Trump gets permission to seek dismissal of hush money case

On

NEW YORK — A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to seek dismissal of the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the November 5 U.S. presidential election. New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan formally delayed the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled to take place Tuesday. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office this week asked Merchan to consider deferring all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, finishes his four-year presidentialmore

Leave a comment

Democrat Casey concedes to Republican McCormick in Pennsylvania Senate contest

On

HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap, and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted. Casey’s concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hourslong election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law. Republicans had been claiming that Democrats were trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting “illegalmore

Leave a comment

Dr. Oz nominated to oversee Medicare, Medicaid

On

WASHINGTON — Mehmet Oz, a renowned heart surgeon and television host best known for “The Dr. Oz Show,” has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. If confirmed by the Senate, Oz will oversee two of the nation’s most vital health insurance programs, which provide coverage for elderly and low-income Americans. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960, Oz is the son of Turkish immigrants — Dr. Mustafa Oz, a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon, and Suna Oz. Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Oz graduated from Harvard University in 1982 with amore

Leave a comment

Gaetz withdraws name as Trump’s attorney general nominee

On

Former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz is withdrawing his name from consideration as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general. “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on social media platform X. The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on Gaetz. The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michaelmore

Leave a comment

Emboldened North Korea awaits second Trump administration

On

WASHINGTON — In his first message aimed at Washington since the U.S. presidential election, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his unwavering determination to hold onto nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say. At a conference with army officials last Friday, Kim vowed to bolster his country’s nuclear capabilities “without limit,” while condemning Washington for its nuclear deterrence strategies with Seoul. “The U.S., Japan and South Korea will never get away from the responsibility as the culprits of destroying the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “The mostmore

Leave a comment

US House panel: No agreement on release of report on Trump’s attorney general nominee

On

The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general.  The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michael Guest, emerged from a lengthy committee meeting, saying, “There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.”  He declined further comment. The other nine committee members — four Republicans and five Democrats — also did not comment immediately.  Gaetz was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by Trump to becomemore

Leave a comment

Trump picks former acting attorney general as US envoy to NATO

On

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Matt Whitaker, a former acting attorney general from his first presidency, as the U.S. ambassador to NATO, the cornerstone Western military alliance whose member countries Trump has criticized for not spending enough money on defense. In a statement, Trump described Whitaker, 55, as “a strong warrior and loyal patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO allies and stand firm in the face of threats to peace and stability.” As with several of Trump’s choices for positions in his new administration, the nominationmore

Leave a comment

Trump plans to nominate billionaire Wall Street banker for commerce secretary

On

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump plans to nominate Wall Street financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary in his new administration, Trump announced on Tuesday.  The 63-year-old billionaire has been co-chair of Trump’s transition team, helping to consider and vet numerous people to assume top-level government jobs after Trump takes office on January 20. Lutnick has been an outspoken Trump supporter in recent months.  The CEO and chairman of the Cantor Fitzgerald global financial services firm, Lutnick was reported to be in contention to become Treasury secretary, another top job Trump has yet to fill. But Trump associates say Lutnick fell outmore

Leave a comment

US House panel to consider releasing report on Trump’s attorney general nominee

On

The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee is set to meet Wednesday to decide whether to release its investigative report on former Representative Matt Gaetz, who was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by President-elect Donald Trump to be attorney general in his new administration. Several U.S. senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, are demanding that the report be released so they can consider the scope of Gaetz’s background as they undertake their constitutionally mandated role of confirming or rejecting a new president’s Cabinet nominees. Last Wednesday, Trump named Gaetz, 42, a Republican congressman frommore

Leave a comment

Trump’s Cabinet picks will shake status quo, House speaker says

On

Some of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks are being described as “controversial” in both Democratic and Republican circles. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson reminded critics Sunday that the American people voted to shake up the status quo, and that’s what these new Cabinet officials, if confirmed, will be tasked with doing. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. Video editing by Henry Hernandez. …

Leave a comment

Two Trump Cabinet nominees embroiled in sex controversies

On

Two of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s key nominations – Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former lawmaker Matt Gaetz as attorney general — have become embroiled in sex controversies that could threaten their Senate confirmations to serve in Trump’s Cabinet.     Hegseth, 44, paid an undisclosed amount to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avert the threat of what he viewed as a baseless claim becoming public, his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told U.S. news media this weekend.   Gaetz, 42, resigned abruptly last week from the House of Representatives near themore

Leave a comment

Democratic senators ask Pentagon, US officials to probe reports of Musk’s alleged calls with Russia

On

washington — Reports that billionaire Elon Musk has held multiple calls with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, should be investigated by the Pentagon and law enforcement agencies on national security grounds, two senior Democratic senators said in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. Musk, who has been appointed to a senior government role by Republican President-elect Donald Trump, oversees billions of dollars in Pentagon and intelligence community contracts as CEO of aerospace company SpaceX. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a senior Foreign Relations Committee member, and Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed told U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and themore

Leave a comment

Trump adds Interior and White House appointments

On

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has selected North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to run the Interior Department, as his new Cabinet continues to take shape. He also named two people to positions in the White House. The transition team officially announced the choice of Burgum on Friday, though Trump first announced the selection late Thursday during a dinner at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. Additionally, Trump announced Friday that Burgum also will lead a newly created National Energy Council that will be established to help the U.S. achieve “energy dominance” around the globe. In this role, Burgum will direct a panel thatmore

Leave a comment

How America hands power from one president to the next

On

WASHINGTON — In July, Keir Starmer became British prime minister just one day after his party swept parliamentary elections. Donald Trump, who won the November 5 U.S. election, must wait 76 days to become president again. What gives? Britain’s opposition party, like its counterparts in some parliamentary democracies, runs a “shadow government” that is ready to seize power after winning an election. The United States has no such system. America’s president-to-be starts from scratch, tasked with filling posts for a sprawling government bureaucracy with a nearly $7 trillion budget and 3.5 million civilian and military personnel, including thousands of presidential appointees.more

Leave a comment

Trump taps old ally, campaign stalwart for top intelligence posts 

On

washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is turning to an old ally and to an outsider seen by some as a disruptor to oversee American intelligence agencies when he begins his second term in office in January. Trump late Tuesday announced he planned to appoint his former director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, as director of the CIA, the country’s premier spy agency. In a second announcement late Wednesday, Trump said he would nominate former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence and oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. Both nominees must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.more

Leave a comment

Republicans to control White House, Congress in early 2025

On

Republicans are set to take full control of the U.S. government by the third week in January, with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House and the party holding majorities in the Senate and now the House of Representatives, where late vote counting put it over the top on Wednesday. “Republicans in the House and Senate have a mandate,” newly reelected House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this week. “The American people want us to implement and deliver that ‘America First’ agenda” espoused by Trump. Trump will be sworn in as the country’s 47th president on January 20, two weeksmore

Leave a comment

Trump taps senator, former rival Marco Rubio as his top diplomat

On

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 Committeemore

Leave a comment