Trump Loyalists Get Top Pentagon Jobs After Esper Firing

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A 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

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Chinese Authorities Punish Citizens for Using Foreign Social Media

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Chinese 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

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Biden Meets with His Presidential Transition Advisers

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U.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

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Trump, Republicans Rebuff Transition Process

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President-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. …

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US Students With Disabilities Afforded Equality

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Catherine 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

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Biden: ‘Embarrassment’ That Trump Has Not Conceded Election Loss

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U.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

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Trump’s Legal Challenge to Biden Win Seen as Uphill Battle

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The 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

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US Election Results Dismay Trump’s Populist Allies in Europe

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There 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

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Pentagon Policy Chief Resigns Following Esper Firing

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Another 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

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Trump’s US Election Loss Dismays His Populist Allies in Europe

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There 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

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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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