauguration” →