Політика

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Thomas Homan, his one-time acting immigration chief, to serve as “border czar” and fulfill his campaign vow to deport large numbers of undocumented migrants, potentially millions, back to their home countries.

Trump said on his Truth Social media platform late Sunday that the 62-year-old Homan would be “in charge of our Nation’s Borders,” south to Mexico and north to Canada. He added that he has “no doubt” that Homan “will do a fantastic, and long-awaited for, job.”

“I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders,” Trump wrote.

Trump is also set to appoint another immigration hard-liner, Stephen Miller, as deputy chief of staff for policy, U.S. news media reported.

“This is another fantastic pick by the president,” Vice President-elect JD Vance said of the prospect of Miller joining Trump’s nascent administration. 

In another appointment, Trump named one of his staunchest Republican advocates in Congress, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, to serve as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, calling her “an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”

Stefanik, 40, arrived in the House of Representatives in 2015 as a political moderate but over time has emerged as a vocal Trump defender. 

She drew national attention last year for her sharp questioning of Ivy League university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses in the wake of student protests against Israel’s conduct of its war on Hamas militants. Two of the academics, the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, stepped down in the fallout from the hearing.

Homan’s appointment as “border czar” does not require Senate confirmation. He served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, from January 2017 to June 2018 during Trump’s first presidential term but left in frustration when the White House failed to push his nomination toward the required confirmation in the Senate.

Homan, a former police officer and Border Patrol agent, subsequently became a Fox News analyst on immigration and border issues.

Hours after his appointment, Homan on Monday told the “Fox & Friends” show: “I’ve been on this network for years complaining about what [President Joe Biden’s] administration did to this border. I’ve been yelling and screaming about it and what they need to do to fix it.”

“So, when [Trump] asked me, ‘Would you come back and fix it?’ Of course. I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t,” he said. “I’m honored the president asked me to come back and help solve this national security crisis, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Trump recaptured the White House in last week’s election after repeatedly telling thousands of his supporters at campaign rallies that he would round up undocumented migrants in the U.S. – perhaps 11 million or more – and send them back to their home countries.

“We’re going to have to seal up those borders,” Trump often said, claiming that other countries had emptied their prisons and mental health hospitals so migrants could flee to the U.S. He said the migrants in the U.S. are now causing a crime wave. Government statistics show that no such massive increase in crime has occurred.

In addition, immigration officials two months ago told Congress that more than 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide — either in the United States or abroad — are living in the U.S. outside of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention.

The immigrants are part of ICE’s “non-detained” list of migrants in the United States.  

Officials told Congress that means the migrants have pending immigration cases in the U.S., but they are not currently in detention either because they are not prioritized for detention, they are serving time in a jail or prison for their crimes, or because ICE cannot find them.

In another interview, Homan told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” show that military troops would not be used to round up and arrest undocumented immigrants.

ICE, he said, would work to carry out Trump’s plans in a “humane manner” in what will be a “necessary” and “well-targeted, planned operation.” 

Another Trump advocate, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, told CNN’s “State of the Union” show on Sunday that deportation efforts would first focus on 1.3 million migrants who have already had court hearings and been rejected for asylum in the U.S., with Homeland Security agents and local police arresting them. 

Asked whether 3.6 million children who entered the U.S. with their undocumented parents and have been living for years in the U.S. should also be deported, Jordan said, “That question will be addressed later on.” 

Advocates for these migrants, now often young adults, call them “Dreamers,” and some U.S. lawmakers have, unsuccessfully so far, attempted to put them on a path to U.S. citizenship.

In his first term, Trump had pledged to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it. Some of the wall was built but Mexico paid for none of it.

In addition, he sought to deport millions of immigrants but fell far short for lack of government financing, legal challenges brought by advocates of migrants and a public outcry over deportation tactics, including the separation of migrant children from their parents, a policy that Homan advocated.

During his tenure as the acting ICE chief, Homan pushed back against allegations that enforcement agents acted too aggressively. In the past, Homan has praised Trump for “taking the shackles” off ICE agents by allowing them to make a broader range of immigration arrests in the U.S. interior.

Homan told CBS News’s “60 Minutes” last month that, as the government has for decades, any mass deportation would prioritize the arrest of criminals and national security threats.

But he also said that anyone in the United States illegally could be returned on flights back to their home countries. He said he would restart raids on workplaces to find people employed illegally in the United States and deport them.

The Biden administration had ended such raids, which Homan said made it easier for employers to hire unauthorized workers, including children.
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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 some pointing to Biden’s initial insistence on running again at age 81, despite having promised to be a bridge president to the next generation.

Criticism of Harris herself has been more muted, and Biden heaped praise on Harris last Thursday in a televised White House address.  

Earlier Monday, Biden hosted veterans at the White House to mark the holiday before heading to Arlington, the final resting place of two presidents, generals from all major U.S. wars, and thousands of other military personnel.  

Biden and Harris, both dressed in dark suits, placed their hands on their hearts before participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  

The president was to deliver remarks at the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater.

The ceremony comes ahead of Biden hosting Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

The Republican has begun naming loyalists to his new administration. He announced he is bringing a hard-line immigration official, Tom Homan, back into the fold to serve as his so-called “border czar,” and congresswoman Elise Stefanik to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump himself has long claimed he is a fierce supporter of America’s military, but he has made a series of controversial comments about veterans.  

His longest-serving White House chief of staff, retired general John Kelly, has said the Republican leader privately disparaged U.S. service members, including describing those who died or were imprisoned defending America as “suckers” and “losers.”  

Trump denies the accusation.  

But the soon-to-be 47th president has been on record expressing contempt for late American war hero and senator John McCain, who spent years in a Hanoi prison during the Vietnam war.
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За даними Синєгубова, з 10 вересня евакуювали понад 5 300 жителів на Куп’янському напрямку і 1 181 місцевого жителя із Борівського напрямку Харківщини
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«Серед ушпиталених четверо дітей. Двоє з них – чотирирічний хлопчик та 17-річний юнак – у важкому стані»
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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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Anna Wiebe moved to the United States from Ukraine 25 years ago. Four of her Ukrainian relatives fled the country and joined her after Russia invaded in 2022. They settled in North Carolina. But then Hurricane Helene arrived. Rafael Saakov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Aleksandr Bergan.
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Підрозділи РФ «намагаються витіснити наші війська та просунутись вглиб території, яку ми тримаємо під контролем», заявив головнокомандувач
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Загалом війська РФ випустили 74 ударних дрони типу Shahed та невстановленого типу з російських Курська, Приморсько-Ахтарська, Орла та Брянська
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After working at a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien brought home with her anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A bouncy labradoodle and a Kansas City-area program helped her get back on her feet.

Dogs 4 Valor, operated through the Olathe, Kansas-based organization called The Battle Within, helps retired veterans and first responders work with their service dogs to help manage depression, anxiety and other challenges.

“A lot of times the veteran with severe PTSD is homebound,” said Sandra Sindeldecker, program manager for Dogs 4 Valor. “They’re isolated. They’re very nervous. They won’t make eye contact. Some won’t leave the house at all.”

The program involves both group and one-on-one training. The goal is to get the veteran and the dog comfortable with each other and understanding each other. The group takes outings to help the veterans regain their footing in public places like airports. Program leaders also provide mental health therapy at no cost.

The veterans and dogs graduate in six to nine months, but group gatherings continue.

O’Brien, 40, recalled that the camp where she worked in Iraq sometimes had over 20,000 detainees. Violence and rioting were common and it left her with severe anxiety.

“When I got out of the military, I just assumed that you’re supposed to be on edge all the time as a veteran,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien’s mother spotted the frisky lab-poodle mix on Facebook and convinced her daughter to adopt the dog she named Albus. Months later, O’Brien learned about Dogs 4 Valor, and the pair joined the program in October 2023.

Now, O’Brien said she can get back out in public — she even went on vacation to Branson, Missouri, “things that I never would have thought I would do really, probably ever again.”

Mark Atkinson, 38, served in Afghanistan as a corporal in the Marine Corps. He returned home with PTSD and major depressive disorder, causing sleeplessness and anxiety. He adopted Lexi, now 5, in 2020.

Lexi, a muscular cane corso breed, needed Atkinson as much as he needed her. Her previous owner had kept Lexi on chains before surrendering her. Since joining Dogs 4 Valor, the two can get out together and enjoy life.

“I don’t really like leaving the house because I’m safe there, you know?” Atkinson said. “And having Lexi has just made me get out to be more social.”

Having a group of fellow veterans facing the same challenges has also helped, Atkinson said.

“We come from the same backgrounds, different branches,” Atkinson said. “Same issues. You know, PTSD or traumatic brain injuries. And they’re all very welcoming as well. There’s no judgment.”

O’Brien compared living with Albus to a relationship with a sometimes pushy best friend who often wants to go out.

“The best friend constantly wants to make you do things that make you nervous,” O’Brien laughed, acknowledging that it is ultimately up to her.

“I have to decide to walk out and just deal with life,” O’Brien said. “And so that has been hard. And it still is hard from time to time, but it’s it’s getting manageable.”

Some veterans said their family relationships have improved since they started the program.

“I’m able to talk, not fly off the handle and just get along with people and not be as stressed, not have as much anxiety,” Atkinson said. “Or even if I do, she (Lexi) is right there with me.”

Timothy Siebenmorgen, 61, said his relationships also are better with help from his 1-year-old American bulldog, Rosie, and Dogs 4 Valor, which he joined in July. He served in both the Marines and Army, deploying 18 times.

“You’re in the military, kind of taught not to show weakness,” Siebenmorgen said. “So you figure you can tackle everything yourself and you honestly believe that. And then you realize you can’t do it on your own.”

Veterans said the dogs, and the program, have given them new hope and a renewed ability to move forward.

“I got my life back,” O’Brien said.
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Baku, Azerbaijan — The annual U.N. climate summit kicks off Monday with countries readying for tough talks on finance and trade, following a year of weather disasters that have emboldened developing countries in their demands for climate cash.

Delegates gathering in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku are hoping to resolve the summit’s top agenda item – a deal for up to $1 trillion in annual climate finance for developing countries.

The summit’s negotiating priorities, however, are competing for governments’ resources and attention against economic concerns, wars in Ukraine and Gaza and last week’s U.S. re-election of Donald Trump, a climate-change denier, as president of the world’s biggest economy.

COP29 host Azerbaijan will be tasked with keeping countries focused on agreeing to a new global finance target to replace the current $100 billion pledge expiring this year.

The Caspian Sea nation, often proud of being home to the world’s first oil wells, will also be under pressure to show progress from last year’s COP28 pledge to transition away from fossil fuels.

The country’s oil and gas revenues accounted for 35% of its economy in 2023, down from 50% two years prior. The government says these revenues will continue to decline, to roughly 32% of its GDP this year and 22% by 2028.

Before the summit talks can even begin, countries will need to agree on an agenda by consensus – including an 11th-hour proposal by China to bring trade disputes into the mix.

The Chinese proposal – made on behalf of the fast-developing “BASIC” group of countries including Brazil, India and South Africa – asked for the summit to address “restrictive trade measures” such as the EU’s carbon border tariffs going into effect in 2026.

Those concerns have been compounded by Trump’s campaign promise to impose 20% tariffs on all foreign goods – and 60% on Chinese goods.

China’s request showed it was flexing power following Trump’s re-election, which signaled the United States’ likely disengagement from global climate cooperation, said Li Shuo, director of China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

Trump has called climate change a hoax and vowed to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the global treaty to reduce planet-warming emissions.

The European Union, along with current U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, have been pressing China and Gulf oil nations to join the pool of climate finance donor countries.

“If the EU wants to talk about climate finance with China, if it wants to talk NDCs, part of the conversation should be how to resolve our differences on trade and your tariffs,” Shuo said.

Extreme pressure

With this year on track to be the hottest on record, experts noted that climate extremes were now challenging rich and poor countries alike – from flooding disasters in Africa, coastal Spain and the U.S. state of North Carolina, to drought gripping South America, Mexico and the U.S. West.

Most countries are not prepared.

“Election results don’t alter the laws of physics,” said Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president for international strategies at the nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

“Unless the world collectively steps up its efforts, the impacts of climate change will become increasingly severe and frequent and will be felt by an increasing number of people in all countries, including in the United States.”

Many in Baku were worried that a U.S. disengagement could lead other countries to backpedal on past climate pledges or to scale back future ambitions.
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Manchester, England — Taylor Swift came out top at the 2024 MTV EMAs on Sunday, walking away with best artist, best U.S. act, best live act and best video for “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone). 

Swift, who is currently finishing up her Eras tour on the other side of the Atlantic, thanked the fans for the bounty of prizes via video message. 

The U.K. show opened with an acrobatic Benson Boone suspended in the air on a gold grand piano performing his viral hit “Beautiful Things” and latest release “Slow it Down.” Boone also accepted his first EMA for best new act. 

South African newcomer Tyla gave Swift a run for her money picking up three awards for best afrobeats, best R&B and best African act. 

Tyla performed her smash hit “Water” for the EMA audience at the Co-op Live, Manchester, flanked by a host of dancers, as well as singing energetic new track “Push 2 Start.” 

British singer Rita Ora, who hosted the show for a record third time, paid tribute to former One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a balcony in Buenos Aires. 

Ora had a close relationship with the singer and the pair recorded a song together in 2018, “For You (Fifty Shades Freed).” She addressed the audience saying, “I want to take a moment to remember someone. Liam Payne was one of the kindest people I knew.” Her voice broke as she asked the crowd to take a moment to remember Liam saying, “He had the biggest heart and he left such a mark on this world.” 

Hip-hop legend Busta Rhymes was awarded the EMAs global icon award from British rapper Little Simz telling the crowd that in 34 years of professionally recording this was his first award from MTV and it felt incredible. The 12-time Grammy Award nominee, who has more than 10 million album sales under his belt, performed a mega medley of his greatest hits “Break ya Neck,” “Touch it” and “Put Your Hands Where the Eyes can See” accompanied by dancers wearing tracksuits with giant dragon heads. 

Shawn Mendes gave an intimate and heartfelt performance and also received the award for best Canadian act. Sabrina Carpenter picked up the honors for best song for her hit “Espresso,” while Ariana Grande was crowned best pop act and Eminem took away best hip hop act. 

U.K. duo Pet Shop Boys were honored with the inaugural Pop Pioneers Award for their contribution to pop music and closed out the show accompanied by local orchestra Manchester Camerata with a cover of David Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes” followed by their iconic hit “West End Girls” in celebration of the song’s 40th anniversary. 

Other performers on the night included K-Pop quintet Le Sserafim, Mexican singer and rapper Peso Pluma, English singer and songwriter Raye, multi-platinum singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes, American powerhouse Teddy Swims, Mexican rock sisters the Warning. 

LL Cool J, Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, mother-and-daughter musicians Neneh Cherry and Mabel and TV and film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith and Lucien Laviscount all presented awards. 
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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 campaign to become majority leader.

Trump has not endorsed any candidate in the race, but Sunday he made clear that he expects the new leader to go around regular Senate order, if necessary, to allow him to fill his Cabinet quickly. In a statement on X and Truth Social, Trump said that the next leader “must agree” to allow him to make appointments when the chamber is on recess, bypassing a confirmation vote.

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump posted, adding that positions should be filled “IMMEDIATELY!”

The Senate has not allowed presidents to make so-called recess appointments since a 2014 Supreme Court ruling limited the president’s power to do so. Since then, the Senate has held brief “pro-forma” sessions when it is out of town for more than 10 days so that a president cannot take advantage of the absence and start filling posts that have not been confirmed.

But with Trump’s approval paramount in the race, all three candidates quickly suggested that they might be willing to reconsider the practice. Scott replied to Trump, “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible.” And Thune said in a statement that they must “quickly and decisively” act to get nominees in place and that “all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments.”

Cornyn said that “It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump ‘s cabinet appointments. If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent.” He noted that recess appointments are allowed under the Constitution.

The social media exchange Sunday became a first test for the three candidates since Trump was decisively elected last week to a second term.

Trump’s relationship with Congress — especially the advice and consent role afforded to the Senate when it comes to nominations — was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers. With Trump now entering a second term emboldened by his sweeping election victory, he is already signaling that he expects Senate Republicans, and by extension, their new leader, to fall in line behind his Cabinet selections.

Trump also posted Sunday that the Senate should not approve any judges in the weeks before Republicans take power next year — a more difficult demand to fulfill as Democrats will control the floor, and hold most of the votes, until the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3. Trump posted that “Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.”

With days to go, the race for Senate Republican leader is deeply in flux.

Thune and Cornyn are both well-liked, longtime senators who have served as deputies to McConnell and have been seen as the front-runners, despite past statements criticizing Trump. Scott — a longtime friend of Trump’s and fierce ally — has been seen as more of a longshot, but he has mounted an aggressive campaign in recent days on social media and elsewhere with the aim of getting Trump’s endorsement.

Senators who are close to Trump, such as Mike Lee of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida, have endorsed Scott, as have tech mogul Elon Musk and other people who have Trump’s ear.

“We have to be the change,” Scott said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “That’s what Donald Trump got elected to do, to be the change.”

All three candidates are promising that they will be more open and transparent than McConnell was and that they would give senators more power to get their priorities to the floor. They have also tried to make clear that they would have a much different relationship with Trump than McConnell, who once called the former president a “despicable human being” behind closed doors.

As the Senate haggles over how to fill Trump’s Cabinet, many of his allies are campaigning for the nominations. Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said on ABC’s “This Week” that there are “a couple of great options on the table.” Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2019, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that one of his greatest honors was to represent the Trump administration overseas. He said he would advance “the positions that President Trump has articulated.”

“I’ll do that in whatever role necessary,” said Hagerty, who has endorsed Scott in the leadership race.

While Trump has made only one personnel move public so far, naming Susie Wiles his chief of staff, he has already ruled out two names for top positions.

Trump said Saturday that he would not be inviting Mike Pompeo, his former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA chief, and Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who served as his U.N. ambassador and challenged him for the Republican nomination. Pompeo rallied with Trump on the night before Election Day.

“I very much enjoyed and appreciated working with them previously, and would like to thank them for their service to our Country,” Trump posted on his network Truth Social.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., reposted on X a message by podcaster Dave Smith suggesting to put pressure to “keep all neocons and war hawks out of the Trump administration.”

“The ‘stop Pompeo’ movement is great, but it’s not enough,” Smith posted on X. “America First: screw the war machine!”
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Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden will discuss top domestic and foreign policy priorities with President-elect Donald Trump when the two meet Wednesday, and will urge him not to abandon Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday.

Republican Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Biden invited Trump to come to the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.

In an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” show, Sullivan said Biden’s top message will be his commitment to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and he will also talk to Trump about what’s happening in Europe, in Asia and the Middle East.

“The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking about taking on these issues when he takes office,” Sullivan said.

While Sullivan did not specify which topics the two would discuss, their conversation will almost certainly feature Ukraine’s war with Russia, which Trump has pledged to end swiftly, although he did not say how.

“President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” Sullivan said.

When asked if that means Biden will ask Congress to pass legislation to authorize more funding for Ukraine, Sullivan deferred.

“I’m not here to put forward a specific legislative proposal. President Biden will make the case that we do need ongoing resources for Ukraine beyond the end of his term,” Sullivan said.

Ukraine funding

Washington has provided tens of billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February of 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and rallied against with other Republican lawmakers.

Sullivan’s comments came as Ukraine attacked Moscow on Sunday with at least 34 drones, the biggest drone strike on the Russian capital since the beginning of the war.

Trump insisted last year that Russian President Vladimir Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if he had been in the White House at the time. He told Reuters Ukraine may have to cede territory to reach a peace agreement, something the Ukrainians reject, and Biden has never suggested.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he was not aware of any details of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war quickly and that he was convinced a rapid end would entail major concessions for Kyiv.

According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress appropriated over $174 billion to Ukraine under Biden. The pace of the aid is almost sure to drop under Trump with Republicans set to take control of the U.S. Senate with a 52-seat majority.

Control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the next Congress is not yet clear with some votes still being counted. Republicans have won 213 seats, according to Edison Research, just shy of the 218 needed for a majority. If Republicans win both chambers, it will mean most of Trump’s agenda will have a significantly easier time passing through Congress.

Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally who is considered a top contender for secretary of state, criticized U.S. funding for Ukraine in a CBS interview.

“The American people want sovereignty protected here in America before we spend our funds and resources protecting the sovereignty of another nation,” Hagerty said.

The 2-1/2-year-old war in Ukraine is entering what some officials say could be its final act after Moscow’s forces advanced at the fastest pace since the early days of the war.

Any fresh attempt to end the war is likely to involve peace talks of some kind, which have not been held since the early months of the war.

Moscow’s forces occupy around a fifth of Ukraine. Russia says the war cannot end until its claimed annexations are recognized. Kyiv demands all of its territory back, a position that has largely been supported by Western allies.
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Lost Hills, California — In a sprawling plant in the heart of California’s farmland, millions of shells rush down a metallic chute and onto a conveyor belt where they are inspected, roasted, packaged and shipped off to groceries around the world.

Pistachios are growing fast in California, where farmers have been devoting more land to a crop seen as hardier and more drought-tolerant in a state prone to dramatic swings in precipitation. The crop generated nearly $3 billion last year in California and in the past decade the United States has surpassed Iran to become the world’s top exporter of the nut.

“There has been an explosion over the last 10 or 15 years of plantings, and those trees are coming online,” said Zachary Fraser, president and chief executive of American Pistachio Growers, which represents more than 800 farmers in the southwestern U.S. “You are starting to see the fruit of people’s vision from 40 years ago.”

California grows more than a third of the country’s vegetables and three quarters of its fruit and nuts, according to state agricultural statistics. Pistachios have surged over the past decade to become the state’s sixth-biggest agricultural commodity in value ahead of longtime crops such as strawberries and tomatoes, the data shows.

Much of the crop is headed to China, where it is a popular treat during the Lunar New Year. But industry experts said Americans also are eating more pistachios, which were rarely in grocery stores a generation ago and today are a snack food found almost everywhere. They are sold with shells or without and flavors range from salt and pepper to honey roasted.

The Wonderful Co., a $6 billion agricultural company known for brands such as Halo mandarins and FIJI Water, is the biggest name in pistachios. The company has grown pistachios since the 1980s, but it ramped up in 2015 after developing a rootstock that yields as much as 40% more nuts with the same soil and water, said Rob Yraceburu, president of Wonderful Orchards.

Now, Wonderful grows between 15% and 20% of the U.S. pistachio crop, he said. Its pistachio orchards stretch across vast tracts of dust-filled farmland northwest of Los Angeles also lined with pomegranates and dairies. The trees are shaken each fall and the nuts hauled to a massive processing facility to be prepped for sale.

“There is an increasingly growing demand in pistachios,” Yraceburu said. “The world wants more.”

Pistachios are poised to weather California’s dry spells better than its even bigger nut crop, almonds, which generated nearly $4 billion in the state last year, industry experts said.

Pistachio orchards can be sustained with minimal water during drought, unlike almonds and other more sensitive crops. The trees also rely on wind instead of bees for pollination and can produce nuts for decades longer, Yraceburu said.

Many California farmers who grow both nuts are applying lessons learned from almonds to the pistachio boom. Almond production, which is much bigger than pistachio, also soared in California, but prices fell amid a glut of post-pandemic supply while farmers grappled with drought and rising input costs, leading some to not replant aging orchards when it came time to take them out.

Pistachio growers say they hope to avoid a similar fate and are striving to keep demand for the nut ahead of supply. For example, American Pistachio Growers recently inked an endorsement deal with a top cricket player in India hoping to help promote pistachios there, Fraser said.

The rise of pistachios is part of California farmers’ shift into perennial crops commanding higher returns than products such as cotton, according to a 2023 report by the Public Policy Institute of California.

Perennial crops, which are not replanted annually, can’t just be swapped out during dry years, which can be challenging during extensive drought, said Brad Franklin, a research fellow at the institute’s Water Policy Center.

But pistachios have benefits other perennial crops don’t. They can go longer without water and grow in saline soils. That may make them appealing to California farmers who are facing limits on how much groundwater they can pump under a state law aimed at conserving the critical resource, he said.

When farmers decide what to plant, “I think the biggest thing is the market and where is the market,” Franklin said. “And water is right below that.”

Farmers across California are bracing for the impact of the 2014 state law aimed at ensuring a more sustainable use of groundwater after years of over pumping depleted basins and eroded water quality in some rural areas. About a fifth of California’s pistachio crop is grown in areas that rely exclusively on groundwater for irrigation, Yraceburu said, adding he expects some of these orchards will eventually come out of production.

But over the next few years, pistachio acreage is expected to continue to grow in the state as trees planted in recent years come into production. That is in contrast to almond and walnut acreage, which are stabilizing or declining as orchards are being pulled out, said David Magana, a senior analyst at Rabobank in Fresno, California.

Pistachios require about 3,700 cubic meters (3 acre-feet) of water per 0.4 hectares (acre) compared with nearly 4 acre-feet (4,934 cubic meters) for almonds and produce more per acre than almonds while fetching a higher price, he said.

“You see all the value the pistachio industry is providing to California agriculture is approaching that of almonds with a lot less acreage,” Magana said. “I haven’t seen pistachio orchards being pulled out.”
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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-state vote count in the Electoral College, 312 to 226, which determines the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. The number needed to clinch the presidency is 270. He won the seven battleground states by a range of just under 1% in Wisconsin to more than 6% in Arizona.

On January 20, 2025, the 78-year-old Trump will take office as the country’s 47th president and the first president to win two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in the 1890s. He is the oldest elected president in U.S. history.

Trump also won the popular vote, the first Republican candidate to do so since former President George W. Bush in 2004.

While the last ballots are still being counted, Trump already is the clear winner, capturing nearly 75 million votes so far to just under 71 million for Harris, a 50.5% to 47.9% edge for Trump.

Trump’s 2024 vote tally was about the same as the 74 million he received in losing the 2020 election to Democratic President Joe Biden, but the vote for Harris was about 10 million fewer than Biden received.

U.S. pollsters often like to say their surveys are just a snapshot in time, and not necessarily predictive.

But over Trump’s three runs for the presidency since 2016, his level of support has consistently been underestimated in polling, no matter how many times pollsters have tried to adjust their published results to account for a hidden Trump vote from people unwilling to tell even anonymous surveyors that, yes, when they went to polling centers or cast mail-in ballots, he was their choice.

Exit polls showed that women voters favored Harris and men Trump. More educated voters went for Harris, while those without college degrees voted for Trump, but nearly two-thirds of Americans do not have a college degree.

In amassing his majority vote, Trump cut into two traditional Democratic constituencies, Black and Latino voters.

According to The Associated Press’ VoteCast survey of voters, 16% of Black voters supported Trump in 2024, double that from his 2020 campaign. In comparison, 83% of Black voters supported Kamala Harris, down from the 91% who supported Biden in 2020.

Democrats also lost ground among Latino voters, with 56% voting for Harris in 2024 compared to 63% for Biden in 2020. Trump’s support grew from 35% four years ago to 42% this year.
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Washington — Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.

What to expect on immigration under a new Trump administration

President-elect Donald Trump put immigration at the front of his campaign agenda, pledging to bring what he calls “unprecedented order” to the southern border and launch the nation’s largest mass deportation operation of undocumented immigrants on his first day in office. VOA immigration reporter Aline Barros has more.

US judge rules against Biden legalization program for immigrant spouses

A U.S. judge in Texas ruled Thursday against President Joe Biden’s program offering a path to citizenship for certain immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, a blow that could keep the program blocked through Biden’s final months in office. U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker found the program exceeded Biden’s executive authority. The program offers a path to citizenship to about 500,000 immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally if they are married to U.S. citizens. Reuters reports.

After election, Kenya-born legislator heads to Minnesota Capitol

Huldah Momanyi Hiltsley made history November 5 by becoming the first Kenya-born immigrant elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. She describes her victory as a testament to resilience, determination and the realization of the American dream. Standing in the State Capitol for the first time on the morning of her orientation, Hiltsley told VOA she was overwhelmed with emotions and eager to start her journey as an elected official. Produced by Abdushakur Aboud.

Families separated by US-Mexico border reunite for a few precious minutes

Nearly 200 families gathered Saturday along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border for heartfelt but brief reunions with loved ones they had not seen for years because they live in different countries. Tears flowed and people embraced as Mexican families were allowed to reunite for a few minutes at the border with relatives who migrated to the U.S. Adults and children passed over the Rio Grande to meet with their loved ones. The Associated Press reports.

Immigration around the world

Migrant caravan of 3,000 heads north in Mexico

A caravan of approximately 3,000 migrants set off Tuesday from southern Mexico, headed toward the United States on the day when U.S. voters were deciding between U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Immigration has been a key issue in the U.S. election campaign. Before heading northward, the migrants gathered in Tapachula, the capital of the southern Chiapas state, carrying banners with messages such as “NO MORE MIGRANT BLOOD” and images of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an important religious and cultural symbol in Mexico, according to witnesses. Reuters reports.

Ukrainian physicians find homes – and jobs – in Latvia

More than 160,000 Ukrainians fled their home country and headed to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since the Russian invasion. Physicians were among the 50,000 or so refugees who went to Latvia. Vladislavs Andrejevs spoke with some of them in Riga. Anna Rice narrates his story.

Israel notifies UN it will not cooperate with UN agency for Palestinian refugees

Near-universal concern and condemnation have followed Israel’s formal announcement to the United Nations that it will not cooperate with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, after Israel’s parliament voted to cut ties last week. In Washington, at the U.N. and on the ground, officials and residents are raising alarms over the disintegrating humanitarian situation in Gaza and elsewhere. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.

News brief

— Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Leonard Darnell George, 42, of San Diego was sentenced in federal court Oct. 25 to 23 years in prison for accepting bribes to allow unauthorized migrants and vehicles containing methamphetamine and other illicit drugs to pass through the border into the U.S.
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WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia — A Virginia museum has nearly finished restoring the nation’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children, where hundreds of mostly enslaved students learned to read through a curriculum that justified slavery. 

The museum, Colonial Williamsburg, also has identified more than 80 children who lined its pinewood benches in the 1760s. 

They include Aberdeen, 5, who was enslaved by a saddle and harness maker. Bristol and George, 7 and 8, were owned by a doctor. Phoebe, 3, was the property of local tavern keepers. 

Another student, Isaac Bee, later emancipated himself. In newspaper ads seeking his capture, his enslaver warned that Bee “can read.” 

The museum dedicated the Williamsburg Bray School at a large ceremony on Friday, with plans to open it for public tours this spring. Colonial Williamsburg tells the story of Virginia’s colonial capital through interpreters and hundreds of restored buildings. 

‘An amazing mirror’

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch told the crowd outside the refurbished school that it was one of the most important historic moments of the last decade. 

“History is an amazing mirror,” Bunch added. “It’s a mirror that challenges us and reminds us that, despite what we’ve achieved, despite all our ideals, America still is a work in progress. But, oh, what an amazing work it is.” 

The Cape Cod-style home was built in 1760 and still contains much of its original wood and brick. It will anchor a complicated story about race and education, but also resistance, before the American Revolution. 

The school rationalized slavery within a religious framework and encouraged children to accept their fates as God’s plan. And yet, becoming literate also gave them more agency. The students went on to share what they learned with family members and others who were enslaved. 

“We don’t shy away from the fact that this was a pro-slavery school,” said Maureen Elgersman Lee, director of William & Mary’s Bray School Lab, a partnership between the university and museum. 

But she said the school takes on a different meaning in the 21st century. 

“It’s a story of resilience and resistance,” Lee said. “And I put the resilience of the Bray School on a continuum that brings us to today.” 

To underscore the point, the lab has been seeking descendants of the students, with some success. 

They include Janice Canaday, 67, who also is the museum’s African American community engagement manager. Her lineage traces back to the students Elisha and Mary Jones. 

“It grounds you,” said Canaday, who grew up feeling little connection to history. “That’s where your power is. And those are the things that give you strength — to know what your family has come through.” 

Franklin’s idea

The Bray School was established in Williamsburg and other colonial cities at the recommendation of founding father Benjamin Franklin. He was a member of a London-based Anglican charity that was named after Thomas Bray, an English clergyman and philanthropist. 

The Bray School was exceptional for its time. White leaders across much of Colonial America forbade educating enslaved people, fearing literacy would encourage them to seek freedom. 

The white teacher at the Williamsburg school, a widow named Ann Wager, taught an estimated 300 to 400 students, whose ages ranged from 3 to 10. The school closed with her death in 1774. 

The schoolhouse became a private home before it was incorporated into William & Mary’s growing campus. The building was moved and expanded for various purposes, including student housing. 

Historians identified the structure in 2020 through a scientific method that examines tree rings in lumber. Last year, it was transported to Colonial Williamsburg, which includes parts of the original city. 

The museum and university have focused on restoring the schoolhouse, researching its curriculum and finding descendants of former students. 

The lab has been able to link some people to the Jones and Ashby families, two free Black households that had students in the school, said Elizabeth Drembus, the lab’s genealogist. 

But the effort has faced steep challenges: Most enslaved people were stripped of their identities and separated from their families, so there are limited records. And only three years of school rosters have survived. 

They ‘weren’t considered people’

Drembus is talking to people in the region about their family histories and working backward. She also is sifting through 18th-century property records, tax documents and enslavers’ diaries. 

“When you’re talking about researching formerly enslaved people, records were kept very differently because they weren’t considered people,” Drembus said. 

Researching the curriculum has been easier. The English charity cataloged the books it sent to the schools, said Katie McKinney, an associate curator of maps and prints at the museum. 

Materials include a small spelling primer, a copy of which was located in Germany, that begins with the alphabet and moves on to syllables, such as “Beg leg meg peg.” 

Students also received a more sophisticated speller, bound in sheepskin, as well as the Book of Common Prayer and other Christian texts. 

Meanwhile, the schoolhouse has been mostly restored. About 75% of the original floor has survived, allowing visitors to walk where the children and teacher placed their feet. 

Canaday, whose familial roots include two Bray School students, wondered on a recent visit if any of the children “felt safe in here, whether they felt loved.” 

Canaday noted that the teacher, Wager, was the mother of at least two kids. 

“Did some of her mothering bleed over into what she showed those children?” Canaday said. “There are moments when we forget to go by the rules and humanity takes over. I wonder how many times that happened in these spaces.”
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