WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide the legality of a congressionally authorized fund operated by the Federal Communications Commission to expand access to telecommunications services in a challenge accusing Congress of unlawfully delegating its authority to an independent federal agency.

The justices took up an appeal by the FCC and a coalition of interest groups and telecommunications firms of a lower court’s decision that found Congress violated the U.S. Constitution by empowering the FCC to manage the fund. The court is expected to hear arguments in the case and issue a ruling by the end of June.

Congress in a federal law called the Telecommunications Act of 1996 authorized the FCC to operate the Universal Service Fund to promote broad access to services such as phone and broadband internet.

All telecommunications carriers contribute to the fund, which draws around $9 billion annually. The fund helps to extend service to people in rural areas, provides subsidies for low-income Americans, expands service in Native American tribal lands and assists schools and libraries.

A group of challengers including the conservative group Consumers’ Research filed lawsuits against the FCC and the U.S. government, arguing that Congress delegated its revenue-raising function to the FCC in violation of the Constitution. The challengers also argued that the FCC unlawfully transferred its authority to the Universal Service Administrative Company, a private nonprofit that helps the agency administer the fund.

The case involves the non-delegation doctrine, a legal concept that embraces the view that Congress cannot delegate the legislative powers given to it under the Constitution to other entities. The legality of the FCC’s handoff of power involves a similar concept known as the private non-delegation doctrine.

The FCC was established as an independent federal agency by the Communications Act of 1934 and is overseen by Congress.

Federal appellate courts have reached different conclusions on the legal question at issue in the case.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review a ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the funding arrangement unconstitutional, granting an appeal by the FCC and various interest groups.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel hailed the court’s decision to hear the agency’s appeal.

“For decades, there has been broad, bipartisan support for the Universal Service Fund and the FCC programs that help communications reach the most rural and least-connected households in the United States, as well as hospitals, schools, and libraries nationwide,” she said. “I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will overturn the decision that put this vital system at risk.”

Three industry groups representing telecommunications companies said in a joint statement they were pleased the high court will review the lower court ruling.

“It threatens to undermine universal service programs that, for many decades, have served to promote the availability and affordability of critical communications services for millions of rural and low-income consumers, rural health care facilities, and schools and libraries across the nation,” said the Rural Broadband Association, Competitive Carriers Association and USTelecom, which represent AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other major companies.

The justices have not acted on separate appeals by Consumers’ Research and other interested parties of lower court rulings that found the funding arrangement constitutional.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has reined in the actions of federal regulatory agencies in a series of rulings in recent years, though those cases did not involve the non-delegation doctrine. 
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HEALDSBURG, California — Heavy downpours fell over much of Northern California on Friday, causing small landslides and flooding a river and some streets, including in parts of San Francisco. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people were still without power in the Seattle area after several days in the dark. 

The storm arrived in the Pacific Northwest earlier this week, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, mostly in the Seattle area, before moving through Northern California, where several roads were closed because of flooding and strong winds toppled trees. 

Forecasters warned about the risk of flash flooding and rock slides in areas north of San Francisco from this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land. 

On the East Coast, another storm brought much-needed rain to New York and New Jersey, where rare wildfires have raged in recent weeks. The rain eased the fire danger for the rest of the year and was a boost for ski resorts preparing to open in the weeks ahead. Parts of West Virginia were under a blizzard warning through Saturday morning, with up to 61 centimeters of snow and high winds making travel treacherous. 

In California’s Humboldt County, the sheriff’s office downgraded evacuation orders to warnings for people near the Eel River after forecasters said the waterway would see moderate but not major flooding. Officials urged residents to prepare for storm impacts throughout the week. 

Flooding closed scenic Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, in neighboring Mendocino County north of Point Arena near the Garcia River, and there was no estimate for when it would reopen, according to the California Department of Transportation. 

Santa Rosa saw its wettest three-day period on record with about 32 centimeters of rain, according to the National Weather Service in the Bay Area. 

Mudslide danger 

A small mudslide threatened a home in the community of Fitch Mountain, near Healdsburg, nestled in hills along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Moderate rain was falling, and officials worried the slide could grow and hit several homes downhill. 

“Our concern is while this property may be OK, the earth between it and the road below is slipping, and the mudslide is affecting downhill properties,” said Tennis Wick, permits and resource director for Sonoma County. 

Dana Eaton, who lives in one of the downhill properties and was clad in a yellow rain slicker and hat, said she was worried, too. In 2019, mud cascaded into a neighbor’s garage. 

Asked what the past few days have been like, she laughed: “Wet. Constant rain. It’s like everywhere else in the county, but so far nothing major, just concerns.” 

Power outages 

In Washington state, nearly 127,000 people were still without electricity, mostly in the Seattle area’s King County, as crews worked to clear streets of downed lines, branches and other debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday. 

People flocked to a suburban senior center in Issaquah to get warm food and plug in their cellphones and other devices. One of them, Melissa Tryon, said she had been unable to charge her electric motorized wheelchair and had to throw out all the food in her refrigerator after it went bad. 

“Today I kind of had a little bit of a meltdown,” Tyron said. “It’s hard to be cut off for that long.” 

Gale warnings were issued off Washington, Oregon and California, and high wind warnings were in effect across parts of Northern California and Oregon. There were winter storm warnings for parts of the California Cascades and the Sierra Nevada. 

The National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, reported a 206-kph (128-mph) gust of wind in the morning at the top of Palisades Tahoe ski resort, about 10 miles northwest of Lake Tahoe, where some runs were open. Gusts up to 138 kph (86 mph) were recorded at Mount Rose, which closed because of the weather. 

The system roared ashore on the West Coast on Tuesday as a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes.

Northeast welcomes rain 

In the Northeast, which has been hit by drought, more than 5 centimeters (2 inches) of rain was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations. 

Despite the mess, the precipitation was expected to help ease drought conditions in a state that has seen an exceptionally dry fall. 

“It’s not going to be a drought buster, but it’s definitely going to help when all this melts,” said Bryan Greenblatt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Binghamton, New York. 

Heavy snow fell in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains, prompting a raft of school closures. Higher elevations reported up to 43 centimeters (17 inches), with lesser accumulations in valley cities like Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. More than 100,000 customers in 10 counties lost power, and the state transportation department imposed speed restrictions on some highways.
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European allies in the Baltic region are investigating how two fiber optic data cables were severed earlier this week — with suspicion falling on a Chinese vessel in the area. Germany has said the incident was clearly sabotage. As Henry Ridgwell reports, Western nations have warned of a sharp increase in so-called hybrid attacks by adversaries on key infrastructure.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh confirmed that Russia had indeed launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile into Ukraine on November 21. She told reporters that Washington “was notified through nuclear threat reduction channels shortly before the launch.” 

See the full story here.
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The United States has sanctioned Russia’s Gazprombank, the lender built around the country’s gas exporting giant, as well as dozens of other financial institutions. The new measures are expected to further curtail Moscow’s use of the international financial system.

See the full story here.   
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RIO DE JANEIRO — As the world’s two largest economies vie for influence in South America, Brazil sits at the heart of the global power struggle. The choices the country makes in the coming years could reshape the region’s economic and political trajectory, according to analysts.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Brazil for a state visit and the G20 Summit marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries and underscored Beijing’s expanding influence in South America amid intensifying U.S.–China competition.

Xi’s visit resulted in 37 trade and diplomatic agreements with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. These agreements spanned agriculture, renewable energy and infrastructure development, signaling a closer partnership between the world’s second-largest economy and Latin America’s largest nation.

“Brazil has the biggest Chinese investment in the Global South. Lots of Chinese money here,” said Mauricio Santoro, political scientist and international relations expert, and author of Brazil-China Relations in the 21st Century, in an interview with VOA.

“And the Chinese and Brazilians are backing a lot of the development of green technologies, wind power, solar power. So, there’s huge potential in that.”

During the visit, Xi and Lula discussed strengthening economic cooperation between China and Brazil, as well as addressing key global issues, including trade, sustainable development and geopolitical challenges. Despite the sheer volume of agreements, experts suggest that many were largely symbolic, focusing on reaffirming commitments rather than enacting concrete policies.

“Signing 37 agreements is huge. It’s likely they won’t have practical effects in the near term,” Livio Ribeiro, an expert on Sino-Brazilian trade, told VOA. “Most of them are very broad and unspecific. Though, linkages are being tied up. They are getting stronger. I think that’s the point.”

China’s expanding influence

China has cemented itself as Brazil’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at close to $160 billion in 2023. Trade between the two countries has increased by nearly 10% in the first 10 months of 2024, reported China’s state news agency, Xinhua. Over the past decade, Chinese investments in Brazil, particularly in energy and infrastructure, have surged.

As China deepens its footprint in South America, the United States has emphasized soft power strategies, particularly in combating climate change — a central element of Lula’s international agenda. The Biden administration increased its climate finance to $11 billion annually and contributed $50 million to Brazil’s Amazon Fund.

However, analysts say China’s rise poses challenges to U.S. influence in South America. Bilateral currency agreements between Beijing and countries such as Brazil and Chile enable trade in Chinese currency, the renminbi, gradually undermining the dollar’s dominance in the region.

“Most American administrations look at Latin America as a problem. As a source of instability, of undesirable immigration, organized crime, border troubles and so on,” said Santoro. “But when China looks to Latin America, it basically sees opportunities.”

The Trump factor

The incoming Trump administration may shift the dynamics of U.S.–China competition in the region, and Trump’s proposals, including a possible sweeping tariff on Chinese imports, could alienate South American nations and draw them closer to Beijing, according to experts.

“As we have Trump coming into office in January 2025, the balance of power will change,” Ribeiro told VOA. “And for me the great question is whether Trump, knowing and understanding that he’s losing Latin America, if he will try to regain it or he’ll just let it go.”

He said higher interest rates in the U.S. and a stronger dollar may exacerbate economic challenges in South America, devaluing local currencies and increasing borrowing costs. Such volatility could make Chinese partnerships more appealing.

Chinese officials “don’t believe that Trump will be able to build good relationships with the leaders of these countries,” Santoro said.

Brazil’s balancing act

President Lula has maintained a careful approach, strengthening ties with China without alienating the United States. His decision not to join China’s global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reflects a strategy to preserve Brazil’s diplomatic flexibility, experts said.

“That’s the precise way Brazil should deal with it,” Ribeiro told VOA. “Because he [Lula] did not sign the Belt and Road Initiative. Therefore, the U.S. can’t say that we are going into the opposition.”

Analysts note Brazil can potentially still benefit from the BRI project — for example through a proposed Brazil-Peru transcontinental railway that remains in the planning stage — while balancing diplomacy between the global rivals, analysts said.

“We are trading more and more [with China]. We are using infrastructure. We are receiving Chinese money. So, the integration that comes along with the Belt and Road is reaching us,” said Ribeiro.

Some experts see opportunities for Brazil in the U.S.–China rivalry.

“If China is suffering economically with the imposition of U.S. tariffs, it could quite possibly make a deal with Brazil to bring the trade to us, using our established trade partnership,” said Brazilian writer Sergio Farias in an interview with VOA.

“I think there’s a great possibility of Brazil benefiting from this.”
…

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next U.S. secretary of state is Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who has been in the Senate since 2011 and serves on the chamber’s foreign relations and intelligence committees. VOA’s Chief National Correspondent Steve Herman has more.
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London — European allies in the Baltic region are investigating how two fiber-optic data cables were severed earlier this week, with suspicion falling on a Chinese vessel in the area. Germany has said the incident was clearly sabotage. 

The Danish navy said this week it is following the Yi Peng 3, a Chinese bulk carrier, as it moves through the Baltic Sea. As of Friday, marine tracking systems showed the vessel anchored east of the Danish city of Aarhus. 

Denmark did not elaborate on why it was tracking the ship. However, there’s widespread speculation the vessel may have been involved in the severing of two fiber-optic cables on the seabed, one connecting Finland and Germany and the other running between Sweden and Lithuania. 

Speaking Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was adamant it was no accident. 

“I also don’t like to believe in the version that these were anchors that accidentally caused — how shall I put it — damage to these cables. So, we have to conclude, without knowing exactly who did it, that it was a hybrid action. And we also have to assume, without knowing it, of course, that it is sabotage,” Pistorius told reporters in Brussels. 

European allies in the Baltic are collaborating on an investigation, according to defense analyst Charly Salonius-Pasternak of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. 

“There’s the camp that I would say sees hybrid operations in absolutely everything. And it is one of the things I’ve cautioned against — that if you’re in a hall of mirrors, everything looks a certain way. We don’t know that,” he told VOA. 

“But as we’ve already seen in the Baltic Sea, but [also] elsewhere, the incidents of, as it were, ‘perfect timing’ in terms of anchors dragging or other things — at some point you have to start drawing conclusions that this cannot be just an accident,” Salonius-Pasternak added. 

Several similar incidents

There have been numerous similar incidents in the Baltic Sea in recent years. In October 2023, the Balticconnector gas pipeline linking Estonia and Finland was badly damaged. 

Ten months later, China said a Hong Kong-registered vessel, the Newnew Polar Bear, had caused the damage accidentally in a storm. Finland remains skeptical of the admission, saying there were no storms in the area on the day the damage was detected.

“At least for some countries, it may be politically convenient to label them as kind of unsolved mysteries,” Salonius-Pasternak told VOA. “Because if you identify them — saying, in this case, definitely someone in the Chinese political establishment directed the captain to do this — what are you going to do then?” 

Questioned Thursday on Denmark’s tracking of the Yi Peng 3 in the Baltic, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Li Jiang denied any knowledge. 

“I do not have specific information on the Chinese vessel,” Li said. “We are willing to maintain communication with the parties concerned in accordance with international law and jointly safeguard the safety of international seabed infrastructure. At the same time, we also hope that the normal navigational rights and legitimate interests of Chinese vessels will be effectively protected.” 

Baltic needs better monitoring, says leader

Speaking on Friday, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said better monitoring of maritime traffic was required in the Baltic.

“What are the surveillance systems and systems acknowledging what is happening and where? Who is moving where? And, where is the fault located?” Michal asked. “Because there can be also quite natural reasons.” 

In 2022, the Nord Stream pipeline carrying gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea was blown up. The perpetrator is still unknown. Western nations and Russia blame each other, while others have suggested that Ukraine carried out the attack. All deny responsibility. 
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dublin — Irish mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor sexually assaulted a woman at a party in Dublin in 2018 and must pay her nearly 250,000 euros ($259,950) in damages, a jury decided on Friday.

The jury of eight women and four men reached its verdict in the civil trial at Ireland’s high court after six hours and 10 minutes of deliberation.

The plaintiff, Nikita Hand, alleged that McGregor sexually assaulted her on Dec. 9, 2018, and that another man, James Lawrence, did the same, the court heard during two weeks of evidence.

The jury found that Lawrence did not assault Hand. McGregor left the court without commenting.

McGregor, 36, denied the allegation and said he had “fully consensual sex” with Hand. He also denied causing bruising to the plaintiff.

Hand’s lawyer told the jury that when she was referred to a sexual assault treatment unit the day after the alleged assault, a doctor was so concerned that he directed that photographs be taken of her injuries.

Hand said that she and a friend made contact with McGregor, whom she knew, after a work Christmas party. She said they were driven by McGregor to a party in a penthouse room of a south Dublin hotel where drugs and alcohol were consumed.

She said McGregor took her to a bedroom in the penthouse and sexually assaulted her. Hand’s lawyer, John Gordon, said Hand was on anti-depressants, and “full of drugs” at the time of the alleged assault.

Speaking outside the court, Hand said she was overwhelmed by the support she had received and that she felt vindicated.

“I hope my story is a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be, speak up,” she said.
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NEW YORK — A New York judge on Friday granted Donald Trump permission to seek dismissal of the criminal case in which he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving hush money paid to a porn star in light of his victory in the November 5 U.S. presidential election.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan formally delayed the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled to take place Tuesday. Prosecutors with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office this week asked Merchan to consider deferring all proceedings in the case until after Trump, 78, finishes his four-year presidential term, which begins on January 20.

Lawyers for Trump, a Republican, have argued that the case must be dismissed because having it loom over him while he is president would cause “unconstitutional impediments” to his ability to govern.

Bragg’s office said it would argue against dismissal, but he agreed that Trump deserves time to make his case through written motions.

Merchan on Friday set a December 2 deadline for Trump to file his motion to dismiss and gave prosecutors until December 9 to respond. The judge did not set a new date for sentencing or indicate how long proceedings would remain on hold. Merchan also did not indicate when he would rule on Trump’s motion to dismiss.

Representatives for Trump’s campaign and for Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The case stemmed from a $130,000 payment Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she has said she had a decade earlier with Trump, who denies it.

A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his reimbursement of Cohen. It was the first time a U.S. president — former or sitting — had been convicted of or charged with a criminal offense.

Trump pleaded not guilty in the case, which he has sought to portray as a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.
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From digital passports to apps that announce air alerts or enable conscripts to update their information in the draft register, Ukraine is now a world leader in the drive to digitalize government services. From Kyiv, Lesia Bakalets reports on how Russia’s full-scale invasion has pushed Ukraine’s drive to digitalize.
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KYIV, UKRAINE — A Russian drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 12 on Friday morning, regional authorities said.

Twelve apartment buildings, five private residences, a store and three cars were damaged after three drones attacked the city around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT), the national police said.

Volodymyr Artiukh, Sumy regional governor, said Russian forces had equipped drones with shrapnel for the attack on a densely populated area of the city.

“This weapon is used… exclusively (to kill) people,” Artiukh said, pointing to scars on a damaged building. “Not for a facility, but in order to destroy more people.”

The video posted by Sumy regional military administration following the attack showed damaged cars and buildings with blown-out windows.

Russia has pummeled the region and its critical infrastructure in deadly attacks over the past weeks.

An overnight drone attack on Tuesday on the small town of Hlukhiv in the region killed 12 people, including a child.

On Sunday evening, a missile attack on Sumy killed 11 and injured 89 more people, in addition to leaving the region’s administrative center without power.
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Russia gave North Korea anti-air missiles in exchange for deploying troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Seoul’s top security adviser said Friday.

The United States and South Korea have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim Jong Un was eager to gain advanced technology, and battle experience for his troops, in return.

Asked what Seoul believes Pyongyang has received for the troops, top security advisor Shin Won-sik said: “It has been identified that equipment and anti-aircraft missiles aimed at reinforcing Pyonyang’s vulnerable air defense system have been delivered to North Korea.”

Speaking to local broadcaster SBS, Shin added that North Korea has received “various forms of economic support” and “following the failure (launch) on May 27, North Korea has been working on satellite-related technology.”

Experts have previously said that in return for the troops, North Korea was likely aiming to acquire military technology, ranging from surveillance satellites to submarines, as well as possible security guarantees from Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic partnership treaty in June, during the Kremlin chief’s visit.

It obligates both states to provide military assistance “without delay” in the case of an attack on the other and to cooperate internationally to oppose Western sanctions.

Putin hailed the deal as a “breakthrough document.”

Experts say Pyongyang could be using Ukraine as a means of realigning foreign policy.

By sending soldiers, North Korea is positioning itself within the Russian war economy as a supplier of weapons, military support and labor — potentially bypassing its traditional ally, neighbor and main trading partner, China, according to analysts.

Russia can also provide North Korea access to its vast natural resources, such as oil and gas, they say.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui recently visited Moscow and said her country would “stand firmly by our Russian comrades until victory day.”

She called Moscow’s offensive against Ukraine a “sacred struggle” and said Pyongyang believed in Putin’s “wise leadership.”

North Korea and Russia are under rafts of UN sanctions — Kim for his nuclear weapons program, and Moscow for the Ukraine war.

When asked publicly about the deployment of North Korean troops last month, Putin deflected the question to criticize the West’s support of Ukraine.

North Korea said last month that any troop deployment to Russia would be “an act conforming with the regulations of international law,” but stopped short of confirming that it had sent soldiers.

North Korea’s deployment of troops has led to a shift in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kyiv but recently indicated it might change its long-standing policy.
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FORESTVILLE, CALIFORNIA — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday dropped heavy snow and record rain, flooding some areas, after killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest.

Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco’s airport.

In Washington, nearly 223,000 people — mostly in the Seattle area — remained without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday.

Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year.

The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by this season’s strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land.

The system roared ashore Tuesday as a ” bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. It unleashed fierce winds that toppled trees onto roads, vehicles and homes, killing at least two people in the Washington cities of Lynnwood and Bellevue.

Communities in Washington opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. Some medical clinics closed because of power outages.

“I’ve been here since the mid-’80s. I haven’t seen anything like this,” said Trish Bloor, who serves on the city of Issaquah’s Human Resources Commission, as she surveyed damaged homes.

Up to 41 centimeters of rain was forecast in southwestern Oregon and California’s northern counties through Friday.

Santa Rosa saw 16.5 centimeters of rain in the last 24 hours, marking the wettest day on record since 1998, according to Joe Wegman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The Sonoma County Airport, in the wine country north of San Francisco, got more than 28 centimeters within the last 48 hours. The Ukiah Municipal Airport recorded about 7.6 centimeters Wednesday, and the unincorporated town of Venado had about 32.3 centimeters in 48 hours.

In nearby Forestville, one person was hurt when a tree fell on a house. Small landslides were reported across the North Bay, including one on State Route 281 on Wednesday that caused a car crash, according to Marc Chenard, a weather service meteorologist.

Daniela Alvarado said calls to her and her father’s Sonoma County-based tree business have nearly tripled in the last few days, with people reaching out about trimming or removing trees.

“We feel sad, scared, but also ready for action,” Alvarado said.

Rain slowed somewhat, but “persistent heavy rain will enter the picture again by Friday morning,” the weather service’s San Francisco office said on the social platform X. “We are not done!”

Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows were possible, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires, officials warned. Scott Rowe, a hydrologist with the weather service in Sacramento, said that so far the ground has been able to absorb the rain in Butte and Tehama counties, where the Park Fire burned this summer.

“It’s not necessarily how much rain falls; it’s how fast the rain falls,” Rowe said.

Santa Rosa Division Chief Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said 100 vehicles were stuck for hours in the parking lot of a hotel and medical center after being swamped by thigh-high waters from a flooded creek.

A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 1,070 meters, with 38 centimeters of snow possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 121 kph in mountain areas, forecasters said.

Sugar Bowl Resort, north of Lake Tahoe near Donner Summit, picked up 30 centimeters of snow overnight, marketing manager Maggie Eshbaugh said Thursday. She said the resort will welcome skiers and boarders on Friday, the earliest opening date in 20 years, “and then we’re going to get another whopping of another foot or so on Saturday, so this is fantastic.”

Another popular resort, Palisades Tahoe, said it is also opening Friday, five days ahead of schedule.

The storm already dumped more than 30 centimeters of snow along the Cascades in Oregon by Wednesday night, according to the weather service.

More than a dozen schools closed in the Seattle area Wednesday, and some opted to extend the closures through Thursday.

Covington Medical Center southeast of Seattle postponed elective surgeries and diverted ambulances after losing power and having to rely on generators Tuesday night into Wednesday, according to Scott Thompson, spokesperson for MultiCare Health System. Nearby, MultiCare clinics closed Wednesday and Thursday after losing power.

In Enumclaw, also southeast of Seattle, residents were cleaning up after their town clocked the highest winds in the state Tuesday night: 119 kph.

Ben Gibbard, lead singer of the indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, drove from his Seattle neighborhood Thursday morning to the woods of Tiger Mountain for his regular weekday run, but trees were blocking the trail.

“We didn’t get hit that hard in the city,” he said. “I just didn’t assume it would be this kind of situation out here. Obviously you feel the most for people who had their homes partially destroyed by this.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee thanked utility crews for toiling around the clock. It could take weeks to assess the scope of the damage and put a dollar figure on it, he said in a statement, and after that “we’ll know whether we will be able to seek federal assistance.”

In California, there were reports of nearly 13,000 power outages.

Authorities limited vehicle traffic on part of northbound Interstate 5 between Redding and Yreka due to snow, according to California’s Department of Transportation. Officials also shut down a 3.2-kilometer stretch of the scenic Avenue of the Giants, named for its towering coast redwoods, due to flooding.

About 550 flights were delayed and dozens were canceled Thursday at San Francisco International Airport, according to tracking service FlightAware.

Parched areas of the Northeast got a much-needed shot of precipitation, providing a bit of respite in a region plagued by wildfires and dwindling water supplies. More than 5 centimeters was expected by Saturday morning north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations.

Weather service meteorologist Brian Ciemnecki in New York City, which this week saw its first drought warning in 22 years, said “any rainfall is going to be significant” but the storm will not be enough to end the drought.
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WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to propose new rules governing undersea internet cables in the face of growing security concerns, as part of a review of regulations on the links that handle nearly all the world’s online traffic.

The FCC voted 5-0 on proposed updates to address the national security concerns over the global network of more than 400 subsea cables that handle more than 98% of international internet traffic.

“With the expansion of data centers, rise of cloud computing, and increasing bandwidth demands of new large language models, these facilities are poised to grow even more critical,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said.

Baltic nations said this week they are investigating whether the cutting of two fiber-optic undersea telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea was sabotage.

Rosenworcel noted that in 2023 Taiwan accused two Chinese vessels of cutting the only two cables that support internet access on the Matsu Islands and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea may have been responsible for the cutting of three cables providing internet service to Europe and Asia.

“While the details of these incidents remain in dispute, what is clear is that these facilities — with locations that are openly published to prevent damage — are becoming a target,” Rosenworcel said.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said “turning undersea cables into a political and security issue severely disrupts international market rules, threatens global digital connectivity and cybersecurity, and denies other countries, especially developing countries, the right to develop their undersea cable industry.”

The FCC is conducting its first major review since 2001 and proposing to bar foreign companies that have been denied telecommunications licenses on national security grounds from obtaining submarine cable landing licenses.

It also proposes to bar the use of equipment or services in those undersea cable facilities from companies on an FCC list of companies deemed to pose threats to U.S national security including Huawei, ZTE 000063.SZ 601728.SS, China Telecom 0728.HK and China Mobile 600941.SS.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the commission is considering whether to bar companies from getting undersea cable licenses that are on other lists like the Commerce Department’s Consolidated Screening List. “China has made no secret of its goal to control the market, and therefore the data that flows throughout the world,” Starks said.

Last month, a bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators called on President Joe Biden to undertake “a review of existing vulnerabilities to global undersea cable infrastructure, including the threat of sabotage by Russia and China.”

The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and potential for espionage.

Since 2020, U.S. regulators have been instrumental in the cancellation of four cables whose backers had wanted to link the United States with Hong Kong.

In June, the FCC advanced a proposal to boost the security of information transmitted across the internet after government agencies said a Chinese carrier misrouted traffic.
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LAS VEGAS — Federal water officials made public on Wednesday what they called “necessary steps” for seven states and multiple tribes that use Colorado River water and hydropower to meet an August 2026 deadline for deciding how to manage the waterway in the future.

“Today, we show our collective work,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said as she outlined four proposals for action and one “no action” alternative that she and Biden’s government will leave for the incoming Trump Administration — with formal environmental assessments still to come and just 20 months to act.

The announcement offered no recommendation or decision about how to divvy up water from the river, which provides electricity to millions of homes and businesses, irrigates vast stretches of desert farmland and reaches kitchen faucets in cities including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Instead it provided a bullet-point sample of elements from competing proposals submitted last March by three key river stakeholders: Upper Basin states Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming, where most of the water originates; Lower Basin states California, Arizona and Nevada, which rely most on water captured by dams at lakes Powell and Mead; and more than two dozen Native American tribes with rights to river water.

“They’re not going to take the any of the proposals,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. “The federal government put the components together in a different way … and modeled them to provide near-maximum flexibility for negotiations to continue.”

One alternative would have the government act to “protect critical infrastructure” including dams and oversee how much river water is delivered, relying on existing agreements during periods when demand outstrips supply. “But there would be no new delivery and storage mechanisms,” the announcement said.

A second option would add delivery and storage for Lake Powell and Lake Mead, along with “federal and non-federal storage” to boost system sustainability and flexibility “through a new approach to distributing” water during shortages.

The third, dubbed “cooperative conservation,” cited a proposal from advocates aimed at managing and gauging water releases from Lake Powell amid “shared contributions to sustain system integrity.”

And a fourth, hybrid proposal includes parts of Upper and Lower Basin and Tribal Nations plans, the announcement said. It would add delivery and storage for Powell and Mead, encourage conservation and agreements for water use among customers and “afford the Tribal and non-Tribal entities the same ability to use these mechanisms.”

The “no action” option does not meet the purpose of study but was included because it is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, the announcement said.

In 2026, legal agreements that apportion the river will expire. That means that amid the effects of climate change and more than 20 years of drought, river stakeholders and the federal government have just months to agree what to do.

“We still have a pretty wide gap between us,” Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s main negotiator on the Colorado River, said in a conference call with reporters. He referred to positions of Upper Basin and Lower Basin states. Tribes including the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona have also been flexing their long-held water rights.

Buschatzke said he saw “some really positive elements” in the alternatives but needed time to review them in detail. “I think anything that could be done to move things forward on a faster track is a good thing,” he said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado said in a statement the alternatives “underscore how serious a situation we’re facing on the Colorado River.”

“The only path forward is a collaborative, seven-state plan to solve the Colorado River crisis without taking this to court,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ll watch the river run dry while we sue each other.”

Wednesday’s announcement came two weeks after Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris lost the election to Republican former President Donald Trump, and two weeks ahead of a key meeting of the involved parties at Colorado River Water Users Association meetings in Las Vegas.

Kyle Roerink, executive director of the Great Basin Water Network advocacy group, said “snapshots” offered in the announcement “underscore the uncertainty that is swirling around future river management as a new administration prepares to take office.”

“The river needs basin-wide curtailments, agreements to make tribes whole, a moratorium on new dams and diversions, commitments for endangered species and new thinking about outdated infrastructure,” he said.

Buschatzke declined to speculate about whether Trump administration officials will pick up where Biden’s leaves off. But Porter, at the Kyl Center, said the announcement “shows an expectation of continuity.”

“The leadership is going to change, but there are a lot of people who have been working on this for a long time who will still be involved in the negotiations and modeling,” she said. 
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HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA — Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap, and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted.

Casey’s concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hourslong election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law.

Republicans had been claiming that Democrats were trying to steal McCormick’s seat by counting “illegal votes.” Casey’s campaign had accused Republicans of trying to block enough votes to prevent him from pulling ahead and winning.

In a statement, Casey said he had just called McCormick to congratulate him.

“As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last,” Casey said.

The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on November 7, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead.

As of Thursday, McCormick led by about 16,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted.

That was well within the 0.5% margin threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law. 

But no election official expected a recount to change more than a couple hundred votes or so, and Pennsylvania’s highest court dealt Casey a blow when it refused entreaties to allow counties to count mail-in ballots that lacked a correct handwritten date on the return envelope.

Republicans will have a 53-47 majority next year in the U.S. Senate. 
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VIENNA — The United Nations atomic watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Thursday again ordering Iran to urgently improve cooperation with the agency and requesting a “comprehensive” report aimed at pressuring Iran into fresh nuclear talks. 

Britain, France, Germany and the United States, which proposed the resolution, dismissed as insufficient and insincere a last-minute Iranian move to cap its stock of uranium that is close to weapons-grade. Diplomats said Iran’s move was conditional on scrapping the resolution. 

Iran tends to bristle at such resolutions and has said it would respond in kind to this one. After previous criticism at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board, it has stepped up its nuclear activities and reduced IAEA oversight. 

China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against the text, diplomats in the meeting said. Nineteen countries voted in favor and 12 abstained. 

Standoffs

The IAEA and Iran have long been locked in standoffs on a range of issues, including Tehran’s failure to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites, its barring last year of most of the agency’s top uranium-enrichment experts on the Iran inspection team, and its refusal to expand IAEA monitoring. 

The resolution seen by Reuters repeated wording from a November 2022 resolution that it was “essential and urgent” for Iran to explain the uranium traces and let the IAEA take samples as necessary. The resolution in June of this year did the same. 

The new text asked the IAEA to issue “a comprehensive and updated assessment on the possible presence or use of undeclared nuclear material in connection with past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program, including a full account of Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA on these issues.” 

Western powers hope that report, due by spring 2025, will pressure Iran into negotiations on fresh restrictions on its nuclear activities, albeit less far-reaching ones than in a 2015 deal with major powers that unraveled after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it in 2018. 

With Trump set to return to office in January and Iran having taken its uranium enrichment far beyond the deal’s limits, it is far from clear whether Trump would back negotiations aimed at setting new limits before those of the 2015 deal are lifted on “termination day” in October of next year. 

If no new limits are agreed before then, the report could be used to strengthen the case for so-called “snapback,” a process under the 2015 deal where the issue is sent to the U.N. Security Council and sanctions lifted under the deal can be re-imposed.  

Iranian reaction

Last week IAEA chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran, hoping to persuade new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is seen as relatively moderate, to improve Iran’s cooperation with the agency.

Grossi formally reported to member states on Tuesday that “the possibility of Iran not further expanding its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% U-235 was discussed” in his meetings with Iranian officials, and that the IAEA had verified Iran had “begun implementation of preparatory measures.” 

Iran already has enough material enriched to that level — close to the roughly 90% purity that is weapons grade — for four nuclear weapons if enriched further, according to an IAEA yardstick. It has enough material enriched to lower levels for more bombs, but Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. 

Grossi said on Wednesday he had asked Iran to cap that stock of 60% material and Iran had accepted his request.  

He said at a news conference that day that it was “a concrete step in the right direction,” suggesting that he felt a resolution could undermine that progress. 

With the resolution passed, Iran is likely to respond. 

Moments after the vote, Iranian state media cited a joint statement by the foreign ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran saying Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami has issued orders for measures like activating various new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium. 

“If there is a resolution, it [Iran] will either increase its activities or reduce the agency’s access,” a senior diplomat said before the vote. 
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VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s next foreign policy chief, is already sending signals that she will take a tough stance on Russia and China and be an advocate for a strong alliance between Europe and America.

Kallas spoke to the European Parliament for the first time in her new role at a hearing on November 12, where she stressed that the EU will be steadfast in its commitment to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.

She begins her five-year term as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on December 1.

The former Estonian prime minister warned that Russia, Iran, North Korea and — more covertly — China want to change the rules-based world order. She called on the EU to respond to this threat alongside its closest allies and partners “without losing an inch of who we are.”

Elze Pinelyte, an expert at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) with a focus on Sino-EU relations, told VOA Mandarin that Kallas’ policies “remain firmly supporting Ukraine’s victory.”

In response to worries that the incoming Trump administration may reduce U.S. support for Ukraine, Kallas stressed that the United States’ strategic interests in China are inseparable from the outcome of the war on Ukraine.

“If the U.S. is worried about China and other actors, they should also be worried about how we respond to Russia against Ukraine,” Kallas said during the November 12 hearing.

Ivan U. Kłyszcz, a researcher at the Estonian International Defense and Security Center, told VOA Mandarin, that Kallas “reflects the view that Europe needs to do more for its own defense and security, and this is not inconsistent with NATO and the European and American alliance.”

As for whether the second Trump administration will change Brussels’ considerations, he said, “there are still too many unknowns.”

Tougher policy toward China

Kallas’ tough stance toward China was first seen during her tenure as prime minister of Estonia, when her government advocated that Estonia’s China policy should be promoted within the framework of EU-China relations.

In 2022, Estonia announced its withdrawal from the Beijing-led “Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries,” the so-called “16+1” mechanism.

After the European Parliament elections this year, Kallas was nominated as the candidate for new foreign policy chief. She then resigned as prime minister of Estonia.

Some experts say Kallas will take a tougher policy toward China than her predecessor Josep Borrell.

Pinelyte agreed and added that Kallas likely will “seek support to limit China’s ability to fight Russia’s war.”

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has condemned Beijing’s support for Moscow. Kallas said that without China’s support, “Russia cannot maintain the war with the same intensity.”

China should face “a higher cost” for supporting Russia in the war against Ukraine, Kallas said, hinting at more deterrent sanctions.

In October, Kallas wrote to the European Parliament that during her tenure as EU high representative on foreign policy, she would be committed to countering Russia’s “imperialist dream” and China’s “unfair competition.”

A trade dispute between the EU and China over products such as electric vehicles has lasted for more than a year, and negotiations are still ongoing. The EU said China’s large subsidies for electric vehicles constitute unfair competition.

Unpredictable alliance

It is not clear whether the Trump administration will continue to provide security guarantees and support to Ukraine, and whether it will impose higher tariffs on the European Union.

Given the United States’ greater focus on the Indo-Pacific region and its strategic competition with China, many European leaders are calling on the EU to reduce its security dependence on the United States.

Pinelyte at EESC said “Kallas seems to have taken office at a time when the idea of an alliance with the United States is outdated.”

Abigael Vasselier, director of policy and European affairs at the German Mercator Institute for China Studies, told VOA that the EU needs to avoid the state of panic it fell into with the first Trump administration.

Instead, she said, it must seek to coordinate with the second Trump administration, including “making recommendations” on China issues.

“The EU needs to be prepared because the Trump and Biden administrations will have completely different approaches to China,” she said.
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On Thursday, the United States rejected the International Criminal Court’s ruling to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the country’s former defense minister, asserting that the court lacks the necessary jurisdiction.

See the full story here.
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WASHINGTON — In his first message aimed at Washington since the U.S. presidential election, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has expressed his unwavering determination to hold onto nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say.

At a conference with army officials last Friday, Kim vowed to bolster his country’s nuclear capabilities “without limit,” while condemning Washington for its nuclear deterrence strategies with Seoul.

“The U.S., Japan and South Korea will never get away from the responsibility as the culprits of destroying the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region,” Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “The most important and critical task for our armed forces is preparations for a war.”

Nuclear rhetoric

Evans Revere, former acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, interpreted Kim’s remarks, which were made 10 days after the election, as a message directed to President-elect Donald Trump, whom he met with face-to-face three times from 2018 to 2019.

“Kim Jong Un is making clear to President-elect Trump that everything has changed since their previous meetings,” Revere told VOA Korean via email Tuesday. “Pyongyang has become a de facto nuclear weapons state and will not give up its treasured sword, as it once called its nuclear deterrent.”

Nuclear talks between then-President Trump and North Korea’s supreme leader collapsed during their Hanoi summit in February 2019, after Trump rejected the lifting of sanctions in exchange for Kim’s offer to dismantle one major nuclear facility. Since then, Pyongyang has not slowed the ramp-up of its nuclear capabilities.

In one of its latest moves, just five days before the U.S. election, the regime tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile called Hwasong-19 that could potentially reach most of the United States mainland.

“Having already developed a credible deterrent, complete with sophisticated medium- and long-range delivery systems, North Korea wants to be accepted, or at least acknowledged, as a nuclear power,” Revere said.

Kim is trying to remind the incoming U.S. president that “the door to denuclearization has now been firmly closed and he will be dealing with a DPRK that intends to keep its nuclear arsenal,” said Revere.

DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

Joseph DeTrani, former U.S. special envoy for six-party denuclearization talks with North Korea, said Kim would still want to meet with Trump, but the terms this time would be drastically different.

“I think Kim Jong Un is open to a dialogue with President-elect Trump’s administration, once it is in place,” DeTrani told VOA Korean via email Tuesday.

DeTrani said Kim would come to another potential summit with Trump “from a position of strength,” given his alliance and defense treaty with Russia. Russia and North Korea have committed to coming to the aid of the other if attacked.

Other experts cautioned, however, against reading too deeply into what Kim said.

New alliance

Sydney Seiler, former national intelligence officer for North Korea on the U.S. National Intelligence Council, said that Kim’s latest remarks provide little insight into how Kim may handle the incoming Trump administration.

“Kim Jong Un is exploring the benefits available in being an active member of the axis of upheaval: states such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran who seek to overturn the existing rules-based order and justify using force to achieve their objectives,” Seiler told VOA Korean via email Tuesday.

Seiler said that Kim has begun to enjoy benefits in his cooperation with Russia — cash, food and fuel aid, assistance with weapons of mass destruction, and conventional capabilities, and diplomatic recognition and acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear status.

“Why would he reach out to Donald Trump when he has friends like Vladimir Putin?” he asked.

In June, Kim and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, which calls for Russia and North Korea to immediately assist each other militarily if either of them is attacked by a third country. Russia and North Korea respectively ratified the treaty into law earlier this month.

Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and weapons of mass destruction, told VOA Korean via email Tuesday that Kim does not need Trump for assistance and sanctions relief as he used to because of his new alliance with Putin.

Samore said another Trump-Kim meeting won’t be very high on Trump’s agenda.

“Trump’s top foreign policy issues will be ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and imposing tariffs on China,” he said. “In contrast, the Korean situation is pretty stable and quiet, and nobody thinks another Trump-Kim summit will produce big results.”

VOA Korean Service asked the U.S. State Department about Kim’s latest message toward the U.S. but did not receive a reply by the time this article was published.

In a response to an inquiry made by VOA Korean earlier this month, the State Department spokesperson reiterated the U.S. commitment to protect South Korea from any North Korean nuclear attack.

“President Biden reaffirmed the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to the ROK using the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities, and that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response,” the spokesperson said.
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President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general of the United States, former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, withdrew himself from consideration Thursday. As VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Gaetz was facing a tough confirmation process due to various criminal allegations.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia’s use of a fast, powerful new missile to attack the city of Dnipro on Thursday, calling it a “nuclear adventure” and a stark escalation in the war.

The attack has ignited fears of a dangerous new phase in the war. In a nationwide address, Russian President Vladimir Putin later confirmed the use of a medium-range ballistic missile in the strike.

Zelenskyy pointed to the strike as a sign of Moscow’s broader strategy, stating, “It is obvious that Putin is using Ukraine as a testing ground for weapons that threaten the world.”

His remarks underscored the growing alarm in Kyiv over the deployment of advanced Russian missile systems against civilian targets.

In his address, Putin framed the use of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile as a routine test within the conflict.

“The Russian Federation tested a medium-range ballistic missile, known as Oreshnik, during its operation in Ukraine,” he said.

While he offered few technical details, analysts said the use of the missile and Putin’s acknowledgment appears intended to showcase Russia’s military capabilities to NATO and the United States.

Putin’s announcement marks the first time Russia has openly acknowledged using such a missile during the war.

In Washington, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the missile used was based on Russia’s RS 26 rubes intercontinental ballistic missile model.” In terms of notifications to the United States, the United States was pre notified briefly before the launch through Nuclear Risk Reduction channels,” she said.

Strategic escalation

Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the U.S., described the attack as a “new stage” in Russia’s aggression. Speaking to VOA, he emphasized that the strike was not just a challenge to Ukraine but also to its Western allies.

“This isn’t just about Ukraine,” Chaly said. “It’s a challenge to the European security system and the United States. Moscow is signaling its readiness to escalate dramatically to influence the West.”

He said that the response to the attack “must be clear, united, and decisive — anything less risks emboldening Russia and jeopardizing global security.”

Western leaders quickly condemned the strike. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer labeled it “reckless and dangerous,” while EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano described it as a “qualitative escalation” in Russia’s tactics.

Dnipro attack

The missile targeted industrial facilities in Dnipro, injuring two people and causing significant damage. Ukrainian officials initially suggested the use of an ICBM, or intercontinental ballistic missile, citing the weapon’s speed and trajectory. Some analysts, including those in the U.S., believed it was more likely a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile, consistent with Putin’s confirmation.

Dnipro residents, accustomed to regular air-raid sirens and missile attacks, reported that this strike felt uniquely different.

Oleksiy Poltorazky, a local resident, recounted: “We’ve learned to recognize the sounds of different missile types. This one was different — it hit almost immediately after the siren. Many here believe it was a ballistic missile because there was no usual warning sound.”

The speed and power of the strike left many shaken.

Poltorazky, however, remained resolute. “There’s no panic, no apocalypse as everyone says. We have to live through this, raise our kids, protect our families and work. We have to fight and do everything possible for our country,” he told VOA.

George Barros, an expert on the Russia team at the Institute for the Study of War, told VOA that Ukrainians should try not to overreact to the attack.

“It seems that the Russians targeted the city with an R-26 IRBM,” Barros said, referring to a Soviet-era intermediate-range missile. “The main thing is to not panic. There’s no reason to think that Putin’s likelihood to use a nuclear weapon or a weapon of mass destruction is any higher than at other points in the war.

“This is not the first time that Russia has used nuclear-capable weapon systems against Ukraine,” he said. “Russia regularly uses Iskander nuclear-capable weapons, and this appears to be a signaling effort designed to deter further Western support for Ukraine.”

Strategic ambiguity

While Putin confirmed the missile test, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova provided limited details about the strike. Zakharova was reportedly instructed not to address the attack at all during a Thursday press conference.

The calculated reticence deepens global unease, as Moscow oscillates between overt warnings and veiled threats, said some analysts, suggesting the ambiguity is part of a broader strategy to keep Western nations uncertain about Russia’s next moves.
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Former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz is withdrawing his name from consideration as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general.

“I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz wrote on social media platform X.

The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee failed Wednesday to reach agreement on whether to release findings from its nearly finished investigative report on Gaetz.

The panel’s chair, Republican Representative Michael Guest, emerged from a lengthy committee meeting, saying, “There was no agreement by the committee to release the report.” He declined further comment.

Gaetz was accused of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use before he was picked by Trump to become the country’s top law enforcement official in the administration that takes office on January 20.

ABC News and The Washington Post reported that the committee had obtained documents that showed Gaetz paid two women who appeared before the committee as witnesses a total of more than $10,000 between July 2017 and late January 2019. The women, who were over the age of 18 at the time of the payments, told the panel that some of the money was for sex.

A Trump transition spokesperson defended Gaetz in a statement.

“The Justice Department received access to roughly every financial transaction Matt Gaetz ever undertook and came to the conclusion that he committed no crime. These leaks are meant to undermine the mandate from the people to reform the Justice Department,” with Gaetz at the head of the agency, the spokesperson said.

Several U.S. senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, were demanding that the report be released so they could consider the scope of Gaetz’s background as they undertook their constitutionally mandated role of confirming or rejecting a new president’s Cabinet nominees.

Hours after Trump named him as a nominee, Gaetz, 42, resigned from Congress, even though he had just been reelected to a fifth term. His resignation ended the House Ethics Committee’s investigation, which had been nearing a conclusion.

Gaetz was in the Capitol on Wednesday to meet with some of the senators who would have voted on his nomination.

The Senate has not voted to reject a presidential nominee for a Cabinet position since 1989, with members of both political parties giving wide deference to new presidents to fill top-level jobs with appointees of their choosing.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he met with Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a sitting senator, and told them there would be “no rubber stamps, no lynch mobs” in the confirmation process.

“These allegations will be dealt with in committee, but [Gaetz] deserves a chance to confront his accusers,” Graham told reporters.

The Justice Department investigated the allegations against him but last year declined to bring any charges.

Gaetz, like other Trump nominees for top government jobs, has been a vocal supporter of the president and his Make America Great Again agenda.

Gaetz, however, angered some fellow Republican lawmakers in the House in 2023 by spearheading the effort to oust then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
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