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washington —  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his early November election victory. President Joe Biden has not hosted Erdogan at the White House though the two have met on sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone. Speaking to journalists accompanying his…

Taipei, Taiwan  —  China is ramping up efforts to smooth ties with the European Union in the wake of the U.S. elections, with a top Chinese official and state media maintaining that improved ties are in the interest of both Brussels and Beijing. As countries worldwide try to anticipate what President-elect Donald Trump’s victory might…

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…

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.This post was originally published on here

Brussels —  The European Commission on Thursday fined Meta Platforms $840.24 million over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters. “The European Commission has fined Meta … for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network…

Before the U.S. presidential election, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump opposed a Japanese company’s planned $14 billion purchase of U.S. Steel, a once-iconic pillar of America’s industrial age. With the election over, there are indications that the deal may go through. VOA Chief National Correspondent Steve Herman went to Braddock, Pennsylvania, to…

The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday. “The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the…

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…

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.…

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…

washington —  Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, one of the country’s best-known conservative lawyers who served two Republican presidents and successfully argued on behalf of same-sex marriage, died Wednesday. He was 84. The law firm Gibson Dunn, where Olson had practiced since 1965, announced his death on its website. No cause of death was…

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…

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…

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…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates —  Iran has made plans to sustain its oil production and exports and is ready for possible oil restrictions from a Trump administration in the U.S., Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Wednesday, according to the oil ministry’s news website Shana. In 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015…

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.…

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…

Pentagon —  President-elect Donald Trump has made a largely unexpected pick to run the world’s largest military, nominating Fox News host and decorated veteran Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. Trump has picked someone who has no previous experience in government or in running a large business. But the Army National Guard officer and “Fox…

U.S. Senate Republicans on Wednesday chose Senator John Thune to serve as majority leader when they retake control of the chamber next year. In a secret ballot, the South Dakota senator beat Senators John Cornyn and Rick Scott to assume the Republican leadership mantle that Mitch McConnell has held for the past 18 years. The…

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…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returned triumphantly to Washington on Wednesday, pledging a smooth transition of power in January as he met for two hours at the White House with his longtime political rival, President Joe Biden. “It was a substantive meeting,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “They discussed important national security and domestic…

Washington —  A man who worked for the U.S. government has been charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel’s earlier plans to attack Iran, according to court papers filed Wednesday. The man, identified as Asif William Rahman, was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia and was due to make his first court appearance…

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…

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…

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…

white house —  President Joe Biden and President Prabowo Subianto met Tuesday at the White House, marking the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Indonesia relations, part of a multination visit by the newly inaugurated leader of Southeast Asia’s largest economy. “I will work very hard to strengthen Indonesia and United States relationship,” said Prabowo, who goes by…

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…

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…

Washington —  Following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, leaders in the Uyghur American community are advocating for renewed U.S. attention on human rights abuses in Xinjiang in northwest China, where Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have reportedly faced severe repression. Advocates urge Trump to continue his administration’s previous measures against China, citing the impact of his…

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…

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana —  A new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1 has been temporarily blocked after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday. The judge said the law is “unconstitutional on its face” and plaintiffs are likely to win their case…

WASHINGTON —  The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to let former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows move the election interference case against him in Georgia to federal court. Meadows was one of 19 people indicted in Georgia and accused of participating in an illegal scheme to keep then-president Donald Trump in power after…

New York —  A judge is postponing a decision on whether to undo President-elect Donald Trump’s conviction in his hush money case because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. New York Judge Juan M. Merchan had been set to rule Tuesday. Instead, he told Trump’s lawyers Tuesday he’d delay the ruling until…

Residents across a large part of the southeastern U.S. from Florida to Virginia are still dealing with the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in late September. North Carolina was especially hard hit. Rafael Saakov spoke with the people who are struggling most. Anna Rice narrates his story. Camera: Aleksandr Bergan.This post was originally published on…

State Department —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday as Washington looks for ways to “surge” military aid to Ukraine in the final days of President Joe Biden’s term. After Brussels, Blinken will proceed to Lima, Peru, for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, followed by stops in Manaus and…

Beyond promising a return to the America First doctrine, President-elect Donald Trump has not provided details on what U.S. foreign policy will look like under his incoming administration. But his early conversations with leaders following his election victory indicate he aims to fulfill his promises to quickly end the conflicts in the Middle East and…

President Joe Biden reiterated his “ironclad” defense of Israel during a Tuesday Oval Office meeting with Israel’s president – and he echoed the wish to see the return of the remaining hostages still held by militant group Hamas after more than a year of brutal conflict in Gaza. “My commitment to Israel is ironclad,” Biden…

MOSCOW —  The key task for Russia and China is to counter any attempt by the United States to contain their countries, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin told China’s foreign minister on Tuesday. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose steep tariffs on China and other countries, raising fears of a trade…

NEW YORK —  New York City Mayor Eric Adams is seeking to move up the start of his trial on corruption and bribery charges so he can focus on his campaign for reelection this spring. In a letter sent to the federal judge on Monday, an attorney for Adams, Alex Spiro, requested the trial begin…

DEARBORN, Michigan —  Faced with two choices she didn’t like, Suehaila Amen chose neither. Instead, the longtime Democrat from the Arab American stronghold of Dearborn, Michigan, backed a third-party candidate for president, adding her voice to a remarkable turnaround that helped Donald Trump reclaim Michigan and the presidency. In Dearborn, where nearly half of the…

WASHINGTON —  Brian Leija, a 31-year-old small-business owner from Belton, Texas, was not surprised that a growing number of Latino men of his generation voted for Donald Trump for president this year. Leija had voted for the Republican in 2016 and 2020. Leija’s rationale was simple: He said he has benefited from Trump’s economic policies,…

Sacramento, California —  California voters have rejected a measure on the November ballot that would have amended the state constitution to ban forced prison labor. The constitution already prohibits so-called involuntary servitude, but an exception allows it to be used as a punishment for crime. That exemption became a target of criminal justice advocates concerned…

RINGWOOD, New Jersey —  Fire crews battled small wildfires across the Northeast U.S. on Monday, including a blaze in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee over the weekend and postponed Veterans Day plans. Just over half a centimeter (1/4 inch) of rain fell overnight from Sunday into Monday in a forest…

CHURCH CREEK, Maryland —  Revered abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war, was posthumously awarded the rank of general on Monday. Dozens gathered on Veterans Day at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park in Maryland’s Dorchester County for a formal ceremony making…

U.S. President Joe Biden laid a wreath Monday to honor the nation’s fallen soldiers on Veterans Day, an event marking his first appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris since her election defeat last week. The ceremony, at historic Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington, is also the first time Harris has been…

Washington —  Donald Trump has chosen Republican Representative Elise Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the president-elect said in a statement shared with Reuters on Monday. “I am honored to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong,…

Anna Wiebe moved to the United States from Ukraine 25 years ago. Four of her Ukrainian relatives fled the country and joined her after Russia invaded in 2022. They settled in North Carolina. But then Hurricane Helene arrived. Rafael Saakov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Aleksandr Bergan. This post was…

Donald Trump’s supporters in California, a state that went for his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, have been celebrating Trump’s presidential election victory. This comes as the state’s Democratic governor has called for a special legislative session to protect the state’s progressive policies from a Trump presidency. VOA’s Genia Dulot has the report.This post was…

KANSAS CITY, Kan. —  After working at a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien brought home with her anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A bouncy labradoodle and a Kansas City-area program helped her get back on her feet. Dogs 4 Valor, operated through the Olathe, Kansas-based organization called…