US Supreme Court to Hear Obamacare Case

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The 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

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Biden Presidency Will Face Historic Challenges

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After 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. …

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Harris Makes History as First Black and Indian American Woman VP

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Vice 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  …

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What Is a Presidential Transition?

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The 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

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Haiti’s President, Opposition Leaders Congratulate Biden on US Election Win

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Haitian 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

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Some Republicans Attack Georgia Votes, Provide No Evidence

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Some 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

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Barr Tells DOJ to Probe Election Fraud Claims if They Exist

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Attorney 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

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Trump Campaign Sues to Halt Pennsylvania From Certifying Biden Win

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U.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

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Twitter Could Strip Trump of Certain Privileges Post-Presidency

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Twitter says it could strip President Donald Trump’s account of certain privileges when projected election winner Joe Biden takes office on January 20.   Trump’s recent tweets alleging voter fraud in the November 3 election have been tagged by Twitter, with notices that say for example, “This claim about voter fraud is disputed.”   Ordinarily, Twitter would remove such tweets, but affords world leaders some further latitude.   “A critical function of our service is providing a place where people can openly and publicly respond to their leaders and hold them accountable,” a Twitter spokesman told the Bloomberg news agency.more

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German Chancellor Congratulates Biden, Harris on Election Victory

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday congratulated the new U.S. president-elect and his running mate on their projected election victory and said the U.S. and its European partners must stand together to deal with the challenges of our time. At a news conference in Berlin, Merkel said Biden has decades of experience in both domestic and foreign policy and knows Germany and Europe well. She said she had fond memories of good encounters and discussions with the former vice president.   The German chancellor also warmly congratulated Harris as future vice president, noting she will be the first woman tomore

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Biden Gets to Work on US Government Transition as Trump Refuses to Concede Defeat 

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Democrat Joe Biden, the projected winner of the long and contentious  U.S. presidential election over Republican President Donald Trump, has moved quickly to start preparations to take over the U.S. government when he is inaugurated January 20 and reverse some key Trump policies.  The move comes as Trump is contesting the outcome of the November 3 election through lawsuits, claiming, without evidence, that vote-counting irregularities in several states where Biden won narrow pluralities and all their electoral votes, would reverse the result and hand him a second term.  U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris achnowledge supporters after delivering remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 7, 2020.“We are preparing to lead on Day One, ensuring the Biden-Harris administration is able to takemore

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What It Means in the US to Become President-Elect

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In the United States, Democrat Joe Biden is now being called the president-elect.That means Biden, a fixture on the Washington political scene for nearly a half century, is the country’s leader-in-waiting.President-elect is a descriptive term not an official office. As such, Biden has no power in the government, and he won’t until he is inaugurated at noon on January 20, 2021.But Biden is already considering key appointments to his administration, and he says that in the first days after taking office he will reverse several policies of the incumbent he defeated, Republican President Donald Trump.So, there is much for Bidenmore

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Biden Moves Quickly on US Government Transition 

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Democrat Joe Biden, the projected winner of the long and contentious U.S. presidential election over Republican President Donald Trump, moved quickly Sunday to start preparations to take over the U.S. government when he is inaugurated January 20 and reverse some key Trump policies. President-elect Biden and his running mate, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, launched a website for their transition to power, saying they would immediately focus on the coronavirus pandemic, the recession in the world’s biggest economy wrought by the pandemic, climate change and systemic racism. “We are preparing to lead on Day One, ensuring the Biden-Harris administration is able to takemore

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Former Republican US President Bush Congratulates Biden

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Former Republican U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday congratulated the projected winner of last week’s election, Joe Biden, saying the Democratic president-elect had “won his opportunity to lead and unify our country.”Bush, who served as the country’s chief executive from 2001 to early 2009, said he has “political differences” with Biden, but that he offered him “my prayers for his success and my pledge to help in any way I can.” Bush also called Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to congratulate her.Bush said he thanked Biden for the “patriotic message” he delivered Saturday night in Wilmington, Delaware, near his homemore

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Foreign Students Look Forward to Visa Stability

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International students in the U.S. whose studies and immigration status have undergone changes during President Donald Trump’s administration say they hope their stays will stabilize with President-elect Joe Biden.“I do believe that … international students would feel more secure here in the U.S. while pursuing their degrees,” said Ukrainian Roman Ivasiy, a student at Georgia State University. “Especially during the COVID crisis, when most of the programs switched to the online format.”The COVID pandemic has shut down college and university campuses across the U.S. since March, leaving foreign students in limbo and in jeopardy of losing their student visa status.FILEmore

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Biden Seeks Unity After Election Win

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President-elect Joe Biden promoted a message of unity and bridging America’s political divide hours after news networks projected him winning the U.S. presidential election. VOA White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports from Washington. Producer: Barry Unger  …

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From Refugee to Representative, US Candidates Celebrate Election Victories

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Oballa Oballa’s trek to Election Day was a long and improbable one.He grew up in the Gambella region of Ethiopia, where he witnessed Oballa Oballa has been elected to the City Council of his adopted hometown of Austin, Minnesota. He is the first refugee, first immigrant and first person of color to serve on the council. (Photo courtesy Oballa Oballa)Oballa said he wanted to be politically active as soon as he arrived in the U.S. in 2013. He served as president of the student senate at his community college and helped pass state legislation to address food insecurity on communitymore

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Biden Pledges to Unify, Not Divide US in Address to Nation

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Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the projected winner of the U.S. presidency, pledged to be “a president who seeks not to divide, but unify” the country during an address to the nation Saturday night from Wilmington, Delaware.Echoing earlier speeches, Biden said it is “time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see each other again, listen to each other again.”Biden urged his supporters to reach out to those who didn’t vote for him, and he acknowledged the disappointment of those who support President Donald Trump.“I’ve lost a couple times myself,” Biden said. “Now, let’s give each othermore

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Harris Makes History Amid Rough and Tumble of Campaign

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Vice President-elect Kamala Harris parlayed a career as a California prosecutor, attorney general and U.S. senator to the second most powerful job in the United States.Harris will be the first African American woman and first South Asian American to be vice president when she and President-elect Joe Biden take their oaths of office on January 20.She introduced herself at the Democratic convention as the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants and pledged to work to make America more inclusive after four years of the Trump administration, which she described as making the country more divided.Harris has said that she andmore

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Young Voters Celebrate Biden’s Projected Election Win

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Young voters, including many of color, turned out in record numbers this election and overwhelmingly supported the Democratic ticket, helping to push projected election winners Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to secure the highest offices in the U.S.“This victory belongs to young people,” said Rachel Fleischer, executive director of the Washington-based youth advocacy group Young Invincibles, in a statement released Saturday. “Young voters … came out in force and continue to actively shape the future of our country. Supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump attend a ‘Stop the Steal’ protest outside the Wisconsin State Capitol, following the announcement that U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has won the 2020 election,more

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