Two of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s key nominations – Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former lawmaker Matt Gaetz as attorney general — have become embroiled in sex controversies that could threaten their Senate confirmations to serve in Trump’s Cabinet.  

 

Hegseth, 44, paid an undisclosed amount to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avert the threat of what he viewed as a baseless claim becoming public, his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told U.S. news media this weekend.

 

Gaetz, 42, resigned abruptly last week from the House of Representatives near the end of his fourth two-year term, just days before the House Ethics Committee was nearing conclusion of an investigation into whether he had had sex with a 17-year-old girl and engaged in illicit drug use. Some lawmakers have described Gaetz showing nude cellphone pictures of his sexual conquests in the House chamber.   

 

Gaetz has denied the allegations and federal authorities had earlier this year decided not to bring charges. 

Hegseth’s lawyer, Parlatore, described Hegseth’s hotel sexual encounter with the woman after a Republican women’s event in Monterey, California, in 2017 as consensual. Local police, after an investigation, did not file any charges.  

 

Parlatore told The Washington Post that Hegseth settled the woman’s claim a few years later because he believed the filing of her threatened lawsuit “would result in his immediate termination from Fox,” where he was the popular host of a weekend talk show.  

 

“He was falsely accused, and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail,” Parlatore told The Associated Press, calling it a case of “successful extortion.” The woman’s name has not been made public, and U.S. news media do not usually disclose the names of alleged sexual assault victims without their consent.  

 

Parlatore’s statements to news outlets came after a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser sent a detailed memo to the Trump transition several days ago detailing the Hegseth incident with his accuser. The accuser alleged that Hegseth had raped her after drinking at a hotel bar.

 

Trump so far has stood by Hegseth, an unconventional selection as the Pentagon chief.

 

Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about Hegseth’s lack of a managerial background, either at the Defense Department or at a business. The Pentagon chief would oversee more than 2 million U.S. troops and a civilian work force of nearly 800,000 people.  

 

In addition, some critics have raised concerns about a large tattoo on Hegseth’s upper right chest, which he characterizes as a Christian symbol, a “Jerusalem cross,” but what his critics say is a white nationalist symbol. Hegseth told one interviewer that he was removed by superiors from a National Guard detail handling security for President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 for fear that he was “an extremist” because of the tattoo.  

 

When the allegations against Hegseth first emerged, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung contended that Hegseth “has vigorously denied any and all accusations. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.” 

Even though voters in his Florida district had just reelected him to a fifth term, Gaetz resigned from his office Wednesday, ending the investigation.    

 

Several U.S. senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, are seeking access to the House Ethics Committee findings in the Gaetz investigation as they carry out their constitutionally mandated “advice and consent” role in reviewing Cabinet nominees made by an incoming president.  

 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the leader of the narrow Republican majority in the chamber, is balking at the release of what he told CNN’s “State of the Union” show was a report in “rough draft form.”  

 

Johnson contended that no ethics report should be made public because Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, although there have been instances where that has occurred in the past.  

 

He said senators reviewing the Gaetz nomination as the country’s top law enforcement official will “have a vigorous review and vetting process” but that they did not need to see the House Ethics Committee’s report. Some senators have suggested they could move to subpoena it if it is not turned over to them voluntarily.  

 

Trump has also stood by Gaetz’s nomination, but the president-elect also has sought – with little success so far – to get the Senate, in Republican control come January when he takes office, to agree to recess at times so he can name and install his Cabinet members without the need for contentious and time-consuming confirmation hearings.
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Memes, inspirational quotes, and even dance videos have brought President-elect Donald Trump to a new height of fame on Chinese social media since his election.

On Xiaohongshu, a media platform most similar to Instagram, the search term “Trump” shows more than 200,000 posts on the topic and 880 million views, with recent top posts each accruing more than 72,000 views and thousands of comments.

Videos of the president-elect dancing to the song YMCA by the band Village People have been circulating in Chinese cyberspace.

Many commenters find the content funny, calling him a jokester or comedian, while others view it as inspirational, seeing the older soon-to-be two-time American president as a role model.

Trump’s popularity stems from a kind of vitality and enthusiasm that he displayed throughout his campaign, analysts said, attracting many young Chinese who grew up looking up to more somber and rigid communist idols within their own country.

Videos of Elon Musk at a pre-election Trump rally have also made an impression on Chinese social media platform users. On these posts, commenters describe him as “a good kind of capitalist” and “someone who will make America strong.”

‘They need an idol’

These impressions come amidst a general malaise facing the Chinese economy that has sparked the young Chinese people to ‘lie flat’, meaning to cease striving for a better life in face of a competitive job market and other pressures.

One comment commonly posted under many Trump-related posts reads: “He is 78 years old, was hit by a bullet in the ear and bled profusely, was convicted of a felony and nearly sent to jail, had appealed over 60 times but still continued to work hard to find a job and found the best job for himself. What excuse do you have for not working hard?”

Liu, a writer from Jiangsu province, said Trump’s difficult path back to the presidency is precisely what inspires Chinese youth when compared to the traditional Communist Party heroes. Liu only gave his surname, because talking to foreign media is dangerous, he says.

“They need an idol who represents the possibility of individual success. Trump fits this image: he gets stronger with each setback, continually fights back, and still works hard even at an older age,” Liu said, adding that “more importantly, young Chinese long for the kind of fair and just environment that has allowed Trump to succeed.”

Trump stands in direct contrast to many revered Chinese figures, such as Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong, and communist soldier Lei Feng — a model hero in China.

“Their lives seem too hard and are not the kind of lives young people in China aspire to,” Liu said, adding that Trump stands for something different: the individualistic, opportunistic ‘American Dream’

“Whether you can wear a gold bracelet before New Years is all up to you!” comments one user ‘Sleepy Orange’ under a campaign rally video, referencing gold as an important gift typically exchanged on the Chinese New Year. It is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. More than 2,000 people liked this comment.

Liu said he also appreciates Trump’s straightforwardness, as he doesn’t preach lofty ideals and morals but is practical and realistic. Liu described Chinese authorities and their political slogans as “vague and empty.”

Popularity reflects dislike of Xi, says influencer

Chen Weiyu, a Chinese media influencer living in the United States, told VOA that Trump’s popularity on Chinese social media represents a deep disdain toward Chinese leaders, calling people’s engagement with his content a form of “deprogramming.”

“Rather than admiration for Trump himself, it’s more about a rejection and opposition to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. By expressing their liking for Trump, they are in fact expressing their dislike and opposition to Xi Jinping,” Chen said.

She stressed that people at the bottom of society in China, struggling to survive in an economy controlled by communist elites, feel that no one is concerned about or advocating for them.

In contrast, working-class individuals facing unemployment in the United States can use their votes to elect a leader who they believe will represent their interests and create a better policy environment for them.

Chen also attributed the abundance of Trump content on Chinese platforms to the increasing prevalence of virtual private networks as a way of accessing information that is normally forbidden in China.

However, Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang, one of the first Chinese citizen journalists to relocate to Taiwan, said the popularity of Trump on Chinese social media may have the “tacit approval” of the Chinese Communist Party.

Beijing’s censorship system is consistently strict about controlling content, so the fact that Trump-related content is able to spread widely on social media suggests that the CCP is intentionally allowing the content to be seen, Zhou told VOA.

“In other words, if Trump’s content appears on Chinese social media, it means that Trump is not seen as a major threat by the CCP,” he said.

While Trump-related content is getting clicks, not all of them are positive.

“It’s not a good thing for Trump to come back, God bless China” said a netizen in one comment. Others simply poke fun at the president-elect, the color of his hair and the way his makeup makes him look on stage.

“60% of the tariffs will be given to China, how many free trade enterprises are going to be suppressed,” reads another comment liked by nearly 1,000 people.

Katherine Michaelson, Samuel Hui contributed to this report.
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Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, has died. He was 82.

USA Gymnastics said Karolyi died Friday. No cause of death was given.

Karolyi and wife, Martha, trained multiple Olympic gold medalists and world champions in the U.S. and Romania, including Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton.

“A big impact and influence on my life,” Comaneci, who was just 14 when Karolyi coached her to gold for Romania at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, posted on Instagram.

Yet Karolyi’s strident methods sometimes came under fire, most pointedly during the height of the Larry Nassar scandal.

When the disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor was effectively given a life sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting gymnasts and other athletes with his hands under the guise of medical treatment, over a dozen former gymnasts came forward saying the Karolyis were part of a system that created an oppressive culture that allowed Nassar’s behavior to run unchecked for years.

While the Karolyis denied responsibility — telling CNN in 2018 they were unaware of Nassar’s behavior — the revelations led to them receding from the spotlight. USA Gymnastics eventually exited an agreement to continue to train at the Karolyi Ranch north of Houston, though only after American star Simone Biles took the organization to task for having them train at a site where many experienced sexual abuse.

The Karolyis receded from the spotlight in the aftermath after spending 30-plus years as a guiding force in American gymnastics, often basking in success while brushing with controversy in equal measure.

The Karolyis defected from Romania to the United States in 1981. Three years later Bela helped guide Retton — all of 16 — to the Olympic all-around title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, he memorably helped an injured Kerri Strug off the floor after Strug’s vault secured the team gold for the Americans.

Karolyi briefly became the national team coordinator for USA Gymnastics women’s elite program in 1999 and incorporated a semi-centralized system that eventually turned the Americans into the sport’s gold standard. It did not come without a cost. He was removed from the position after the 2000 Olympics when it became apparent his leadership style simply would not work, though he remained around the sport after Martha took over for her husband in 2001.

While the Karolyis approach helped the U.S. become a superpower — an American woman has won each of the last six Olympic titles and the U.S. women earned the team gold at the 2012 and 2016 games under Martha Karolyi’s leadership — their methods came under fire.

Dominique Moceanu, part of the “Magnificent 7” team that won gold in Atlanta, talked extensively about her corrosive relationship with the Karolyis following her retirement. In her 2012 memoir, Moceanu wrote Bela Karolyi verbally abused her in front of her teammates on multiple occasions.

“His harsh words and critical demeanor often weighed heavily on me,” Moceanu posted on X Saturday. “While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.”

Some of Karolyi’s most famous students were always among his staunchest defenders. When Strug got married, she and Karolyi took a photo recreating their famous scene from the 1996 Olympics, when he carried her onto the medals podium after she vaulted on a badly sprained ankle.

Being a gymnastics pied piper was never Karolyi’s intent. Born in Clug, Hungary, (now Romania) on September 13, 1942, he wanted to be a teacher, getting into coaching in college simply so he could spend more time with Martha.

After graduating, the couple moved to a small coal-mining town in Transylvania. Looking for a way to keep their students warm and entertained during the long, harsh winters, Karolyi dragged out some old mats and he and his wife taught the children gymnastics.

The students showed off their skills to their parents, and the exhibitions soon caught the eye of the Romanian government, which hired the Karolyis to coach the women’s national team at a time when the sport was done almost exclusively by adult women, not young girls.

Karolyi changed all that, though, bringing a team to the Montreal Olympics with only one gymnast older than 14.

It was in Montreal, of course, where the world got its first real glimpse of Karolyi. When a solemn, dark-haired sprite named Nadia Comaneci enchanted the world with the first perfect 10 in Olympic history, a feat she would duplicate six times, Karolyi was there to wrap her in one of his trademark bear hugs.

Romania, which had won only three bronzes in Olympic gymnastics before 1976, left Montreal with seven medals, including Comaneci’s golds in the all-around, balance beam and uneven bars, and the team silver. Comaneci became an international sensation, the first person to appear on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time and Newsweek in the same week.

Four years later, however, Karolyi was in disgrace.

He was incensed by the judging at the Moscow Olympics, which he thought cost Comaneci a second all-around gold, and the Romanian government was horrified that he had embarrassed the Soviet hosts.

“Suddenly, from a position where we’ve been praised and considered the foremost athletes in the country, I was stigmatized,” he once said. “I thought they could put me away for political misconduct.”

When he and Martha took the Romanian team to New York for an exhibition in March 1981, they were tipped off that they were going to be punished upon their return. Despite not speaking any English and with their then-6-year-old daughter, Andrea, still in Romania, they decided to defect.

“We knew what kind of risks we were taking, because nobody was guaranteeing us anything,” Martha Karolyi once said. “We started out with a suitcase and a little motel room. From there, it’s gradually improved.”

The couple made their way to California, where they learned English by watching television and Bela did odd jobs. A chance encounter with Olympic gold medalist Bart Conner — who would later marry Comaneci — at the Los Angeles airport a few months later led to the Karolyis’ first coaching job in the United States.

Within a year, their daughter had arrived in the U.S. and the Karolyis had their own gym in Houston. It soon became the center of American gymnastics, turning out eight national champions in 13 years.

Three years after the Karolyis left Romania, Retton became the first American to win the Olympic all-around title, scoring a perfect 10 on vault to claim gold at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Retton also posted the highest score in the team competition as the Americans won the silver, their first team medal since 1948.

Four years later, Phoebe Mills, another Karolyi gymnast, won a bronze on balance beam. It was the first individual medal for an American woman at a non-boycotted games. And in 1991, Kim Zmeskal — “the little Kimbo,” as Bela Karolyi called her — became the first American to win the world all-around title.

“My biggest contribution was giving the kids the faith that they can be the best among the best,” Karolyi once said. “I knew that if the Americans could understand they were not inferior … then they can be groomed like international, highly visible athletes.”

But as Karolyi’s resume grew, so did the criticism.

Other coaches were irritated by his brash personality and ability to always find his way into the spotlight. When Retton won gold, Karolyi leaped a barrier — he had an equipment manager’s credential, not a coach’s — so he could scoop Retton up in a hug — right in front of the TV cameras, of course.

He could be a harsh taskmaster, calling his gymnasts names, taunting them for their weight and pushing them to their limits.

Even those warm embraces weren’t always quite what they seemed.

“A lot of those big bear hugs came with the whisper of ‘Not so good,’ in our ears,” Retton wrote.

Yet Retton and Comaneci remained close with Karolyi, making appearances with him at gymnastics events or sitting with him at competitions. Zmeskal had her wedding at the Karolyi ranch.

Karolyi briefly retired after the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where he led the Americans to their first team medal, a bronze, at a non-boycotted Olympics in 44 years. But he kept his gym and summer camps, and by 1994 was again coaching elite-level gymnasts after Zmeskal asked him to help in her attempt to make the Atlanta Games.

Zmeskal didn’t make the Atlanta squad. But two of Karolyi’s other gymnasts, Strug and Moceanu, did, and it was Strug who provided one of the signature moments of the Olympics.

The Americans went into their final event in team finals, vault, trying to hold off Russia for their first-ever title at an Olympics or world championships. Despite injuring her left ankle when she fell on her first vault attempt, Strug went ahead with her second attempt, believing — wrongly — the Americans needed her score to clinch the gold.

With Karolyi shouting, “You can do it!” Strug sprinted down the runway, soared high above the vault and landed on both feet — ensuring it was a clean vault — before pulling her left leg up. After saluting the judges, she fell to her knees and had to be carried off the podium. Tests would later show she had two torn ligaments in her ankle.

As the rest of the Americans gathered on the podium to receive their gold medals, Karolyi carried Strug back into the arena, cradling her in his arms.

But even that drew criticism. Many said Karolyi never should have encouraged Strug to vault on her injured ankle in the first place and then should have stayed out of the spotlight rather than carrying her to the podium.

“Bela is a very tough coach and he gets criticism for that,” Strug said at the time. “But that’s what it takes to become a champion. I don’t think it’s really right that everyone tries to find the faults of Bela. Anything in life, to be successful, you’ve got to work really hard.”

The Karolyis retired again after the Atlanta Olympics. But after the U.S. women finished last in the medal round at the 1997 world championships, USA Gymnastics asked Bela Karolyi to come back.

He agreed — but only if he could implement a semi-centralized training system. Rather than a patchwork system of individual coaches who had their own philosophies, Karolyi would oversee the entire U.S. program. Gymnasts could still train with their own coaches, but there would be regular national team camps to ensure they were meeting established training and performance standards.

Though the idea was sound, Karolyi was not the right person to be in charge. Coaches who had been his equal chafed at his heavy-handedness, and were annoyed by his grandstanding. Gymnasts resented his bluster and demands.

By the time the Americans left the Sydney Olympics, about the only thing everyone agreed on was that Karolyi needed to step away.

He stepped aside and was replaced by his wife. Martha Karolyi’s standards were just as high — if not higher — than her husband’s, but on the surface, she was more willing to listen to other opinions.

“She’s more diplomatic. Absolutely,” Bela Karolyi said before the 2012 Olympics. “I’m wild. The opposite.” 
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — A walkout by hundreds of hospitality workers at a casino near the Las Vegas Strip entered its second day with union members willing to undergo the financial hardships of being out of work as they wait for a new contract. 

The work stoppage launched Friday at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is the first open-ended strike in 22 years for the Culinary Workers Union, the largest labor union in Nevada, with about 60,000 members. Union members were on the picket line again Saturday. 

Workers at the casino also walked off the job for 48 hours earlier this year as negotiations escalated, hoping to pressure Virgin Hotels to agree to a new five-year deal with increased wages and better benefits. 

The strike comes a year after casinos up and down the Strip narrowly avoided tens of thousands of hospitality workers walking off the job on the weekend the city was set to host its first Formula One race on the famous boulevard. But agreements were reached just before the union’s deadline for a strike, giving workers a roughly 32% salary increase over the life of the contract, including a 10% bump in pay in the first year. 

After the breakthrough deals last November, the Culinary Union quickly reached similar agreements for the rest of its members at major hotel-casinos on the Strip, downtown and at off-Strip properties — except for Virgin Hotels. The contracts on the Strip alone cover more than 40,000 workers. 

While the union pays striking workers $500 per week for picketing shifts for at least five days, union members at the picket line Friday said that they were expecting financial pain while being out of work. 

Lee McNamara, a lead dining room cook, said he took a second job for about eight months to save money in anticipation of the strike. 

“A strike is hurtful to everybody, but it was a last resort for us,” McNamara said. “We didn’t have anything else we could do. The company wasn’t coming our way, and they weren’t seeing it our way and they haven’t really budged much.” 

Diana Monjaraz, who works in housekeeping, expects hard times until a new contract comes. 

“You have to suffer a little bit to win sometimes,” Monjaraz said. “You don’t get things handed to you right away.” 

Both the union and Virgin Hotels said negotiations stalled because of disagreements over pay. 

“Workers overwhelmingly have chosen a strong Culinary Union contract that guarantees their benefits as the way they want to be protected,” said Bethany Khan, a spokesperson for the union. “Hundreds of workers are on strike themselves to win these protections.” 

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas said it was committed to protecting the jobs of workers by ensuring the continued operation of the property. It also said the union “has bargained in bad faith — repeatedly refusing to engage in meaningful negotiations with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.” Culinary Union members last went on strike in 2002 for 10 days at the Golden Gate hotel-casino in downtown Las Vegas. 
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DALLAS, TEXAS — The first batch of artwork from the Boy Scouts of America’s collection raised over $3.7 million at auction Friday to help pay the compensation owed to those who were sexually abused while in scouting.

The 25 works that sold are among over 300 from the Boy Scouts that Heritage Auctions in Dallas will be offering over the next few years. With the standard buyer’s premium added to the final hammer price, the 25 works sold for over $4.6 million.

Hoping to survive a barrage of sexual abuse claims, the Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan allowed the organization to continue operating while it compensated survivors. The plan went into effect last year.

In addition to the art, other contributions to the survivors’ settlement trust are coming from sources that include insurers and the sale of Boy Scout properties.

Many of the works being sold are as interwoven into American life as the 114-year-old organization itself, having been featured on magazine covers, calendars and even used to sell war bonds. Friday’s auction included five of the nearly 60 works by Norman Rockwell that are part of the collection.

Rockwell’s painting “To Keep Myself Physically Strong” shows a Cub Scout standing on a chair to measure the chest of his older brother, a Boy Scout who has taped his fitness record to his bedroom wall. It sold for over $1.1 million, including the buyer’s premium.

J.C. Leyendecker’s painting “Weapons for Liberty,” which depicts a Boy Scout clutching a sword in front of a flag-draped, shield-wielding depiction of Lady Liberty, sold for $312,500, including the buyer’s premium. It was featured on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post in 1918 and was adapted as a poster to sell World War I bonds.

Barbara Houser, a retired bankruptcy judge overseeing the survivors’ settlement trust, has said over 82,000 people filed abuse claims during the bankruptcy case, and of those, over 64,000 have filled out a detailed questionnaire to assert their claims.

Houser said in a news release Friday that she was grateful to those who participated in the auction, noting that the proceeds “play an integral part in acknowledging decades of silent pain” that survivors suffered.

The Boy Scouts announced this year that it is rebranding to Scouting America, a change intended to signal the organization’s commitment to inclusivity. The group now welcomes girls, as well as gay youth and leaders.
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CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe — Gertrude Siduna appears to have little appetite for corn farming season. 

Rather than prepare her land in Zimbabwe’s arid southeastern Chipinge district for the crop that has fed her family for generations — and bitter about repeated droughts that have decimated yields — she turns her thoughts to the prices for chilies and techniques for growing them.

“I pick my chilies from the fields and take them to the processing center close to my home. It’s simple,” said Siduna, 49. She’s received about $400 from the drought-resistant crop and plans to grow more. “Chilies are far better than corn.” 

Siduna has been growing chilies for a year since being trained under a climate-smart agriculture program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program was designed to strengthen small-scale farmers’ resilience to climate change-induced droughts, many requiring food assistance from the government or international donors.

But as climate change worsens droughts and floods worldwide, government agencies and local operators have found that aid efforts can still be made more effective and financially sustainable. 

Experts say rich nations like the United States, which have been the biggest contributors of planet-warming emissions historically, have a responsibility to fund humanitarian aid in the countries that are experiencing its effects first and most severely. 

The U.S. is the world’s largest international donor of food aid, reaching over 60 million people in about 70 countries annually with direct contributions of food or via programs to help farmers adapt to extreme weather. USAID plans to mobilize $150 billion for climate-related initiatives, according to the agency’s climate strategy report. 

In Zimbabwe, around 7.7 million people — almost half the country’s population — require food assistance, according to government and U.N. figures. Frequent droughts are decimating people’s ability to feed themselves, a phenomenon worsened by climate change. 

Switching crops

Water-guzzling white corn has been the staple crop of choice for rural farmers in Zimbabwe since its introduction to much of sub-Saharan Africa by the Portuguese in the 17th century. 

But with the threat of drought, some, like Siduna, now think it may be better to buy the staple than grow it. 

“I don’t lack corn meal. I just use my earnings from chilies to buy it from the local shops,” she said. 

Unlike corn or other crops that she has typically grown, chilies do well in the hotter, drier conditions. And, because they end up in stores in the United States, they offer cash rewards. 

“You have to continuously pray for the rain if you grow corn,” said the mother of three. “The crop just can’t stand heat. But chilies can. One is assured of a harvest, and the market is readily available.” 

Other crops such as millets, which are cereals tolerant of poor soils, drought and harsh growing conditions, are also gaining traction under climate resilience programs. 

In Chiredzi, southeast Zimbabwe, Kenias Chikamhi, 54, describes growing corn as “a gamble … whereas with millets you have a good chance of at least getting something.” Millet was the country’s staple before the introduction of maize. 

But not all the corn is gone yet. Zimbabwe’s agriculture ministry says it plans to increase land under maize to 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) by using farming techniques such as digging holes into dry land and mulching to cover the growing crops as well as by planting drought-resilient varieties that can better cope with the lack of rain. 

The country harvested about 700,000 tons of corn this year, 70% down from the season before and far short of the 2 million tons required annually for humans and livestock. 

Solar-powered irrigation

Farming techniques are also changing. 

Another of USAID’s initiatives has seen a community garden in Mutandahwe village, where Siduna lives, irrigated by three small solar panels. The panels pump water from a borehole into storage tanks that are connected to the garden taps by pipes, turning the 1-hectare plot of vegetables like onions, leaf cabbage and cowpeas into an island of lush green. 

Solar-powered community gardens have been spreading across the district and much of the country’s dry areas. 

“We were struggling walking long distances to fetch water from rivers, and right now the rivers are dry,” said Muchaneta Mutowa, secretary of the plot. The plot is shared by 60 members, all growing vegetables they can eat and sell. 

“We now have easy access to reliable water that flows from the taps [and] we don’t pay for the sun,” she said. And money from the sale of vegetables goes a long way to pay for family basics such as school fees. 

Members pay a dollar each into a savings pot that can be used for low-interest loans or minor repair expenses “so that we are not always reliant on the donor,” said Mutohwa. 

Increasing effectiveness

Because USAID’s investments can be so consequential for receiving countries, it’s important they’re done right, said Lora Iannotti, a professor who studies global maternal and youth nutrition at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Richer countries like the U.S. have tended to use direct donations of surplus staple and commodity crops like corn and wheat as a way to benefit their own farmers, according to Iannotti’s research. 

Iannotti has seen advances in food aid with dietary variety in mind but thinks there’s room for improvement. Undernourishment became more prevalent after the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change is making hunger a more pressing issue than ever, with crises that resemble “stuff from 100 years ago,” she said. 

Daniel Maxwell, a professor of food security at Tufts University, thinks countries providing aid also need strategies to address problems “causing the hunger in the first place,” whether that’s climate change, war or other factors. He also thinks countries need a more balanced approach, including projects promoting health, protection from violence or nutrition. 

USAID and the U.S. Department of Agriculture haven’t yet explained how food aid efforts might be changed or altered by the incoming U.S. administration, but the delay on renewing farm legislation does hold up USDA programming, including food aid projects, in a variety of ways, said Alexis Taylor, undersecretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs at USDA. 

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, released reports finding that USAID and its partner agencies needed to improve the ways they measured the outcomes of their programs. 

USAID says they worked with the GAO to address its recommendations. The GAO has closed six of the eight recommendations, indicating satisfactory response; the others were to be resolved this fall, a spokesperson for USAID said. 

“We are committing a lot of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” said Chelsa Kenney, the GAO’s director for international affairs issues. “It’s important that we’re good stewards of those taxpayer dollars to ensure that the kind of programming that we are providing to these countries is really making a difference.”
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As President-elect Donald Trump gets ready to take office, a carefully coordinated process is under way to transfer power from the outgoing administration to the new one. Experts share their perspectives on how the federal government prepares for this pivotal moment in American democracy. VOA’s Salem Solomon has more. Video editor: Salwa Jaafari
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washington — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his early November election victory.

President Joe Biden has not hosted Erdogan at the White House though the two have met on sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone.

Speaking to journalists accompanying his return from visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Erdogan expressed his hope for improved U.S. ties, adding, however, that in-person meetings would be needed to achieve that end, and that Ankara needs to wait to see what kind of a Cabinet Trump forms.

The two leaders had a close personal relationship during Trump’s first term in office. However, bilateral relations have also been marked by tough times during that administration. With Trump’s January return to the White House, analysts told VOA that although there may be opportunities for more cooperation in some areas, they don’t expect major changes.

James Jeffrey, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey from 2008 to 2010, sees Ukraine as one area with potential for cooperation.

Referring to Trump’s promise to end the war in Ukraine, Jeffrey says Turkey could play a role in negotiating a cease-fire, making both sides “well-aligned for a productive relationship.”

Alan Makovsky, a senior fellow for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, also believes Trump’s priority to end the war in Ukraine creates a significant opportunity for Erdogan.

A NATO ally, Turkey has adopted a careful balancing act amid the war in Ukraine, supplying armed drones to Ukraine while maintaining ties with Russia in energy and tourism.

Erdogan, who has maintained good relations with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has long said neither side is gaining from the war and offered to host and mediate negotiations.

Disagreement over Syria

Disagreements between Turkey and the United States during Trump’s first term included Ankara’s frustration with U.S. support for Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by Kurdish militia — People’s Protection Units, known as YPG in northern Syria.

After a phone call with Erdogan on October 6, 2019, Trump unexpectedly announced that the U.S. would withdraw from Syria. Many U.S. military officials, all of whom were caught off guard by the announcement, did not support the idea.

Tension between the allies worsened after Trump on October 9 sent a letter to Erdogan, warning him against a military incursion into Syria.

Following Trump’s withdrawal announcement, Turkey launched a military operation in northern Syria targeting the YPG on October 9.

A cease-fire agreement was reached during then-Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Ankara on October 17.

Now, some in Ankara expect the U.S. may reconsider its presence in northern Syria during Trump’s second term.

Jeffrey, a U.S. envoy for Syria from 2018 to 2020, suggests Trump’s administration may reassess this issue.

“Each time people were able to convince [Trump on Syria, it] was that the troops were serving a set of important purposes. This is one of the most low-cost, high-return military deployments. We are keeping the Islamic State under control. Secondly, we are holding vital terrain, blocking Iranian, Assad and Russian ambitions,” he told VOA.

Washington has long said its SDF partnership is necessary for the enduring defeat of ISIS and countering Iran.

Ankara considers YPG a Syrian offshoot of PKK, which U.S. officials have also designated as a terrorist organization.

Trump nominated Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, for secretary of state. Rubio was one of the strongest opponents of a U.S.-pullout from Syria at the time.

He labeled the decision as “a catastrophic mistake that will have dire consequences far beyond Syria,” urging Trump to reconsider it.

“We’ll have to see how that works out and how Marco Rubio’s views may have changed to accord more with Trump’s or vice versa,” Makovksy said. “But anyone who thought that Trump’s election meant that the U.S. would soon be withdrawing from Syria would certainly have to rethink that view in light of the Rubio appointment. I think that makes it unlikely that we will withdraw from Syria.”

Trump’s nominees for Cabinet positions will require Senate approval before they assume office.

F-35 program

One complicating factor in U.S.-Turkey relations during Trump’s first term was Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, which prompted Washington to remove Ankara from an F-35 joint strike fighter program.

“The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities,” said a White House statement when the system was delivered in July 2019, explaining the U.S. decision to remove Turkey from the project.

The Trump administration in December 2020 sanctioned Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Turkey, which has since requested removal of CAATSA sanctions, has returned to talks with U.S. officials about a possible return to the F-35 program.

Analysts say that while there is a likelihood that CAATSA sanctions might be lifted during Trump’s second term, any solution to the S-400 issue that is not permanent would not be technically acceptable to the U.S. military.

Describing the F-35s as the U.S. military’s largest project since World War II, Jeffrey said, “A permanent solution is that they [the S-400s] go away, they’re sold to somebody else. I would like to have a solution, but technically, I don’t think there is one.’’

Makovsky called Turkey’s return to the F-35 program unlikely in the near term.

“If they completely get rid of the S-400s, really give up possession as the law requires, there could be a reasonable chance for F-35,” he told VOA. “But it will be up to the so-called Four Corners – the chairman and senior members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.”

This story originated in VOA’s Turkish Service.
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Donald Trump may not be moving into the White House until January, but he is laying the groundwork and making domestic policy plans for the next four years. VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti has our story. VOA footage by Henry Hernandez.
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The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax, the families announced Thursday. 

“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 shooting in Connecticut, said in a statement provided by his lawyers. 

The sale price was not immediately disclosed. 

Jones confirmed The Onion’s acquisition of Infowars in a social media video Thursday and said he planned to file legal challenges to stop it. An email message seeking comment was sent to Infowars. 

It was not immediately clear what The Onion planned to do with the conspiracy theory platform, including its website, social media accounts, studio in Austin, Texas, trademarks and video archive. The Chicago-based Onion did not immediately return emails seeking comment Thursday. 

Sealed bids for the private auction were opened Wednesday. Both supporters and detractors of Jones had expressed interest in buying Infowars. The other bidders have not been disclosed. 

The Onion, a satirical site that manages to persuade people to believe the absurd, bills itself as “the world’s leading news publication, offering highly acclaimed, universally revered coverage of breaking national, international, and local news events” and says it has 4.3 trillion daily readers. 

Jones has been saying on his show that if his detractors bought Infowars, he would move his daily broadcasts and product sales to a new studio, websites and social media accounts that he has already set up. He also said that if his supporters won the bidding, he could stay on the Infowars platforms. 

Relatives of many of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control. Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and threats by his followers. 

The lawsuits were filed in Connecticut and Texas. Lawyers for the families in the Connecticut lawsuit said they worked with The Onion to try to acquire Infowars. 
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washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is nominating Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a senior member of both the foreign relations and intelligence committees and former political rival, to be secretary of state. 

“He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said in a statement. 

Rubio, 53, is known as a China hawk, an outspoken critic of Cuba’s Communist government and a strong backer of Israel. In the past, he has advocated for a more assertive U.S. foreign policy with respect to America’s geopolitical foes, although recently his views have aligned more closely with those of Trump’s “America First” approach to foreign policy. 

In April, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to help Ukraine resist Russia and support other U.S. partners, including Israel. Trump has been critical of Democratic President Joe Biden’s continuing military assistance for Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. 

Rubio has said in recent interviews that Kyiv needs to seek a negotiated settlement with Russia rather than focus on regaining all of the territory that Moscow has taken in the last decade. 

On the Gaza war, Rubio — like Trump — has been staunchly behind Israel, calling Hamas a terrorist organization that must be eliminated and saying America’s role is to resupply Israel with the military materials needed to finish the job. 

Rubio is a top Senate China hawk, and Beijing imposed sanctions on him in 2020 over his stance on Hong Kong’s democracy protests. This could create difficulties for any attempts to maintain the Biden administration’s effort to keep up diplomatic engagement with Beijing to avoid an unintended conflict. 

Among other things, Rubio shepherded an act through Congress that gave Washington a new tool to bar Chinese imports over China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and has also pushed a bill that would decertify Hong Kong’s U.S. economic and trade offices. 

Rubio had also become a strong Trump backer, after harshly criticizing him when he ran against the former real estate developer for president in 2016. 

The three-term Republican senator should easily win confirmation in the Senate, where Trump’s Republicans will hold at least a 52-48 majority starting in January. 

Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the intelligence committee, quickly issued a statement praising the choice of Rubio, the panel’s vice chairman. 

“I have worked with Marco Rubio for more than a decade on the Intelligence Committee, particularly closely in the last couple of years in his role as Vice Chairman, and while we don’t always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe,” Warner said in a statement. 

Rubio, the son of immigrants from Cuba, will be the first Latino to serve as America’s top diplomat. 
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Iran has made plans to sustain its oil production and exports and is ready for possible oil restrictions from a Trump administration in the U.S., Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Wednesday, according to the oil ministry’s news website Shana. 

In 2018, then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact with Iran and re-imposed sanctions that hurt Iran’s oil sector, with production dropping to 2.1 million barrels per day, or bpd, during his presidency. 

“Required measures have been taken. I will not go into detail but our colleagues within the oil sector have taken measures to deal with the restrictions that will occur and there is no reason to be concerned,” Paknejad said. 

In recent years, Iranian oil production has rebounded to around 3.2 million barrels per day according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, of which Iran is a member. 

Iranian oil exports have climbed this year to near multi-year highs of 1.7 million bpd despite U.S. sanctions.  

Chinese refiners buy most of its supply. Beijing says it doesn’t recognize unilateral U.S. sanctions.  
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