Biden sets record by commuting sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug charges 

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Washington — President Joe Biden announced Friday that he was commuting the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, using his final days in office on a flurry of clemency actions meant to nullify prison terms he deemed too harsh. 

The recent round of clemency gives Biden the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. The Democrat said he is seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice.” 

“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said in a statement. “This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars.” 

The White House did not immediately release the names of those receiving commutations. 

Still, Biden said more could yet be coming, promising to use the time before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday to “continue to review additional commutations and pardons.” 

Friday’s action follows Biden’s commutations last month of the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. That was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. 

All of this comes as Biden continues to weigh whether to issue sweeping pardons for officials and allies who the White House fears could be unjustly targeted by Trump’s administration. Though presidential pardoning powers are absolute, such a preemptive move would be a novel and risky use of the president’s extraordinary constitutional power. 

Last month, Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. Trump has vowed to roll back that order after his term begins. 

Biden also recently pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations but for any potential federal offense committed over an 11-year period, as the president feared Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other offenses. 

If history is any guide, meanwhile, Biden also is likely to issue more targeted pardons to help allies before leaving the White House, as presidents typically do in some of their final actions. 

Just before midnight on the final night of his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed a flurry of pardons and commutations for more than 140 people, including his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black and ex-members of Congress. 

Trump’s final act as president in his first term was to announce a pardon for Al Pirro, ex-husband of Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro, one of his staunchest defenders. Al Pirro was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2000. 
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VOA Russian: Soviet-born designer builds his first hypercar in California

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Sasha Selipanov, a well-known car designer, was born in the Soviet Union but at 17 moved to the U.S. In California, he mastered the skill of designing high-end cars, creating vehicles for Lamborghini and Bugatti among others. He showed VOA Russian the concept of his first hypercar, which he is building in Los Angeles.

Click here for the full story in Russian. 
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VOA Russian: Moscow unhappy about Armenia’s partnership with US

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As the U.S. and Armenia signed a strategic partnership agreement in Washington this week, experts say the Kremlin is slowly losing one of its few remaining allies. While Moscow says that Armenia’s distancing itself from Russia will bear consequences, the Armenian government is trying to steadily chart a pro-Western path. 

Click here for the full story in Russian. 

 
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Росія випустила по Україні 50 безпілотники та дві ракети «Іскандер-М» протягом ночі – військові

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Повітряні сили підтверджують збиття 33 ударних БПЛА у кількох областях, 9 дронів були втрачені, ще один безпілотник полетів у напрямку Румунії
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Chinese economic growth among slowest in decades

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BEIJING — China recorded one of its slowest rates of economic growth in decades last year, data showed Friday, as leaders nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Beijing has in recent months announced its most aggressive support measures in years in a bid to reignite an economy that has suffered on multiple fronts, including a prolonged property market debt crisis and sluggish consumer spending.

But the economy grew 5% last year, official data from Beijing’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday, slightly above the 4.9% forecast in an AFP survey of analysts.

Still, the figure was lower than the 5.2% recorded in 2023.

The growth took place in the face of a “complicated and severe environment with increasing external pressures and internal difficulties,” the NBS said.

The economy was still facing “difficulties and challenges,” officials admitted.

Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer sentiment, rose 3.5% — a major slump from the 7.2% growth seen in 2023 — though industrial output increased 5.8%, from 4.6% the previous year.

However, the 5.4% jump in economic growth seen in the final four months far outpaced the 5% forecast in a Bloomberg survey and was much better than the same period in 2023.

The data provided “mixed messages,” Zhiwei Zhang, president of Pinpoint Asset Management, said.

Beijing’s recent policy shift had “helped the economy to stabilize in (the fourth quarter), but it requires large and persistent policy stimulus to boost economic momentum and sustain the recovery,” he said.

Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said she expected growth to “continue accelerating in the coming months.”

“The government’s property support measures seem to be providing some relief, with the pace of house price falls slowing and new home sales showing some recovery,” she said.

Trouble ahead?

The GDP growth rate is the lowest recorded by China since 1990, excluding the financially tumultuous years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the analysts surveyed by AFP estimated growth could fall to just 4.4% in 2025, and even drop below 4% the following year.

China has so far failed to rebound from the pandemic, with domestic spending mired in a slump and indebted local governments dragging on growth.

In a rare bright spot, official data showed earlier this week that exports reached a historic high last year.

But gathering storm clouds over the country’s massive trade surplus mean Beijing may not be able to count on overseas shipments to boost an otherwise lackluster economy.

Trump, who will begin his second term next week, has promised to unleash heavy sanctions on China.

“We still expect growth to slow for 2025 as a whole, with Trump likely to follow through on his tariff threats soon and persistent structural imbalances still weighing on the economy,” Huang said.

Beijing has introduced a series of measures in recent months to bolster the economy, including cutting key interest rates, easing local government debt and expanding subsidy programs for household goods.

Confidence ‘crisis’

Observers were closely watching Friday’s data release for signs those measures succeeded in reviving activity.

“With a package of incremental policies being timely rolled out … social confidence was effectively bolstered and the economy recovered remarkably,” the NBS said.

China’s central bank has indicated in recent weeks that 2025 will see it implement further rate cuts, part of a key shift characterized by a “moderately loose” monetary policy stance.

But analysts warn more efforts are needed to boost domestic consumption as the outlook for Chinese exports becomes more uncertain.

“Monetary policy support alone is unlikely to right the economy,” Harry Murphy Cruise of Moody’s Analytics told AFP.

“China is suffering from a crisis of confidence, not one of credit; families and firms do not have the confidence in the economy to warrant borrowing, regardless of how cheap it is to do so,” he wrote.

“To that end, fiscal supports are needed to grease the economy’s wheels.”

One component of Beijing’s newest policy toolbox is a subsidy scheme — now expanded to include more household items including rice cookers and microwave ovens — that it hopes will encourage spending.

But recent data shows that government efforts have not yet achieved a full rebound in consumer activity.

China narrowly avoided a slip into deflation in December, statistics authorities said last week, with prices rising at their slowest pace in nine months.

China emerged from a four-month period of deflation in February, a month after suffering the sharpest fall in prices for 14 years.

Deflation can pose a threat to the broader economy as consumers tend to postpone purchases under such conditions, hoping for further reductions. 
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Британія ініціює переговори з Польщею щодо угоди для оборони від «російської агресії»

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«Крім того, країни працюватимуть разом, щоб зупинити банди, які незаконно перевозять людей, та захистити нашу інфраструктуру», йдеться в повідомленні
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Inaugural balls, protests planned in Washington

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washington — Washington has been bracing for lots of things this week, including several more days of frigid temperatures and hordes of people and police for the presidential inauguration and related protests around the city next week.

Officials said this week that they expected about 250,000 ticketed people to descend on the U.S. capital as Donald Trump takes the oath of office as president again. He last served from 2017 to 2021.

Fewer visitors are expected for next Monday’s ceremony than were present at Trump’s first inauguration, local and federal officials said at a press conference. In 2017, they prepared for more than 1 million people.

Temperatures are expected to be particularly low in Washington on Monday. The temperature at noon, when Trump will be sworn in, is predicted to be in the low 20s F, which is about 20 degrees below normal.

Enhanced security

Even though a lower turnout is expected this time around, recent acts of violence — like the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans — mean there will be an enhanced security presence, the officials said.

On Inauguration Day, 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel will be in the District of Columbia to provide security, including the full activation of D.C. police, 7,800 National Guard troops and about 4,000 officers from around the country, according to William McCool, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office.

Leading up to the inauguration, Washington will be home to both celebratory events and protests.

A Trump victory rally is planned for Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena, where the Village People, an American band, will perform.

The arena has 20,000 seats, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the company that operates the arena, told a D.C. news station.

The company said in a statement to News4 that the arena has been offered to every administration, “irrespective of party,” for decades.

“We are happy that President Trump has accepted our offer, and we will welcome him and his guests to Capital One Arena on January 19,” the statement said.

While there will be three official inaugural balls, more than a dozen unofficial inaugural balls are scheduled throughout the weekend in Washington.

However, protests are scheduled, too.

On Saturday, a demonstration called the People’s March is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to downtown Washington. The demonstration is organized by various civil rights, racial justice and reproductive health groups.

“As Trump assumes the presidency in January, we are gathering to mobilize our collective power and stand against his efforts to roll back our rights and freedoms,” Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, said in a statement.

On Monday, the Answer Coalition’s National Day of Action will feature a rally and march, according to media reports.

 

Accustomed to crowds

Washington officials said they’re used to managing crowds and protests.

“Here in the city, we allow peaceful protests all the time,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a press conference this week. “But when it comes to violating the law, we’re just not going to tolerate it.”

On Monday night, after the inauguration, Trump is expected to shuttle among the three official inaugural balls.

But inauguration celebrations won’t be limited to Washington.

For instance, in Florida, where Trump resides at his Mar-a-Lago resort, the pro-Trump Villages M.A.G.A. Club is hosting an inaugural party on Monday evening, about 60 miles northwest of Orlando. The celebration has already sold out, according to an Eventbrite listing advertising the party.
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US CDC recommends faster testing for bird flu in hospitalized patients

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People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency’s efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans. 

The advisory is intended to prevent delays in identifying human cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses amid high levels of seasonal influenza. 

The risk to the general public from bird flu is low, and there has been no further evidence of person to person spread, the agency said. 

Still, influenza A-positive patients, particularly those in an intensive care unit, should be tested ideally within 24 hours of hospitalization to identify the viral subtype and determine whether they have bird flu, the agency said. 

Prior to Thursday’s guidance, hospitals generally sent batches of samples to labs for subtyping every few days. 

Faster testing also aims to help doctors identify how people became infected and provide their close contacts with testing and medicine more quickly, if needed, said Nirav Shah, the agency’s principal deputy director, on a call with reporters. 

The CDC does not believe it has been missing bird flu infections in people, Shah said. No surveillance system detects 100% of cases, he added later. 

“The system is working as it should,” said Shah, adding that health officials want results sooner in case any public health action is needed. “What we need is to shift to a system that tells us what’s happening in the moment.” 

Nearly 70 people in the United States, most of them farmworkers, have contracted bird flu since April, as the virus has circulated among poultry flocks and dairy herds. Three people have tested positive without a clear source of exposure to the virus, according to CDC. 

Most infections in humans have been mild, but one fatality was reported in Louisiana last week. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has more than 300 personnel working on its bird flu response and has spent $1.5 billion on its efforts to curb the spread among poultry and dairy cattle, said Eric Deeble, a deputy undersecretary at the agency. 

The USDA last week said it would rebuild a bird flu vaccine stockpile for poultry. 

USDA officials have met several times with the transition team of the incoming Donald Trump administration to try to ensure a smooth handoff on agency actions to curb the spread of the virus, including a tabletop exercise at the White House on Wednesday, Deeble said. 

Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services, which encompasses CDC, also have repeatedly met with the transition team on Zoom calls and have shared their bird flu playbook, officials said on the press call.  

HHS said on Thursday it plans to put $211 million toward mRNA-based vaccine technology to better respond to emerging infectious diseases such as bird flu.  
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US Customs agents intercept contraband cars headed overseas

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SPARROWS POINT, MARYLAND — Most Americans and visitors to the United States encounter Customs and Border Protection agents when they enter or return to the country at land crossings or airports. But CBP also is responsible for inspecting goods leaving the country, which creates a nearly impossible assignment of trying to intercept all stolen automobiles being shipped out of the U.S.

At the Port of Baltimore, CBP scrutinizes several hundred vehicles every day, and on average will find one illegal export — nearly all headed to a particular region of the world, says Adam Rottman, CBP’s director at the Port of Baltimore. He acknowledges that CBP has neither the time nor manpower to inspect every shipping container.

“I’d say 90 to 95% of every one of our stolen automobiles is headed to West Africa,” he tells VOA.

Alex Piquero, a professor of criminology at the University of Miami, said, “There are people who are stealing cars and car parts to sell them very quickly in the local markets. And then there are people literally stealing cars and putting them on containers and selling them, shipping them all over the world, not just to Africa, but also to the Middle East and to Asia.”

On any given day at the Port of Baltimore, CBP’s manifest of seized vehicles resembles the inventory of a small used car lot: a Kia purchased fraudulently at auction in New Jersey is bound for Ghana; a Mercedes-Benz valued at $48,000, purchased with a stolen identity in Ohio, is slated for shipment to Togo; a $75,000 Ford Raptor inside a container with one or two additional stolen vehicles and boxes of new power tools is headed for West Africa.

Rottman peeks inside one container for which no vehicles are listed.

“It’s supposed to be only household goods in there,” he says. “In this example, there’s at least three, probably four cars in that container.”

Rottman walks to another container opened for inspection.

“This container, we just opened today. The vehicle on the top there, that Honda, we’ve already verified through the VIN (vehicle identification number) that the car is stolen. There’s two [vehicles], more in the back,” he says.

CBP operates giant mobile X-ray trucks, the VACIS M6500s, which in minutes can scan shipping containers and determine if they should be opened for a closer inspection.

A growing problem

Auto theft is a problem accelerating across the United States. While the early part of the 2010s saw a decline in vehicle thefts, there has been a notable increase since 2020, influenced by factors that include the coronavirus pandemic and social media videos demonstrating how certain car models can easily be stolen.

The criminals frequently rent cars for a 30-day period and immediately drive them into a nearby container and paste a fake VIN over the real one. The car will not be reported stolen by the rental agency for a month. By then, it may already be on a ship.

Rottman stands in front of the container that has the expensive Ford Raptor inside.

“They’ll take the VIN number on the dashboard on your windshield. They’ll make a fake VIN. They’ll put it over the top, glue it on, so it would come up [on computer databases] clean, or it’s not on file when we look it up,” he explains. “But right away, we noticed the checked digit on the VIN doesn’t match what’s supposed to be on a Ford truck.”

For some buyers in Africa or on other continents, unwittingly acquiring a car stolen in the U.S. may seem like a good deal, but some of the vehicles are known to have been in accidents and could be unsafe, including airbags that no longer work.

“You could be putting your family members in danger by driving some of these stolen cars,” says Rottman.

There is also a moral hazard.

“When they purchase a car like this that’s been stolen, they’re funding these transnational criminal organizations. And criminal organizations are willing to do anything to make money,” Rottman says, noting that such activities by car theft gangs include human trafficking, drug smuggling and even terrorism.

Authorities in some African countries are working with Interpol and other transnational law enforcement agencies to seize some of the stolen vehicles that slip through American ports.

Cooperation is not consistent because of government corruption in some countries.

“Some governments will play nicer, and other governments won’t, and you can’t search every container. And that’s why the security at the port is so critically important,” Piquero of the University of Miami told VOA.

With so many buyers seeking a deal on a used car — often with no questions asked — there is unlikely to be a slowdown anytime soon in the global traffic of stolen vehicles.
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Brazilian court denies Bolsonaro’s request to travel to Trump inauguration

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SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by former President Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily restore his passport so that he could attend the inauguration in Washington of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump next week.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who Bolsonaro frequently has called his personal foe, said in the ruling that Bolsonaro currently holds no position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president did not adequately prove to the court that he had been invited.

Federal police seized Bolsonaro’s passport last February because he was considered a flight risk. He is the subject of several wide-ranging investigations, including over an alleged attempt to stay in office despite his electoral defeat. He denies the allegations against him.

The former Brazilian president requested permission to leave the country from Jan. 17 to 22 to attend the inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20 and a Hispanic inaugural ball. Bolsonaro, an outspoken admirer of Trump, said on his social media channels on Jan. 8 that he was “very happy with this invitation.”

“I’ll be representing the conservative, the right-wing, the good, the Brazilian people there in the United States, God willing,” Bolsonaro said.

His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press after the court ruling.

When de Moraes asked Bolsonaro’s lawyers for evidence of his invitation on Saturday, they forwarded an invitation letter signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.

Still, de Moraes argued that Bolsonaro had not adequately proven that he was invited to the inauguration. In the ruling, de Moraes followed the recommendation of Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who said Wednesday that Bolsonaro’s private interest in the trip did not outweigh the public interest in prohibiting from traveling abroad.

De Moraes said Bolsonaro remains a flight risk and added that he has advocated that his supporters who face legal troubles in cases involving their political allegiance should leave the country and seek asylum. Hundreds of Bolsonaro’s supporters involved in the Jan. 8, 2023, riots in capital Brasilia have left Brazil to avoid prosecution.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will not attend Trump’s inauguration.

Federal police seized Bolsonaro’s passport during a raid related to the investigation into whether he and top aides plotted to ignore the 2022 election results and stage an uprising to keep the defeated right-wing leader in power.

Brazil’s Supreme Court previously has denied a Bolsonaro request to retrieve his passport, in March 2024, following an invitation from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November, federal police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including high-ranking military officers, of attempting a coup. Gonet, the prosecutor-general, will decide whether to charge Bolsonaro or toss the investigation.

Legal experts believe Bolsonaro could be charged and stand trial in the second half of 2025 at the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also say there’s a reasonable chance he stands trial before 2026 over allegedly embezzling jewels gifted by Saudi Arabian authorities.

The former president denies that he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his leftist opponent, Lula.

The Brazilian ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Viotti, will attend Trump’s inauguration, the government told The Associated Press on Thursday. President Lula was not officially invited to the ceremony.

Trump has invited some global leaders to his inauguration, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentinian President Javier Milei.
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US Treasury nominee Scott Bessent faces sharp questions from Democrats at confirmation hearing

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury nominee Scott Bessent on Thursday faced sharp questions from Democrats on tax policy, tariffs, China, Russia sanctions and the future of an IRS tax filing system that Republicans have called to be cut. 

Bessent sat in front of the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, where he told lawmakers that President-elect Donald Trump has an opportunity to unleash “a new economic golden age.” 

He was introduced by a fellow South Carolinian, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said the U.S. needs a treasury secretary “who knows what he’s doing, has the trust of the president and loves his country.” Graham added: “Your ship came in with this guy.” 

But Democrats, including senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Michael Bennet of Colorado, expressed frustration that Trump’s promise to extend provisions of his 2017 tax cuts would benefit the wealthiest taxpayers and add to the growing national debt that has surpassed $36 trillion. 

Bennet assailed Bessent for shedding “crocodile tears” over the debt and spending, while the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act drove up the debt. “There’s so many things I think you owe the American people after we have seen the catastrophe” from the tax cuts. 

Bessent is a billionaire who, before becoming a Trump donor and adviser, donated to various Democratic causes in the early 2000s, notably Al Gore’s presidential run. He also worked for George Soros, a major supporter of Democrats. 

In his testimony, Bessent committed to maintaining the IRS’s Direct File program — which allows taxpayers to file their returns directly to the IRS for free — at least for the 2025 tax season, which begins Jan. 27. Republican lawmakers say the program is a waste of money because free filing programs already exist, although they are not popular. 

Bessent was one of several people Trump considered for the position. Trump took his time before settling on Bessent as his nominee. He also mulled over billionaire investor John Paulson and Howard Lutnick, whom Trump tapped as his nominee for commerce secretary. 

The treasury secretary is responsible for serving as the president’s fiscal policy adviser and managing the public debt. He would also be a member of the president’s National Economic Council. 

If confirmed, Bessent will oversee massive agencies within the Treasury Department, including the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS received a massive boost in funding from Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, though that money has been in constant threat of being cut. 

Trump expects him to help reset the global trade order, enable trillions of dollars in tax cuts, ensure inflation stays in check, manage a ballooning national debt and still keep the financial markets confident. 

“Productive investment that grows the economy must be prioritized over wasteful spending that drives inflation,” Bessent testified. 

Senators were expected to question the money manager for hours on his views on cryptocurrency, the Trump-era tax cuts and potential conflicts of interest. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, a member of the finance committee, sent Bessent more than 100 written questions in advance, interrogating him on such topics as agency independence, housing, treasury workforce issues and financial stability oversight. 

In addition, Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee are circulating a document that alleges Bessent has avoided paying roughly $1 million in taxes related to his hedge fund. He will be asked about this during his hearing. 

Bessent has backed extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which Trump signed into law in his first year in office. Estimates from various economic analyses of the costs of the various tax cuts range from nearly $6 trillion to $10 trillion over 10 years. 

He calls for spending cuts and shifts in existing taxes to offset the costs that extending the tax cuts would add to the federal deficit.
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Повітряні сили створили комісію, яка вивчає переведення військовослужбовців в інші роди ЗСУ

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У Повітряних силах зазначили, що ухвалили рішення щодо недопущення переведення військовослужбовців дефіцитних спеціальностей в інші роди та види ЗСУ
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