America in Brief
The two met for roughly two hours, during which they discussed national security matters. Biden reinforced his support for Ukraine, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The transition meeting between incoming and outgoing presidents is customary in the United States. Trump met with former President Barack Obama in 2016 but did not send the same gesture to Biden during the controversial 2020 elections, in which Trump made accusations of widespread election interference.
Special counsel Jack Smith has led two federal indictments against Trump, one relating to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, and the other relating to keeping classified documents at his Mar-A-Lago home in Florida.
A presidential immunity win in the Supreme Court meant that Smith had to rewrite his election interference case involving actions that Trump had taken when he was not in office.
Smith was also appealing the classified documents case after a Florida judge in July ruled that Smith had been unlawfully appointed.
The alliance, called "Governors Safeguarding Democracy," is being fronted by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, both Democrats, and aims to "protect the foundations of our democracy" from "emerging threats," although it is unclear what these threats are.
The governors of California, Washington, New York, and Minnesota have also publicly announced their opposition to Trump's policies.
One of Trump's key policies is the deportation of illegal immigrants that have flooded into the country over the recent years.
In December 2023, border encounters peaked at 249,741 before falling in 2024.
In its latest update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration announced there have been additional hospitalisations with 104 people now affected, although the figure could be much higher owing to unreported cases.
McDonald's has located the source to Taylor Farms, although it is now working with a different supplier.
Since the announcement of the outbreak on Oct. 20, there has been one death.
"CDC continues to believe the risk to the public is low," the department announced in an update.
