Outgoing US President Joseph Biden used his final hours in office to issue a preemptive blanket pardon favoring members of his family, Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who cochaired with the Democratic Bennie Thompson the Congressional Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots. The body eventually produced a report that said Trump had engaged in a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election. Cheney even announced he would vote for Kamala Harris in last year's elections.
Four years after disappearing behind the scenes amid growing discontent and suspicions about loyalties and vote counts, Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday with a new vice president (J.D. Vance), new energy, and the galvanization that legal proceedings and assassination attempts leave in a political leader.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña met Sunday in Washington DC with Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, whom many believed should have been sworn in on Jan. 10 last after winning the controversial July 28, 2024, elections where the incumbent Nicolás Maduro claimed to have prevailed despite producing no evidence thereto besides declarations from offices controlled by the Chavista regime.
Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas agreed on a 42-day ceasefire to come into effect on Sunday in Gaza, during which some Israeli hostages will be released -dead or alive- in exchange for convicted terrorists serving their sentences in Tel Aviv's correctional system.
Cuban authorities began releasing prisoners Wednesday after Tuesday's decision by the outgoing US Government of President Joseph Biden to remove the Caribbean islands from the list of terrorism-sponsoring nations. Havana also said that, as per a deal brokered by the Vatican, it would be freeing up to 553 detainees, including some of those jailed for participating in anti-government rallies. However, leading Republican politicians in Washington hope to restore Cuba to that infamous category after Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
The end of the fact-checking service provided by Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp owning Meta has only been implemented in the United States (US), at least for the time being. The company made those remarks to Brazil's Federal Attorney General's Office (AGU) checking the company's compliance to the legislation in force in the South American country.
The United States Navy's next two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will be named after former Presidents Bill Clinton (Democrat) and George W. Bush (Republican), incumbent President Joseph Biden announced Monday less than a week before the end of his term. Biden also said that when he told them about his decision both of them felt deeply honored.
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia who insists he won the controversial July 28 elections and will be sworn in next Friday in Caracas warned his country's armed forces that, as of that day, he will become their “commander in chief.” As such, he demanded absolute loyalty, which has nonetheless been pledged to the incumbent Nicolás Maduro.
Argentine footballing legend Lionel Messi was among the recipients of the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom but skipped the awarding ceremony Saturday at the White House citing previous engagements.
US President-elect Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni met at the former's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after their encounter was arranged in the utmost secrecy. The gathering consisted of a private dinner, the screening of a documentary, and an exchange of views on bilateral matters.