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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
President-elect Donald Trump returned to the seat of American power Wednesday, visiting both Congress and the White House and laying out his vision as he readies for his second term. President Joe Biden hosted Trump in the Oval Office, where he promised a smooth transfer of power. VOA's Anita Powell reports from the White House. Donald Trump said he would return, and on Wednesday, here he was back in his old stomping grounds as president-elect. He and President Joe Biden had this lightning-quick exchange in the Oval Office. "... do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. And we're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today. So ..." "Welcome. Welcome back. "Thank you very much. And thank you very much. And politics is tough. And it's, many cases, not a very nice world, but it is a nice world today. And I appreciate it very much - a transition that's so smooth it'll be as smooth as it can get. And I very much appreciate that, Joe." Earlier Wednesday, Trump visited Congress, where he was welcomed by House Speaker Mike Johnson. "They used to call Bill Clinton the comeback kid. This is the comeback King. He is the king, OK?" Trump has moved fast since his election victory in announcing who he wants to carry out his policies. Notable on that list is South African investor and billionaire Elon Musk. Trump has named him and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to-lead an entity aimed at cutting federal spending. Historians say the recent happenings in American politics are significant. Jeremi Suri is a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's also significant because when he left office, as you said, he left under a cloud of controversy. And his election now shows that for the majority of American voters, they wanted him back." Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House. This is VOA News. A man who worked for the U.S. government has been charged with leaking classified information assessing Israel's earlier plans to attack Iran. Court papers filed Wednesday identified him as Asif William Rahman, who was arrested by the FBI this week in Cambodia and was due to make his first court appearance in Guam. It's not immediately clear which federal agency employed him. The documents noted that Israel was still moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to Iran's blistering ballistic missile attack on October 1. Israel carried out a retaliatory attack on multiple sites in Iran in late October. Voters in Somaliland cast their ballots for president on Wednesday. Reuters correspondent Olivia Zollino reports. The election comes as the breakaway Somali region sees international recognition within reach after three decades of de facto self-rule. Though it declared independence from the Mogadishu government in 1991, it has not been recognized by any country. That's restricted access to international finance and the ability of its six million people to travel. President Muse Bihi Abdi, in power since 2017, is running against the main opposition party's candidate, Abdirahman Siroh. The two candidates differ on domestic issues. But both have expressed support for a pact with Ethiopia that would grant Addis Ababa a strip of land in exchange for diplomatic recognition. Somaliland's representative to Kenya told reporters that the government would finalize the deal after the election, regardless of who wins. Somaliland has mostly enjoyed peace since achieving autonomy in 1991 just as Somalia plunged into a civil war, from which it has yet to emerge. Reuters correspondent Olivia Zollino. New U.S. government data shows a sustained decline in the number of drug overdose deaths in the country. AP correspondent Julie Walker reports. There were about 97,000 overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30. That's according to provisional CDC data released Wednesday. It's down 14 percent from the previous 12-month period. While experts aren't certain about the causes, they see real reason for hope. COVID-19 worsened the overdose crisis and those effects may be wearing off. The recent numbers also could represent the fruition of years of efforts to increase the availability of overdose-reversing drugs and addiction treatments. Some also wonder about changes in the drug supply. I'm Julie Walker. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |