Category: United States

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with leaders of South Korea and Japan Friday to come up with a “coordinated” response to the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to help Moscow’s war against Ukraine and on Pyongyang’s nuclear threat more broadly, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru. Pyongyang’s troop deployment is a “significant development,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Lima, Wednesday. “We are going to treat it with the seriousness with which it deserves to be treated,” he said. Sullivan said the trilateral summit will allow leaders to prepare for any potential “provocative” move from Pyongyang, including nuclear testing and ballistic missile launches, as the U.S. prepares for a change of administration when Donald Trump takes office in January. “Transitions have historically been time periods when the DPRK has taken provocative actions,” Sullivan said, using the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The United States has an “extended deterrence” policy that aims to prevent adversaries from attacking allies, including South Korea and Japan. The policy states Washington will come to their aid if they are attacked, potentially including use of American nuclear capabilities. No specific announcement on extended deterrence will be announced at a trilateral level in Lima, Sullivan said. However, the trilateral meeting will be an opportunity to “ensure that each of these two bilateral dialogues are working to reinforce one another, and that there aren’t gaps and seams between them.” The leaders are set to announce establishment of a trilateral secretariat as part of their efforts to “institutionalize” three-way cooperation that began as a series of leaders’ dialogues on economic security, intelligence sharing, and defense policy coordination. The trilateral leaders’ dialogues began in May 2023 on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and then at Camp David in August that year. The trilateral effort is one of Biden’s signature regional security initiatives to push Seoul and Tokyo to overcome years of animosity and work together to deter common adversaries, North Korea and China. The leaders are also set to bolster trilateral exercises, Sullivan said. “We’ve made progress on technology protection, on supply chain diversification, on missile warning and the sharing of data with respect to miswarning in all of those areas,” he said. “We expect to take further steps tomorrow.” … “US, Japan, South Korea coordinate response to North Korean threats” →

US President-elect Donald Trump is turning to an old ally to lead the CIA and an outsider some see as a potential disruptor to oversee American intelligence agencies when his second term begins in January. VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin has more. …

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next U.S. secretary of state is Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has been in the Senate since 2011 and serves on the chamber’s foreign relations and intelligence committees. Trump, in a statement Wednesday, called Rubio a highly respected leader and a very powerful voice for freedom who “will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.” Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, is regarded as intelligent, ambitious and well-liked by Senate colleagues of both parties. If Rubio, who is 53 and the son of Cuban immigrants, is confirmed by his Senate colleagues, he would become the first Latino secretary of state. In that role, he would be tasked with helping to implement Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Rubio was a vocal supporter of Kyiv. More recently, he has called for negotiations to end the conflict and voted in April against a $95 billion military aid package for the Ukrainians. Rubio is a strong supporter of Israel, in line with Trump’s stance. He has exhibited a tough stance toward authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as toward the communist leadership in Beijing. In response, China has banned the senator from entering the country — something that likely will change if Rubio is confirmed as secretary of state. Some leading Democrats in Congress, who will be the opposition party in January, are making positive comments about the Republican. “I’ve got a good relationship with Marco, and I think Marco is very capable,” Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who has served on the intelligence committee with Rubio, told VOA after Rubio’s name was circulated in media reports. On social media, Democratic Senator John Fetterman called Rubio “a strong choice,” adding that he looks forward to voting for his confirmation. “Compared to some of the other names that were floating around, people who really don’t have any experience in foreign policy, I think this is a pretty good one,” former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger said on CNN before Trump’s official announcement. In choosing members for his Cabinet and senior White House staff, Trump is generally emphasizing loyalty rather than experience. Rubio campaigned for … “Trump taps senator, former rival Marco Rubio as his top diplomat” →

Donald Trump may not be moving into the White House until January, but he is laying the groundwork and making domestic policy plans for the next four years. VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti has our story. VOA footage by Henry Hernandez. …

Seoul, South Korea — Following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory, world leaders have scrambled to secure calls and send delegations to strengthen ties with his team. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is taking a different approach: golf practice. South Korean presidential officials confirmed to VOA that Yoon recently took up golf for the first time in eight years, specifically to prepare for diplomacy with Trump, who is known for bonding with world leaders over the sport. It’s part of a broader response to the return of Trump, whose unpredictable “America First” approach poses unique economic and security challenges to South Korea. The task may be especially difficult for Yoon, a conservative who leaned hard into a values-based alliance with the United States under President Joe Biden, pressing North Korea on human rights and projecting military strength. Now, Yoon must contend with Trump, a famously transactional leader who has advocated for friendlier ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and dismissed U.S.-South Korea military drills as costly “war games.” Trump has also consistently questioned the value of the seven-decade alliance, even hinting at a U.S. troop withdrawal if South Korea does not pay more. Economic concerns add to South Korea’s unease, as officials worry Trump’s talk of imposing tariffs, and a renewed U.S.-China trade war could destabilize its export-driven economy. Trump’s win has prompted soul-searching in South Korea, with many left-leaning commentators lamenting what they see as an over-reliance on an increasingly unreliable ally. “Trump’s reelection heralds a tectonic shift in the U.S.-led international order, which South Korea has been largely dependent on for the past 70 years,” read a recent opinion piece in the prominent Hankyoreh newspaper. It warned that the Yoon administration, after having “placed all its eggs in the South Korea-U.S. alliance basket,” will now “witness the devastating consequences of such blind belief.” Many conservative South Korean commentators also expressed concerns about the future of alliance, even while noting that Trump presents unique opportunities. An editorial in the Chosun Ilbo, South Korea’s largest newspaper, said if Trump demands an excessive increase in defense cost-sharing, South Korea “could negotiate for independent nuclear armament in return.” Cost-sharing woes Defense burden-sharing could become the first major alliance test once Trump returns – just as it was throughout his first term. Just one day before Trump’s reelection, the United States and South Korea finalized a new agreement for Seoul to … “Facing Trump’s return, South Korea tees up for alliance strains” →

washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a senior member of both the foreign relations and intelligence committees and former political rival, to be secretary of state.  “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said in a statement.  Rubio, 53, is known as a China hawk, an outspoken critic of Cuba’s Communist government and a strong backer of Israel. In the past, he has advocated for a more assertive U.S. foreign policy with respect to America’s geopolitical foes, although recently his views have aligned more closely with those of Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy.  In April, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia and support other U.S. partners, including Israel. Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s continuing military assistance for Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion.  Rubio has said in recent interviews that Kyiv needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all of the territory that Moscow has taken in the last decade.  On the Gaza war, Rubio — like Trump — has been staunchly behind Israel, calling Hamas a terrorist organization that must be eliminated and saying America’s role is to resupply Israel with the military materials needed to finish the job.  Rubio is a top Senate China hawk, and Beijing imposed sanctions on him in 2020 over his stance on Hong Kong’s democracy protests. This could create difficulties for any attempts to maintain the Biden administration’s effort to keep up diplomatic engagement with Beijing to avoid an unintended conflict.  Among other things, Rubio shepherded an act through Congress that gave Washington a new tool to bar Chinese imports over China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and has also pushed a bill that would decertify Hong Kong’s U.S. economic and trade offices.  Rubio had also become a strong Trump backer, after harshly criticizing him when he ran against the former real estate developer for president in 2016.  The three-term Republican senator should easily win confirmation in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans will hold at least a 52-48 majority starting in January.  Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the intelligence committee, quickly issued a statement praising the choice … “Trump picks former rival Marco Rubio for secretary of state” →

WASHINGTON — Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. A House Republican victory in Arizona, alongside a win in slow-counting California earlier Wednesday, gave the GOP the 218 House victories that make up the majority. Republicans earlier gained control of the Senate from Democrats. With hard-fought yet thin majorities, Republican leaders are envisioning a mandate to upend the federal government and swiftly implement Trump’s vision for the country. The incoming president has promised to carry out the country’s largest-ever deportation operation, extend tax breaks, punish his political enemies, seize control of the federal government’s most powerful tools and reshape the U.S. economy. The GOP election victories ensure that Congress will be onboard for that agenda, and Democrats will be almost powerless to check it. When Trump was elected president in 2016, Republicans also swept Congress, but he still encountered Republican leaders resistant to his policy ideas, as well as a Supreme Court with a liberal majority. Not this time. When he returns to the White House, Trump will be working with a Republican Party that has been completely transformed by his “Make America Great Again” movement and a Supreme Court dominated by conservative justices, including three that he appointed. Trump rallied House Republicans at a Capitol Hill hotel Wednesday morning, marking his first return to Washington since the election. “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else,’” Trump said to the room full of lawmakers who laughed in response. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who with Trump’s endorsement won the Republican Conference’s nomination to stay on as speaker next year, has talked of taking a “blowtorch” to the federal government and its programs, eyeing ways to overhaul even popular programs championed by Democrats in recent years. The Louisiana Republican, an ardent conservative, has pulled the House Republican Conference closer to Trump during the campaign season as they prepare an “ambitious” 100-day agenda. “Republicans in the House and Senate have a mandate,” Johnson said earlier this week. “The American people want us to implement and deliver that ‘America First’ agenda.” Trump’s allies in the House are already signaling they will seek retribution for the legal troubles Trump faced while out of office. The incoming president on Wednesday said he would nominate Rep. Matt … “Republicans win 218 US House seats, giving Trump’s party control of government” →

White House — In what will likely be his farewell appearance on the world stage, President Joe Biden faces a daunting question: what to tell world leaders wondering about potential changes in U.S. policies when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with his America First agenda. Biden is set to depart for Peru and Brazil Thursday for two major economic summits. Biden is scheduled to spend Friday and Saturday in Lima with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, made up of 21 member economies that promote free trade in the region.  He will be in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Tuesday to meet with leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies at the Group of 20 summit. On the way to Rio from Lima, Biden will make a brief stop at Manaus for a climate-focused engagement in Brazil’s state of Amazonas. In his meetings, Biden must face allies and partners who four years ago may have been skeptical about his “America is back” message and the durability of U.S. global commitments. These leaders saw Trump, during his first term, act to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord and threaten to pull out of NATO. Uncertainties about future U.S. policy will complicate efforts to reach an agenda on issues of global concern such as trade, poverty and debt alleviation, climate change, sustainable development, and green energy. “There will be a lot of combination of lamenting, speculation, guessing about what we’ll see coming first in terms of policies out of the campaign and how countries are best able to position themselves,” said Victor Cha, president of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ‘America’s allies are vital’ To these leaders, Biden’s message is that “America’s allies are vital to America’s national security,” said national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who previewed the trip to reporters on Wednesday. “They make us stronger. They multiply our capability. They take a burden off of our shoulders. They contribute to our common causes,” Sullivan said. He underscored that Biden would be attending the APEC summit when U.S. alliances in the region were at an “all-time high,” with bolstered ties with Japan, Korea, Australia and the Philippines. Biden will hold a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of APEC with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan to “discuss the … “At APEC and G20, Biden faces leaders worried about US policy changes” →

NEW YORK — Federal law enforcement agents raided the downtown New York home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan on Wednesday, seizing his phone and electronics, the company confirmed. The early morning raid of Coplan’s SoHo apartment followed last week’s presidential election, in which bettors on Polymarket, an offshore, crypto-fueled election gambling website, had for weeks put Donald Trump’s odds drastically higher than those of Vice President Kamala Harris, in sharp divergence from opinion polls. Coplan, Polymarket’s 26-year-old founder, was roused from his bed at 6 a.m. by FBI agents demanding he give them his electronic devices. The DOJ is investigating Polymarket for allegedly allowing U.S.-based users to bet on the site, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday evening. Polymarket declined to comment on those allegations, but a spokesperson said the FBI raid was “obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election.” The company told Reuters that Coplan had not been arrested or taken into custody. The FBI declined to comment. The Department of Justice and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the raid. In the run-up to the presidential election, the site gained widespread attention for the way it placed Trump’s odds high above those of Harris, when opinion polls had for months shown the race in a dead heat. Polymarket, which does not allow trading in the U.S., also gained scrutiny after a mystery French trader, known as the Polymarket whale, made large bets on Trump winning the election. The trader’s huge wagers came in tandem with a dramatic rise in Trump’s chances on the exchanges. He walked away with more than $46 million in profit. Last week, France’s gambling regulator said it was examining whether Polymarket complies with French laws. …

washington — A hack of U.S. telecommunications systems linked to China that initially appeared to focus on the American presidential campaigns goes much deeper, according to investigators, and is likely part of a vast effort by Beijing to spy on the United States. The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned on Wednesday that the breach first detected late last month has now “revealed a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign.” The two agencies said in a statement that their investigation has confirmed Chinese-linked hackers compromised the networks of multiple U.S. telecommunication companies, gaining access to a potential treasure trove of information. Specifically, they said the hackers would have been able to access customer call records and infiltrate the private communications of a select number of government officials and politicians. Additionally, the hackers appear to have been able to copy information requested by U.S. law enforcement as a result of court orders. “We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues,” the FBI and CISA said. “We encourage any organization that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI field office or CISA,” they added. The two agencies first announced they were investigating a breach of U.S. telecommunications systems in late October, less than two weeks before U.S. voters cast their ballots in nationwide elections. Word of the breach followed a report by The New York Times that Chinese hackers were thought to have broken into telecommunications networks to target the campaign of President-elect Donald Trump — including phones used by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. The Trump campaign confirmed the breach in a statement to VOA. Separately, a person familiar with the investigation told VOA that people affiliated with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris were also targeted. The Chinese Embassy in Washington at the time dismissed the U.S. hacking allegations as disinformation, calling the U.S. “the origin and the biggest perpetrator of cyberattacks.” The embassy has yet to respond to the latest FBI and CISA allegations. U.S. intelligence agencies warned for months that foreign adversaries were using a combination of cyberattacks and influence operations to meddle with the November 5 U.S. presidential election. In addition, reports issued by private cybersecurity firms indicated a significant uptick in activity by actors linked to Russia, China and Iran. All three nations have repeatedly denied accusations of election meddling. U.S. agencies, … “Suspected Chinese hack of US telecoms reveals broader plot” →

new york — A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday threw out a $1.68 billion judgment against Iran’s central bank that had been won by family members of troops killed and injured in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut.  The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a lower court judge should have addressed questions of state law before ruling against Bank Markazi and Luxembourg intermediary Clearstream Banking, a unit of Deutsche Boerse.  In a 3-0 decision, the panel also rejected a claim that a 2019 federal law designed to make it easier to seize Iranian assets held outside the United States waived Bank Markazi’s sovereign immunity.  That law “neither abrogates Bank Markazi’s jurisdictional immunity nor provides an independent grant of subject matter jurisdiction,” Circuit Judge Robert Sack wrote.    The court returned the case to U.S. District Loretta Preska, in Manhattan to address state law questions in the 11-year-old case, and whether the case can proceed in Bank Markazi’s absence.  Bombing victims sought to hold Iran liable for providing material support for the October 23, 1983, suicide attack that killed 241 U.S. service members, by seizing bond proceeds held by Clearstream in a blocked account on Bank Markazi’s behalf.  Bank Markazi claimed immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which generally shields foreign governments from liability in U.S. courts.  Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bank Markazi’s and Clearstream’s lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.  Iran, other U.S.-designated sponsors of terrorism, and banks accused of providing services to terrorists face thousands of claims in U.S. courts by victims and their families. It is often difficult for these claimants to collect judgments.  In the Bank Markazi case, the plaintiffs sued in 2013 to partially satisfy a $2.65 billion default judgment they had won against Iran in 2007.  Another judge dismissed the case in 2015, but the 2nd Circuit Court revived it in 2017.  Then in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a fresh review in light of the 2019 law, which then-President Donald Trump signed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.  The plaintiffs have said they hold more than $4 billion of judgments against Iran and have been unable to collect for decades.  The case is Peterson et al v. Bank Markazi et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 15-690.  …

President-elect Donald Trump returned to the seat of American power Wednesday, visiting both Congress and the White House and laying out his vision as he readies for his second term. President Joe Biden hosted Trump in the Oval Office, where he promised a smooth transfer of power. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

NEW YORK — The decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths appears to have continued this year, giving experts hope the nation is seeing sustained improvement in the persistent epidemic.  There were about 97,000 overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Wednesday. That’s down 14% from the estimated 113,000 for the previous 12-month period.  “This is a pretty stunning and rapid reversal of drug overdose mortality numbers,” said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University researcher who studies overdose trends.  Overdose death rates began steadily climbing in the 1990s because of opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids like heroin and — more recently — illicit fentanyl. Provisional data had indicated a slight decline for 2023, and the tally released Wednesday showed that the downward trend has kept going.  Of course, there have been moments in the last several years when U.S. overdose deaths seemed to have plateaued or even started to go down, only to rise again, Marshall noted.  “This seems to be substantial and sustained,” Marshall said. “I think there’s real reason for hope here.”  Experts aren’t certain about the reasons for the decline, but they cite a combination of possible factors.  One is COVID-19. In the worst days of the pandemic, addiction treatment was hard to get, and people were socially isolated — with no one around to help if they overdosed.  “During the pandemic we saw such a meteoric rise in drug overdose deaths that it’s only natural we would see a decrease,” said Farida Ahmad of the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.  Still, overdose deaths are well above what they were at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The recent numbers could represent the fruition of years of efforts to increase the availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, and addiction treatments such as buprenorphine, said Erin Winstanley, a University of Pittsburgh professor who researches drug overdose trends.  Marshall said such efforts likely are being aided by money from settlements of opioid-related lawsuits, brought by state, local and Native American governments against drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies. Settlement funds have been rolling out to small towns and big cities across the U.S., and some have started spending the money on naloxone and other measures.  Some experts have wondered about changes in the drug supply. Xylazine, a sedative, has been increasingly detected in … “US overdose deaths down, giving experts hope for enduring decline” →

Hours after Donald Trump was elected president for the second time, Dr. Clayton Alfonso had two messages from patients seeking to replace their IUDs. Over the next few days, three women inquired about getting their tubes tied. All of them said the election was the reason they were making these choices now. Requests for long-term birth control and permanent sterilizations have surged across the nation since the election, doctors told The Associated Press. And companies that sell emergency contraception and abortion pills say they’re seeing significant spikes in requests from people who are stockpiling the medications — one saw a 966% increase in sales of emergency contraception from the week before in the 60 hours after the election. “I saw this bump after the Trump election in 2016” and after Roe vs. Wade was overturned in 2022, said Alfonso, an OB-GYN at Duke University in North Carolina. “But the patients seem more afraid this time.” Although anti-abortion advocates are pressing Trump for more restrictions on abortion pills, it’s unclear what — if much — will be done regarding access to contraceptives of any kind during the second Trump administration. Trump told a Pittsburgh television station in May that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception. But after media reports on the interview, he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he “has never and will never” advocate for restricting birth control and other contraceptives. Alfonso said his patients want to replace still-effective IUDs and “restart” the 3-to-12-year clock on them before the inauguration. He also said the women are particularly concerned about IUDs, which have been attacked by abortion opponents who believe life begins when an egg is fertilized. Experts believe the devices work mostly by blocking fertilization, but also may make it harder for a fertilized egg to implant in the womb. A patient who requested a tubal ligation Tuesday told Alfonso she doesn’t want kids and is “just absolutely terrified of either forced pregnancy or inability to access contraception.” Pittsburgh OB-GYN and abortion provider Dr. Grace Ferguson said more of her patients are scheduling IUD insertions or stockpiling emergency contraception, telling her upfront that it’s “because of the upcoming administration change.” One patient, Mara Zupko, said she wants prescription emergency contraception since she’s on the cusp of the weight limit for Plan B, the most well-known over-the-counter type. Her husband is getting a vasectomy. “We … “Birth control, abortion pill requests surge since Trump election” →

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet November 16 on the sidelines of the 2024 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC summit in Lima, Peru, the White House announced Wednesday. The meeting follows the leaders’ last in-person engagement a year ago on the sidelines of the APEC summit in California, and their 2022 meeting in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Biden and Xi are expected to revisit areas of cooperation, particularly the resumption of military-to-military contacts, efforts to combat the global fentanyl crisis and nascent work to deal with the risks of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, a senior administration said in a briefing with reporters Wednesday. The U.S. president will also express “deep concern” over Beijing’s support for Moscow’s war against Ukraine, and the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia, said the official, who requested anonymity to speak on the upcoming meeting. The official said Biden will also reiterate his “longstanding concern” over China’s “unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices” that hurt American workers. The official added Biden will raise Chinese cyber-attack efforts on U.S. civilian critical infrastructure as well as Beijing’s increased military activities around Taiwan and the South China Sea while also underscoring the importance of respect for human rights. The meeting is likely to be the last between Biden and Xi ahead of the incoming administration of Donald Trump in January. The president-elect has appointed ardent China critics in key foreign policy positions that could lead to a more confrontational U.S. posture toward Beijing. They include Republican Congressman Mike Waltz as Trump’s pick for national security adviser and Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Whatever the next administration decides, they’re going to need to find ways to manage the “tough, complicated relationship” between the U.S. and China, the official said in response to a question from VOA. “Russia, cross-strait issues, the South China Sea and cyber are areas the next administration is going to need to think about carefully, because those are areas of deep policy difference with China, and I don’t expect that will disappear,” the official said. Xi is also likely anticipating what the Trump administration plans to do about global trade, particularly whether he will enact promises to impose steep tariffs on all Chinese goods. …

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returned triumphantly to Washington on Wednesday and walked into the White House for the first time in four years to meet with outgoing President Joe Biden.  Biden invited Trump for the traditional visit — a show of the coming January 20 peaceful transfer of power in the American democracy between the current U.S. leader and the incoming chief executive.   The two men, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace in the Oval Office, traded niceties. “I’m looking forward to having a smooth transition and we’re looking forward to talking about some of that today,” Biden said. “Thank you very much,” Trump replied. “Politics is tough and in many cases it’s not a very nice world. It is a nice world today and I appreciate very much a transition so smooth — it will be as smooth as it can get — and I very much appreciate that, Joe. Thank you.” “You’re welcome,” Biden responded. First lady Jill Biden joined her husband in greeting the president-elect upon his arrival at the White House. The White House said she gave Trump a handwritten letter of congratulations for his wife, Melania, and expressed her team’s readiness to assist with the transitio The former first lady, who lived in the White House from 2017 to 2021 during her husband’s first presidency, did not accompany him to Washington and has not indicated whether she plans to move into the White House again when he takes office. Joe Biden, a Democrat running for reelection, had sought to defeat Trump, the Republican, for a second time but ended his campaign in July after faltering badly in a debate against Trump. Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him, but Trump swept through seven political battleground states in the election last week and easily defeated her.  When Biden defeated Trump in 2020, Trump offered no White House invitation to meet him ahead of the inauguration and then left Washington two hours before Biden’s swearing-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol.   Trump, who to this day claims falsely that he was cheated out of winning the 2020 election by vote fraud, was the first president to not witness his successor’s inauguration since Andrew Johnson skipped the swearing-in of Ulysses S. Grant in 1869. Biden has said he plans to witness Trump’s inauguration. Trump also met with Republican lawmakers in the House of … “Trump meets with Biden at White House” →

Austin, Texas — The price of entering the U.S. through the southern border is 250,000 yuan or close to $35,000, said Xiao Jing, a woman in her 30s who is to paying that amount to try to enter the U.S. without a visa. She is using a pseudonym due to the sensitivity of the issue. “It was introduced by an acquaintance who had been successful [entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border] to help me apply for a Japanese visa and arrange the pickup service after I arrive in Mexico,” she told VOA. The person who will pick her up in Mexico will then help her cross into the U.S. Xiao worked as a clerk in a small company in the Chinese city of Chongqing. But because of China’s economic downturn in recent years, she said her boss first defaulted on wages, then laid off many people, including her. “At my age, it’s hard to find a job, and I don’t like the political atmosphere in the country,” she said. If she applied for a U.S. visa, Xiao said, she would have to wait for an interview and her assets and income would be scrutinized. She chose plan B: obtaining a visa to Japan, then buying a plane ticket, although she has not decided to which city. “My agent [for helping to get a travel visa] told me that if I was afraid, I should stay in China. But I still want to give it a try,” she told VOA. A woman who only calls herself “Lisa” is a China-based “agent” who is helping Chinese migrants with their attempts to cross into the U.S. without documentation. Because of her work, she does not want to give her real name and be identified by the police. She told VOA she received an unusually large number of inquiries from people in China in the past few days, and she advised them to get on the road as soon as possible and enter the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. One of Trump’s top campaign promises was to make it tougher for migrants to enter the United States unlawfully. “The day I take office, the migrant invasion ends, and the restoration of our country begins,” said Trump in a October 31 campaign rally in Henderson, Nevada. He also singled out migrants from China during an April 13 speech in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, describing … “Uncertain future for Chinese migrants without US visa under Trump” →

The U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority began a crusade on Tuesday to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Joe Biden as possible to avoid leaving vacancies that Republican Donald Trump could fill after taking office on Jan. 20. With Republicans set to take control of the chamber on Jan. 3, the Senate on Tuesday held a confirmation vote on one of Biden’s judicial nominees – former prosecutor April Perry – for the first time since Trump won the Nov. 5 presidential election. The Senate voted 51-44 in favor of her becoming a U.S. district court judge in Illinois. All told, Biden has announced another 30 judicial nominees who are awaiting Senate confirmation votes. Sixteen have already have been reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and are awaiting a final confirmation vote by the full Senate. Another 14 nominees are awaiting committee review. The U.S. Constitution assigns to the Senate the power to confirm a president’s nominees for life-tenured seats on the federal judiciary. “We are going to get as many done as we can,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. Trump made 234 judicial appointments during his first four years in office, the second most of any president in a single term, and succeeded in moving the judiciary rightward – including building a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court with three appointees. Biden has appointed a host of liberal judges. Since the beginning of his presidency in 2021, the Senate has confirmed 214 Biden judicial nominees, including liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. About two-thirds were women, and the same share were racial minorities. Senate Democrats are under pressure to swiftly confirm the remaining nominees, along with any new picks Biden may name in the waning weeks of his presidency. How many nominees Senate Democrats will be able to confirm remains to be seen. Trump in a social media post on Sunday called on the Senate to halt approving Biden’s nominees, saying, “Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges.” Billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk on Tuesday wrote on social media that “activist” judicial nominees are “bad for the country.” Mike Davis, a Trump ally at the conservative judicial advocacy group Article III Project, in another post urged Senate Republicans to vote down all judicial appointments until January. “The American people voted for monumental change,” Davis wrote on social media last … “US Senate Democrats rush to confirm judges before Trump takes office” →

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday hosted Israel’s president while President-elect Donald Trump has separately held multiple phone calls recently with Israel’s head of government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. These parallel talks have focused on the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and hopes for the release of hostages held by Hamas. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington. …

WASHINGTON — Israel’s war against Hezbollah and Hamas, while inflicting considerable damage, has yet to strike a crippling blow to either of the Iran-backed terror groups, according to a top U.S. counterterrorism official. The acting director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) said Tuesday that the impact of Israeli intelligence operations, along with repeated military airstrikes and ground offensives in Lebanon and Gaza, have severely diminished the ability of both groups to launch new attacks on Israel. But he cautioned that both groups remain resilient, and in the case of Hezbollah, retain significant capabilities. “Before the conflict, they [Hezbollah] had built up unprecedented numbers of rockets and missiles and other munitions,” the NCTC’s Brett Holmgren told an audience in Washington, adding that the Lebanese group was starting at a “very strong point.” And he said while Israeli strikes have decimated Hezbollah leadership, the group’s ground forces in southern Lebanon “remain somewhat intact.” Additionally, Israel’s actions have done little to damage Hezbollah’s reach beyond the Middle East. “Their external capabilities have largely been untouched,” Holmgren said, noting the U.S. and its allies are on alert for any indication Hezbollah may seek to retaliate outside the region. Hamas’ staying power Hamas, which touched off the war in Gaza when it launched its October 7, 2023, terror attack that killed about 1,200 mostly Israeli civilians, has also suffered greatly, according to the latest U.S. assessments. “Militarily, they have been significantly diminished,” Holmgren said. “They’re essentially morphing into an insurgent force on the ground.” Yet despite being forced to keep a low profile and resort to hit-and-run-type tactics, U.S. intelligence sees few indications Hamas has lost its appeal. “Hamas has been able to recruit new members to its ranks and will likely continue its ability to do so, so long as there is not another viable political option on the ground for these disaffected young men in Gaza to turn to,” Holmgren said.  “There has to be a more viable political actor on the ground in Gaza to give these new recruits for Hamas, to give them a better option,” he added. Hamas, Hezbollah numbers Prior to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, U.S. intelligence estimated that the U.S.-designated terror group had between 20,000 and 25,000 fighters, though some estimates put the number at 30,000 or more, citing support from about a dozen other terror groups that had pledged to fight under the Hamas … “Hezbollah, Hamas down but not out, US says” →

President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met Tuesday at the White House to strengthen U.S.–Indonesia ties. The meeting came days after Jakarta signed a maritime agreement with Beijing that critics say could lend credibility to China’s “nine-dash line” that reflects its expansive claims in the South China Sea. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report …

boston — A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a Massachusetts Air National Guard member to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine.  Jack Teixeira pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act following his arrest in the most consequential national security case in years. Brought into court wearing an orange jumpsuit, he showed no visible reaction as he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani.  Before being sentenced, he apologized for his actions.  “I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Texeira said, referencing the “maelstrom” he caused to friends, family, and anyone affected overseas. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring,” he said, standing as he addressed the judge.  Afterward, Teixeira hugged one of his attorneys and looked toward his family and smiled before he was led out of court.  The security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to have intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.  Earlier in Tuesday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan argued that 200 months — or a little more than 16 1/2 years — was appropriate given the “historic” damage caused by Teixeira’s conduct that aided adversaries of the United States and hurt the country’s allies. He also said that the recommendation by prosecutors would send a message to anyone in the military who might consider similar conduct.   “It will be a cautionary tale for the men and women in the U.S. military,” Dolan said. “They are going to be told this is what happens if you break your promise, if you betray your country. … They will know the defendant’s name. They will know the sentence the court imposes.”  But Teixeira’s attorney Michael Bachrach told the judge in court Tuesday that 11 years was sufficient.  “It is a significant, harsh and difficult sentence, one that will not be easy to serve,” Bachrach said. “It will serve as an extreme deterrent to anyone, particularly young servicemen. That … “Jack Teixeira, who leaked Pentagon documents, sentenced to 15 years in prison” →

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has left little question about the sort of economic policies he will pursue when he is sworn in for a second term as president in January. The once-and-future president has promised to extend existing tax cuts and implement new ones; to pursue a deregulation agenda, particularly when it comes to energy production; to reinstate a strong protectionist trade policy, including substantial tariffs on imports; and to undertake a “mass deportation” program that would remove a large number of the millions of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. While there may be little doubt about the kind of policies Trump will implement, the degree to which he will pursue them is an open question. “The problem that all economists are dealing with is they don’t know how much of what Trump said on the campaign trail to take seriously,” Steven B. Kamin, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, told VOA. “They don’t know if he’s going to do a lot of these things, or if he is, how far he’ll take it.” When it comes to tariffs, Trump has promised across-the-board 10%-20% levies on all imports, and charges of up to 60% on goods coming from China, which experts warn would be economically ruinous. His rhetoric about fossil fuel extraction suggests he will drive up oil and gas production, even though the U.S. is currently producing more energy than it ever has. On immigration, he and his advisers have vacillated between suggesting that all undocumented people will be forcibly removed and describing a much more targeted operation. Tax policy One thing that appears certain is that Trump will work with Congress — which seems likely to be fully controlled by the Republican Party — to extend the tax cuts that became law as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which he signed into law in 2017. Those tax cuts reduced the income taxes paid by many American workers and reduced taxable income by increasing the standard deduction. They also sharply cut the top business income tax bracket from 39% to 21%. Those provisions are all scheduled to expire over the next several years, some as soon as 2025, and Trump has proposed making them permanent. Trump has also floated the idea of other tax cuts, including further reducing the business income tax to a maximum of 15%, and making income … “Economists wonder whether Trump will follow through on campaign vows” →

Although Donald Trump has won the presidential election, nearly 11 weeks will pass before he can assume office, giving him 76 days to prepare a new government. …

Johannesburg  — President-elect Donald Trump talked tough on China during his campaign, vowing to impose higher and sweeping tariffs on imports from the Asian giant. Beijing will now also be closely watching the incoming administration’s movements further afield, in Africa, where U.S.-China rivalry is high. Experts disagree on what a second Trump term will mean for Beijing’s ambitions on the continent, with some saying it could be a boon for China – Africa’s biggest trade partner – if the U.S. pursues an isolationist, “America First” agenda that mostly ignores the region. But Tibor Nagy, who served as Trump’s Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2018 to 2021 has a different perspective. He said Trump grasped how powerful a player China had become on the continent. “It was the Trump administration that was the first to kind of recognize the existential threat that China poses,” Nagy told VOA. “We were on the front lines of that in Africa, and we saw what the Chinese were doing,” said Nagy, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to Guinea and Ethiopia during the administrations of presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Nagy told VOA he does not think the incoming Republican administration will neglect Africa because it sees China as a threat to U.S interests there. He also said the continent is a major source of critical minerals attractive to both superpowers. Nagy credits the first Trump administration with introducing policies on the continent intended to counter China’s influence. “We had … the right focus because we made it about the youth. You know, our premise was that Africa is going to be undergoing a youth tsunami with the population doubling by 2050. And that more than anything, what the youth really wanted was jobs,” he said. To this end, Nagy says, the first Trump administration set up Prosper Africa in 2018, an initiative designed to assist American companies doing business in Africa, and he expects the incoming administration will remain engaged there. “Africa remains very much the front lines,” he said. “The United States is extremely concerned about our strategic minerals, and when a hostile power has a lock on strategic minerals, that’s really not very good when you need the strategic minerals for your top-end technology and for weapon systems.” But Christian-Geraud Neema, Africa editor for the China-Global South Project, is skeptical and said a second term for Trump … “How could US-China rivalry in Africa play out under Trump 2.0?” →

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A U.S. jury on Tuesday awarded $42 million to three former detainees of Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison, holding a Virginia-based military contractor responsible for contributing to their torture and mistreatment two decades ago.  The decision from the eight-person jury came after a different jury earlier this year couldn’t agree on whether Reston, Virginia-based CACI should be held liable for the work of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside the U.S. Army at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004.  The jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa’ad Al-Zubae $3 million each in compensatory damages and $11 million each in punitive damages.  The three testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other cruel treatment at the prison.  They did not allege that CACI’s interrogators explicitly inflicted the abuse themselves, but argued CACI was complicit because its interrogators conspired with military police to “soften up” detainees for questioning with harsh treatment.  CACI’s lawyer, John O’Connor, did not comment after Tuesday’s verdict on whether the company would appeal.  Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the lawsuit on the plaintiffs’ behalf, called the verdict “an important measure of Justice and accountability” and praised the three plaintiffs for their resilience, “especially in the face of all the obstacles CACI threw their way.”  The $42 million fully matches the amount sought by the plaintiffs, Azmy said.  “Today is a big day for me and for justice,” said Al-Ejaili, a journalist, in a written statement. “I’ve waited a long time for this day. This victory isn’t only for the three plaintiffs in this case against a corporation. This victory is a shining light for everyone who has been oppressed and a strong warning to any company or contractor practicing different forms of torture and abuse.”  Al-Ejaili traveled to the U.S. for both trials to testify in person. The other two plaintiffs testified by video from Iraq.  The trial and subsequent retrial were the first time a U.S. jury heard claims brought by Abu Ghraib survivors in the 20 years since photos of detainee mistreatment — accompanied by smiling U.S. soldiers inflicting the abuse — shocked the world during the U.S. occupation of Iraq.  None of the three plaintiffs were in any of the notorious photos shown in news reports around the world, but they described treatment very similar to what was … “Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees $42 million, holds contractor responsible” →