US Senate Republicans choose Senator John Thune as majority leader

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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 mantle of Republican leadership that Mitch McConnell has held for the past 18 years. Thune told reporters the November 5 election was a mandate from the American people “to work with this president on an agenda that unwinds a lot of the damage of the Biden Harris Schumer agenda and puts in place new policies that will movemore

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Trump meets with Biden at White House

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returned triumphantly to Washington on Wednesday and walked into the White House for the first time in four years to meet with outgoing President Joe Biden.  Biden invited Trump for the traditional visit — a show of the coming January 20 peaceful transfer of power in the American democracy between the current U.S. leader and the incoming chief executive.   The two men, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace in the Oval Office, traded niceties. “I’m looking forward to having a smooth transition and we’re looking forward to talking about some of that today,” Biden said.more

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Economists wonder whether Trump will follow through on campaign vows

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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 production; to reinstate a strong protectionist trade policy, including substantial tariffs on imports; and to undertake a “mass deportation” program that would remove a large number of the millions of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States. While there may be little doubt aboutmore

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Trump picks key political loyalists for top jobs

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is moving quickly to fill his nascent administration with Republican officials who have been the most politically loyal to him in the four years he was out of office. Trump, according to various U.S. news accounts, has decided to name Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state, the country’s top diplomat, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the Homeland Security chief. Both Rubio and Noem were on Trump’s short list of possible vice-presidential running mates several months ago. While Trump later picked first-term Ohio Senator JD Vance, now the vice president-elect, to join himmore

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Trump sets sights on Gaza, Ukraine as early foreign policy goals

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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 Ukraine. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports. …

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China’s largest air show takes off with fighter jets, attack drones

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Zhuhai, China — Stealth fighter jets and attack drones took center stage as China’s largest air show officially opened on Tuesday, an opportunity for Beijing to showcase its growing military might to potential customers and rivals alike. China has poured resources into modernizing and expanding its aviation capabilities as it faces off against the United States and others around regional flashpoints like Taiwan. Record numbers of Chinese warplanes have been sent around the self-ruled democratic island, which Beijing claims as its territory, over the past few years. The star of Airshow China, which showcases Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sector everymore

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Voters in Oakland oust Mayor Sheng Thao just 2 years into her term

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OAKLAND, Calif. — Voters in Oakland, California, have ousted Mayor Sheng Thao just two years after she narrowly won office to lead the liberal San Francisco Bay Area city. The Associated Press called the race Monday. “Thank you for choosing me to serve as your Mayor. As the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American City, it has been the honor of my lifetime,” she said in a statement last week. She committed to ensuring a smooth transition. Thao must vacate the office as soon as election results are certified Dec. 5 and the Oakland Citymore

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Trump breaks Republican losing streak in nation’s largest majority-Arab city

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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 110,000 residents are of Arab descent, Vice President Kamala Harris received over 2,500 fewer votes than Trump, who became the first Republican presidential candidate since former President George W. Bush in 2000 to win the city. Harris also lost neighboring Dearborn Heights to Trump, who inmore

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Young Black, Latino men say they chose Trump because of economy, jobs

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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, especially tax cuts.  “I am a blue-collar worker,” Leija said. “So, tax breaks for small businesses are ideal for what I do.”  For DaSean Gallishaw, a consultant in Fairfax, Virginia, a vote for Trump was rooted in what he saw as Democrats’ rhetoric not matching theirmore

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California voters reject measure to ban forced prison labor

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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 that prisoners are often paid less than $1 an hour for labor such as fighting fires, cleaning cells and doing landscaping work at cemeteries. The failed Proposition 6 was included in a package of reparations proposals introduced by lawmakers this year as part of an effortmore

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Harris appears with Biden for first time since election loss

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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 seen in public since her Nov. 6 speech in which she conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump.   Democrats, facing a painful reckoning over their drubbing, have begun soul-searching internal discussions — and some not-so-private blaming — over what caused Harris’s loss, with somemore

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California Trump supporters celebrate victory

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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. …

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Web Summit kicks off in Lisbon as tech leaders weigh Trump’s return

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LISBON, PORTUGAL — Lisbon will this week play host to Europe’s biggest annual tech conference, Web Summit, where industry leaders and lawmakers will weigh the pros and cons of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Senior executives from firms such as Apple, Microsoft, and Meta will join high-ranking officials from Europe for debates about the future of artificial intelligence, social media regulation, and the impact a second Trump presidency may have on the continent. Trump has previously promised he could end the war between Ukraine and Russia within 24 hours of taking office. Days after Trump’s re-election, two senior Ukrainianmore

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Trump pressures candidates for Senate Republican leader to fill Cabinet quickly

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WASHINGTON — Days before Senate Republicans pick their new leader, President-elect Donald Trump is pressuring the candidates to change the rules and empower him to appoint some nominees without a Senate vote. Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida are running in a secret ballot election Wednesday to lead the GOP conference and replace longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who is stepping aside from the job after almost two decades. All three have courted Trump’s support in the race, vying to show who is the closest to the president-elect as they campaignmore

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Donald Trump’s US presidential victory was sweeping 

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Washington — In the end, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s 2024 national election for a new four-year presidential term in the White House was sweeping. Ahead of the Nov. 5 election, national polling showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a slight edge over Trump, maybe a percentage point or two, depending on the survey. Harris, the Democratic candidate, and Trump, a Republican, were virtually deadlocked, the surveys indicated, in seven political battleground states that election analysts viewed as critical to the election outcome. Trump, however, captured all seven states, leading to his lopsided edge in the state-by-statemore

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A Texas border county backed Democrats for generations; Trump won it decisively

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RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas — Jorge Bazán’s family has lived on the U.S.-Mexico border for generations and voted for Democrats as long as he can remember. He broke the family tradition this year and voted for Donald Trump because he doesn’t trust the Democratic Party’s economic policies. “I think they forgot about the middle class,” said Bazán, who works for the utility company in Rio Grande City, seat of the most Hispanic county in the nation. “People are suffering right now. Everything’s very expensive.” The South Texas region — stretching from San Antonio to the Rio Grande Valley — has longmore

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Trump says Haley, Pompeo will not join his administration

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Washington — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be asked to join his administration.  “I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump posted on social media. “I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our country.”  Trump is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his January 20 inauguration as president. Reutersmore

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Why AP called Arizona for Trump

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WASHINGTON — The Associated Press declared President-elect Donald Trump the winner in Arizona on Saturday night after vote updates in Maricopa and other counties added to his overall lead, putting the state out of reach for Vice President Kamala Harris. At the time the AP called the race at 9:21 p.m. ET, Trump led Harris, 52.6% to 46.4%, a margin of about 185,000 votes. Harris needed to win about 7 out of every 10 votes of the roughly 443,000 uncounted ballots remaining, a percentage that has steadily grown as additional votes were counted. Trump has now swept all seven of themore

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Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona

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Washington — Donald Trump won the state of Arizona in this week’s U.S. presidential election, U.S. TV networks projected on Saturday, completing the Republican’s sweep of all seven swing states. After four days of counting in the southwest state with a large Hispanic population, CNN and NBC projected Trump had obtained its 11 electoral votes as he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris. Outgoing President Joe Biden scored a narrow but crucial victory in Arizona in 2020 that condemned Trump to defeat after his first term in office. The scale and strength of Trump’s comeback, which also saw the real estate tycoonmore

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Record 13 women will be governors next year in US

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The election of Republican Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire’s governor means 13 women will serve as a state’s chief executive next year, breaking the record of 12 set after the 2022 elections. Governors hold powerful sway in American politics, shaping state policy and often using the experience and profile gained to launch campaigns for higher offices. “It matters to have women in those roles to normalize the image of women in political leadership and even more specifically in executive leadership, where they’re the sole leader, not just a member of a team,” said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at themore

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Lithuanian defense minister proposes ways for smoother relations between Europe, Trump

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PRAGUE — European nations should not repeat the mistake of creating a barrier between them and President-elect Donald Trump but instead cooperate on issues of common interest, Lithuania’s defense minister said Saturday. Assuming that Trump will again apply what Laurynas Kasciunas called “his contract approach to our relations,” Kasciunas outlined areas where Europe and the new president could join forces: more investment in defense, European acquisition of American weapons and cooperation on containing China and Iran. “What we did a little bit wrong last time when he was elected [by defeating] Hillary Clinton, and it was unexpected, we built against himmore

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Biden, Trump will meet in Oval Office Wednesday, White House says

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WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with President-elect Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday after Biden pledged an orderly transfer of power following the Republican’s decisive election victory.     Biden and Trump will meet at the Oval Office at 11:00 a.m., the White House said Saturday, with the clock ticking down to the ex-president’s return to power in January.  Trump sealed a historic comeback to the White House in the November 5 election, cementing what is set to be more than a decade of U.S. politics overshadowed by his often divisive politics.  The 78-year-old won widermore

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