News Briefs

Trump chooses new Cabinet nominees. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Mr. Trump has promised to dismantle. He also selected Mehmet Oz, a former television talk show host and heart surgeon, to head the agency that oversees health insurance programs for millions of older, poor, and disabled Americans. And Mr. Trump chose Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department. All three have been has been outspoken supporters of Mr. Trump, and Ms. McMahon and Mr. Lutnick have helped lead his transition team.

Trump’s eye-popping Cabinet picks show his top priority: Loyalty

Man sentenced to life for killing Georgia student. The Venezuelan man convicted in the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The man, Jose Ibarra, was convicted of 10 counts, including murder. Mr. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard alone heard and decided the case. Ms. Riley’s death added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Mr. Ibarra illegally entered the United States in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.

Ukraine to use antipersonnel land mines. The United States defense chief says the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied antipersonnel land mines to help it slow Russia’s battlefield progress in the war. It is Washington’s second major policy shift in a week after its decision to let Ukraine strike targets on Russian soil with U.S.-made missiles. The war reached its 1,000-day milestone Nov. 19 and has largely been going Russia’s way in recent months. Russia’s bigger army is slowly pushing Ukraine’s outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to attack Russia comes at a time when its Western allies and Russia are gearing up for expected peace talks involving the coming Trump administration.

U.S. closes embassy in Kyiv. The United States shut its embassy in Kyiv on Nov. 20 due to the threat of a significant air attack, a day after Ukraine used American missiles to hit a target inside Russia. Moscow called the attack an escalation in the war. The Italian and Greek embassies in Kyiv said they, too, had closed their doors. The French embassy remained open but urged its citizens to be cautious. On Nov. 19 Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles to attack an arms depot inside Russia, making use of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden.

Ukraine fires US long-range missiles at Russia. What that means for the war.

Boko Haram insurgent ambush. At least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed and seven members of Nigeria’s infrastructure security force were missing on Nov. 19, following an insurgent ambush on a convoy monitoring the country’s power grid installations, a spokesperson said. Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency for 15 years, has been weakened by military and internal fighting but remains a threat as it makes deadly attacks against civilians and government targets. A spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Defense Corp, a government agency set up to protect infrastructure, said security operatives were ambushed by about 200 Boko Haram fighters during the patrol mission.

Boko Haram made them child soldiers. Will their communities take them back?

More restrictions on adopting Russian children. Russia’s upper house of parliament has endorsed a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal. The Federation Council on Nov. 20 also approved bills that outlaw the spread of material that encourages people not to have children. The bills have already been approved by the lower house and will now go to President Vladimir Putin to sign into law. Mr. Putin and other top officials have increasingly called for observing so-called traditional values as a counter to Western liberalism.

At BRICS summit, Russia tries to build a world without the US

Trump hush money case sentencing likely postponed. New York prosecutors oppose efforts to dismiss Donald Trump’s hush money conviction but say they are open to delaying sentencing until after his second term. In a court filing Nov. 19, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said it’s OK with a sentencing delay while Mr. Trump’s lawyers try to get the case tossed out in light of his United States presidential election win. Sentencing had been scheduled for Nov. 26. New York state Judge Juan Merchan has not set a date for his decision. The president-elect was convicted in May of falsifying business records.

The U.S. justice system is meant to treat every defendant equally. But when that defendant is both a former president and now president-elect, courts are showing the flexibility that accompanies foundational principles.

Iran increases uranium stockpile. The U.N. nuclear watchdog says Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. In a confidential report seen Nov. 19 by The Associated Press, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Oct. 26, Iran has just over 400 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%, up 38.8 pounds since the last report in August. Uranium enriched at 60% purity is just a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. The IAEA estimates around 92.5 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity would be needed to create one atomic weapon.

Protests against proposed New Zealand Indigenous law. Police say tens of thousands of people have arrived at New Zealand’s Parliament in protest of a proposed law that would redefine the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown. Under the principles laid out in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which guides the relationship between the government and Māori, tribes were promised broad rights to retain their lands and protect their interests in return for ceding governance to the British. The new bill would set concrete definitions for the treaty’s principles and specify that those rights should apply to all New Zealanders, drastically reversing Indigenous rights.

Brazil arrests police officers over coup plot. Brazilian police have arrested five officers accused of a coup plot that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The police said that five arrest warrants were carried out. Judge Moraes, who authorized the Nov. 19 arrests, said a police investigation revealed the coup plot involved military personnel trained in the Army’s Special Forces and a retired high-ranking official.

Pennsylvania orders counties to discount disputed ballots. The state continues to count votes in the United States Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. and Republican David McCormick. Now the Supreme Court is weighing in. On Nov. 18, the court ordered counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope. The Associated Press called the race for Mr. McCormick, concluding that not enough ballots were left to be counted in areas where Mr. Casey was winning for him to take the lead. As of Nov. 18, Mr. McCormick led by about 17,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted.

Life of a Pennsylvania mail-in ballot: From locked cages to an acid bath

Biden lets Ukraine strike Russia with U.S. missiles. United States President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied long-range missiles was met with ominous warnings from Moscow, a hint of menace from Kyiv, and nods of approval from some Western allies. Mr. Biden’s shift in policy added an uncertain and potentially crucial new factor to the war on the eve of its 1,000-day milestone. Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with U.S.-made weaponry after months of ruling out such a move over fears of escalating the conflict and bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Will the West really back Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’?

Hong Kong activists to be sentenced. Dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 19 in the biggest case under a national security law that critics say has crushed political activism in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The convictions of the 45 activists under the Beijing-imposed law are widely seen as part of a crackdown by China that destroyed hopes for a more democratic Hong Kong. The activists were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates.

U.S. and Philippines sign military pact. The United States and the Philippines have signed an agreement to secure the exchange of highly confidential military intelligence and technology in key weapons the U.S. would provide to the Philippines capital Manila. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, signed the legally binding General Security of Military Information Agreement on Nov. 18. The outgoing Biden administration has taken steps to strengthen an arc of military alliances across the Indo-Pacific region to better counter China, including in any future confrontation over Taiwan or in the disputed South China Sea.

Trump prepares for ‘economic warfare’ with China

Thanksgiving travel record. Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million to hit the roads, catch flights, and board cruises over the holiday period, travel group AAA said on Nov. 18. About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023. Although staffing and aircraft shortages have capped the airline industry’s ability to ramp up capacity during the holidays in previous years, a record number of Americans are expected to fly to their destinations this year.

Thanksgiving unity during a divisive war

Gabon’s new constitution. Authorities in Gabon say voters have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution more than one year after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country’s longtime president and seized power in the oil-rich Central African nation. More than 91% of voters approved the new constitution in a referendum held on Nov. 16, Gabon’s Interior Minister Hermann Immongault said in a statement read on state television. He said turnout was an estimated 53.5%. The draft constitution, which proposed sweeping changes that could prevent dynastic rule and transfer of power, needed more than 50% of the votes cast to be adopted.

Gabon coup: A blow for democracy – or to it?

Trump appoints RFK to lead health department. President-elect Donald Trump announced Nov. 14 he will nominate vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting a man whose views public health officials have decried as dangerous in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine, and food safety to medical research, Medicare, and Medicaid. Mr. Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in the presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Mr. Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy.

Trump’s eye-popping Cabinet picks show his top priority: Loyalty

The Onion purchases Infowars. The purchase of Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction by the satirical news publication The Onion is the latest twist in a yearslong legal saga. The court battle pitted the far-right conspiracy theorist Mr. Jones against the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. The sale was ordered after relatives of many of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting successfully sued Mr. Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress. Mr. Jones repeatedly said on his show that the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control.