America in Brief

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Biden and Trump Meet at the White House

President-elect Donald Trump met with President Joe Biden on Nov. 13 in the White House for a “very cordial” meeting to discuss their smooth transmission of power.

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.

Despite the two sharing insults throughout the past four years, Biden promised a smooth transition.

Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith Makes Plans to Step Down

The federal prosecutor who led two indictments against President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he plans to pause the cases and step down before Trump takes office in January.

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.

Shortly after Trump won the election, the Department of Justice announced its policy not to pursue legal cases against sitting presidents.

Democrat Governors Unite Against Trump

Two governors from Illinois and Colorado have announced that they are forming an alliance against President-elect Donald Trump’s policies as he is about to take office.

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.

(Left) Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at New York Hilton Midtown in New York City on Sept. 24, 2024; (Right) Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks in Pueblo, Colo., on Nov. 29, 2023. Craig Barritt; Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

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.

A January 2024 joint report by the Committee on Homeland Security and the Majority Committee on Oversight & Accountability described the surge of illegal immigrants crossing the border under the Biden administration as “unprecedented.”

A McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburger and coke in New York on Oct. 24, 2024. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

McDonald’s E. Coli Outbreak Expands

U.S. health authorities announced on Nov. 13 that the E. coli outbreak linked to slithered onions used in McDonald’s burgers has expanded to 14 states.

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.