President-elect Donald Trump made his victorious return to Washington on Wednesday, meeting with jubilant House Republicans and then conferring with President Biden in the Oval Office, where they mutually pledged a smooth transfer of power after a bitter election in which they repeatedly disparaged each other.

1. Donald Trump and Joe Biden meet at White House to discuss transition of presidential power  ABC News
2. ‘WELCOME BACK’: White House history as Biden congratulates Trump  news.com.au
3. Donald Trump makes a victor's return to Washington and pledges a smooth transition of power  9News
4. Joe Biden welcomes back Donald Trump to the White House: 9News Latest Stories Season 2024, Short Video  9Now

The president and president-elect shook hands as part of a long-standing tradition signifying the transfer of power.

It’s no surprise that the sore winners at Fox News are already working to demonize people that don’t love the Felonious p***y grabber as much as they do. But in this case, they really ought to come up with better material.

Media Matters caught the delusional exchange on Fox & Friends this morning. It started out with cohost Steve Doocy saying “people are all entitled to their opinion” but since Trump just won a four-year term, “just deal with it.”

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President-elect Donald Trump was welcomed at the White House on Wednesday after declining to do the same for President Joe Biden after the 2020 election.

Two Soter RS full body scanners capable of detecting ingested or hidden contraband have been deployed at the New Bilibid Prison, according to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Returning to Washington, Trump meets with Biden in the Oval Office

Biden and Trump have sharply criticized each other for years, and their respective teams hold vastly different positions on policies from climate change to Russia to trade.

Donald Trump will make a triumphant return to the White House to meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday, in the Republican’s first visit since departing amid a cloud of scandal nearly four years ago.

Trump’s meeting with Biden comes as he moves swiftly to name his top team, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk as head of a new group aimed at slashing government waste.

Democrat Biden invited his sworn rival to meet in the Oval Office — despite the fact that Trump, who has consistently refused to admit his 2020 election loss, never afforded Biden the same courtesy.

Biden, 81, is expected to urge a smooth transition of power in the encounter at 11am (1600 GMT) — and push for continued support for Ukraine.

“He believes in the norms. He believes in our institutions,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday when asked why Biden was inviting Trump.

“The American people deserve this. They deserve a peaceful transfer of power.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden would go over top foreign policy issues when he meets Trump — including US support for Kyiv against Russia, which Trump has criticised.

“The president will have the chance to explain to President Trump how he sees things, where they stand, and talk to President Trump about how President Trump is thinking,” Sullivan told CBS on Sunday.

But the meeting may be a bitter pill to swallow for Biden, who branded Trump a threat to democracy and was vying for the presidency against him until a disastrous debate performance forced the Democrat out of the race in July.

House speaker Mike Johnson said Trump may also visit the US Capitol — the building a mob of his supporters stormed in 2021 to try to reverse his election loss — but these plans have not been finalised.

Trump’s party looks set to take both chambers of Congress and consolidate his extraordinary comeback.

Tradition restored

Biden’s Oval Office invitation restores a presidential transition tradition that Trump tore up when he lost the 2020 election, refusing to sit down with Biden or even attend the inauguration.

Then-president Barack Obama had welcomed Trump to the White House when the tycoon won the 2016 election.

But by the time Trump took his last Marine One flight from the White House lawn on January 20, 2021, he had also been repudiated by many in his own party for having encouraged the Capitol riot.

The period of disgrace soon evaporated, however, as Republicans returned to Trump’s side, recognising his unique electoral power at the head of his right-wing movement.

Trump, 78, enters his second term with a near-total grip on his party and the Democrats in disarray.

He has spent the week since the election at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida assembling his top team, as the world watches to see how closely he sticks to his pledges of isolationism, mass deportations and sweeping tariffs.

Trump named Space X, Tesla and X boss Musk, and another stalwart ally, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency (‘DOGE’)” — a tongue-in-cheek reference to an internet meme and cryptocurrency.

In a flurry of announcements, Trump also picked Fox News host and military veteran Pete Hegseth as his incoming defense secretary. Hegseth has been an outspoken opponent of so-called “woke” ideology in the armed forces.

Trump further named South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem — an ally who famously wrote about shooting her dog because it did not respond to training — as head of the Department of Homeland Security.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is tipped for secretary of state, US media reported, while Trump has also confirmed Congressman Mike Waltz, a former special forces officer, as his national security advisor.

Both have hawkish views on China but are not considered isolationists, despite Trump’s previous threats to retreat from or cut obligations to alliances like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).

1. John Thune elected Senate majority leader, Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s bid comes up short  Florida’s Voice
2. John Thune elected Senate Majority Leader  CNBC
3. Republican John Thune, who once sparred with Trump, elected as next Senate majority leader  Hindustan Times
4. Latest News Today Live Updates November 13, 2024: Big GOP leadership change: John Thune named next Senate Republican leader  Mint
5. US Senate Republicans pick insider John Thune as their next leader  Reuters

1. Donald Trump meets Joe Biden in White House; both pledge smooth transition  The Hindu
2. Power Transition Will Be "As Smooth As You Can Get", Says Trump  NDTV
3. US President Biden meets President-elect Donald Trump at White House, leaders vow smooth transition of power  The Financial Express
4. Joe and Donald warm up by the White House fireplace  The Times of India
5. Biden greets Trump with handshake, both pledge smooth transition  Moneycontrol

Arizona voters on Election Day approved a sweeping ballot measure that would allow state and local law enforcement to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border outside of ports of entry, while empowering state judges to order deportations. Proposition 314, which creates a series of state crimes targeting immigrants, is modeled after a similar measure in Texas known as S.B. 4 that is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Only certain portions of Prop 314 are scheduled to go into effect later this month, while the most harmful parts won’t be enforced until the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of the Texas law. The measure has drawn comparisons to Arizona’s controversial S.B. 1070, a 2010 law that also gave local police authority to arrest immigrants suspected of being undocumented, though large parts of it were later struck down by the Supreme Court. For more, we speak with Tucson-based activist Alejandra Pablos, who was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for her activism and has been facing deportation proceedings for years. “People who are speaking out are the first to feel the chills,” Pablos says of Trump’s looming anti-immigrant crackdown. She urges the Biden administration to do what it can to mitigate the harm, including by closing deportation cases against people like her.

The two men will meet at the White House as part of a long-standing tradition showing a peaceful transition of power.

The Jackermeier investor group will participate in the bidding process organised by goetzpartners for ENDOR AG.

It's a complete mystery why anyone would bribe Hunter Biden. Maybe it's because of his artistic talent.

But how about the question of how this investigation, and Hunter's underlying conduct, relate to President Biden himself? To read the Times and the WaPo, you would think that that whole question is somehow out of line. The Times's piece doesn't even discuss Joe's role or involvement, although it does include this bizarre line:

It is not clear whether the criminal probe is focused solely on Hunter Biden, or if he is among a group of individuals and companies being scrutinized.

As if anyone, let alone China or Burisma, would pay Hunter Biden millions of dollars without an expectation that it would influence his father. Over in the WaPo, in the context of paragraphs relating to Hunter's dealings with Chinese government-controlled energy company CEFC, we have this:

The Post did not find evidence that Joe Biden personally benefited from or knew details about the transactions with CEFC. . . .

The funny thing is that outside the sole exception of the Biden family, large payments to the children of powerful government officials by those with interests potentially affected by those officials' actions are universally understood to be corrupt efforts to influence the officials. In cases involving people other than the Bidens, whether the official/parent "personally benefited" from the payments or "knew details" of the transactions are considered completely irrelevant.

I guess we'll never know.

On Wednesday Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, to support the people affected by the train derailment while Biden visited Kyiv to support Ukraine's fight against Russia.

Trump:

Trump visited East Palestine to show support for a community afflicted by the toxic train derailment as President Joe Biden, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and other administration officials have come under scrutiny for the federal response to the disaster.

"Get over here," was Trump's terse, three-word response to a reporter's question about what he would tell Biden.

The Buckeye State blitz wasn't perfect, with a strange self-promotional reference to Trump water.

But it was otherwise a vintage Trump performance the 2024 candidate should like to bottle.

Biden:

President Biden paid an unannounced visit Monday to Ukraine's capital, offering a huge show of support for the country the U.S. and its allies have helped to hold out during Russia's nearly-year-long, unprovoked invasion. Mr. Biden spent about six hours in Kyiv, much of it with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he promised unwavering backing and another tranche of American weapons.

"You know, one year later, Kyiv stands. Ukraine stands," Mr. Biden said while there. "Democracy stands. America stands with you and the world stands with you. Kyiv has captured a part of my heart."

At the most basic political level, which trip wins more votes? In my opinion, Trump's visit to Ohio is better politics. But on the other hand, only the sitting President can demonstrate American commitment with a foreign visit like Biden's, which highlights his stature.

The former vice president won the top job, but undoing Trumps discordant legacy will not be easy.

Many of the elements of Trumps biggest legislative achievement--the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017--are set to expire in the next few years. To name two: the research and development tax credit, which in 2022 requires businesses to amortize expenses over five years rather than doing so immediately, as is the current case. And full expensing for short-term business investments will begin phasing out in 2023.

Published at LXer: Void Linux finally replaces Python 2 with Python 3 and upgrades its buildbot to enhance package delivery. Read More......

New charges against Hunter Biden expected Thursday | 7 Dec 2023 | New federal charges against Hunter Biden are expected to be filed Thursday in California, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. Details of the charges from special counsel David Weiss were not immediately known, but one source said they are tax-related. […]

Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on nine charges – including three felonies | 7 Dec 2023 | Hunter Biden was indicted Thursday on nine charges – including three felonies – in part for allegedly dodging over $1 million in taxes while living a hard-partying “extravagant” life over a four-year period. The three felonies leveled against […]

Putin announces 2024 presidential bid –About 70% of Russian citizens believe their current leader should seek another term in office, according to a recent poll | 8 Dec 2023 | Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that he will seek reelection. Should he win, it will be his fifth term as head of state. The […]

Comer says special counsel indicted Hunter Biden to ‘protect him’ from House GOP investigation | 8 Dec 2023 | House Oversight Chair James Comer told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Friday he believes special counsel David Weiss indicted Hunter Biden to shield him from his scheduled deposition next week in front of Comer’s committee. “My concern […]

Biden circumvents Congress, approves $106M ’emergency’ arms sale to Israel | 9 Dec 2023 | The State Department announced on Saturday [a slower news day, of course] that the U.S. government has approved a military sale to Israel worth around $106.5 million, as the Israeli military continues fighting Hamas militants. In a press release, the […]

China's $700+ billion current account surplus is calling out for application to something besides U.S. bonds, so the Chinese state-controlled offshore oil company is bidding to buy Unocal. The $18.5 billion unsolicited takeover proposal is $1.5 billion more than...

[Business Day Africa] Former US President Donald Trump's return to the White House has cast uncertainty over trade talks between Kenya and the United States, which were revived under President Joe Biden.

(Telecompaper) Costa Rica's telecommunications regulator Sutel received offers from five bidders in its relaunched 5G spectrum tender, reports local daily El Mundo, citing Sutel board member Cinthya Arias...

1. Biden and Trump to Meet at the White House: Live Updates  The New York Times
2. Biden, Trump Set For White House Meeting After Harris Election Loss  NDTV
3. Biden-Trump White House meeting revives presidential tradition skipped 4 years ago  Fox News
4. Trump and Biden to meet at White House as Senate GOP holds leadership election  CNN

Doors are usually mundane, but these 16 different doors all hide terrible secrets behind them. Or do they?

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has released their Request for Proposal (RFP) for its Electronic Records Archive project. The eight-year performance-based ERA contract could be worth about $122 million.

Bidding on branded terms is an essential PPC strategy. Understand how your company can improve performance by bidding on your competitor’s branded terms.

The post Why You Should Bid on Your Competitor’s Branded Terms appeared first on Portent.

Fr. John reflects on Psalm 118:89-96.

Fr. John Whiteford shares the depth of God's love for us, and how we can abide it in. (1 John 4:12-19)

Fr. Philip LeMasters invites us to experience the deep truth of Holy Week as we abide with Christ in His passion.

Carta: 1Cor 15:1-11, Evangelio Mt 19:16-26 El Padre Nicholas predicó sobre ir a la fuente de sabiduría en las Escrituras y enseñar el Evangelio. Sunday August 19, 2018 Letter: 1Cor 15: 1-11, Gospel: Mat 19: 16-26 Father Nicholas preached about going to the source of wisdom in the Scriptures and teaching the Gospel.

Prayer is an exercise in every day and every moment living according to Molly.

Dr. Rossi explores the difference between abiding and striving in the spiritual life, and the necessity of reliance on God.

Fr. Pat reflects upon the meaning of these words that Jesus said to Zacchaeus, considering where God abides, what it means, and who is our best model of one who lives with the understanding of these things.

A woman attacked by a convicted murderer on home release feels "gagged" by a confidentiality agreement to attend his parole hearing.

Offers have been made for a site which inspired JM Barrie but a timeline for any sale is uncertain.

Despite raising £70,000, a group against second home planning permission cannot launch appeal.

Worcester Warriors take a major step towards a return to professional rugby with a formal bid to join the second-tier Championship.

This isn’t the first time a president claimed democracy was ‘under attack’

(Belga) Le président américain Joe Biden a nommé lundi une émissaire spéciale sur les droits de l'Homme en Corée du Nord, un poste laissé vacant pendant tout le mandat de l'ancienne administration de Donald Trump.

Le poste a été confié à une diplomate de carrière, Julie Turner, qui dirige actuellement la section Asie du bureau des droits de l'homme au sein du département d'État américain. Il avait été laissé vacant depuis janvier 2017, alors que l'ancien président Donald Trump cherchait à nouer des liens avec Pyongyang, rencontrant le dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong Un à trois reprises. Cela avait conduit à apaiser les tensions entre les deux pays, sans que cela ne débouche sur un accord à long terme. Le poste, qui a le rang d'ambassadeur, avait été créé par une loi en 2004 visant à faire pression sur la question des droits de l'homme en Corée du Nord, l'un des pays les plus autoritaires au monde. La tension est montée de façon spectaculaire ces derniers mois entre la Corée du Nord et son voisin du Sud ainsi que les États-Unis et le Japon en raison du nombre record en 2022 de tirs de missiles par Pyongyang. Dans son dernier rapport annuel sur les droits de l'homme, le département d'État avait dénoncé de vastes abus dans le pays communiste reclus, y compris l'emprisonnement de masse et le travail forcé. Mme Turner, qui parle couramment le français et le coréen selon sa biographie officielle, doit encore être confirmée à ce poste par un vote du Sénat américain. (Belga)

While digitalisation reforms aiming to enhance the quality of public services were put in place, most stakeholders in developing countries still use paper-based-tendering processes, which are associated with increased costs. To overcome these problems, calls to adopt e-bidding have recently emerged. This study aims to explore the readiness of Moroccan SMEs to adopt e-bidding. To achieve this goal, we proposed an integrated framework combining the TAM and UTAUT models to examine the predictors of SMEs' intention to adopt e-bidding. We empirically tested the conceptual model using a partial least squares (PLS) estimation based on data from 210 SMEs. Our results suggest that effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence as the key factors influencing SMEs intention to adopt e-bidding. We also suggest firm size as a significant moderator. This will help in improving SMEs' user experience and will also allow a better implementation of e-bidding in Morocco and similar contexts.

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the influence of ambidextrous knowledge sharing in industrial clusters on innovation performance from the perspective of knowledge-based dynamic capabilities. Background: The key factor to improving innovation performance in an enterprise is to share knowledge with other enterprises in the same cluster and use dynamic capabilities to absorb, integrate, and create knowledge. However, the relationships among these concepts remain unclear. Based on the dynamic capability theory, this study empirically reveals how enterprises drive innovation performance through knowledge sharing. Methodology: Survey data from 238 cluster enterprises were used in this study. The sample was collected from industrial clusters in China’s Fujian province that belong to the automobile, optoelectronic, and microwave communications industries. Through structural equation modeling, this study assessed the relationships among ambidextrous knowledge sharing, dynamic capabilities, and innovation performance. Contribution: This study contributes to the burgeoning literature on knowledge management in China, an important emerging economy. It also enriches the exploration of innovation performance in the cluster context and expands research on the dynamic mechanism from a knowledge perspective. Findings: Significant relationships are found between ambidextrous knowledge sharing and innovation performance. First, ambidextrous knowledge sharing positively influences the innovation performance of cluster enterprises. Further, knowledge absorption and knowledge generation capabilities play a mediating role in this relationship, which confirms that dynamic capabilities are a partial mediator in the relationship between ambidextrous knowledge sharing and innovation performance. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results highlight the crucial role of knowledge management in contributing to cluster innovation and management practices. They indicate that cluster enterprises should consider the importance of knowledge sharing and dynamic capabilities for improving innovation performance and establish a multi-agent knowledge sharing platform. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could further explore the role of other mediating variables (e.g., organizational agility, industry growth) as well as moderating variables (e.g., environmental uncertainty, learning orientation). Impact on Society: This study provides a reference for enterprises in industrial clusters to use knowledge-based capabilities to enhance their competitive advantage. Future Research: Future research could collect data from various countries and regions to test the research model and conduct a comparative analysis of industrial clusters.

What is Biddable Media? Biddable media refers to digital advertising space purchased through real-time bidding. It’s a flexible and efficient way to ensure your ads reach the right audience. This article will cover the basics of biddable media and its benefits for your marketing strategy. Key Takeaways Biddable media operates through a real-time [...]