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PENTAGON — President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $24 billion to support Ukraine and replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles, two U.S. officials tell VOA, as the administration continued Monday to push out new aid packages from the last congressionally approved funds for Kyiv before Biden leaves office on January 20.

Officials who have seen the administration’s request, on condition of anonymity to discuss its details, told VOA, that the new support would include $16 billion to restock U.S. weapons under the Pentagon’s presidential drawdown authority (PDA), along with $8 billion to manufacture weapons under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which focuses on supplying Kyiv’s long-term defense needs.

“This funding not only supports Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty and degrades Russian military capabilities but also strengthens U.S. military readiness by modernizing our weapons systems and making direct investments in our defense industrial base,” a U.S. defense official told VOA on Monday.

The Biden administration submitted aid for Ukraine in an anomaly funding bill that also includes spending on other matters rather than in a separate supplemental funding request.

“We defer to Congress to determine the most appropriate vehicle for addressing this urgent need,” one official said.

News of the latest request was first reported by Politico.

Some Republicans are already opposing the request.

“Any Biden funding demands should be DOA (dead on arrival),” Senator Mike Lee posted on X.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who will determine whether the bill is brought to a vote in the form proposed by the White House, wrote on X that funding decisions “are for the incoming administration, not the outgoing lame duck President.”

“The American people resoundingly elected President [Donald] Trump because he promised to bring an end to wars, not prolong them indefinitely,” Johnson added.

The aid request follows vows from Biden administration officials to seek additional aid approval from Congress for 2025. Last week, the Biden administration also informed Congress of its intention to forgive $4.65 billion worth of Ukrainian debt.

The U.S. announced Monday it was sending another military aid package to Ukraine valued at up to $725 million, its 71st tranche of equipment from Department of Defense inventories for Kyiv since August 2021. Monday’s PDA included air defense capabilities, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, and anti-tank weapons.

The package is the latest round of aid stemming from a $61 billion assistance bill for Kyiv that was approved by Congress in April after several months of delays. The Biden administration still has more than $8 billion in funding from previous aid packages to give to Ukraine.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov on Monday to discuss battlefield dynamics and U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, according to the Pentagon.

During his call with Umerov, Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, along with its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which the Pentagon called “another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.

The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.

Democratic Assembly member Jesse Gabriel on Monday introduced legislation to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to potential attacks by the Trump administration on state policies regarding civil rights, climate change, immigration and abortion access.

“While we always hope to collaborate with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values from any unlawful action by the incoming Trump Administration,” Gabriel said in a statement.

California sued the first Trump administration more than 120 times to various levels of success. 

“We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference.

Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.

Trump called the Democratic governor “New-scum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, homeless population and thicket of regulations.

Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies.

Before the special session was set to begin, state lawmakers swore in more than two dozen new members and elected leaders for the 2025 legislative session.

Hundreds of people also demonstrated around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump’s mass deportation plans. They carried banners that said “Not one cent for mass deportation” and “MAGA out of California.”

“With the results of the presidential election, we need our state elected officials to use every tool and every resource they have available to them to protect our immigrant Californians,” protester Deborah Lee said.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigrant population, while Newsom last week unveiled a proposal to revive a rebate program for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates a federal tax credit for people who buy electric cars. Newsom is also considering creating a backup disaster relief fund for the wildfire-prone state after Trump’s threats.

Bonta announced legislation Monday aimed at bolstering reproductive rights in the state, including by allowing the attorney general to seek monetary penalties against local governments that infringe on those rights. The proposals are part of the state’s efforts to safeguard against threats to abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. Representative Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt, said California should work with the incoming Trump administration instead.

“Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the concerns of Californians who disapprove of the direction of our state and country,” Fong said in a video on social media.

Legislators also are expected to spend the year discussing ways to protect dozens of laws expected to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one that has made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions who live in states where such practices have been severely limited. 

California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to mandate that by 2035 all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in California be electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids. The state also extends state-funded health care to all low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.

Newsom hasn’t provided details about what actions the lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump’s inauguration day, January 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said.
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Consumers in the United States are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to take advantage of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon with Cyber Monday.

Even though e-commerce is now part of many people’s regular routines and the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday — a term coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation — has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to the deals and the hype the industry has created to fuel it.

Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expects consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on Monday, 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season’s — and the year’s — biggest shopping day for e-commerce.

Online spending is expected to peak between the hours of 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday, per Adobe — reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute.

For several major retailers, a Cyber Monday sale is a dayslong event that began over the Thanksgiving weekend. Amazon kicked off its sales event right after midnight Pacific time Saturday. Target’s two days of discount offers on its website and app began overnight Sunday. Walmart rolled out its Cyber Monday offers for Walmart+ members Sunday afternoon and opened it up to all customers three hours later, at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Consumer spending for Cyber Week — the five major shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday — provides a strong indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.

Many U.S. consumers continue to experience sticker shock following the period of post-pandemic inflation, which left prices for many goods and services higher than they were three years ago. But retail sales nonetheless have remained strong, and the economy has kept growing at a healthy pace.

At the same time, credit card debt and delinquencies have been rising. More shoppers than ever are also on track to use “buy now, pay later” plans this holiday season, which allows them to delay payments on holiday decor, gifts and other items.

Many economists have also warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs next year on foreign goods coming into the United States would lead to higher prices on everything from food to clothing to automobiles.

The National Retail Federation expects holiday shoppers to spend more this year both in stores and online than last year. But the pace of spending growth will slow slightly, the trade group said, growing 2.5% to 3.5% — compared to 3.9% in 2023.

A clear sense of consumer spending patterns during the holiday season won’t emerge until the government releases sales data for the period. But some preliminary data from other sources shows some encouraging signs for retailers.

Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, notes that discounts from Thanksgiving onward have “exceeded expectations” — and online spending throughout Cyber Week is on track to cross a record $40 billion mark combined.

U.S. shoppers spent $10.8 billion online on Black Friday, a 10.2% increase over last year, according to Adobe Analytics. That’s also more than double what consumers spent in 2017, when Black Friday pulled in roughly $5 billion in online sales. Consumers also spent a record $6.1 billion online on Thanksgiving Day, Adobe said.

Meanwhile, software company Salesforce, which also tracks online shopping, estimated that Black Friday online sales totaled $17.5 billion in the U.S. and $74.4 billion globally. And Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks in-person and online spending, reported that overall Black Friday sales excluding automotive rose 3.4% from a year ago. The retail sales indicator, which is not adjusted for inflation, showed online sales jumped by double-digits while in-store purchase rose a modest 0.7%.

E-commerce platform Shopify said its merchants raked in a record $5 billion in sales worldwide on Black Friday. At its peak, sales reached $4.6 million per minute — with top categories by volume including clothing, cosmetics and fitness products, according to the Canadian company.

Toys, electronics, home goods, self-care and beauty categories were among the key drivers of holiday spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, according to Adobe. “Hot products” included Lego sets, espresso machines, fitness trackers, makeup and skin care.

Other data showed physical stores saw fewer customers on Black Friday, underscoring how the huge crowds that were once synonymous with the day after Thanksgiving are now more than happy to shop from the comfort of their homes.

RetailNext, which measures real-time foot traffic in stores, reported that its early data showed store traffic on Friday was down 3.2% in the U.S. compared to last year, with the biggest dip happening in the Midwest.

While physical items like toys and electronics are always popular around the holidays, experts note that consumers have turned to more “experience-driven spending” in recent years, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic waned.

Adobe notes that shoppers are also buying higher-ticket items this season — with consumers opening their wallets to invest or “trade up” to more premium versions of products like electronics, appliances and sporting goods.
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Washington — The United States announced new export restrictions Monday taking aim at China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors — used in weapon systems and artificial intelligence  as competition intensifies between the world’s two biggest economies.

“The United States has taken significant steps to protect our technology from being used by our adversaries in ways that threaten our national security,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in a statement.

He added that Washington will keep working with allies and partners to “to proactively and aggressively safeguard our world-leading technologies and know-how.”

The latest rules include a restriction of exports to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier Technology.

They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the Commerce Department.

“We are constantly talking to our allies and partners as well as reassessing and updating our controls,” added Under Secretary of Commerce for industry and security Alan Estevez.

The latest announcement also includes controls on two dozen types of chipmaking equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.
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Nairobi — After promising to visit Africa two years ago at the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, President Joe Biden makes his first presidential trip to the continent where he is visiting Angola with a quick stop in Cabo Verde. Analysts in Africa say the trip should’ve come sooner and some are asking why Angola is the primary destination – given its troubling human rights record.

White House officials say President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting the continent after a promise he made in 2022. But some analysts tell VOA that Biden’s trip, which comes weeks before he steps down, would’ve had more weight if he had done it earlier.  

Louw Nel, senior political analyst for Oxford Economics Africa, spoke to VOA from South Africa. 

“I think his trip is less significant than it would’ve been otherwise just because of the fact that he withdrew as presidential candidate and, of course, now [is] not returning for a second term. So, it really feels like an afterthought to his presidency,” said Nel. 

After a short stop in the island nation of Cabo Verde off Africa’s northwestern coast, President Biden heads south to Angola.  

There, officials say he plans to focus on U.S. leadership on trade, investment, and infrastructure in Africa. He’ll also recognize Angola’s President João Lourenço’s regional leadership and global partnership on trade, security, and health. 

More importantly, President Biden will highlight one of his signature initiatives, the investment of the Lobito Corridor — a regional railway project linking natural resource-rich areas stretching from the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.  

The corridor is part of a wider joint effort between multiple partners aimed at closing the infrastructure gap in growing economies around the world, officials say.  

Dr. Frances Brown, special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, speaking about the broader benefits associated with the project. 

“What I found really notable about the Lobito Corridor is that it isn’t just about a railroad or critical minerals. It’s also about the communities that are strengthened along the way, it’s about more access to education, it’s about agricultural products moving to market, and it’s about increases in digital connectivity,” said Brown.

Last year, U.S.-Angola trade totaled approximately $1.77 billion, making Angola America’s fourth-largest trade partner in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Angola has vast mineral deposits and is Africa’s third largest oil producer. But according to Amnesty International, the country’s natural resource wealth has not translated to prosperity for most of its people, resulting in numerous peaceful protests against poverty, unemployment and high cost of living.  

Nel says some Angolans may see a benefit with this Biden visit. 

“Many ordinary Angolans will recognize that Angola desperately needs to diversify its economy, and this is an enormous opportunity to do so, to move away from oil and gas and bolster other parts of the economy and it has massive potential,” said Nel.  

But others including human rights campaigners and opposition parties, Nel says, will feel aggrieved by President Biden’s visit because they see the Lourenco administration as being rewarded despite growing concerns about the shrinking space for independent civil society organizations and freedom of expression.  

In a new report, Amnesty International said that anyone who publicly criticizes the Lourenço government risks arrest. And “if human rights are central to President Biden’s foreign policy, then he must demand Angola’s government immediately …free arbitrarily detained government critics.”   

Adriano Nuvunga, who runs the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, echoes that sentiment.  

“I commend the people of Angola and president Lourenço for hosting President Biden. It means a lot for the people of Angola. While I commend them, I would also want to encourage President Biden to ask those tough questions to President João Lourenço,” said Nuvunga. “We have a number of human rights defenders in Angola that are detained unjustly, unfairly for doing nothing. They are languishing in jails, some of them in critical conditions,” said Nuvunga.  

Nuvunga hopes that this could be addressed during this trip.  
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Зокрема, суд стягнув будівлі та споруди господарського комплексу в Приморську Запорізької області, повідомив Мін’юст
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Внаслідок атаки на Криворізький район у вечері постраждали двоє людей, на Нікопольщині – один поранений
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Також у Вінницькій області троє студентів коледжу були затримані після підпалу регіонального відділення Укрпошти та релейної шафи
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Його звинуватили в передачі Україні дані про виліт «авіаційного комплексу радіолокаційного дозору та наведення» в січні 2024 року
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17 листопада війська РФ завдали масованого удару по території України
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Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden announced Sunday he pardoned his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing this month in two federal cases.

Biden had previously pledged not to take such action, but in a statement Sunday he said the move was in response to what he called selective and unfair prosecution.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said.

Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies in June for a 2018 gun purchase.  Prosecutors said he falsely claimed on a federal form to not be illegally using or addicted to drugs.

He also pled guilty in a case where he was accused of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.

The president’s action Sunday pardoned Hunter Biden in both cases, as well as any offense he “has committed or may have committed or taken part” between January 1, 2014 to January 1, 2024.

“I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction – mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” Hunter Biden said in a statement.

President Biden said in his statement that he hopes “Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”

“For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further,” Biden said.

President-elect Donald Trump criticized the move, calling it “such an abuse and miscarriage of justice.”

Trump, in the late stages of his first term in office, pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Other Trump pardons included his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and campaign aide George Papadopoulos.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters
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Уночі внаслідок удару російського дрона постраждав багатоквартирний будинок
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Тернопільська обласна військова адміністрація повідомила про одного загиблого
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ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced it fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy for the on-field melee at the end of the Wolverines’ win in Columbus on Saturday.

“Not only did the actions of both teams violate fundamental elements of sportsmanship such as respect and civility, the nature of the incident also jeopardized the safety of participants and bystanders,” the Big Ten said in a statement Sunday.

A fight broke out at midfield after the Wolverines’ 13-10 victory when Michigan players attempted to plant their flag on the OSU logo and were confronted by the Buckeyes.

Police used pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves. One officer suffered a head injury when he was “knocked down and trampled while trying to separate players fighting,” a police union official said. The officer was taken to a hospital and has since been released.

After the Ohio State players confronted their rivals at midfield, defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines’ flag and ripped it off the pole as the brawl moved toward the Michigan bench.

“We respect the Big Ten Conference’s decision in this matter,” Ohio State said in a statement. “What happened post-game yesterday was unfortunate. Good sportsmanship is always important in everything we do at Ohio State. Moving forward, we will continue to examine and address our post-game protocols to ensure our student-athletes, coaches, visiting teams and staff safely exit the field.”

Ohio State police said in a statement that “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.” Michigan players could be seen rubbing their eyes after exposure to the chemical irritant.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said after the game both teams could have handled the situation differently.

“So much emotions on both sides,” he said. “Rivalry games get heated, especially this one. It’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that better.”

A Michigan athletic department spokesman said Sunday night the football program would have no comment beyond the team’s remarks Saturday.

The scuffle was one of many that broke out Saturday in rivalry games across the country.
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Washington — President Joe Biden on Sunday had the AIDS Memorial Quilt spread on the White House South Lawn for the first time in observance of World AIDS Day.

Gathered with the president and his wife, Jill, were survivors, family members and advocates to memorialize the lives lost to the epidemic. The president emphasized the federal government’s support for the 1.2 million people in the United States living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can lead to AIDS.

“This movement is fully woven into the fabric and history of America,” Biden said. “For all the lives lost, for all those that are still alive, look at what you’ve already done to change the hearts and minds, to save lives across the country and around the world. That’s the power of this movement.”

There were 124 sections of the quilt on the lawn to commemorate people who died due to AIDS-related illnesses. Conceived in 1985, the quilt made its first public appearance in 1987. There was also a red ribbon, a symbol of support and awareness for those with HIV and AIDS, draped across the South Portico of the White House.

There are 40 million people around the world with HIV, according to the White House.

Introducing Biden was Jeanne White-Ginder, whose son, Ryan White, contracted AIDS through a tainted blood transfusion at the age of 13 and died in 1990 at the age of 18. She said her son’s experience taught America that “we needed to fight AIDS and not the people who have it.”

The Ryan White CARE Act became law in 1990, and White-Grinder recalled being at the U.S. Capitol to speak for the measure and met Biden when he was a senator from Delaware.

The president also saluted Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert until leaving the government in 2022, Fauci was in attendance at the event as he worked to treat AIDS, though he’s known by much of the country for his efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic that made him a target of criticism by many Republican lawmakers.

The Biden administration has sought to make investments to stop the epidemic, and the stigmas attached to people with HIV. Among other steps, it has worked to expand access to PrEP, or the pre-exposure prophylaxis, which at-risk populations use to prevent HIV infections.
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Donald Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel, a loyalist of the U.S. president-elect, to be director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has added to the list of Trump’s unconventional appointments to top-level jobs in his nascent administration.

Trump named Patel, 44, to lead the country’s top criminal investigative agency on late Saturday, saying he “is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and ‘America First’ fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending justice, and protecting the American people.”

Patel held three defense, intelligence and national security posts in the first Trump administration but has endeared himself to the incoming chief executive by vowing to clean out the “deep state” at the FBI. He also said he would launch a campaign of retribution against Trump’s adversaries, including FBI agents who have investigated the once-and-future president, journalists and others. 

During his first term, Trump suggested naming Patel as the deputy FBI director, but then-Attorney General William Barr, now a Trump critic, said the appointment would only occur “over my dead body.” 

Patel has vowed to close the FBI headquarters in Washington and dispatch many of its agents across the country to fight crime, not launch more intelligence-gathering operations.

Trump’s first hurdle in installing Patel as the FBI director is that there already is an FBI director, Christopher Wray, who was appointed by Trump and whose 10-year term extends to 2027.  

Trump would have to fire Wray or Wray would have to resign before Patel could take over. FBI directors are appointed to decade-long terms by design, so that their tenures and investigative directives are not subject to the political whims of the moment. But Trump already fired one FBI director, James Comey, in 2017, before naming Wray. 

Trump says the FBI is “badly broken” and has “lost the confidence of America.” 

Patel faces a Senate confirmation hearing and is likely to face tough questioning about how he would run the agency and oversee its more than 10,000 criminal investigative agents and another 25,000 staff members.  

Patel’s appointment comes on top of other unconventional Trump appointments: vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to oversee the health and human services department, talk show host Pete Hegseth, a decorated military officer with scant managerial experience, to be the Pentagon chief, and Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic-congresswoman-turned-staunch-Trump-defender, as director of national intelligence. 

Trump’s first nominee to be attorney general, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, dropped out after eight days as he faced widespread scrutiny of his alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use; charges Gaetz has denied.   

Some Republican senators praised Patel’s appointment. Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate next year, meaning Patel could lose the support of three senators and still be confirmed, with Vice President-elect JD Vance casting the decisive tie-breaking vote if needed. 

Senator Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Patel “represents the type of change that we need to see in the FBI. … The entire agency needs to be cleaned out.” 

“There are serious problems at the FBI,” Hagerty said. “The American public knows it. They expect to see sweeping change, and Kash Patel’s just the type of person to do it.”  

Another Republican senator, Ted Cruz of Texas, said Patel was a “very strong nominee” and he thought Patel would be confirmed. 

“All of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, all the people pulling their hair out, are exactly the people who are dismayed about having a real reformer come into the FBI,” Cruz told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

A third Republican, Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, said, “Every president wants people that are loyal to themselves.” But he called Wray “a very good man,” adding, “I don’t have any complaints about the way that he’s done his job right now.” 

Democrats are almost certain to oppose the nomination. 

Senator Chris Murphy told NBC, “Patel’s only qualification is that he agrees with Donald Trump that the Department of Justice should punish, lock up and intimidate Donald Trump’s political opponents.” 

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press.
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