President-elect Donald Trump returned to the seat of American power Wednesday, visiting both Congress and the White House and laying out his vision as he readies for his second term. President Joe Biden hosted Trump in the Oval Office, where he promised a smooth transfer of power. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House. Kim Lewis contributed.
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The U.S. Senate’s Democratic majority began a crusade on Tuesday to confirm as many new federal judges nominated by President Joe Biden as possible to avoid leaving vacancies that Republican Donald Trump could fill after taking office on Jan. 20.

With Republicans set to take control of the chamber on Jan. 3, the Senate on Tuesday held a confirmation vote on one of Biden’s judicial nominees – former prosecutor April Perry – for the first time since Trump won the Nov. 5 presidential election. The Senate voted 51-44 in favor of her becoming a U.S. district court judge in Illinois.

All told, Biden has announced another 30 judicial nominees who are awaiting Senate confirmation votes. Sixteen have already have been reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and are awaiting a final confirmation vote by the full Senate. Another 14 nominees are awaiting committee review.

The U.S. Constitution assigns to the Senate the power to confirm a president’s nominees for life-tenured seats on the federal judiciary.

“We are going to get as many done as we can,” Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

Trump made 234 judicial appointments during his first four years in office, the second most of any president in a single term, and succeeded in moving the judiciary rightward – including building a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court with three appointees.

Biden has appointed a host of liberal judges. Since the beginning of his presidency in 2021, the Senate has confirmed 214 Biden judicial nominees, including liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. About two-thirds were women, and the same share were racial minorities.

Senate Democrats are under pressure to swiftly confirm the remaining nominees, along with any new picks Biden may name in the waning weeks of his presidency.

How many nominees Senate Democrats will be able to confirm remains to be seen. Trump in a social media post on Sunday called on the Senate to halt approving Biden’s nominees, saying, “Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges.”

Billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk on Tuesday wrote on social media that “activist” judicial nominees are “bad for the country.” Mike Davis, a Trump ally at the conservative judicial advocacy group Article III Project, in another post urged Senate Republicans to vote down all judicial appointments until January.

“The American people voted for monumental change,” Davis wrote on social media last week. “Grind the Senate to a halt.”

Current Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s office declined comment. McConnell has consistently opposed Biden’s nominees and, as majority leader, was instrumental in getting Trump’s previous nominees confirmed.

Trump’s judicial appointees have been involved in major decisions welcomed by conservatives including Supreme Court rulings rolling back abortion rights, widening gun rights, rejecting race-conscious collegiate admissions and limiting the power of federal regulatory agencies.

Judicial nominees require a simple majority for confirmation. Democrats currently hold a slim 51-49 majority, meaning that they can ill afford any defections or absences if Republicans show up in force to oppose Biden’s nominees during the chamber’s post-election “lame duck” session.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has said he would not vote for any nominee who does not garner at least one Republican vote. Must-pass legislation like a spending bill to avert a government shutdown also may consume precious time during the session.

‘Every possible nominee’

Biden’s allies have said a concerted push to confirm his remaining nominees would allow him to build on his legacy of helping to diversify a federal bench long dominated by white men.

He is not done nominating judges. On Friday, Biden announced his first post-election nominee, Tali Farhadian Weinstein, who after unsuccessfully running in the 2021 Democratic primary to be Manhattan district attorney was picked for a job as a federal district judge in New York.

A spokesperson for Senator Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat and chair of the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that he “aims to confirm every possible nominee before the end of this Congress.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates on Monday noted that during Trump’s first term, the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed 18 judges after Biden had won the 2020 election but before he took office.

Pending nominees include five to the influential federal appeals courts. Republicans said before the election that they had the votes to block two of them: Adeel Mangi, who would become the first Muslim federal appellate judge, and North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park, who unsuccessfully defended the race-conscious admissions policies before the Supreme Court.

There are several others nominated to serve as trial court judges like Perry, a former prosecutor now working at Chicago-headquartered GE HealthCare who would join the bench in Illinois. Biden nominated her to a judgeship in April after her prior nomination to become Chicago’s top federal prosecutor was blocked by Republican Senator JD Vance.

Vance began placing a hold on Biden’s nominees to the U.S. Justice Department in 2023 after Special Counsel Jack Smith secured the first of two federal indictments against Trump, who subsequently picked the senator as his vice presidential running mate.
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WASHINGTON — Israel’s war against Hezbollah and Hamas, while inflicting considerable damage, has yet to strike a crippling blow to either of the Iran-backed terror groups, according to a top U.S. counterterrorism official.

The acting director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) said Tuesday that the impact of Israeli intelligence operations, along with repeated military airstrikes and ground offensives in Lebanon and Gaza, have severely diminished the ability of both groups to launch new attacks on Israel.

But he cautioned that both groups remain resilient, and in the case of Hezbollah, retain significant capabilities.

“Before the conflict, they [Hezbollah] had built up unprecedented numbers of rockets and missiles and other munitions,” the NCTC’s Brett Holmgren told an audience in Washington, adding that the Lebanese group was starting at a “very strong point.”

And he said while Israeli strikes have decimated Hezbollah leadership, the group’s ground forces in southern Lebanon “remain somewhat intact.”

Additionally, Israel’s actions have done little to damage Hezbollah’s reach beyond the Middle East.

“Their external capabilities have largely been untouched,” Holmgren said, noting the U.S. and its allies are on alert for any indication Hezbollah may seek to retaliate outside the region.

Hamas’ staying power

Hamas, which touched off the war in Gaza when it launched its October 7, 2023, terror attack that killed about 1,200 mostly Israeli civilians, has also suffered greatly, according to the latest U.S. assessments.

“Militarily, they have been significantly diminished,” Holmgren said. “They’re essentially morphing into an insurgent force on the ground.”

Yet despite being forced to keep a low profile and resort to hit-and-run-type tactics, U.S. intelligence sees few indications Hamas has lost its appeal.

“Hamas has been able to recruit new members to its ranks and will likely continue its ability to do so, so long as there is not another viable political option on the ground for these disaffected young men in Gaza to turn to,” Holmgren said. 

“There has to be a more viable political actor on the ground in Gaza to give these new recruits for Hamas, to give them a better option,” he added.

Hamas, Hezbollah numbers

Prior to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, U.S. intelligence estimated that the U.S.-designated terror group had between 20,000 and 25,000 fighters, though some estimates put the number at 30,000 or more, citing support from about a dozen other terror groups that had pledged to fight under the Hamas banner.

Hezbollah, according to U.S. estimates, had about 40,000 fighters with “state-like military capabilities.”

Holmgren on Tuesday did not elaborate on how many fighters from either group had been eliminated. 

Israeli officials, however, have said their forces have killed upward of 14,000 Hamas fighters and more than 2,550 Hezbollah fighters.

The Israel Defense Forces earlier this month said it estimates that about 80% of Hezbollah’s arsenal of medium- and short-range rockets has been destroyed.

Health officials in Gaza have said the Israeli offensive there has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children.  

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said more than 3,000 people have been killed during the conflict, though it does not differentiate between civilians and Hezbollah fighters.

Terror spreading

There are growing concerns, though, that the death tolls in Lebanon and Gaza are serving as a spark for other terror groups around the world.

Less than a month after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, U.S. counterterrorism officials warned that the event had begun to galvanize other terror groups, including Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Holmgren said it appears the Hamas attack, combined with growing political and economic turmoil, has in fact helped to reenergize other groups.

Islamic State 

“ISIS exploited reduced counterterrorism pressure last year to recover and to rebuild as governments shifted attention and resources to the conflict in Gaza,” Holmgren said, using an acronym for the Islamic State terror group, also known as IS or Daesh.

Central Syria, he said, had become an epicenter for IS plotting against the U.S. and the West, at large.  

And although a series of recent operations by the U.S. and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have again weakened IS, the group continues to benefit from improved finances and resurgent media campaigns, Holmgren said.

The IS affiliate in Afghanistan known as IS-Khorasan has likewise shown resilience.

State Department officials, in a recent inspector general’s report, admitted that serious questions remain about whether Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban “have the will and capability to fully eliminate terrorist safe havens or control the flow of foreign terrorist fighters in and through Afghanistan.”

And although key elements of IS-Khorasan have fled Afghanistan for Pakistan, there are fears the group may be poised for a resurgence.

“Sustained pressure will be needed to prevent the group from expanding further,” Holmgren said.

Africa

Holmgren further warned that groups affiliating themselves with IS and al-Qaida are also seeing their fortunes rise in Africa.

IS and al-Qaida attacks in West Africa and the Sahel alone are set to surpass more than 3,000 by the end of the year, he said, doubling the total number of attacks from 2021.

And it could get worse.

Holmgren said IS and al-Qaida affiliates have capitalized on turmoil in countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and the Central African Republic, where governments have turned to the Russian military and Russian paramilitary groups to boost security.

The situation in Africa, “if left unchecked, could become a much more acute long-term threat to U.S. interests,” he said. 

Younger terrorists

U.S. counterterrorism analysts have also picked up on several other trends that they say bear watching.

One is a propensity for younger people to join terror movements.

“The rising number of juveniles engaging in terrorism is a global phenomenon, and it may well worsen in the near term as the effects of the Israel-Hamas conflict take hold,” Holmgren said.

Vulnerable young people the world over, he said, are turning to groups like IS for a sense of belonging and accomplishment.

“A lot of the propaganda — it’s easily accessible on the social media platforms” he said. “A lot of it [is in] English.”

Iran and Trump

There is also concern about how Iran will respond to Israel’s degradation of Hezbollah and Hamas, and to the reelection of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. intelligence officials warned in the run-up to last week’s election that Iran was engaged in a series of influence operations aimed at hurting Trump’s chance of returning to power.

And late last week, the U.S. shed light on another in a series of efforts by Tehran to assassinate the once and future president.

In the short term, Holmgren said, Iran could try to leverage its proxy forces in Iraq and Syria to launch additional attacks against U.S. interests and against Israel.

But he also expressed concern that Iran continues to play host to al-Qaida’s de facto leader, Saif al-Adel.

“I won’t speculate on what the Iranian intentions are, but suffice to say, it is unhelpful with his presence there,” Holmgren said Tuesday in response to a question from VOA.

Trump transition 

Holmgren promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Trump administration to keep the U.S. and its allies safe.

“I look forward to engaging with the Trump administration’s national security team to conduct an orderly transition and to ensure that they are ready on Day One to address a dynamic threat environment,” Holmgren said.

“The U.S. counterterrorism community will be working diligently, as they do each and every day, to keep threats at bay so that our democracy may continue to shine as a beacon of freedom and hope in the world,” he added.
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ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — A U.S. jury on Tuesday awarded $42 million to three former detainees of Iraq’s notorious Abu Ghraib prison, holding a Virginia-based military contractor responsible for contributing to their torture and mistreatment two decades ago. 

The decision from the eight-person jury came after a different jury earlier this year couldn’t agree on whether Reston, Virginia-based CACI should be held liable for the work of its civilian interrogators who worked alongside the U.S. Army at Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004. 

The jury awarded plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili and Asa’ad Al-Zubae $3 million each in compensatory damages and $11 million each in punitive damages. 

The three testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other cruel treatment at the prison. 

They did not allege that CACI’s interrogators explicitly inflicted the abuse themselves, but argued CACI was complicit because its interrogators conspired with military police to “soften up” detainees for questioning with harsh treatment. 

CACI’s lawyer, John O’Connor, did not comment after Tuesday’s verdict on whether the company would appeal. 

Baher Azmy, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the lawsuit on the plaintiffs’ behalf, called the verdict “an important measure of Justice and accountability” and praised the three plaintiffs for their resilience, “especially in the face of all the obstacles CACI threw their way.” 

The $42 million fully matches the amount sought by the plaintiffs, Azmy said. 

“Today is a big day for me and for justice,” said Al-Ejaili, a journalist, in a written statement. “I’ve waited a long time for this day. This victory isn’t only for the three plaintiffs in this case against a corporation. This victory is a shining light for everyone who has been oppressed and a strong warning to any company or contractor practicing different forms of torture and abuse.” 

Al-Ejaili traveled to the U.S. for both trials to testify in person. The other two plaintiffs testified by video from Iraq. 

The trial and subsequent retrial were the first time a U.S. jury heard claims brought by Abu Ghraib survivors in the 20 years since photos of detainee mistreatment — accompanied by smiling U.S. soldiers inflicting the abuse — shocked the world during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. 

None of the three plaintiffs were in any of the notorious photos shown in news reports around the world, but they described treatment very similar to what was depicted. 

Al Shimari described sexual assaults and beatings during his two months at the prison. He also said he was electrically shocked and dragged around the prison by a rope tied around his neck. Al-Ejaili said he was subjected to stress positions that caused him to vomit black liquid. He was also deprived of sleep, forced to wear women’s underwear and threatened with dogs. 

CACI had argued it wasn’t complicit in the detainees’ abuse. It said its employees had minimal interaction with the three plaintiffs in the case, and CACI questioned parts of the plaintiffs’ stories, saying that military records contradict some of their claims and suggesting they shaded their stories to support a case against the contractor. Fundamentally, though, CACI argued that any liability for their mistreatment belonged to the government. 

As in the first trial, the jury struggled to decide whether CACI or the Army should be held responsible for any misconduct by CACI interrogators. The jury asked questions in its deliberations about whether the contractor or the Army bore liability. 

CACI, as one of its defenses, argued it shouldn’t be liable for any misdeeds by its employees if they were under the control and direction of the Army, under a legal principle known as the “borrowed servants” doctrine. 

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that CACI was responsible for its own employees’ misdeeds. They said provisions in CACI’s contract with the Army, as well as the Army Field Manual, make clear that CACI is responsible for overseeing its own workers. 

The lawsuit was first filed in 2008 but was delayed by 15 years of legal wrangling and multiple attempts by CACI to have the case dismissed. 

Lawyers for the three plaintiffs argued that CACI was liable for their mistreatment even if they couldn’t prove that CACI’s interrogators were the ones who directly inflicted the abuse. 

The evidence included reports from two retired Army generals, who documented the abuse and concluded that multiple CACI interrogators were complicit in the abuse. 

Those reports concluded that one of the interrogators, Steven Stefanowicz, lied to investigators about his conduct and that he likely instructed soldiers to mistreat detainees and used dogs to intimidate detainees during interrogations. 

Stefanowicz testified for CACI at trial through a recorded video deposition and denied mistreating detainees.
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Residents across a large part of the southeastern U.S. from Florida to Virginia are still dealing with the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in late September. North Carolina was especially hard hit. Rafael Saakov spoke with the people who are struggling most. Anna Rice narrates his story. Camera: Aleksandr Bergan.
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NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is seeking to move up the start of his trial on corruption and bribery charges so he can focus on his campaign for reelection this spring.

In a letter sent to the federal judge on Monday, an attorney for Adams, Alex Spiro, requested the trial begin on April 1 rather than the current planned date of April 23.

“An earlier trial date will ensure that Mayor Adams’s speedy trial rights are upheld, that the Mayor will be able to fully participate in his reelection campaign and that this City’s voters can be rid of the distraction of this misguided indictment as they hear from and evaluate the Democratic candidates for Mayor on their merits,” Spiro wrote.

Adams, a Democrat, was indicted in September on charges that he accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official seeking political favors. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and insisted he will remain in office as he fights the case.

He is expected to face a contested Democratic primary in June, with several opponents already announcing their interest in challenging him.

Inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan were not returned.

At a hearing earlier this month, prosecutors said they would be ready for a trial whenever it is scheduled, but noted they were still making their way through reams of seized records and had not yet accessed Adams’ personal cellphone. According to his indictment. Adams changed his password just before giving the phone to authorities, then claimed he forgot it.

In his letter on Monday, Spiro said he would waive access to certain discovery materials if it meant speeding up the date of the trial. Under the current schedule, he predicted a verdict would come in late May, giving the mayor only a short window of time to clear his name among voters.

“Given the realities of the news and election cycle, this earlier trial date is not only feasible, but essential here,” Spiro wrote.
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WASHINGTON — The election of Donald Trump as president for a second time and the Republican takeback of the U.S. Senate could undo many of the national climate policies that are most reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, according to climate solutions experts. 

When they list measures that are making the most difference, it lines up with policies Trump has said he’ll target.

These rollbacks will come as more lives are being lost in heat waves, record amounts of climate pollution are accumulating in the atmosphere, the United States has been hit with what may be two of its most expensive hurricanes, and nations, which will meet in Baku, Azerbaijan for climate negotiations, have failed to take strong action to change these realities.

Here are some of the measures

The Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s landmark climate law

This law is significant because it is expected to reduce U.S. emissions by about 40% by 2030, if it unfolds as planned in the coming years.

It funnels money to measures that substitute clean energy for dirty. One major way it does so is by giving credits to businesses people who build new solar and wind farms.

But it’s not limited to that. It encourages developers of geothermal energy and businesses that separate the carbon dioxide from their smokestacks and bury it underground. It incentivizes the next generation of nuclear power. It gives a $7,500 tax credit to people who buy electric cars. People who buy their cars used can get a credit too, as long as they don’t earn too much to qualify.

Trump, by contrast, has summed up his energy policy as “drill, baby, drill” and pledged to dismantle what he calls Democrats’ “green new scam” in favor of boosting production of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, the main causes of climate change.

He vows to end subsidies for wind power that were included in the landmark 2022 climate law.

If Trump does target the climate law, there are provisions that are likely safe. One is a credit for companies in advanced manufacturing, because it is perceived as “America first and pro-U.S. business,” said David Shepheard, partner and energy expert at the global consultant Baringa. Incentives for electric vehicles are likely most at risk, he added.

Pollution from electric power plants

The main U.S. rule aimed at reducing climate change that comes from making electricity at power plants that burn coal is also considered vulnerable. This rule from the Environmental Protection Agency, announced in April, would force many coal-fired plants to capture 90% of their carbon emissions or shut down within eight years, Shepheard said.

It was projected to reduce roughly 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2047, along with tens of thousands of tons of other harmful air pollutants.

The United States has been reducing carbon dioxide emissions primarily by replacing coal-fired power plants with clean, renewable power, said Stanford University climate scientist Rob Jackson, who chairs the Global Carbon Project, a group of scientists that tracks countries’ carbon dioxide emissions.

“I hope that we don’t lose sight of the benefits of clean energy,” he said. “It’s not just about the climate. It’s about our lives and our health.”

Limiting leaks from damaging methane, or natural gas

The Biden administration was under pressure to reduce one of the main pollutants contributing to drought, heat waves, flooding and stronger hurricanes — methane or natural gas. It leaks out of oil and gas equipment, sometimes deliberately when companies consider it too expensive to transport.

The Biden administration issued the first national rules on this.

Industry groups and Republican-leaning states challenged the rule in court. They say the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority and set unattainable standards.

The EPA said the rules are within its legal responsibilities and would protect the public.

Fuel-efficient vehicles

The EPA issued its strongest rules on tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks under the Biden administration.

Under Trump, the EPA is considered likely to begin a lengthy process to repeal and replace a host of standards including the one on tailpipe emissions, which Trump falsely calls an electric vehicle “mandate.”

Trump has said EV manufacturing will destroy jobs in the auto industry and has falsely claimed that battery-powered cars don’t work in cold weather and aren’t able to travel long distances. Trump softened his rhetoric in recent months after Tesla CEO Elon Musk endorsed him and campaigned heavily for his election.

Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow a shift to electric cars.

Drilling in Alaska refuge

Trump is almost certain to reinstate oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, continuing a partisan battle that has persisted for decades. Biden and other Democratic presidents have blocked drilling in the sprawling refuge, which is home to polar bears, caribou and other wildlife. Trump opened the area to drilling in a 2017 tax cut law enacted by congressional Republicans. No drilling has occurred in the refuge, although the U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday proposed a lease sale by the end of December that could lead to oil drilling. The sale is required under the 2017 law.

Transition to cleaner energy, transport will continue

Trump, who has cast climate change as a “hoax,” has said he will also eliminate regulations by the Biden administration to increase the energy efficiency of lightbulbs, stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.

Dan Jasper, a senior policy advisor at Project Drawdown said climate action will continue to move forward at the state and local level.

Zara Ahmed, who leads policy analysis and science strategy at Carbon Direct, agreed. While there may be an abdication of leadership at the federal level on climate, she’s optimistic that states including California will continue to lead.

Clean Air Task Force Executive Director Armond Cohen said Wednesday that states, cities, utilities and businesses that have committed to net zero emissions will keep working toward those goals, driving record installations of wind and solar energy.

Governors of both parties are also interested in ramping up nuclear energy as a carbon-free source of electricity, Cohen said.

Trump has said he, too, is interested in developing the next generation of nuclear reactors that are smaller than traditional reactors.

Gina McCarthy, a former EPA administrator who was Biden’s first national climate adviser, said Trump will be unable to stop clean energy such as wind, solar and geothermal power.

“No matter what Trump may say, the shift to clean energy is unstoppable and our country is not turning back,” McCarthy said. 
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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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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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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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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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