A federal judge has blocked Jill Stein’s attempt to force a recount in Pennsylvania of votes cast in last month’s presidential election.
The Green Party’s candidate has sought a recount there, as well as in Michigan and Wisconsin. Donald Trump narrowly beat Hillary Clinton in all three states.
Last week a judge halted a recount in Michigan after three days.
Image source Flickr
Wisconsin’s is expected to finish on December 12. At issue are fears that voting machines are vulnerable to hacking.
In Pennsylvania, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 44,000 votes out of 6 million cast – less than 1%.
Announcing his ruling on December 12, US District Judge Paul Diamond said: “There is no credible evidence that any <<hack>> occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania’s voting system was not in any way compromised.”
Correspondents say that none of the recounts were likely to change the final result.
Hillary Clinton has kept silent on the matter, but her campaign has said it will co-operate with Jill Stein’s recount efforts.
Unlike Wisconsin and Michigan, most of Pennsylvania’s voting machines leave no paper trail. This would have made a recount there a cumbersome process.
Requests would have had to be filed for each individual precinct.
Donald Trump has rejected as “ridiculous” a CIA assessment that Russian hackers tried to sway the US election in his favor.
The president-elect told Fox News the Democrats were putting out the reports because they were embarrassed at the scale of the election defeat.
On December 9, CIA officials told media they had concluded that Russians hackers were trying to help Donald Trump.
Russian officials have repeatedly denied the hacking accusations.
Donald Trump said it might have been Russia but it was impossible to know.
“They have no idea if it’s Russia or China or somebody sitting in a bed some place,” he said.
President Barack Obama has ordered a complete review of the hacks, which targeted emails at the DNC and the emails of John Podesta, a key aide to presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The contents of the emails, passed to WikiLeaks and posted online, were embarrassing to the Democrats and shook up the presidential campaign.
Senior Republicans have now joined Democrats in calling for a full investigation.
Republican Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement on December 11 with top Democrats that the CIA’s report “should alarm every American”.
John McCain said in an interview that the congressional investigation should be more thorough than the one ordered by the White House.
In October, US government officials pointed the finger at Russia, accusing it of meddling in the campaign to undermine the electoral process.
On December 9, the intelligence community went further when media reports said the CIA had “high confidence” that Russians were trying to influence the election in Donald Trump’s favor.
Russians had hacked the Republican Party but chose not to reveal the contents of what they found, the reports said.
Donald Trump told Fox News on December 11: “I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it.”
The president-elect said the Democrats were behind the news reports, not the CIA, because they suffered such a big defeat.
While backing the Obama review, Donald Trump warned that it should not pin the blame solely on Russia but on other countries or individuals too.
GOP spokesman Sean Spicer said the party had not been hacked and the intelligence report was wrong.
Donald Trump also said in the interview he did not need daily intelligence briefings.
“I’m a smart person, I don’t need to be told the same thing in the same way for eight years.”
Donald Trump has questioned whether the United States should continue its “One China” policy.
The 1979 policy has respected China’s stance on Taiwan, which it sees as a breakaway province.
However, the president-elect said that without concessions from Beijing on trade and other issues, he did not see why that should continue.
The US relations with China became strained when Donald Trump took a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
Donald Trump went on to post a series of tweets criticizing China for its exchange rate policy and its operations in the South China Sea.
Image source Flickr
Speaking in an interview with Fox News broadcast on December 11, Donald Trump said: “I don’t know why we have to be bound by a One China policy unless we make a deal with China having to do with other things, including trade.”
He also said China was not co-operating with the United States on its handling of its currency, on North Korea, or on tensions in the South China Sea.
In the same interview, Donald Trump said he “doesn’t believe” a CIA assessment that Russian hackers tried to sway the presidential election in his favor.
Donald Trump’s decision to take a phone call from the Taiwanese president earlier this month was a break with US diplomatic tradition and prompted a formal protest from China.
No US president or president-elect had spoken directly to a Taiwanese leader for decades.
In the Fox interview, Donald Trump said it was not up to Beijing to decide whether he should take a call from Taiwan’s leader.
“I don’t want China dictating to me and this was a call put into me,” he said.
“It was a very nice call. Short. And why should some other nation be able to say I can’t take a call?
“I think it actually would’ve been very disrespectful, to be honest with you, not taking it.”
Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson is being tipped as Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
Rex Tillerson, 64, has met the president-elect amid growing speculation that he is being considered for secretary of state.
NBC News quotes sources close to Donald Trump as saying that Rex Tillerson is likely to be named next week.
Former UN ambassador John Bolton will serve as his deputy, NBC adds.
Image source Flickr
The news comes as Donald Trump’s team challenged the accuracy of intelligence reports that Russia intervened to boost his election prospects.
Veteran Republican Mitt Romney is among others who have also been linked to the role of secretary of state.
NYC ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani withdrew himself from consideration for the post last week. Rudy Giuliani’s foreign business dealings had raised questions over his suitability.
Rex Tillerson has extensive experience in international negotiations and a business relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He has been a critic of the international sanctions against Russia for annexing Crimea.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s presidential transition team took issue with CIA assessments that said Russia had attempted to assist Trump during the November election by releasing hacked emails harmful to Hillary Clinton.
In a statement, Donald Trump’s transition team said the officials making the assessment were “the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction”.
Spokesman Sean Spicer said there were “people within these agencies who are upset with the outcome of the election”.
President-elect Donald Trump has denied that he will work on the new series of Celebrity Apprentice after taking office.
It had been reported that Donald Trump would continue to be an executive producer of the reality show he helped create.
Donald Trump tweeted on December 10 that he would “devote zero time” to the new series, which will be hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
However, the president-elect did reaffirm that he has a “big stake” in the show.
Donald Trump fronted Celebrity Apprentice, which is owned by MGM and aired by NBC, until 2015, when his political career took over.
There have been concerns about a conflict of interest because of The Apprentice‘s advertising deals and because NBC also runs various news productions.
Donald Trump tweeted, referring to the Apprentice‘s creator, TV producer Mark Burnett: “I have NOTHING to do with The Apprentice except for fact that I conceived it with Mark B & have a big stake in it. Will devote ZERO TIME!”
Image source NBC
He described the reports that he would be working on the show during his presidency as “fake news”.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the United States president on January 20, 18 days after the new series begins.
Variety magazine, which first reported the story, had claimed Donald Trump would be paid at least “in the low five-figures” per episode. MGM declined to comment on the financial arrangements.
Some observers have questioned whether the connection could affect the reporting on Donald Trump by NBC’s news division.
In June 2015, NBC said it had ended its business relationship with Donald Trump because of “derogatory statements” he made about immigrants during his presidential campaign.
However, The Apprentice new series was recorded in February, before NBC severed its ties with Donald Trump and before his election.
His supporters have defended him, comparing his Apprentice credit to royalties received by President Barack Obama from his books.
Donald Trump is due to hold a news conference next week outlining how he plans to leave his business “in total in order to fully focus on running the country”.
The new series of Celebrity Apprentice features stars including Boy George, Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi.
According to new reports, US intelligence agencies believe Russia acted covertly to boost Donald Trump in the election race.
The New York Times and the Washington Post reports say the agencies had “high confidence” about Russian involvement in hacking.
However, Donald Trump’s team dismissed the CIA line, saying: “These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”
Russian officials have repeatedly denied the hacking accusations.
On December 9, President Barack Obama ordered an investigation into a series of cyber-attacks, blamed on Russia, during the US election season.
Image source Flickr
The hacks targeted emails at the Democratic Party and John Podesta, a key aide to presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
In October, US government officials pointed the finger at Russia, accusing it of meddling in the campaign.
Now, senior administration officials quoted by the New York Times say they are confident that Russian hackers also infiltrated the Republican National Committee’s computer systems as well as those of the Democratic Party, but did not release information gleaned from the Republican networks.
According to intelligence agencies, the Russians passed on the Democrats’ documents to WikiLeaks, the Times reported.
Democrats reacted furiously when email accounts of the DNC and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, were hacked.
John Podesta’s emails were revealed by WikiLeaks and posted online.
Quoting an unnamed “senior US official”, the Washington Post said “intelligence agencies” had “identified individuals with connections to the Russian government who provided WikiLeaks with thousands of hacked emails from the Democratic National Committee and others, including Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman”.
At one point in the campaign, Donald Trump publicly encouraged Russia to “find” Hillary Clinton’s emails, although he later said he was being sarcastic.
Democrats claimed the hacks were a deliberate attempt to undermine Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz said President Barack Obama wanted the investigation carried out on his watch “because he takes it very seriously”.
Donald Trump’s fans are urging a boycott of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, due for release in the United States next week.
The campaign began with a series of tweets from activist Jack Posobiec, who claimed the writers rewrote and reshot the movie to add in anti-Trump scenes.
Screenwriter Chris Weitz said that this was “completely fake”, though he and another writer have tweeted their opposition to Donald Trump.
#DumpStarWars has been re-tweeted 120,000 times in the past 24 hours.
In a Periscope video, Jack Posobiec, who is an activist with Citizens for Trump, claimed the writers had said the Empire in Rogue One “is a white supremacist organization like the Trump administration and the diverse rebels are going to defeat them”.
“They’re trying to make the point of using this movie to push the false narrative… that Trump is a racist,” he said.
Image source Flickr
The basis of the claims appears to be tweets sent by Chris Weitz and fellow screenwriter Gary Whitta.
Following Donald Trump’s election win on November 8, Chris Weitz posted: “Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization.”
Gary Whitta responded: “Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women.”
Both tweets were deleted within the day and Chris Weitz later apologized for politicizing the movie.
In the wake of the election, both writers also changed their Twitter avatars to the symbol of the Rebel Alliance, with a safety pin – a symbol which has been adopted in support of minorities.
President-elect Donald Trump has 17 million followers on Twitter.
Among them are a group of fans who frequently champion him and are quick to denigrate those who oppose or criticize the president-elect.
#DumpStarWars is only the latest in a series of online campaigns they have launched.
In the last few weeks, there have also been calls to boycott the cereal company Kelloggs, Starbucks and the musical Hamilton.
A handful of accounts are frequently re-tweeted in the thousands.
They tend belong to people who work in the media, managing websites or producing other media supporting Donald Trump.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen anti-regulation fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, opposed to a higher minimum wage, to lead the US Department of Labor.
Donald Trump said Andrew Puzder, the latest tycoon added to his cabinet, had a “record fighting for workers”.
Andrew Puzder is the chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which operates the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.
He has often argued a higher minimum wage would kill jobs.
The Labor Department regulates wages along with workplace safety.
Image source RT
Andrew Puzder has criticized a new Labor Department rule aimed at extending overtime pay to more than four million US workers.
He has also dismissed a nationwide campaign by fast-food workers for a $15 minimum wage, more than double the current federal level.
Donald Trump, in a statement released by his transition team, said Andrew Puzder would make workers “safer and more prosperous”.
“He will save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages,” the president-elect said.
In the same statement, Andrew Puzder said “the right government policies can result in more jobs and better wages for the American worker”.
Democrats and their allies have been critical of the Californian’s appointment.
Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO union, said Andrew Puzder’s “business record is defined by fighting against working people”.
Andrew Puzder was one of Donald Trump’s earliest campaign financiers, contributing more than $330,000 to his White House bid, reports the Washington Post.
He opposes the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, claiming it has left working families with less money to spend dining out, spawning a “restaurant recession”.
Andrew Puzder has brushed off allegations that his fast-food restaurants’ racy commercials – featuring scantily clad models gorging on burgers – are sexist.
“I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis,” he once said.
“I think it’s very American.”
Donald Trump’s latest cabinet appointment came amid his Twitter spat with the head of a local United Steelworkers union in Indiana.
President-elect Donald Trump has blasted union leader Chuck Jones, who accused him of lying about his deal to stop air conditioning maker Carrier from moving jobs to Mexico.
Donald Trump said Chuck Jones had done a “terrible job” for workers at Carrier, moments after Jones had criticized the president-elect on CNN.
According to Chuck Jones, Donald Trump had wrongly claimed 1,100 jobs in Indiana were saved.
Earlier in the week Donald Trump attacked Boeing, hours after its boss criticized his trade policy, but he denied a link.
Shortly after Donald Trump’s tweet attacking Chuck Jones on December 7, the union leader started receiving phone calls threatening his children, he said.
Image source CNN
Chuck Jones said: “Nothing that says they’re gonna kill me, but, you know, you better keep your eye on your kids.”
Keeping jobs from migrating to lower-wage countries was a central plank of Donald Trump’s successful election campaign.
He claimed a victory last week when he struck a deal with Carrier’s parent company, granting them $7 million in tax cuts and incentives over 10 years.
In the CNN interview that preceded the enraged tweet by the president-elect, Chuck Jones disputed Donald Trump’s claim on the job figures because 550 jobs were still going overseas.
Using stronger language when speaking to the Washington Post earlier this week, Chuck Jones said Donald Trump had “lied his ass off”.
On December 8, Chuck Jones admitted his choice of words was unwise but he stood by his accusation.
“Trump didn’t tell the truth and I called him out,” he said, saying Donald Trump “overreacted”.
Chuck Jones said that while the union was grateful to have 730 of its members keeping their jobs, Donald Trump had raised false hopes for hundreds of others when he wrongly claimed 1,100 jobs were not moving abroad.
Donald Trump’s tweet sparked a back and forth on Twitter with the union, which sprang to Chuck Jones’s defense by saying he worked tirelessly to save “all jobs”.
The president-elect responded by tweeting that the union was to blame for jobs going abroad and it should reduce its dues.
The union fired back by saying its dues helped the union save jobs, adding the hashtag #imwithchuck.
The spat is the second time this week that Donald Trump has attacked an organization that has criticized him.
On December 6, he threatened to cancel a huge government contract with Boeing after the chief executive made pro-trade remarks that were reported in the Chicago Tribune.
Donald Trump said he had not seen the article in question.
Cuban business owners have appealed to Donald Trump not to reverse a recent thaw in bilateral relations.
In a letter, more than one hundred business owners said additional measures to boost travel, trade and investment would benefit both nations.
The president-elect, who takes office on January 20, has said he will end a deal under which ties were restored in 2015 unless Havana offers a “better deal”.
Cuba hopes to sign 12 agreements with the United States before Donald Trump’s inauguration.
On December 7, officials from both governments held talks in Havana to discuss how this could be achieved during President Barack Obama’s remaining weeks in office.
Cuban Foreign Ministry’s Director of US Affairs Josefina Vidal said: “At the moment we are negotiating 12 more [agreements] with the aim to be able to conclude and sign a majority of them.”
Photo Reuters
Josefina Vidal said that a number of agreements had already been signed with Washington since 2015.
She also expressed hopes that the bilateral relations would continue improving but “within the respect of the existing differences and without having to make any kind of concession to the principles in which Cuba firmly believes”.
Barack Obama has worked to improve relations with Cuba, culminating in his historic visit to Havana in March 2016.
In November, Donald Trump threatened in a tweet to put an end to the detente following the death of Fidel Castro.
He said that if “Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the US as a whole, I will terminate deal”.
Donald Trump’s camp accuses the Obama administration of giving too much away to Cuba without receiving enough in return.
Under President Barack Obama, diplomatic ties were restored in July 2015 after being severed in 1961.
Some trade restrictions have been eased and the White House has been lobbying the US Congress to terminate the Cuban economic embargo that has been in place for decades.
Michael Flynn Jr., one of Donald Trump’s aides, has lost his job after fanning so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theory that climaxed at the weekend in gunfire at a pizzeria.
The 33-year-old left the president-elect’s transition team on December 6 following his tweets about the Pizzagate fake news story.
His father, Michael Flynn Sr., Donald Trump’s pick to be US national security adviser, has also shared fake news.
The Pizzagate hoax led to a gunman firing shots in a restaurant on December 4.
No one was injured in the incident at Comet Ping Pong in Washington DC.
Image source Flickr
The suspect told police he had turned up to “self-investigate” online rumor-mongering that the pizzeria was the nexus of a pedophile ring involving Hillary Clinton and one of her aides, John Podesta.
The bizarre and unfounded theory had been spread online by right-wing blogs.
The claims were also pushed by Michale Flynn Jr., who tweeted after December 4 gunfire that Pizzagate would remain a story until “proven to be false”.
The New York Times reports that he was fired from the Trump transition team on December 6 but, according to CBS News, he resigned before he was sacked.
The Trump team confirmed the departure of Michael Flynn Jr. – who had reportedly been given a .gov email address – but did not confirm it was related to the tweets.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence acknowledged that Michael Flynn Jr. had been helping his father with scheduling and administrative items during the transition but said “that’s no longer the case”.
Asked repeatedly whether a security clearance was requested, Mike Pence refused to answer directly.
Michael Flynn Sr., 57, has also tweeted out unsubstantiated conspiracy theories accusing Hillary Clinton and her aides of child-s** trafficking.
Among the retired lieutenant general’s other tweets was an allegation that President Barack Obama was a “jihadi” who “laundered” money for terrorists.
Critics have said Michael Flynn Sr. is unfit to advise Donald Trump on the veracity of national security threats facing the US.
In December 4 armed confrontation, the suspect allegedly walked into Comet Ping Pong and pointed a rifle at an employee before firing shots into the ground.
Edgar Maddison Welch, 28, from North Carolina, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.
The Pizzagate theory originated on alternative message board 4chan, based on emails hacked from the Democratic Party and leaked by WikiLeaks.
The restaurant’s owner, James Alefantis, a Democratic Party donor, appears in the emails in relation to organizing a Democratic fundraiser.
Users of 4chan and Reddit had said words in the emails such as cheese, hot dog, and pizza were code for young children and s** acts.
Donald Trump has announced he wants to cut government costs by cancelling the order for new planes to carry the American president.
Six weeks ahead of taking office, the president-elect tweeted: “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!”
The government has a contract with Boeing to build two or more new planes.
They would enter service around 2024.
Boeing shares fell more than 1% after Donald Trump’s tweet, but recovered most of their losses in afternoon trading.
Donald Trump would not fly on the new planes unless he won a second term in the 2020 election.
He also announced on December 6 that Japan’s SoftBank has agreed to invest $50 billion in the US aimed at creating 50,000 new jobs.
Image source Wikimedia
Donald Trump revealed the plan after meeting with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at Trump Tower.
The president-elect tweeted: “Masa said he would never do this had we (Trump) not won the election!”
Donald Trump now uses his own plane, but as president he would travel aboard Air Force One, which is equipped with special safety, defensive and communications equipment.
The real estate mogul is known for his admiration of his Trump-branded Boeing 757 jet, boasting to Rolling Stone in 2015 that his aircraft was “bigger than Air Force One, which is a step down from this in every way”.
“Did you know it was featured on the Discovery Channel as the world’s most luxurious jetliner?” Donald Trump said at the time.
He told reporters on December 6 at Trump Tower in New York that Boeing was “doing a little bit of a number” and the cost was “ridiculous”.
“We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money,” Donald Trump added.
The US Air Force released a statement saying it had budgeted $2.7 billion for the project, “but expects this number to change as the program matures with the completion of the risk reduction activities”.
The White House said it was not clear where Donald Trump got the $4 billion figure he cited to replace the Air Force One plane.
Spokesman Josh Earnest said: “Some of the statistics that have been cited, shall we say, don’t appear to reflect the nature of the financial arrangement between Boeing and the Department of Defense.”
The Government Accountability Office estimates that the project’s overall cost will be $3.2 billion, a figure that is expected to rise.
Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher, in a statement, said: “We are currently under contract for $170m to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the president of the United States.
“We look forward to working with the US Air Force on subsequent phases of the programme, allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer.”
Donald Trump has picked Ben Carson as secretary of housing and urban development.
“Ben Carson has a brilliant mind and is passionate about strengthening communities,” the president-elect said in a statement about his former rival for the Republican nomination, adding that the two had discussed his “urban renewal agenda”.
Ben Carson is the first African-American to be nominated for Donald Trump’s cabinet.
The retired neurosurgeon endorsed Donald Trump in March after ending his own bid for the White House.
Photo Getty Images
“Ben shares my optimism about the future of our country and is part of ensuring that this is a presidency representing all Americans,” Donald Trump’s statement said.
However, Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the nomination of Ben Carson calling him a “disconcerting and disturbingly unqualified choice to lead a department as complex and consequential as housing and urban development”.
The agency has an annual budget of about $50 billion.
Donald Trump has not always been so positive about the man he has chosen to join his administration.
In November 2015, when Ben Carson briefly overtook him in the polls for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump launched sustained attacks on his rival’s character.
In one tweet, he brought together three of Ben Carson’s most controversial statements, bringing up Carson’s own admissions about his violent behavior growing up in a poor family in Detroit.
Ben Carson has since reiterated statements about his teenage years first made in his autobiography, in which he admitted to wanting to hit his mother on the head with a hammer and to trying to stab a friend.
His assertion that the Egyptian pyramids were not built to entomb pharaohs but instead by the Biblical figure Joseph to store grain were widely ridiculed when they emerged in November.
Ben Carson is a devout Protestant Christian who is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
Cabinet appointments need to be confirmed by the Senate.
There are still major cabinet positions yet to be announced, including the next secretary of state.
As well as his top team, Donald Trump has about 4,000 government positions to fill.
Donald Trump has vowed to impose punitive taxes on US companies that move manufacturing overseas.
The president-elect promised a 35% tax on products sold in the United States by any business that fired American workers, and built a factory elsewhere.
Companies should be “forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake”, he said.
Donald Trump has promised to help blue-collar workers, as well as reduce taxes and regulations on businesses.
Image source Flickr
He tweeted: “The US is going to substantialy [sic] reduce taxes and regulations on businesses, but any business that leaves our country for another country, fires its employees, builds a new factory or plant in the other country, and then thinks it will sell its product back into the US without retribution or consequence, is WRONG!”
Donald Trump went on: “There will be a tax on our soon to be strong border of 35% for these companies wanting to sell their product, cars, A.C. units etc., back across the border.
“This tax will make leaving financially difficult, but these companies are able to move between all 50 states, with no tax or tariff being charged.
“Please be forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake! THE UNITED STATES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS.”
Last week Donald Trump tweeted a warning to Rexnord Corp, an industrial supplier based in Milwaukee that plans to move a bearings plant and its 300 jobs from Indiana to Mexico.
“Rexnord of Indiana is moving to Mexico and rather viciously firing all of its 300 workers. This is happening all over the country. No more!” he wrote.
Experts have warned that the president-elect will face legal challenges if he tries to impose tariffs on specific companies without congressional approval.
Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, predicted that the US courts would block such a move.
Jill Stein and her party have changed their strategy in seeking a state-wide recount in Pennsylvania.
Her campaign says it will go to the federal courts, hours after dropping an appeal in a Pennsylvania state court.
The Green Party had earlier said voters could not afford the $1 million bond ordered by the state court.
Jill Stein has tried to force recounts in Michigan and Wisconsin as well; all three were narrowly won by Donald Trump.
Image source Flickr
The Greens’ decision comes two days before a court hearing was scheduled on the case in Pennsylvania where Donald Trump’s margin of victory was 49,000, or less than 1%.
Donald Trump’s supporters are trying to block the recount bid, which are unlikely to change the polls results if they take place.
“Make no mistake, the Stein campaign will continue to fight for a state-wide recount in Pennsylvania,” recount campaign lawyer Jonathan Abady said in a statement.
“We are committed to this fight to protect the civil and voting rights of all Americans.”
Jonathan Abady said barriers to a recount in Pennsylvania are pervasive and the state court system is ill-equipped to address the problem.
Jill Stein, who was the Green Party’s presidential candidate, says the recount bid is needed to explore whether voting machines and systems had been hacked and the election result manipulated.
Her campaign has so far offered no evidence of hacking, and supporters of Donald Trump have asked the state court to dismiss the case.
A recount has already started in Wisconsin, which Donald Trump won by 22,000 votes. On December 2, a federal court rejected a request by Donald Trump’s supporters to immediately halt the recount there, but allowed a lawsuit to proceed.
In Michigan, Donald Trump’s team filed a complaint with the elections board to block a recount of all 4.8 million ballots cast in the state, which he won by 10,700 votes. A recount there could begin next week.
Hillary Clinton, who lost to Donald Trump, has kept silent on the matter, but her campaign has said it would co-operate with Jill Stein’s recount efforts.
China’s foreign ministry says it has lodged a complaint with the US after Donald Trump spoke to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in a phone call.
China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province. US policy set in 1979 cut all formal relations with Taiwan.
However, Donald Trump’s transition team said he and Tsai Ing-wen noted “close economic, political, and security ties” in a phone call.
China said it had lodged a “solemn representation” with Washington.
According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, China urged the US “to cautiously, properly handle Taiwan issue to avoid unnecessary disturbance to Sino-US relations”.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi dismissed the call as a “petty trick” by Taiwan, Chinese state media said.
Donald Trump tweeted on December 2 that Tsai Ing-wen had called Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the US election.
His team said that the US president-elect had also congratulated Tsai Ing-wen on becoming the president of Taiwan last January.
It is highly unusual for a US president or president-elect to speak to a Taiwanese leader directly.
Following media reports pointing out the risks of angering China, Donald Trump tweeted: “Interesting how the US sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I should not accept a congratulatory call.”
The White House has said Donald Trump’s conversation does not signal any change in US policy. And according to media reports, the White House learned of the call only after it had happened.
Donald Trump’s spokeswoman said he was “well aware” of US policy towards Taiwan.
The split between China and Taiwan goes back to 1949, when the Republic of China (ROC) government fled the mainland to Taiwan. After 1945, it held China’s seat on the UN Security Council and was, for a while, recognized by many Western nations as the only Chinese government.
In 1971, the UN switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing and the ROC government was forced out. Only a handful of countries now recognize Taiwan’s government.
The US cut formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979, expressing its support for Beijing’s “One China” concept, which states that Taiwan is part of China.
China has hundreds of missiles pointing towards Taiwan, and has threatened to use force if it seeks independence.
President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female leader, led the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to a landslide victory in the January 2016 election.
The DPP has traditionally leaned towards independence from China. President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration does not accept the One China policy.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it opposed any official interaction or military contact between the US and Taiwan, according to the People’s Daily, a Communist Party mouthpiece.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the conversation between Donald Trump and Tsai Ing-wen was “just a petty trick by Taiwan” that he believed would not change US policy toward China, state media reported.
“The One China policy is the cornerstone of the healthy development of China-US relations and we hope this political foundation will not be interfered with or damaged,” he was quoted as saying.
The comment was repeated in a formal statement by the Foreign Ministry reported by Xinhua.
Despite the cut in formal ties nearly four decades ago, the US has still maintained friendly non-official relations with Taiwan.
Following Donald Trump’s phone call, the White House said the US remained firmly committed to its “One China” policy.
According to a new report, President Barack Obama has recommended to President-elect Donald Trump to elect a cybersecurity ambassador to help keep the US secure.
The 100-page document highlights areas where the US falls short and calls on the private sector to help hasten the improvement of digital services.
President Barack Obama set up the commission in preparation for the new administration.
The outgoing president said its recommendations should be followed within the first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“Now it is time for the next administration to take up this charge and ensure that cyberspace can continue to be the driver for prosperity, innovation, and change both in the United States and around the world,” Barack Obama said.
However, the report is only advisory and Donald Trump could choose to ignore its suggestions.
In its 16 recommendations, the Presidential Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity also suggested implementing a kind of “nutritional label” system for devices. The label would contain independent advice on how secure a particular device may or may not be.
The report’s backdrop comes amid ongoing concern about how weak cybersecurity is allowing other nations to interfere with US governance.
Donald Trump has appointed General James “Mad Dog” Mattis, a former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as his defense secretary.
“He’s our best,” the president-elect said, as he announced his pick in a speech in Ohio.
The 66-year-old, who is known as “Mad Dog”, was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Middle East policy, particularly on Iran.
He has referred to Iran as “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East”.
Image source Wikimedia
Donald Trump made the announcement in Cincinnati at the start of a “USA Thank You Tour 2016” for his supporters.
“We are going to appoint <<Mad Dog>> Mattis as our secretary of defense,” he told the crowd.
“They say he’s the closest thing to General George Patton [World War Two commander] that we have.”
Donald Trump has previously described James Mattis as “a true general’s general”.
The retired Marine Corps officer led an assault battalion during the first Gulf war in 1991 and commanded a task force into southern Afghanistan in 2001.
Gen. James Mattis also took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and played a key role a year later in the battle of Fallujah against Iraqi insurgents.
He retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the US Central Command.
Correspondents say his nomination will be popular among US forces.
Gen. James Mattis also received the backing of Senator John McCain, chairman of the armed services committee, who will conduct his confirmation hearing.
“He is without a doubt one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops,” John McCain said in a statement.
“America will be fortunate to have General Mattis in its service once again.”
However, a legal hurdle must be overcome before he can be appointed.
Under US law, a retired officer must be out of uniform for at least seven years before he or she can serve as defense secretary.
Republican-controlled Congress will have to approve legislation bypassing the requirement so Gen. Mattis can take up the role.
According to new reports, Donald Trump is expected to pick former Goldman Sachs executive Steve Mnuchin to be treasury secretary.
Steve Mnuchin, who was Donald Trump’s campaign finance chairman and has no government experience, could be named on November 30, according to reports.
On November 29, Donald Trump picked Tom Price as health secretary and Elaine Chao as transportation secretary.
The president-elect is still weighing his options in filling the posts of state and defense.
Steve Mnuchin amassed a fortune over 17 years at Goldman Sachs investment bank, before founding a movie production company that was behind such box office hits as the X-Men franchise and American Sniper.
It remains to be seen whether Donald Trump’s first key economic policy move, potentially picking a consummate Wall Street insider to helm the nation’s financial system, will be welcomed by supporters who were energized by the Republican’s vow to “drain the swamp” of special interests.
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross – known as “the king of bankruptcy” for his restructuring of failing industries – is tipped to be named as Donald Trump’s commerce secretary.
Also on November 29, Donald Trump met Mitt Romney for a second time despite one of his top aides launching a public campaign against offering the former Massachusetts governor the post of secretary of state.
Donald Trump had dinner with Mitt Romney and the president-elect’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus.
Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out against Mitt Romney on November 27, saying Donald Trump’s supporters felt “betrayed” he would consider the 2012 Republican nominee for the prominent role.
Mitt Romney was one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics during the campaign.
The president-elect will also sit down with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The two men are leading contenders for the all-important diplomatic post.
Earlier, Donald Trump met retired General David Petraeus.
In a tweet after their meeting on November 28, Donald Trump said he was “very impressed” with the former CIA director.
Donald Trump met Mitt Romney for a second time despite one of his top aides launching a public campaign against offering the former Massachusetts governor the post of secretary of state.
Donald Trump had dinner with Mitt Romney and the president-elect’s chief of staff, Reince Priebus.
Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out against Mitt Romney on November 27, saying Donald Trump’s supporters felt “betrayed” he would consider the 2012 Republican nominee for the prominent role.
Photo Getty Images
Mitt Romney was one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics during the campaign.
The president-elect will also sit down with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The two men are leading contenders for the all-important diplomatic post.
Earlier, Donald Trump met retired General David Petraeus.
In a tweet after their meeting on November 28, Donald Trump said he was “very impressed” with the former CIA director.
On November 29, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to meet Mitt Romney for a second time despite one of his top aides launching a public campaign against the former Massachusetts governor’s nomination.
Senior adviser Kellyanne Conway spoke out against Mitt Romney on November 27, saying Donald Trump’s supporters felt “betrayed” he would consider the 2012 Republican nominee for the prominent role.
Mitt Romney was one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics during the campaign.
Donald Trump will also sit down with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.
The two men are leading contenders for the all-important diplomatic post.
Earlier, Donald Trump met retired General David Petraeus. He said he was “very impressed” with the former CIA director in a tweet after their meeting on November 28.
David Petraeus pleaded guilty in 2015 to mishandling classified information over documents he had shared with his biographer Paula Broadwell, with whom he was also having an affair.
Donald Trump has named Tom Price as his future health secretary.
The 62-year-old Georgia congressman and orthopedic surgeon is a strong critic of President Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms.
He currently chairs the House of Representatives budget committee.
Tom Price will play a key role in Republican plans to replace the Affordable Healthcare Act (ObamaCare).a
Image source Flickr
In his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to repeal and replace the act, considered Barack Obama’s flagship measure.
However, he has since said he favors keeping certain provisions.
Donald Trump said Tom Price was a “tireless problem solver” and “the go-to expert on healthcare policy”.
“He is exceptionally qualified to shepherd our commitment to repeal and replace ObamaCare and bring affordable and accessible healthcare to every American,” the president-elect said in a statement.
Tom Price said he was looking forward to the opportunity of serving as health secretary on behalf of the American people.
He said his aim was to create a new system that worked for patients, families and doctors, adding that it should “protect the well-being of the country while embracing its innovative spirit”.
Tom Price will be working closely with Seema Verma, who will lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees government health programs and insurance standards.
“Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system,” Donald Trump said.
Earlier this month Donald Trump, who has pledged to repeal the healthcare bill, said he would keep some parts of the law such as allowing young adults to be insured on their parents’ policies and banning insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
The White House has reacted to Donald Trump’s claim of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election, saying that there is no evidence to support the allegations.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest dismissed Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations that millions of people had cast illegal votes.
The president-elect also alleged voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California, states which Hillary Clinton won.
Josh Earnest deferred to Donald Trump’s team for further comment.
Image source Flickr
“What I can say, as an objective fact, is that there has been no evidence produced to substantiate a claim like that,” the press secretary told reporters at a White House briefing.
Donald Trump, who won the all-important Electoral College count, aired his grievances with the election result in a tweet on November 27.
“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” he wrote.
Donald Trump’s Twitter outburst comes after Hillary Clinton’s camp said it would support a vote recount in Wisconsin initiated by Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
Jill Stein also notified the elections board in Michigan, where Donald Trump’s 16 electoral votes were certified on November 28, that it would seek a statewide recount of the presidential election results.
Her campaign moved to do the same in Pennsylvania.
Donald Trump won by two-tenths of a percentage point out of nearly 4.8 million votes, making it the closest presidential race in Michigan in more than 75 years.
He is the first Republican presidential nominee to win Michigan since 1988.
Jill Stein’s recount effort was driven by the #recount2016 social media campaign, which has raised over $6.3 million.
During her entire presidential run, Jill Stein’s campaign only raised $3.5 million.
Results would need to be overturned in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to alter the outcome of the November 8 election – something analysts say is highly unlikely.
Donald Trump has asserted he won the popular vote on 8 November “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally”.
The president-elect, who won the all-important Electoral College count, offered no evidence to back his claim.
It comes after Hillary Clinton’s campaign said it would support a vote recount in Wisconsin initiated by Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.
Hillary Clinton won about two million votes more than Mr Trump in the popular vote.
However, Donald Trump surpassed the required 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. This was based on the state-by-state contests.
In a tweet, the president-elect wrote: “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.”
In his follow-up tweets, Donald Trump wrote: “It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than in the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4 states instead of the 15 states that I visited.
“I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!”
Donald Trump also alleged “serious voter fraud” in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – states won by Hillary Clinton – accusing media of not reporting on that issue.
On November 27, Donald Trump reminded Hillary Clinton that she had already admitted defeat, and published remarks from the presidential debates in which she had urged an acceptance of the poll results.
At the time, Hillary Clinton was reacting to Donald Trump’s refusal to respect the outcome.
The Republican narrowly beat the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin, where a recount of the votes was initiated last week by Jill Stein.
Jill Stein also wants recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania, citing “statistical anomalies”.
The Green Party nominee reportedly wants to be sure computer hackers did not skew the poll in favor of Donald Trump.
Concerns over possible Russian interference had been expressed in the run-up to the vote.
The US government has said Russian state actors were behind hacks on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), a claim denied by Moscow.
Results would need to be overturned in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to alter the outcome of the November 8 election – something analysts say is highly unlikely.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has said it will participate in Wisconsin’s recount.
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Prev