President Donald Trump’s campaign launched a new legal effort this week aimed at stopping the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, as the president continued to refuse to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest. …
Leave a commentU.S. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska won reelection Wednesday, assuring Republicans of at least 50 seats in the 100-member Senate for the next two years, while leaving control of the chamber uncertain until two runoff elections are held in Georgia in early January.After slow vote-counting in the northwestern-most state of the U.S. after the November 3 election, news media concluded that Sullivan had an insurmountable lead over Al Gross, an orthopedic surgeon who ran as an independent candidate with Democratic support. The contest was called with Sullivan, a conservative, ahead by 20 percentage points.FILE – Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska,more
Leave a commentAs election misinformation raged online, Facebook Inc. said on Wednesday its post-election ban on political ads would likely last another month, raising concerns from campaigns and groups eager to reach voters for key Georgia Senate races in January. The ban, one of Facebook’s measures to combat misinformation and other abuses on its site, was supposed to last about a week but could be extended. Alphabet Inc.’s Google also appeared to be sticking with its post-election political ad ban. “While multiple sources have projected a presidential winner, we still believe it’s important to help prevent confusion or abuse onmore
Leave a commentThe incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden could swiftly reverse an array of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, many of which remain among the most contentious initiatives of his administration.Biden could overturn many guidelines using the same mechanism Trump employed to implement them: executive orders. Others, however, will require more than a policy declaration, experts say.In the last four years, Trump authored more than 400 regulatory actions through his executive power. Michele Waslin, program coordinator at the Institute for Immigration Research at George Mason University in Virginia, told VOA the list includes sweeping travel restrictions, changed immigration enforcement priorities,more
Leave a commentThe top elections official in the southern U.S. state of Georgia on Wednesday ordered a hand audit of the close vote there between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden. With almost all the votes counted in Georgia, Trump’s Democratic challenger for a four-year term in the White House is leading by 14,112 votes out of the nearly 5 million votes cast in the state. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has said he wanted Trump to win the election, but pushed back against Republican claims that the Georgia vote count was plagued by irregularities. Georgia has not voted formore
Leave a commentA day after President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper, three staunch loyalists to the president were named to top defense jobs. Among them was a former Fox News commentator who failed to get through Senate confirmation because of offensive remarks he made, including about Islam. The abrupt changes sent reverberations through the Pentagon as nervous civilian and military personnel waited for the next shoe to drop. And they fueled worries of a wider effort to drum out anyone considered not loyal enough to Trump. The unease was palpable inside the building throughout the day over concerns about whatmore
Leave a commentChinese Communist Party officials appear to be increasing their harassment and punishment of Chinese internet users who publish on foreign social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. China’s government firewall blocks access to those sites, but users can use VPNs and other technology to circumvent it. A growing number of these Chinese “netizens” have been warned against visiting and posting on the social media platforms and have been forced to delete posts unfavorable to the government. Some have also been sentenced to jail terms. FILE – A policeman stands guard next to portraits of Chinese journalist Gao Yumore
Leave a commentU.S. President-elect Joe Biden is meeting Wednesday with his transition advisers as he continues to plan for taking control of the American government when he is inaugurated on January 20.The projected winner of the November 3 election, Biden has named an array of advisers to look at the operations of agencies throughout the government. He said Tuesday he could announce some key appointments before the annual Thanksgiving holiday on November 26.Officials work on ballots at the Gwinnett County Voter Registration and Elections Headquarters, Nov. 6, 2020, in Lawrenceville, near Atlanta, Georgia.Biden’s list of transition advisers is long, filled with namesmore
Leave a commentPresident-elect Joe Biden dismissed the Trump administration’s refusal to begin the official transition process, even as key Republican Party leaders sided with President Donald Trump in his uphill legal fight to overturn Biden’s projected presidential election victory. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest. …
Leave a commentCatherine Wilson is a senior at the University of Maryland College Park majoring in journalism and minoring in history. She also gets distracted easily. Loud noises, a cough or even tapping can break her concentration. Consequently, Wilson has help to ensure her success in college: extended time for exams and an alternative testing environment, called “reasonable accommodations.” “I have been really successful with (extended time). I’m able to prove I know the material. And even better, I’m actually able to finish (exams),” she said in an email to VOA. In a university setting, accommodations may include “reducing a course load, electronic word processing,more
Leave a commentU.S. President-elect Joe Biden said Tuesday he is not worried about President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede after last week’s national election, but that he thinks it is an “embarrassment” for Trump and the country. “I think it will not help the president’s legacy,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, where he is working on his transition to power and planning his first steps after his expected inauguration on January 20. Trump, without offering major evidence of voting or vote-count irregularities, has filed more than a dozen lawsuits in several states, trying to overturn Biden’s projected election victory. Signs by supportersmore
Leave a commentThe Trump campaign’s latest legal challenge to the November 3 presidential election results may be a case of “too little, too late,” some legal experts say.With the election over and former vice president Joe Biden projected as the winner, President Donald Trump faces an uphill battle in his push to overturn the results with scant evidence of fraudulent voting or improper vote counting.That is the assessment of a number of legal experts after Trump’s reelection campaign filed a sweeping new lawsuit that challenges the legality of millions of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that was carried by Biden andmore
Leave a commentThere was undisguised glee among Europe’s liberals and centrists when Joe Biden was projected the winner of the race for the White House. But for the continent’s populist nationalists, including a group of national leaders in Central Europe, the election outcome has prompted dismay, and some foreboding.With Trump out of the White House they would be deprived of a powerful cheerleading ally in Washington and some centrists predict his departure will have a knock-on effect of retarding the political fortunes of leaders on the continent of Europe who espouse populist politics.“Trump’s defeat can be the beginning of the end ofmore
Leave a commentAnother top U.S. Pentagon official is leaving his post, a day after the termination of Defense Secretary Mark Esper. In his resignation letter to President Donald Trump dated Tuesday, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy James Anderson listed some of his achievements and said it had been an honor to serve his country. “Now, as ever, our long-term success depends on adhering to the U.S. Constitution all public servants swear to support and defend,” he wrote. Acting policy chief of @DeptofDefense resigns following clash with @WhiteHouse. pic.twitter.com/SdTKhhx0pY— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 10, 2020On Monday, Trump announced via Twitter that he hadmore
Leave a commentThere was undisguised glee among Europe’s liberals and centrists when Joe Biden was projected the winner of the race for the White House. But for the continent’s populist nationalists, including a group of national leaders in Central Europe, the election outcome has prompted dismay, and some foreboding.With Trump out of the White House they would be deprived of a powerful cheerleading ally in Washington and some centrists predict his departure will have a knock-on effect of retarding the political fortunes of leaders on the continent of Europe who espouse populist politics.“Trump’s defeat can be the beginning of the end ofmore
Leave a commentThe U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a Republican effort to strike down the Affordable Care Act health care law.The hearing comes weeks after Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the court, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority.At the center of the case is a requirement in the 2010 law for most people to have a minimum level of health insurance or face a financial penalty. In a 2012 case, the Supreme Court ruled that provision was allowed on the basis that it represented a tax that Congress is allowed to levy. In 2017, the Republican-controlled Congress and set the penalty to zero.A group of states, led by Texas, ismore
Leave a commentAfter winning a close election, President-Elect Joe Biden now shifts focus to governing a deeply divided nation that is grappling with a deadly pandemic and a struggling economy. VOA’s Brian Padden reports that for the incoming moderate Democratic president, success will likely hinge on both finding common ground with conservative Republicans while maintaining support from progressives in his own party. …
Leave a commentVice president-elect Kamala Harris made history this week when she became the first woman ever to win election on a presidential ticket. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the path that brought Harris to the second most powerful position in the U.S. government.Camera: Adam Greenbaum Produced by: Katherine Gypson, Jesse Oni …
Leave a commentThe Trump administration has yet to begin the process of aiding President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team in the initial stages of taking control of the government. The General Services Administration (GSA), a government agency in Washington, is holding up approval for the full funding and resources of the transition process until a winner is “ascertained.” President Donald Trump has refused to concede the election and has claimed fraud in the vote count. Government experts warn it is vital for the transition to begin to guarantee an orderly transfer of power. Here is a look at what the transition process is and howmore
Leave a commentHaitian President Jovenel Moise congratulated U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his election victory Sunday. “I extend my congratulations to President-elect @JoeBiden, and Vice-President-elect @KamalaHarris. The USA is an important ally for Haiti, and I look forward to continued cooperation with this friend,” he tweeted.Je présente toutes mes félicitations au Président élu @JoeBiden, ainsi qu’à la Vice- Présidente élue @KamalaHarris. Les USA constituent un partenaire de premier plan pour Haïti qui souhaite poursuivre ses relations de coopération avec ce pays ami.— Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) November 8, 2020Bilateral relations between the two countries have remained cordial during President Donald Trump’s administration. President Moise joinedmore
Leave a commentSome Republicans renewed their attacks Monday on Democrat Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Georgia, with U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler taking the extraordinary step of calling for the resignation of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s chief elections officer and a fellow Republican. Republicans laid out a strategy to investigate but still presented no evidence of large-scale voter fraud in the balloting, saying they were still looking into ways to overturn Biden’s lead of 11,000 votes. Georgia is one front in a nationwide scramble by Trump forces to question his loss in multiple states. The Associated Press andmore
Leave a commentAttorney General William Barr has authorized federal prosecutors across the U.S. to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities, if they exist, before the 2020 presidential election is certified, despite little evidence of fraud. Barr’s action comes days after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump and raises the prospect that Trump will use the Justice Department to try to challenge the outcome. It gives prosecutors the ability to go around long-standing Justice Department policy that normally would prohibit such overt actions before the election is certified. Trump has not conceded the election and is instead claiming without evidence that there has beenmore
Leave a commentU.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania federal court, seeking to block state officials from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state. The lawsuit, brought by the campaign and two registered voters, alleged Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting system “lacked all of the hallmarks of transparency and verifiability that were present for in-person voters.” The lawsuit claims Pennsylvania officials violated the U.S. Constitution by creating “an illegal two-tiered voting system” where voting in-person was subject to more oversight than voting by mail. It was filed against Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar and the boards of elections inmore
Leave a commentWorld leaders have been giving their reactions to the victory of Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from London, some U.S. rivals including China and Russia are awaiting the outcome of legal challenges to the result. Camera: Henry Ridgwell Produced by: Jason Godman …
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