&nbsp;

Donald Trump let loose on Twitter Sunday with a shoot-from-the-hip volley of posts referring to North Korea&#39;s leader Kim Jong-Un as &quot;Rocket Man&quot; -- and picturing himself taking out Hillary Clinton with a golf ball.

The US leader spoke Saturday night with South Korea&#39;s President Moon Jae-In, pledging joint &quot;steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities and to maximise economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea,&quot; according to the White House.

Trump&#39;s own account of the conversation, which kicked off an unbridled salvo of early morning tweets, struck a less diplomatic tone.

&quot;I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!&quot; the president wrote to his 38 million followers. 
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I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/909384837018112000">September 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Thank you! <a href="https://t.co/vs4MNwXtei">https://t.co/vs4MNwXtei</a>
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/909385782275788800">September 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Only true Americans can see that president Trump is making America great. He&#39;s the only person who can! Haters are jealous of his success ????
&mdash; lana del fenty (@glamourizes) <a href="https://twitter.com/glamourizes/status/909381635249860610">September 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump&#39;s amazing golf swing <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CrookedHillary?src=hash">#CrookedHillary</a> <a href="https://t.co/vKhxxFCBV1">pic.twitter.com/vKhxxFCBV1</a>
&mdash; Mike (@Fuctupmind) <a href="https://twitter.com/Fuctupmind/status/908163011793358848">September 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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He then launched into half a dozen retweets of internet memes celebrating his Make America Great Again campaign theme -- topping it off with a GIF montage of himself taking a swing at a golf ball and knocking out his erstwhile Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump is spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey as he prepares to address the UN General Assembly next week.

His latest bout of unbridled tweeting triggered a storm of online reaction -- which he slyly acknowledged with a retweet of a Bloomberg article: &quot;What Is Trump worth to Twitter? One analyst estimates $2 billion.&quot;

Trump shot a volley of posts on Twitter referring to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un as 'Rocket Man' -- and picturing himself taking out Hillary Clinton with a golf ball

Donald Trump let loose on Twitter Sunday with a shoot-from-the-hip volley of posts referring to North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un as "Rocket Man" -- and picturing himself taking out Hillary Clinton with a golf ball. The US leader spoke Saturday night with South Korea's President Moon Jae-In, pledging joint "steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities and to maximise economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea," according to the White House. Trump's own account of the conversation, which kicked off an unbridled salvo of early morning tweets, struck a less diplomatic tone. "I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!" the president wrote to his 38 million followers. I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2017 × Thank you! https://t.co/vs4MNwXtei — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 17, 2017 × Only true Americans can see that president Trump is making America great. He's the only person who can! Haters are jealous of his success ???? — lana del fenty (@glamourizes) September 17, 2017 × Donald Trump's amazing golf swing #CrookedHillary pic.twitter.com/vKhxxFCBV1 — Mike (@Fuctupmind) September 14, 2017 × He then launched into half a dozen retweets of internet memes celebrating his Make America Great Again campaign theme -- topping it off with a GIF montage of himself taking a swing at a golf ball and knocking out his erstwhile Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump is spending the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey as he prepares to address the UN General Assembly next week. His latest bout of unbridled tweeting triggered a storm of online reaction -- which he slyly acknowledged with a retweet of a Bloomberg article: "What Is Trump worth to Twitter? One analyst estimates $2 billion."

Trump tweets on 'Rocket Man' Kim Jong, 'Crooked Hillary'

Martin Shkreli, once dubbed &quot;the most hated man in America&quot; when his company jacked up the price of an HIV drug, has been sent to jail for offering $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton&#39;s hair.&nbsp;

The 34-year-old former CEO of a pharmaceutical company had been convicted of securities fraud last month. &nbsp;

He was out on a $5 million bail while awaiting sentencing in the case.

Shkreli apologised to the judge for his &quot;poor judgment&quot;. He added that he &quot;never intended to cause alarm or promote any act of violence&quot;.

The judge, however, &nbsp;ruled that online threats constituted &quot;solicitation of assault&quot; and posed a danger to the community, AFP reported.

Shkreli will remain behind bars until his sentencing hearing on January 16 next year, according to AFP.

(With inputs from AFP)

He was convicted last month of securities fraud and was out on bail

Martin Shkreli, once dubbed "the most hated man in America" when his company jacked up the price of an HIV drug, has been sent to jail for offering $5,000 for a strand of Hillary Clinton's hair. The 34-year-old former CEO of a pharmaceutical company had been convicted of securities fraud last month. He was out on a $5 million bail while awaiting sentencing in the case. Shkreli apologised to the judge for his "poor judgment". He added that he "never intended to cause alarm or promote any act of violence". The judge, however, ruled that online threats constituted "solicitation of assault" and posed a danger to the community, AFP reported. Shkreli will remain behind bars until his sentencing hearing on January 16 next year, according to AFP. (With inputs from AFP)

'Pharma Bro' Shkreli sent to jail for offensive Facebook post against Hillary Clinton

President Donald Trump called his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., a &quot;high-quality person&quot; on Tuesday after disclosures about the latter&#39;s meeting last year with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have information incriminating Trump&#39;s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

&quot;My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency,&quot; Trump said in a brief statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

Sanders told reporters that all other questions on the matter should be referred to either his son&#39;s lawyer or the president&#39;s outside counsel.

Earlier on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter a chain of emails between himself and Rob Goldstone, a publicist who helped to arrange the June 9, 2016, meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, who says she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties.

&quot;If it&#39;s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,&quot; Trump Jr. replied in the email exchange after Goldstone said the information offered was &quot;part of Russia and its government&#39;s support for Mr. Trump.&quot;

The disclosures could provide ammunition for U.S. investigators probing whether there was collusion between the Kremlin and Trump&rsquo;s Republican presidential campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow sought to hurt Clinton and help Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Sanders said Trump was &quot;frustrated&quot; by the focus on Russia.

&quot;The president is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue, and he would love for us to be focused on things like ... the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure,&quot; Sanders said.

Asked about the fact that the words &quot;perjury&quot; and &quot;treason&quot; were now being used in the public conversation about the Trump campaign&#39;s contacts with Russians, Sanders said, &quot;I think those new words are ridiculous.&quot;

Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter a chain of emails between himself and Rob Goldstone, a publicist who helped to arrange the June 9, 2016, meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya

President Donald Trump called his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., a "high-quality person" on Tuesday after disclosures about the latter's meeting last year with a woman he was told was a Russian government lawyer who might have information incriminating Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency," Trump said in a brief statement read to reporters by White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. Sanders told reporters that all other questions on the matter should be referred to either his son's lawyer or the president's outside counsel. Earlier on Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter a chain of emails between himself and Rob Goldstone, a publicist who helped to arrange the June 9, 2016, meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, who says she is a private lawyer and denies having Kremlin ties. "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. replied in the email exchange after Goldstone said the information offered was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." The disclosures could provide ammunition for U.S. investigators probing whether there was collusion between the Kremlin and Trump’s Republican presidential campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow sought to hurt Clinton and help Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Sanders said Trump was "frustrated" by the focus on Russia. "The president is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue, and he would love for us to be focused on things like ... the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure," Sanders said. Asked about the fact that the words "perjury" and "treason" were now being used in the public conversation about the Trump campaign's contacts with Russians, Sanders said, "I think those new words are ridiculous."

Trump calls son 'high-quality person', 'applauds' his 'transparency'

President Donald Trump&#39;s son Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;agreed to meet with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the 2016 campaign after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Sunday (July 9), citing three advisers to the White House, Reuters reports.

Trump&#39;s then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also attended the meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination, the Times reported.

The Times quoted a statement from Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;in which he acknowledged meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

&quot;After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms&nbsp;Clinton,&quot; the Times quoted Donald Trump Jr&nbsp;as saying. Clinton was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

The Times said Veselnitskaya then turned the conversation to the adoption of Russian children and a 2012 US&nbsp;law, known as the Magnitsky Act, blacklisting Russians linked to alleged human-rights abuses.

Vladimir Putin banned Americans from adopting&nbsp;Russian children because he was reportedly so outraged by Obama&#39;s passing of the Magnitsky Act. Putin also banned the former federal prosecutor,&nbsp;Indian-origin Preet Bharara, notorious for convicting Russian arms and drug dealers. Donald Trump originally asked Bharara to serve as a US attorney, then fired him in March.

&nbsp;

Changing his version

Donald Trump Jr altered his version of the story Sunday night,&nbsp;after The New York Times, citing three White House advisors and two other people with knowledge of the meeting, stated that the purpose of the meeting was for damaging information on Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr claimed the information Veselnitskaya provided&nbsp;&quot;made no sense&quot; and was not &quot;meaningful&quot;.

Whether or not she produced any damaging information is not known, but she was expected to.

His full statement is here:

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JUST IN: Donald Trump Jr. responds to reports that he met with Kremlin-linked lawyer during campaign <a href="https://t.co/5mqRX38Wio">pic.twitter.com/5mqRX38Wio</a>
&mdash; NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/884164341649600512">July 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Three days after the meeting between Veselnitskaya&nbsp;and the Trump campaign, Julian Assange at WikiLeaks, the man the NSA, FBI and CIA claim with &quot;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/06/vladimir-putin-us-election-interference-report-donald-trump" target="_blank">high confidence</a>&quot; received hacked Clinton emails from&nbsp;Russian military intelligence, announced, &quot;We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton...We have emails pending publication, that is correct.&quot;

Assange maintains he did not receive any material from the Russians.

The meeting between the Trump campaign and&nbsp;Veselnitskaya&nbsp;was not <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/trump-campaign-leaders-met-kremlin-linked-lawyer-report.html">disclosed </a>until Jared Kushner filed an updated request for national-security clearance, after it became known that in his earlier report he failed to disclose other contacts with Russian officials. Kushner claimed it was an error. The punishment for submitting a false report, or concealing information, can be imprisonment.&nbsp;

President Trump was &quot;not aware of and did not attend&quot; the meeting reported by the Times, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump&#39;s legal team, said in an emailed statement.

Here is a video of Donald Trump Jr on July 24, 2016, denying that Russia helped the Trump campaign by hacking the Democrats and releasing the emails.

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FLASHBACK: Don Jr. July 24, 2016. On the Clinton campaign&#39;s claims that the Russians were helping Trump: &quot;It&#39;s disgusitng. It&#39;s so phony.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/BSut2RwbOs">pic.twitter.com/BSut2RwbOs</a>
&mdash; Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) <a href="https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/884206457843068928">July 10, 2017</a></blockquote>
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(With agency inputs)

Whether she provided the damaging information is unknown, but WikiLeaks' Assange announced he possessed Clinton's hacked emails three days later

President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr agreed to meet with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the 2016 campaign after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Sunday (July 9), citing three advisers to the White House, Reuters reports. Trump's then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also attended the meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination, the Times reported. The Times quoted a statement from Donald Trump Jr in which he acknowledged meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. "After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms Clinton," the Times quoted Donald Trump Jr as saying. Clinton was the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee. The Times said Veselnitskaya then turned the conversation to the adoption of Russian children and a 2012 US law, known as the Magnitsky Act, blacklisting Russians linked to alleged human-rights abuses. Vladimir Putin banned Americans from adopting Russian children because he was reportedly so outraged by Obama's passing of the Magnitsky Act. Putin also banned the former federal prosecutor, Indian-origin Preet Bharara, notorious for convicting Russian arms and drug dealers. Donald Trump originally asked Bharara to serve as a US attorney, then fired him in March. Changing his version Donald Trump Jr altered his version of the story Sunday night, after The New York Times, citing three White House advisors and two other people with knowledge of the meeting, stated that the purpose of the meeting was for damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr claimed the information Veselnitskaya provided "made no sense" and was not "meaningful". Whether or not she produced any damaging information is not known, but she was expected to. His full statement is here: JUST IN: Donald Trump Jr. responds to reports that he met with Kremlin-linked lawyer during campaign pic.twitter.com/5mqRX38Wio — NBC News (@NBCNews) July 9, 2017 × Three days after the meeting between Veselnitskaya and the Trump campaign, Julian Assange at WikiLeaks, the man the NSA, FBI and CIA claim with "high confidence" received hacked Clinton emails from Russian military intelligence, announced, "We have upcoming leaks in relation to Hillary Clinton...We have emails pending publication, that is correct." Assange maintains he did not receive any material from the Russians. The meeting between the Trump campaign and Veselnitskaya was not disclosed until Jared Kushner filed an updated request for national-security clearance, after it became known that in his earlier report he failed to disclose other contacts with Russian officials. Kushner claimed it was an error. The punishment for submitting a false report, or concealing information, can be imprisonment. President Trump was "not aware of and did not attend" the meeting reported by the Times, Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Trump's legal team, said in an emailed statement. Here is a video of Donald Trump Jr on July 24, 2016, denying that Russia helped the Trump campaign by hacking the Democrats and releasing the emails. FLASHBACK: Don Jr. July 24, 2016. On the Clinton campaign's claims that the Russians were helping Trump: "It's disgusitng. It's so phony." pic.twitter.com/BSut2RwbOs — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 10, 2017 × (With agency inputs)

Trump Jr met Kremlin-linked lawyer who promised damaging info on Clinton during election

Hillary Clinton went a step further Wednesday in blaming her election loss to Donald Trump on cyber attacks by Russia, saying Americans including associates of the Republican president likely had a hand in the effort.

The Democratic nominee in last year&#39;s bitterly fought White House race addressed a technology conference in California and spoke at length about the campaign of &quot;disinformation&quot; against her that she said was led by Moscow and influenced the outcome of the campaign.

&quot;The Russians, in my opinion, and based on the intel and counter-intel people I&#39;ve talked to, could not have known how best to weaponize that information unless they had been guided,&quot; Clinton told the Recode conference, referring to an avalanche of false information, social media bots and hacks of Clinton campaign emails.

Some of those people helping the Russians, she said, had access to &quot;polling and data information.&quot;

Asked by a moderator who those individuals might be, Clinton said: &quot;We&#39;re getting more information about all of the contacts between Trump campaign officials and Trump associates with Russians before, during and after the election. So I hope that we&#39;ll get enough information to be able to answer that question.&quot;

&quot;I&#39;m leaning Trump,&quot; she said of the connections. &quot;I think it&#39;s pretty hard not to.&quot;

Several US congressional committees have launched investigations into Russia&#39;s efforts to influence the 2016 election and its possible coordination with Trump campaign aides or associates.&nbsp;

The Department of Justice has appointed a former FBI director as a special counsel to head a separate, independent investigation.

Clinton, who ruled out a re-election bid, said the best example of such coordination took place a month before the vote, when hacked emails from Clinton&#39;s campaign chief John Podesta were released by WikiLeaks within an hour after disclosure in the press of a damning video of Trump using demeaning and vile language about women.

&quot;They had to be ready for that, and they had to have a plan for that and they had to be given the go-ahead; &#39;OK, this could be the end of the Trump campaign. Dump it now,&#39;&quot; she said.

As she had done previously, Clinton also chalked up her defeat to actions by then-FBI director James Comey, who she said dealt her campaign &quot;a tremendous hit&quot; when he briefly re-opened an investigation into her use of a private email account and server just days before the election.&nbsp;

&quot;He dumps that on me on October 28, and I immediately start falling,&quot; she said.

While she said she takes &quot;responsibility&quot; for her loss, Clinton still appeared reluctant to embark on serious and public self-criticism of her campaign loss.&nbsp;

Despite losing the indirect but all-important state-by-state electoral count, &quot;I won three million more votes than the other guy,&quot; she said.

(AFP)

Clinton, who lost to US presidential election to Donald Trump, felt the catalogue of cyber attacks was the key reason for her election defeat

Hillary Clinton went a step further Wednesday in blaming her election loss to Donald Trump on cyber attacks by Russia, saying Americans including associates of the Republican president likely had a hand in the effort. The Democratic nominee in last year's bitterly fought White House race addressed a technology conference in California and spoke at length about the campaign of "disinformation" against her that she said was led by Moscow and influenced the outcome of the campaign. "The Russians, in my opinion, and based on the intel and counter-intel people I've talked to, could not have known how best to weaponize that information unless they had been guided," Clinton told the Recode conference, referring to an avalanche of false information, social media bots and hacks of Clinton campaign emails. Some of those people helping the Russians, she said, had access to "polling and data information." Asked by a moderator who those individuals might be, Clinton said: "We're getting more information about all of the contacts between Trump campaign officials and Trump associates with Russians before, during and after the election. So I hope that we'll get enough information to be able to answer that question." "I'm leaning Trump," she said of the connections. "I think it's pretty hard not to." Several US congressional committees have launched investigations into Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election and its possible coordination with Trump campaign aides or associates. The Department of Justice has appointed a former FBI director as a special counsel to head a separate, independent investigation. Clinton, who ruled out a re-election bid, said the best example of such coordination took place a month before the vote, when hacked emails from Clinton's campaign chief John Podesta were released by WikiLeaks within an hour after disclosure in the press of a damning video of Trump using demeaning and vile language about women. "They had to be ready for that, and they had to have a plan for that and they had to be given the go-ahead; 'OK, this could be the end of the Trump campaign. Dump it now,'" she said. As she had done previously, Clinton also chalked up her defeat to actions by then-FBI director James Comey, who she said dealt her campaign "a tremendous hit" when he briefly re-opened an investigation into her use of a private email account and server just days before the election. "He dumps that on me on October 28, and I immediately start falling," she said. While she said she takes "responsibility" for her loss, Clinton still appeared reluctant to embark on serious and public self-criticism of her campaign loss. Despite losing the indirect but all-important state-by-state electoral count, "I won three million more votes than the other guy," she said. (AFP)

Hillary Clinton blames 'Trump-Russia collusion' for poll loss

Hillary Clinton on Tuesday laid the blame for her defeat in last year&#39;s White House race squarely at the feet of FBI director James Comey and Russia`s Vladimir Putin, saying they had &quot;scared off&quot; voters.

The Democrat, speaking at a charity luncheon in New York, said she took &quot;absolute personal responsibility&quot; for a series of campaign blunders that contributed to her loss to Donald Trump.

But she pointed a finger at Russian hacking and interference and at the Federal Bureau of Investigation director, who revealed just before the November 8 election he was re-opening a probe into Clinton`s use of a personal email server while serving as secretary of state.

&quot;I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey&#39;s letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me, but got scared off,&quot; Clinton said.

&quot;If the election had been on October 27, I`d be your president.&quot;

Trump responded hours later with a pair of snarky tweets, attacking Clinton and saying the Russia affair was a Democratic ploy to justify her loss to him.

In January the US intelligence community announced it had concluded Russia interfered in the election -- and that Putin himself ordered a campaign to undermine the US democratic process and harm Clinton`s electability in order to help Trump win.

Clinton described the Russian president as someone who was &quot;not a member of my fan club&quot;.

&quot;He certainly interfered in our election and it was clear he hurt me and helped my opponent,&quot; she said. 
Clinton pointed to the release of an old video tape on October 7 on which Trump is heard crudely discussing groping women, and how &quot;within an hour or two&quot; of the tapes` release, the Russian theft of Clinton staffers` emails was made public on WikiLeaks.

&quot;What a coincidence. You just can&#39;t make this stuff up,&quot; she said.

Clinton`s remarks -- which echoed CIA comments branding WikiLeaks a &quot;hostile intelligence service&quot; abetted by the likes of Russia -- were the most extensive and direct about her loss since the shock result last year.

&quot;The reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days,&quot; she said.Political analysts widely consider that Clinton fell short in part because she failed to mobilize the coalition of non-whites, young voters, single women and college-educated whites who propelled Barack Obama to victory in 2008 and 2012.

She was also faulted for not spending enough campaign time in traditionally Democratic strongholds Michigan and Wisconsin, states which fell to Trump on election day.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democrats have focused on Russian hacking -- and alleged cooperation between Moscow and Trump associates -- to mask their bitter defeat.

&quot;Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election,&quot; he tweeted Tuesday night after Clinton spoke. &quot;Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?&quot;

Trump also said Clinton had gotten off easy because the FBI chose not to charge her over the email case.

&quot;FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony...&quot; Trump wrote in another tweet.

In her interview Clinton blamed &quot;everybody but herself,&quot; Republican congressman Jeff Duncan said on Twitter.

The 69-year-old former first lady, US senator and secretary of state has spent decades in the public spotlight.

&quot;I&#39;m now back to being an active citizen and part of the resistance,&quot; she said, referring to the informal movement opposed to the Republican president.

Clinton is writing a book about her experiences, to be released later this year, and said it has been a &quot;painful process&quot; to relive the campaign and the mistakes she made.

&quot;You`ll read my confession and my request for absolution,&quot; she said.

(AFP)

The Democrat, speaking at a charity luncheon in New York, said she took "absolute personal responsibility" for a series of campaign blunders that contributed to her loss to Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton on Tuesday laid the blame for her defeat in last year's White House race squarely at the feet of FBI director James Comey and Russia`s Vladimir Putin, saying they had "scared off" voters. The Democrat, speaking at a charity luncheon in New York, said she took "absolute personal responsibility" for a series of campaign blunders that contributed to her loss to Donald Trump. But she pointed a finger at Russian hacking and interference and at the Federal Bureau of Investigation director, who revealed just before the November 8 election he was re-opening a probe into Clinton`s use of a personal email server while serving as secretary of state. "I was on the way to winning until a combination of Jim Comey's letter on October 28th and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me, but got scared off," Clinton said. "If the election had been on October 27, I`d be your president." Trump responded hours later with a pair of snarky tweets, attacking Clinton and saying the Russia affair was a Democratic ploy to justify her loss to him. In January the US intelligence community announced it had concluded Russia interfered in the election -- and that Putin himself ordered a campaign to undermine the US democratic process and harm Clinton`s electability in order to help Trump win. Clinton described the Russian president as someone who was "not a member of my fan club". "He certainly interfered in our election and it was clear he hurt me and helped my opponent," she said. Clinton pointed to the release of an old video tape on October 7 on which Trump is heard crudely discussing groping women, and how "within an hour or two" of the tapes` release, the Russian theft of Clinton staffers` emails was made public on WikiLeaks. "What a coincidence. You just can't make this stuff up," she said. Clinton`s remarks -- which echoed CIA comments branding WikiLeaks a "hostile intelligence service" abetted by the likes of Russia -- were the most extensive and direct about her loss since the shock result last year. "The reason why I believe we lost were the intervening events in the last 10 days," she said.Political analysts widely consider that Clinton fell short in part because she failed to mobilize the coalition of non-whites, young voters, single women and college-educated whites who propelled Barack Obama to victory in 2008 and 2012. She was also faulted for not spending enough campaign time in traditionally Democratic strongholds Michigan and Wisconsin, states which fell to Trump on election day. Trump has repeatedly claimed that Democrats have focused on Russian hacking -- and alleged cooperation between Moscow and Trump associates -- to mask their bitter defeat. "Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification for losing the election," he tweeted Tuesday night after Clinton spoke. "Perhaps Trump just ran a great campaign?" Trump also said Clinton had gotten off easy because the FBI chose not to charge her over the email case. "FBI Director Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Hillary Clinton in that he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds! The phony..." Trump wrote in another tweet. In her interview Clinton blamed "everybody but herself," Republican congressman Jeff Duncan said on Twitter. The 69-year-old former first lady, US senator and secretary of state has spent decades in the public spotlight. "I'm now back to being an active citizen and part of the resistance," she said, referring to the informal movement opposed to the Republican president. Clinton is writing a book about her experiences, to be released later this year, and said it has been a "painful process" to relive the campaign and the mistakes she made. "You`ll read my confession and my request for absolution," she said. (AFP)

Hillary Clinton blames FBI and Putin for defeat in presidential election

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Thursday that misogyny &quot;certainly played a role&quot; in her bruising defeat at the hands of Donald Trump&nbsp;in last year&#39;s US presidential election.

&quot;I don&#39;t know that there is one answer,&quot; she told the Women in the World Summit in New York when asked why she thought she lost the white women&#39;s vote to a Republican who had boasted of groping women.

&quot;Certainly misogyny played a role, I mean that just has to be admitted,&quot; added the former first lady and New York senator, who was treated to an ecstatic welcome and standing ovation from the crowd.

&quot;I think in this election there was a very real struggle between what is viewed as change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans and change which is worrisome and threatening to so many others.

&quot;And layer on the first woman president over that and I think some people, women included, had real problems,&quot; she said in her first interview since her loss, speaking to a New York Times journalist at the women&#39;s empowerment event held each year in Manhattan.

The vastly experienced Clinton won the popular vote, but lost the crucial electoral college to the real estate tycoon who had never previously held public office.

Having dreamt for years of making history to become the United States&#39;s first woman president, Clinton admitted that the aftermath of the election had been &quot;so devastating.&quot;

She slammed Russian interference in the election as &quot;an act of aggression,&quot; warned Moscow was capable of repeating it and called for a bipartisan US commitment to make sure it did not happen again.

But the 69-year-old also said she had no plans to run for office again.

&quot;I am looking at doing interesting things, I don&#39;t think that will include ever running for office again,&quot; she told the audience.

&quot;I am really focused on just doing some things that I think I can help make a difference with, like this supporting of young people and getting more women into politics, and I very much want to help Democrats take back the Congress,&quot; she said to cheers.

(AFP)

'I mean that just has to be admitted,' Hillary Clinton said when asked why she thought she lost the white women's vote

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Thursday that misogyny "certainly played a role" in her bruising defeat at the hands of Donald Trump in last year's US presidential election. "I don't know that there is one answer," she told the Women in the World Summit in New York when asked why she thought she lost the white women's vote to a Republican who had boasted of groping women. "Certainly misogyny played a role, I mean that just has to be admitted," added the former first lady and New York senator, who was treated to an ecstatic welcome and standing ovation from the crowd. "I think in this election there was a very real struggle between what is viewed as change that is welcomed and exciting to so many Americans and change which is worrisome and threatening to so many others. "And layer on the first woman president over that and I think some people, women included, had real problems," she said in her first interview since her loss, speaking to a New York Times journalist at the women's empowerment event held each year in Manhattan. The vastly experienced Clinton won the popular vote, but lost the crucial electoral college to the real estate tycoon who had never previously held public office. Having dreamt for years of making history to become the United States's first woman president, Clinton admitted that the aftermath of the election had been "so devastating." She slammed Russian interference in the election as "an act of aggression," warned Moscow was capable of repeating it and called for a bipartisan US commitment to make sure it did not happen again. But the 69-year-old also said she had no plans to run for office again. "I am looking at doing interesting things, I don't think that will include ever running for office again," she told the audience. "I am really focused on just doing some things that I think I can help make a difference with, like this supporting of young people and getting more women into politics, and I very much want to help Democrats take back the Congress," she said to cheers. (AFP)

Misogyny played a role in US election loss: Clinton

The FBI possesses information indicating&nbsp;associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton&#39;s presidential campaign, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/us-officials-info-suggests-trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>reports, citing US officials.

One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign&#39;s ties to Russia.

The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings.

US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump&#39;s opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign.

These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that &quot;coordination&quot; may have taken place.

&quot;Coordination&quot; is a term Comey described during the Monday&#39;s House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party&#39;s interests without them knowing.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Background: Is there anything else&nbsp;to suggest links between Trump and Russia?

Two days after the US election, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/moscow-had-contacts-with-trump-team-during-campaign-russian-diplomat-says/2016/11/10/28fb82fa-a73d-11e6-9bd6-184ab22d218e_story.html?utm_term=.30420cbf06da" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported&nbsp;Russian officials saying they &quot;conferred&quot;&nbsp;with the Trump campaign, saying &quot;there were contacts&quot;, during the election.

&quot;Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage,&quot; said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign&nbsp;had &quot;no contact with Russian officials&quot;.

&nbsp;

Yesterday, an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-22/urgent-manafort-s-plan-to-greatly-benefit-the-putin-government" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> report&nbsp;claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump&#39;s election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract&nbsp;in 2006 from a Russian billionaire&nbsp;to advance Russian president&nbsp;Vladimir Putin&#39;s interests.

Manafort <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/paul-manafort-resigns-from-trump-campaign-227197" target="_blank">stepped down</a> from Trump&#39;s campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is&nbsp;linked to Russia.

&nbsp;

As <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/former-trump-advisor-admits-to-innocuous-private-contact-with-russian-dnc-hacker-during-election-13270">WION </a>wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has&nbsp;admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats&#39; emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency.

On Monday&#39;s <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/20/1645393/-Comey-confirms-that-Russia-used-WikiLeaks-which-Trump-loves-to-release-hacked-information" target="_blank">hearing</a>, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used &quot;cutouts&quot;...&quot;to cover up that they were the ones releasing&quot; the stolen information.

Roger Stone <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/kfile-roger-stone-wikileaks-claims/" target="_blank">appeared </a>to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wikileaks?src=hash">#Wikileaks</a>.
&mdash; Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/782443074874138624">October 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta&#39;s hacked emails came about&nbsp;two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women &quot;<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/10/7/13205842/trump-secret-recording-women" target="_blank">by the p*ssy</a>&quot;.

Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use&nbsp;Podesta&#39;s hacked emails&nbsp;to cudgel Clinton.

During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: &quot;Russia, if you&#39;re listening, I hope you&#39;re able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing.&quot;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNa2B5zHfbQ" width="560"></iframe>

Trump&#39;s pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world&#39;s largest publicly traded&nbsp;international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the &quot;Order of frienship&quot; from Vladimir Putin, given to &quot;reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people&quot;. Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics.&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/79fecace-0ee2-11e7-b030-768954394623" target="_blank">report </a>yesterday said Tillerson was &quot;stunned&quot; when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement.

Several members of Trump&#39;s campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials&nbsp;and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey&nbsp;Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials;&nbsp;National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak&nbsp;and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon.

<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russian-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-meeting-election-campaign-a7617261.html">Donald Trump</a> himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFgYzf4DV4" target="_blank">Vladimir Putin.</a>

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

US officials say this after FBI Director Comey announced that the US president is under formal investigation for his links to Russia

The FBI possesses information indicating associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, CNN reports, citing US officials. One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings. US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump's opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that "coordination" may have taken place. "Coordination" is a term Comey described during the Monday's House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party's interests without them knowing. Background: Is there anything else to suggest links between Trump and Russia? Two days after the US election, the Washington Post reported Russian officials saying they "conferred" with the Trump campaign, saying "there were contacts", during the election. "Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign had "no contact with Russian officials". Yesterday, an Associated Press report claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump's election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract in 2006 from a Russian billionaire to advance Russian president Vladimir Putin's interests. Manafort stepped down from Trump's campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is linked to Russia. As WION wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats' emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency. On Monday's hearing, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used "cutouts"..."to cover up that they were the ones releasing" the stolen information. Roger Stone appeared to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication. Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks. — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 2, 2016 × The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta's hacked emails came about two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women "by the p*ssy". Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use Podesta's hacked emails to cudgel Clinton. During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing." Trump's pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the "Order of frienship" from Vladimir Putin, given to "reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people". Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics. A report yesterday said Tillerson was "stunned" when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement. Several members of Trump's campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials; National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon. Donald Trump himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with Vladimir Putin. (WION)

New evidence suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russian officials: CNN

United States Vice President Mike Pence has denied any wrongdoing after a newspaper report suggested that he had a private email account while he was the governor of Indiana.

Pence denied being a hypocrite for having attacked the 2016 Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton for having private account while she was in White House.

He said there was &quot;no comparison whatsoever&quot; with Clinton as she had a &quot;private server&quot; and &quot;misused classified information&quot;.

Emails obtained by his home state Indianapolis Star newspaper showed that Pence used the private account to discuss issues including &quot;sensitive matters&quot; and &quot;homeland security issues.&quot;

&quot;I&#39;m very confident we are in full compliance with all of Indiana&#39;s laws. And in my service as vice president I will continue that practice,&quot; he said.

Indiana law does permit government officials to maintain a private account,&nbsp;but generally does require that messages connected to official business be kept for public information purposes.

Pence&#39;s office told the paper that his campaign had taken steps to allow outside counsel to transfer personal emails dealing with public business to the state.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Clinton was dogged throughout her White House campaign by her use of a private email server while secretary of state.&nbsp;

She has said FBI director James Comey played a part in her campaign loss, claiming that his agency&#39;s re-opening of a probe into her email use less than two weeks before the election broke the momentum towards victory.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Pence said unlike him, Hillary Clinton's use of a private server was wrong as she used it to 'misuse classified information'

United States Vice President Mike Pence has denied any wrongdoing after a newspaper report suggested that he had a private email account while he was the governor of Indiana. Pence denied being a hypocrite for having attacked the 2016 Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton for having private account while she was in White House. He said there was "no comparison whatsoever" with Clinton as she had a "private server" and "misused classified information". Emails obtained by his home state Indianapolis Star newspaper showed that Pence used the private account to discuss issues including "sensitive matters" and "homeland security issues." "I'm very confident we are in full compliance with all of Indiana's laws. And in my service as vice president I will continue that practice," he said. Indiana law does permit government officials to maintain a private account, but generally does require that messages connected to official business be kept for public information purposes. Pence's office told the paper that his campaign had taken steps to allow outside counsel to transfer personal emails dealing with public business to the state. Former Democratic presidential candidate Clinton was dogged throughout her White House campaign by her use of a private email server while secretary of state. She has said FBI director James Comey played a part in her campaign loss, claiming that his agency's re-opening of a probe into her email use less than two weeks before the election broke the momentum towards victory. (WION with inputs from AFP)

US Vice President Mike Pence downplays private email storm

&nbsp;US Justice department&#39;s internal watchdog&nbsp;said it will investigate the department and&nbsp;FBI actions regarding the Clinton email scandal on Thursday.&nbsp;

The announcement comes eight days before US President-elect Donald Trump&nbsp;takes the oath.&nbsp;

Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the review was taking place after appeals from &quot;numerous chairmen and ranking members of congressional oversight committees, various organisations and members of the public.&quot;

Horowitz said that five allegations will be investigated, which include FBI director James Comey&#39;s announcement over reopening a probe on Clinton emails just before the November 8 election.&nbsp;

Allegations of&nbsp;Justice department and FBI employees disclosing&nbsp;&quot;nonpublic information&quot; and releasing of documents in few weeks before election by FBI was &quot;influenced by improper considerations.&quot;

Comey recieved flak for the announcement from Democrats and Republicans alike, with Democrats alleging the announcement caused political damage.&nbsp;

White House spokesman&nbsp;Josh Earnest said the White House was not involved in the inquiry.&nbsp;

&quot;I can tell you that the White House was not involved in that decision.&quot;&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Five allegations will be investigated, including FBI director James Comey's announcement of reopening probe on Clinton emails before Nov 8

US Justice department's internal watchdog said it will investigate the department and FBI actions regarding the Clinton email scandal on Thursday. The announcement comes eight days before US President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath. Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the review was taking place after appeals from "numerous chairmen and ranking members of congressional oversight committees, various organisations and members of the public." Horowitz said that five allegations will be investigated, which include FBI director James Comey's announcement over reopening a probe on Clinton emails just before the November 8 election. Allegations of Justice department and FBI employees disclosing "nonpublic information" and releasing of documents in few weeks before election by FBI was "influenced by improper considerations." Comey recieved flak for the announcement from Democrats and Republicans alike, with Democrats alleging the announcement caused political damage. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the White House was not involved in the inquiry. "I can tell you that the White House was not involved in that decision." (WION with inputs from AFP)

US: Justice department watchdog to probe FBI over Clinton emails

Hillary Clinton will not run for any elected office again after losing to Donald Trump in the US Presidential polls, her Indian-American aide Neera Tanden has said amid reports that the former secretary of state could run for the post of New York Mayor.

&quot;I think she&#39;s going to figure out ways to help kids and families. That&#39;s been what she&#39;s been focused on her whole life, and a lot of issues that are affecting them, over the next couple of years,&quot; Tanden told CNN.

&quot;But I don&#39;t expect her to ever run for any elected office again,&quot; she said.

Tanden, a close ally of the&nbsp;69-year-old former secretary of state and the head of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, was responding to an article in New York Times that Clinton could run against incumbent New York mayor Bill de Blasio.

&quot;I don&#39;t expect her to run for this and I don&#39;t expect her to run for other office,&quot; Tanden said yesterday.

&quot;I think her job is to -&nbsp;what she&#39;s thinking about right now is how to help those kids and families as she has her whole life,&quot; she said.

If Clinton were to run - and win - it would put her on another collision course with President-Elect Donald Trump, who has been shaping his government from Fifth Avenue&#39;s Trump Tower, the report said.

Clinton has largely remained out of the public eye since losing a bitterly fought campaign against the former reality star and businessman in the November vote.

She has given few clues to what her next role will be, leaving a void in which speculation has run rife.

A New York challenge would see her take on fellow Democrat de Blasio, whose popularity has plummeted since he took over from Michael Bloomberg in 2014.&nbsp;

The next mayoral election is in November.

Clinton was most recently seen on Sunday at the final performance of the &quot;The Color Purple,&quot; on Broadway with her husband, Bill, and daughter, Chelsea.

(PTI)

If Clinton were to run and win, it would put her on another collision course with President-elect Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton will not run for any elected office again after losing to Donald Trump in the US Presidential polls, her Indian-American aide Neera Tanden has said amid reports that the former secretary of state could run for the post of New York Mayor. "I think she's going to figure out ways to help kids and families. That's been what she's been focused on her whole life, and a lot of issues that are affecting them, over the next couple of years," Tanden told CNN. "But I don't expect her to ever run for any elected office again," she said. Tanden, a close ally of the 69-year-old former secretary of state and the head of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, was responding to an article in New York Times that Clinton could run against incumbent New York mayor Bill de Blasio. "I don't expect her to run for this and I don't expect her to run for other office," Tanden said yesterday. "I think her job is to - what she's thinking about right now is how to help those kids and families as she has her whole life," she said. If Clinton were to run - and win - it would put her on another collision course with President-Elect Donald Trump, who has been shaping his government from Fifth Avenue's Trump Tower, the report said. Clinton has largely remained out of the public eye since losing a bitterly fought campaign against the former reality star and businessman in the November vote. She has given few clues to what her next role will be, leaving a void in which speculation has run rife. A New York challenge would see her take on fellow Democrat de Blasio, whose popularity has plummeted since he took over from Michael Bloomberg in 2014. The next mayoral election is in November. Clinton was most recently seen on Sunday at the final performance of the "The Color Purple," on Broadway with her husband, Bill, and daughter, Chelsea. (PTI)

Clinton aide dispels rumour, says won't run for NYC mayor

A plane carrying 35 Russian diplomats expelled from the United States over Moscow&#39;s alleged interference in the presidential election took off from Washington on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported.

&quot;The plane has taken off, everyone is on board,&quot; said the Russian embassy in Washington, quoted by the state-owned RIA Novosti agency.

Relatives of the diplomats are also onboard the plane flown specially from Russia, for a total of 96 passengers onboard.

The expulsions were part of a package of sanctions ordered by President Barack Obama on Thursday in the final weeks of his administration.

&quot;We can confirm that the 35 Russian diplomats declared persona non grata have, along with their family members, departed the United States,&quot; a State Department spokesman told AFP.

The diplomats, described as intelligence operatives based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco, had been given 72 hours on Thursday to leave the country.

US intelligence says the Kremlin ordered a hack-and-release of Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign staff emails in a bid to put Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

Obama also ordered the closure of two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland that the United States says were used &quot;for intelligence-related purposes.&quot;

Economic sanctions were also announced against Russia&#39;s FSB and GRU intelligence agencies. Four GRU officers including agency chief Igor Korobov also face sanctions.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations.

President Vladimir Putin has ruled out sending home US diplomats in retaliation -- a move interpreted as a sign he is looking to Trump to rebuild US-Russian ties after the US inauguration on January 20.

Trump has cast doubt on the US intelligence findings, saying he knows &quot;things that other people don&#39;t know&quot; about the situation. The populist billionaire is seeking closer ties with Putin.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

The diplomats, described as intelligence operatives, had been given 72 hours on Thursday to leave the country

A plane carrying 35 Russian diplomats expelled from the United States over Moscow's alleged interference in the presidential election took off from Washington on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported. "The plane has taken off, everyone is on board," said the Russian embassy in Washington, quoted by the state-owned RIA Novosti agency. Relatives of the diplomats are also onboard the plane flown specially from Russia, for a total of 96 passengers onboard. The expulsions were part of a package of sanctions ordered by President Barack Obama on Thursday in the final weeks of his administration. "We can confirm that the 35 Russian diplomats declared persona non grata have, along with their family members, departed the United States," a State Department spokesman told AFP. The diplomats, described as intelligence operatives based at the Russian embassy in Washington and the consulate in San Francisco, had been given 72 hours on Thursday to leave the country. US intelligence says the Kremlin ordered a hack-and-release of Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton campaign staff emails in a bid to put Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Obama also ordered the closure of two Russian compounds in New York and Maryland that the United States says were used "for intelligence-related purposes." Economic sanctions were also announced against Russia's FSB and GRU intelligence agencies. Four GRU officers including agency chief Igor Korobov also face sanctions. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations. President Vladimir Putin has ruled out sending home US diplomats in retaliation -- a move interpreted as a sign he is looking to Trump to rebuild US-Russian ties after the US inauguration on January 20. Trump has cast doubt on the US intelligence findings, saying he knows "things that other people don't know" about the situation. The populist billionaire is seeking closer ties with Putin. (AFP)

Plane with expelled diplomats leaves US

Nearly six weeks after his upset victory over Hillary Clinton and after countless protests, the votes paved way for Trump to succeed Barack Obama as the 45th President of the United States of America.&nbsp;

Trump promised to work to unite a divided America after the results were declared.&nbsp;

&quot;I thank the American people for their overwhelming vote to elect me as their next president of the United States,&quot; Trump said.

&quot;With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans,&quot; he pledged.

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We did it! Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media).
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/810996052241293312">December 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Vice-president elect Mike Pence took to Twitter to congratulate Trump&#39;s win.

&quot;Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!&quot; tweeted Vice President-elect Mike Pence as the results came in.

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Congratulations to <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@RealDonaldTrump</a>; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!
&mdash; Mike Pence (@mike_pence) <a href="https://twitter.com/mike_pence/status/810976333375344641">December 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The results of Electoral College will be officially declared on January 6 in a joint session with the Congress.&nbsp;

Usually, the voting is given little importance, with electors officially casting votes for the candidate that won the popular tally in their state.

However, amid allegations of rigging to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the votings were thought to give a clear winner.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;Democratic activists protested and urged Republican electors to break ranks and refuse to vote for him.&nbsp;

To prevent Trump from becoming president, the protesters needed to persuade at least 37 Republican electors to not vote for Trump.&nbsp;

However tables turned with four Democratic electors voting for someone other than Clinton, the New York Times tally indicated.&nbsp;

Texas upped the votes in Trump&#39;s favour with 36 out of 38 votes being cast for him.&nbsp;

Two Republican electors did not cast their votes for Trump.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Donald Trump secured over 270 votes despite two electors not voting for him

Nearly six weeks after his upset victory over Hillary Clinton and after countless protests, the votes paved way for Trump to succeed Barack Obama as the 45th President of the United States of America. Trump promised to work to unite a divided America after the results were declared. "I thank the American people for their overwhelming vote to elect me as their next president of the United States," Trump said. "With this historic step we can look forward to the bright future ahead. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans," he pledged. We did it! Thank you to all of my great supporters, we just officially won the election (despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media). — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2016 × Vice-president elect Mike Pence took to Twitter to congratulate Trump's win. "Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College!" tweeted Vice President-elect Mike Pence as the results came in. Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College! — Mike Pence (@mike_pence) December 19, 2016 × The results of Electoral College will be officially declared on January 6 in a joint session with the Congress. Usually, the voting is given little importance, with electors officially casting votes for the candidate that won the popular tally in their state. However, amid allegations of rigging to Russian interference in the 2016 elections, the votings were thought to give a clear winner. Democratic activists protested and urged Republican electors to break ranks and refuse to vote for him. To prevent Trump from becoming president, the protesters needed to persuade at least 37 Republican electors to not vote for Trump. However tables turned with four Democratic electors voting for someone other than Clinton, the New York Times tally indicated. Texas upped the votes in Trump's favour with 36 out of 38 votes being cast for him. Two Republican electors did not cast their votes for Trump. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Electoral College confirms White House win for Trump

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday chose Andrew F. Puzder as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor.

&ldquo;Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,&rdquo; Mr. Trump said in a statement to New York Times.

Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, which operates the Carl`s Jr. and Hardee`s fast-food chains, has been a vehement critic of government regulation of the workplace.

He has criticized paid sick leave policies of the sort recently enacted for federal contractors and strongly supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he says has created a &ldquo;government-mandated restaurant recession&rdquo; because rising premiums have left people with less money to spend on dining out.

Speaking to Business Insider this year, Mr. Puzder said that increased automation could be a welcome development because machines were &ldquo;always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there&rsquo;s never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case.&rdquo;

On the political incorrectness front, Mr. Puzder&rsquo;s company, CKE Restaurants, runs advertisements that frequently feature women wearing next to nothing while gesturing suggestively. &ldquo;I like our ads,&rdquo; he told the publication Entrepreneur. &ldquo;I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it&rsquo;s very American.&rdquo;

Matthew Haller, senior vice president for public affairs and communications at the International Franchise Association, of which Mr. Puzder is a board member, said Mr. Puzder saw &ldquo;a role for government to provide advice to employers, rather than simply deterrence by &lsquo;gotcha&rsquo; enforcement,&rdquo; an allusion to the Obama Labor Department&rsquo;s enforcement of laws and regulations in the fast-food industry.

In an appearance on Fox Business in May Puzder, he said that he was &ldquo;not opposed to raising the minimum wage rationally; I&rsquo;m opposed to raising it to the point where lower-skilled workers, working-class Americans, young people, minorities, are losing the jobs they need to get on the ladder of success.&rdquo;

CRITICISM

Trump&#39;s this decision of chosing Puzder is drawing criticism from labour advocates worried about his opposition to a higher minimum wage and government regulation of the workplace.

Fast-food workers, who are largely not unionized, are engaged in a multi-year campaign known as the &quot;Fight for $15,&quot; which is supported by labour unions, to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour. They have had state-wide successes in New York and California and in cities and municipalities such as Seattle.

Republican Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month&#39;s election by carrying swing states - and some traditionally Democratic states - in the U.S. Rust Belt after promising to create jobs and to review or cancel trade deals that he said were bad for workers.

Labor leaders have been girding for Trump to appoint pro-business regulators at the Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board, and to roll back key regulatory initiatives of the Obama administration such as a Labor Department rule granting overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers, both unionized and not unionized.

Economic research suggests that an increase to the vicinity of $10.10 per hour would have little or no effect on employment in much of the country, though the impact could be larger in low-wage, low-cost areas. Mr. Puzder has raised concerns about the effects in those regions.

On other issues, Mr. Puzder has taken hard-line positions that leave less room for negotiation. Perhaps most prominent is the so-called joint employer doctrine that the Obama administration and its agency appointees have put forth in recent years.

Under that doctrine, large companies that have franchises or hire other companies as contractors are more likely to be held liable for violations of employment laws by those contractors or franchisees. Parent companies typically argue that they have no legal responsibility in these cases.

Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Mr. Puzder is how he would be perceived as a wealthy chief executive charged with looking out for workers&rsquo; interests.

According to a 2012 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Puzder&rsquo;s base salary that year was more than $1 million and his total compensation over $4 million, down from more than $10 million the year before. &ldquo;Annual base salaries should be competitive and create a measure of financial security for our executive officers,&rdquo; the filing said.

&nbsp; 
(WION, with inputs from New York Times and Reuters)

Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, has been a vehement critic of govt regulation of the workplace

President-elect Donald J. Trump on Thursday chose Andrew F. Puzder as the head of the U.S. Department of Labor. “Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” Mr. Trump said in a statement to New York Times. Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants Inc, which operates the Carl`s Jr. and Hardee`s fast-food chains, has been a vehement critic of government regulation of the workplace. He has criticized paid sick leave policies of the sort recently enacted for federal contractors and strongly supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he says has created a “government-mandated restaurant recession” because rising premiums have left people with less money to spend on dining out. Speaking to Business Insider this year, Mr. Puzder said that increased automation could be a welcome development because machines were “always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall or an age, sex or race discrimination case.” On the political incorrectness front, Mr. Puzder’s company, CKE Restaurants, runs advertisements that frequently feature women wearing next to nothing while gesturing suggestively. “I like our ads,” he told the publication Entrepreneur. “I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.” Matthew Haller, senior vice president for public affairs and communications at the International Franchise Association, of which Mr. Puzder is a board member, said Mr. Puzder saw “a role for government to provide advice to employers, rather than simply deterrence by ‘gotcha’ enforcement,” an allusion to the Obama Labor Department’s enforcement of laws and regulations in the fast-food industry. In an appearance on Fox Business in May Puzder, he said that he was “not opposed to raising the minimum wage rationally; I’m opposed to raising it to the point where lower-skilled workers, working-class Americans, young people, minorities, are losing the jobs they need to get on the ladder of success.” CRITICISM Trump's this decision of chosing Puzder is drawing criticism from labour advocates worried about his opposition to a higher minimum wage and government regulation of the workplace. Fast-food workers, who are largely not unionized, are engaged in a multi-year campaign known as the "Fight for $15," which is supported by labour unions, to raise minimum wages to $15 per hour. They have had state-wide successes in New York and California and in cities and municipalities such as Seattle. Republican Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in last month's election by carrying swing states - and some traditionally Democratic states - in the U.S. Rust Belt after promising to create jobs and to review or cancel trade deals that he said were bad for workers. Labor leaders have been girding for Trump to appoint pro-business regulators at the Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board, and to roll back key regulatory initiatives of the Obama administration such as a Labor Department rule granting overtime pay to more than 4 million salaried workers, both unionized and not unionized. Economic research suggests that an increase to the vicinity of $10.10 per hour would have little or no effect on employment in much of the country, though the impact could be larger in low-wage, low-cost areas. Mr. Puzder has raised concerns about the effects in those regions. On other issues, Mr. Puzder has taken hard-line positions that leave less room for negotiation. Perhaps most prominent is the so-called joint employer doctrine that the Obama administration and its agency appointees have put forth in recent years. Under that doctrine, large companies that have franchises or hire other companies as contractors are more likely to be held liable for violations of employment laws by those contractors or franchisees. Parent companies typically argue that they have no legal responsibility in these cases. Perhaps the biggest question surrounding Mr. Puzder is how he would be perceived as a wealthy chief executive charged with looking out for workers’ interests. According to a 2012 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Puzder’s base salary that year was more than $1 million and his total compensation over $4 million, down from more than $10 million the year before. “Annual base salaries should be competitive and create a measure of financial security for our executive officers,” the filing said. (WION, with inputs from New York Times and Reuters)

Andrew F. Puzder is Trump's Labor pick

A man&nbsp;was arrested&nbsp;Sunday after entering a pizzeria armed with an assault rifle, which he&nbsp;pointed&nbsp;at an employee and discharged&nbsp;inside the restaurant, DC police told&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2016/12/04/d-c-police-respond-to-report-of-a-man-with-a-gun-at-comet-ping-pong-restaurant/?postshare=3661480901316460&amp;tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.068d9703213b">Washington Post</a>.

Police say&nbsp;28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch, a local of&nbsp;Salisbury North Carolina,&nbsp;came&nbsp;to &quot;self-investigate&quot; the repeatedly debunked conspiracy theory&nbsp;known as &quot;pizzagate&quot;.

Nobody was injured in the incident, but in all the panic several businesses went into lockdown as police swarmed the neighbourhood at around 3 pm, the Washington Post reported.

The police say that Welch has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, the Washington Post reports.

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DC police: Comet Ping Pong suspect is Edgar Maddison Welch of Salisbury, NC who said he came to investigate &quot;pizzagate.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wbW9BMBBG3">pic.twitter.com/wbW9BMBBG3</a>
&mdash; Byron Tau (@ByronTau) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByronTau/status/805590075769815041">December 5, 2016</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

&quot;Pizzagate&quot;

The 2016 US election saw a burst of fake news stories. In one, high-ranking memebers of the Democratic Party&nbsp;were involved in a pedophilia ring that operated out of the basement of Comet Ping Pong, a family-friendly pizza restaurant in&nbsp;Washington DC.

One Comet Ping Pong&nbsp;employee speculated that Welch was looking for the so-called underground tunnels, where alt-right and pro-Trump conspiracy theorists on 4chan and Reddit expressed belief that the Democrats tortured children, the <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/04/fake-news-delivers-real-gunman-to-pizzeria-caught-up-in-alt-right-fake-news.html">Daily Beast </a>reports.

The conspiracy seized on John Podesta&#39;s leaked emails which apparently contained a &quot;pizza theme&quot;, which was taken to be a secret code with private meanings.&nbsp;

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The code names for pizzagate and the art of biljana Djiurdjevic. That&#39;s Tony podesta favorite artist <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pizzagate?src=hash">#pizzagate</a> <a href="https://t.co/pyesLdSfYq">pic.twitter.com/pyesLdSfYq</a>
&mdash; I pray for you (@bluemindsoul22) <a href="https://twitter.com/bluemindsoul22/status/800683347727024128">November 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Since the election, the restaurant&#39;s owner has received hate mail and death threats via text, social media and Facebook, reports the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/technology/fact-check-this-pizzeria-is-not-a-child-trafficking-site.html?_r=1">New York Times</a>. &nbsp;

Employees have had to quit the Comet Ping Pong in fear after their&nbsp;personal information was shared online, the Daily Beast reports. Reddit has since closed those groups, as per their policy of not sharing private information.

The fake news was sufficiently high-profile in early November that retired General Michael Flyyn, who Donald Trump has since selected to be his national security adviser,&nbsp;shared it on Twitter, asking readers to judge its veractiy for themselves.&nbsp;

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U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ! <a href="https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr">https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr</a>
&mdash; General Flynn (@GenFlynn) <a href="https://twitter.com/GenFlynn/status/794000841518776320">November 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Articles appeared on Facebook and on sites like The New Nationalist and The Vigilant Citizen, which ran headlines like, &quot;Pizzagate: How 4Chan Uncovered the Sick World of Washington&#39;s Occult Elite&quot;, the New York Times reported.

Various news outlets debunked the claim that an occult sex ring was operated by&nbsp;Clinton and other Democrats out of the&nbsp;pizzeria basement.&nbsp;

The owner, James Alefantis, told&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38156985">BBC </a>Trending that the accusation is&nbsp;impossible&nbsp;for a very basic reason: &quot;We don&#39;t even have a basement.&quot;

(WION)

&nbsp;

Online conspiracies and fake news stories claimed Democrats ran a paedophilia ring and tortured children in the Comet Ping Pong basement

A man was arrested Sunday after entering a pizzeria armed with an assault rifle, which he pointed at an employee and discharged inside the restaurant, DC police told the Washington Post. Police say 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch, a local of Salisbury North Carolina, came to "self-investigate" the repeatedly debunked conspiracy theory known as "pizzagate". Nobody was injured in the incident, but in all the panic several businesses went into lockdown as police swarmed the neighbourhood at around 3 pm, the Washington Post reported. The police say that Welch has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, the Washington Post reports. DC police: Comet Ping Pong suspect is Edgar Maddison Welch of Salisbury, NC who said he came to investigate "pizzagate." pic.twitter.com/wbW9BMBBG3 — Byron Tau (@ByronTau) December 5, 2016 × "Pizzagate" The 2016 US election saw a burst of fake news stories. In one, high-ranking memebers of the Democratic Party were involved in a pedophilia ring that operated out of the basement of Comet Ping Pong, a family-friendly pizza restaurant in Washington DC. One Comet Ping Pong employee speculated that Welch was looking for the so-called underground tunnels, where alt-right and pro-Trump conspiracy theorists on 4chan and Reddit expressed belief that the Democrats tortured children, the Daily Beast reports. The conspiracy seized on John Podesta's leaked emails which apparently contained a "pizza theme", which was taken to be a secret code with private meanings. The code names for pizzagate and the art of biljana Djiurdjevic. That's Tony podesta favorite artist #pizzagate pic.twitter.com/pyesLdSfYq — I pray for you (@bluemindsoul22) November 21, 2016 × Since the election, the restaurant's owner has received hate mail and death threats via text, social media and Facebook, reports the New York Times. Employees have had to quit the Comet Ping Pong in fear after their personal information was shared online, the Daily Beast reports. Reddit has since closed those groups, as per their policy of not sharing private information. The fake news was sufficiently high-profile in early November that retired General Michael Flyyn, who Donald Trump has since selected to be his national security adviser, shared it on Twitter, asking readers to judge its veractiy for themselves. U decide - NYPD Blows Whistle on New Hillary Emails: Money Laundering, Sex Crimes w Children, etc...MUST READ! https://t.co/O0bVJT3QDr — General Flynn (@GenFlynn) November 3, 2016 × Articles appeared on Facebook and on sites like The New Nationalist and The Vigilant Citizen, which ran headlines like, "Pizzagate: How 4Chan Uncovered the Sick World of Washington's Occult Elite", the New York Times reported. Various news outlets debunked the claim that an occult sex ring was operated by Clinton and other Democrats out of the pizzeria basement. The owner, James Alefantis, told BBC Trending that the accusation is impossible for a very basic reason: "We don't even have a basement." (WION)

Man self-investigating fake news story about Democrat child sex ring fires shots inside US pizzeria

The 2016 US election shocked many, and its&nbsp;result will reverberate around the world for years. Whether the election result would be accepted was a topic in the weeks leading up to November 8, after Trump explicitly declared the election was rigged and, when pressed, he refused to say he would concede defeat if Clinton won. But now&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The 2016 American Presidential election was called close on November 8, but&nbsp;since then, Hillary Clinton&#39;s lead in the popular vote has grown everyday. Trump dominated&nbsp;the electoral college votes, surprassing the 270 needed to reach a total of 307. Trump&nbsp;won crucial swing states like Florida and North Carolina, and also surprised many by winning Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Trump, if he takes office on January 20th, will be only the fifth president in US history to enter office despite losing the popular vote. More, he last it by a large margin: As of December 2, Clinton earned the vote of 2.5&nbsp;million Americans than did Trump.

&nbsp;

Obama and Clinton didn't condemn the election result's integrity, but Trump has a weak mandate to lead and his win has murky elements

The 2016 US election shocked many, and its result will reverberate around the world for years. Whether the election result would be accepted was a topic in the weeks leading up to November 8, after Trump explicitly declared the election was rigged and, when pressed, he refused to say he would concede defeat if Clinton won. But now The 2016 American Presidential election was called close on November 8, but since then, Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote has grown everyday. Trump dominated the electoral college votes, surprassing the 270 needed to reach a total of 307. Trump won crucial swing states like Florida and North Carolina, and also surprised many by winning Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump, if he takes office on January 20th, will be only the fifth president in US history to enter office despite losing the popular vote. More, he last it by a large margin: As of December 2, Clinton earned the vote of 2.5 million Americans than did Trump.

2016 US Election: Trump won, but had less support than most recent presidential election losers

Hillary Clinton&#39;s election lawyer Marc Elias announced on Saturday that the campaign would participate the recount of votes in Wisconsin state although it had found no evidence of the voting technology being manipulated in Trump&#39;s favour.

Eliad said in a post on Medium.com that the campaign would also join recounts in the closely contested states of Michigan and Pennsylvania if they are arranged, news agency AFP reported.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested for a recount of votes in the state of Wisconsin.She has also declared her intention to file for recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

US President-elect Donald trump won the three states by just over a 100,000 votes pushing him above the 270 votes he needed to win in the Electoral College.

Elias said the campaign had not decided to seek a recount becuase they found no irregularity or evidence of attempts to change the voting technology.

&quot;But now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides,&quot; he added, reported AFP.

&quot;If Jill Stein follows through as she has promised and pursues recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan, we will take the same approach in those states as well,&quot; Elias said.

Experts say that there is no chance of overturning the result. However, the move could raise the questions over Trump&#39;s legitimate win in the elections again.&nbsp;

Clinton lost by around 20,000 votes in Wisconsin, 70,000 votes in Pennsylvania and 10,000 votes in Michigan. She, however, leads the popular vote at two million.

&quot;But regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself,&quot; Elias said.

&quot;While that effort has not, in our view, resulted in evidence of manipulation of results, now that a recount is underway, we believe we have an obligation to the more than 64 million Americans who cast ballots for Hillary Clinton to participate in ongoing proceedings to ensure that an accurate vote count will be reported.&quot;

Stein said that the &#39;reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts&#39; have caused suspicion&nbsp;over the legitimacy of election&nbsp;results among Americans.

&quot;These concerns need to be investigated before the 2016 presidential election is certified,&quot; she said. &quot;We deserve elections we can trust.&quot;

(With inputs from AFP)

Green Party candidate Jill Stein has filed a recount in Wisconsin and announced her intention to seek recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania

Hillary Clinton's election lawyer Marc Elias announced on Saturday that the campaign would participate the recount of votes in Wisconsin state although it had found no evidence of the voting technology being manipulated in Trump's favour. Eliad said in a post on Medium.com that the campaign would also join recounts in the closely contested states of Michigan and Pennsylvania if they are arranged, news agency AFP reported. Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested for a recount of votes in the state of Wisconsin.She has also declared her intention to file for recounts in Michigan and Pennsylvania. US President-elect Donald trump won the three states by just over a 100,000 votes pushing him above the 270 votes he needed to win in the Electoral College. Elias said the campaign had not decided to seek a recount becuase they found no irregularity or evidence of attempts to change the voting technology. "But now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides," he added, reported AFP. "If Jill Stein follows through as she has promised and pursues recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan, we will take the same approach in those states as well," Elias said. Experts say that there is no chance of overturning the result. However, the move could raise the questions over Trump's legitimate win in the elections again. Clinton lost by around 20,000 votes in Wisconsin, 70,000 votes in Pennsylvania and 10,000 votes in Michigan. She, however, leads the popular vote at two million. "But regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself," Elias said. "While that effort has not, in our view, resulted in evidence of manipulation of results, now that a recount is underway, we believe we have an obligation to the more than 64 million Americans who cast ballots for Hillary Clinton to participate in ongoing proceedings to ensure that an accurate vote count will be reported." Stein said that the 'reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts' have caused suspicion over the legitimacy of election results among Americans. "These concerns need to be investigated before the 2016 presidential election is certified," she said. "We deserve elections we can trust." (With inputs from AFP)

Clinton campaign to take part in state election recounts

Former Green Party candidate Jill Stein filed papers appealing for a vote recount in Wisconsin, one of the key batteground states won by US President-elect Donald Trump citing &quot;anomalies&quot; on Friday.&nbsp;

Stein will also challenge the presidential election results in Pennsylvania and Michigan, the other two rust-belt seats where Trump won.&nbsp;

The Wisconsin Elections Commission agreed to conduct the&nbsp;statewide votes recount adhereing to Stein&#39;s appeal.&nbsp;

The deadline for completing the recount is December 13 in Wisconsin and deadlines for filing papers in Pennsylvania and Michigan are Monday and Wednesday of next week.

&quot;These recounts are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the US election system is,&quot; Stein&#39;s fundraising website stated.&nbsp;

Stein has raised more than $4.8 million of her $7 million goal for the recount votes on her fundraising website.&nbsp;

&quot;After a divisive and painful presidential race, reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts are causing many Americans to wonder if our election results are reliable,&quot; Stein said.&nbsp;

&quot;These concerns need to be investigated before the 2016 presidential election is certified. We deserve elections we can trust.&quot;

The 2016 US Presidential elections were marred&nbsp;with allegations of Russian hacking and rigging accusations by Trump.&nbsp;

The recounting of votes could reignite the debate over the legitimacy of Trump&#39;s win after it was revealed rival and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton&#39;s lead in popular vote stands at two million.&nbsp;

According to AFP, Clinton lost a margin of around 27,000 votes in Wisconsin and 60,000 votes in Pennsylvania but as per unofficial results released by Michigan&#39;s secretary of state&#39;s office, Trump was ahead of Clinton by a mere 10,704 votes.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Jill Stein will also challenge the results in Pennsylvania and Michigan, the other two rust-belt states where Trump won

Former Green Party candidate Jill Stein filed papers appealing for a vote recount in Wisconsin, one of the key batteground states won by US President-elect Donald Trump citing "anomalies" on Friday. Stein will also challenge the presidential election results in Pennsylvania and Michigan, the other two rust-belt seats where Trump won. The Wisconsin Elections Commission agreed to conduct the statewide votes recount adhereing to Stein's appeal. The deadline for completing the recount is December 13 in Wisconsin and deadlines for filing papers in Pennsylvania and Michigan are Monday and Wednesday of next week. "These recounts are part of an election integrity movement to attempt to shine a light on just how untrustworthy the US election system is," Stein's fundraising website stated. Stein has raised more than $4.8 million of her $7 million goal for the recount votes on her fundraising website. "After a divisive and painful presidential race, reported hacks into voter and party databases and individual email accounts are causing many Americans to wonder if our election results are reliable," Stein said. "These concerns need to be investigated before the 2016 presidential election is certified. We deserve elections we can trust." The 2016 US Presidential elections were marred with allegations of Russian hacking and rigging accusations by Trump. The recounting of votes could reignite the debate over the legitimacy of Trump's win after it was revealed rival and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton's lead in popular vote stands at two million. According to AFP, Clinton lost a margin of around 27,000 votes in Wisconsin and 60,000 votes in Pennsylvania but as per unofficial results released by Michigan's secretary of state's office, Trump was ahead of Clinton by a mere 10,704 votes. (WION with inputs from AFP)

US presidential election: Wisconsin agrees to statewide recount

President-elect Donald Trump will not push for further investigation of Hillary Clinton related to her private email use and the Clinton Foundation, a close adviser said Tuesday, breaking with a key campaign theme.

Trump triggered consternation -- and widespread condemnation -- when he made an unprecedented campaign threat to jail his Democratic rival should he win the White House.

The Republican made Clinton&#39;s email scandal and allegations of pay-to-play at her family foundation a core theme of his campaign, railing against her &quot;crimes&quot; and leading fired-up supporters in chants of &quot;Lock her Up!&quot;&nbsp;

But since his election he has deflected questioning on the subject, saying in an interview he would think about it, but had other priorities as incoming head of state.

&quot;I think when the president-elect... tells you before he&#39;s even inaugurated that he doesn&#39;t wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content&quot; to fellow Republicans, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on MSNBC&#39;s &quot;Morning Joe.&quot;

During their second presidential debate in October, Trump told Clinton he would instruct his attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into her email practices when secretary of state.

Clinton responded: &quot;It&#39;s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country.&quot;

Trump then quipped: &quot;Because you&#39;d be in jail.&quot;

Conway told MSNBC that Clinton &quot;still has&nbsp;to&nbsp;face the fact a majority of Americans don&#39;t find her&nbsp;to&nbsp;be honest or trustworthy&quot;.

&quot;If Donald Trump can help her heal, perhaps that&#39;s a good thing,&quot; she added.

&quot;He&#39;s&nbsp;thinking of many different things as&nbsp;he prepares&nbsp;to&nbsp;become the president of the United States, and things&nbsp;that&nbsp;sound like the campaign aren&#39;t among them.&quot;

Clinton has attributed her loss to the bombshell decision by FBI director James Comey to re-open the probe into her use of a private email server, less than two weeks before the vote.

In a call with donors, she claimed that two letters Comey sent to Congress -- re-opening the probe and closing it again after finding no new evidence of wrongdoing -- had tilted crucial states towards her Republican rival.

Comey&#39;s second letter, sent three days before the election, stated that the FBI had not changed its July recommendation not to charge Clinton.

(AFP)

The announcement is at odds with Trump's key poll plank, in which he consistently vowed to jail Clinton if he won the White House

President-elect Donald Trump will not push for further investigation of Hillary Clinton related to her private email use and the Clinton Foundation, a close adviser said Tuesday, breaking with a key campaign theme. Trump triggered consternation -- and widespread condemnation -- when he made an unprecedented campaign threat to jail his Democratic rival should he win the White House. The Republican made Clinton's email scandal and allegations of pay-to-play at her family foundation a core theme of his campaign, railing against her "crimes" and leading fired-up supporters in chants of "Lock her Up!" But since his election he has deflected questioning on the subject, saying in an interview he would think about it, but had other priorities as incoming head of state. "I think when the president-elect... tells you before he's even inaugurated that he doesn't wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone, and content" to fellow Republicans, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway said in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." During their second presidential debate in October, Trump told Clinton he would instruct his attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into her email practices when secretary of state. Clinton responded: "It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country." Trump then quipped: "Because you'd be in jail." Conway told MSNBC that Clinton "still has to face the fact a majority of Americans don't find her to be honest or trustworthy". "If Donald Trump can help her heal, perhaps that's a good thing," she added. "He's thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the president of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign aren't among them." Clinton has attributed her loss to the bombshell decision by FBI director James Comey to re-open the probe into her use of a private email server, less than two weeks before the vote. In a call with donors, she claimed that two letters Comey sent to Congress -- re-opening the probe and closing it again after finding no new evidence of wrongdoing -- had tilted crucial states towards her Republican rival. Comey's second letter, sent three days before the election, stated that the FBI had not changed its July recommendation not to charge Clinton. (AFP)

Donald Trump will not push for probe into Clinton's private email use

Hillary Clinton was about to be indicted, Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump: the battle over fake news is heating up after a White House campaign in which the misinformation industry may have swung the outcome of the vote.

Last week, Google and Facebook moved to cut off ad revenue to bogus news sites. But media watchers say more is needed to stamp out a powerful phenomenon seen by some people as a threat to democracy itself.

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&nbsp;

One of those people is President Barack Obama, who has warned that fake news threatens the basic principle of freedom of speech.

&quot;If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won&#39;t know what to protect,&quot; Obama said during a visit to Germany.

The hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- &quot;Did the Clintons Commit Murder?&quot; -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads.

And since Trump&#39;s victory, reports have exposed the dark underbelly of operations -- run from Macedonia to California -- that boast of making easy money with wholly fabricated stories, under such headlines as &quot;Look At Sick Thing He Just Did To STAB Trump In The Back.&quot;

An analysis published by BuzzFeed News found that the 20 top-performing bogus stories from hoax websites and extremely partisan blogs generated slightly more than 8.7 million &quot;shares&quot; on Facebook to just 7.4 million from major news websites, in the three months before the election.

Now, the outcry over fake news and its apparent role in the election is prompting calls for Facebook to consider itself a media company, with editorial responsibilities, which the social network has repeatedly rejected.

Arbiters of truth?&nbsp;

Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan argued that Facebook &quot;should hire a top-flight executive editor and give that person the resources, power and staff to make sound editorial decisions.&quot;

For Gabriel Kahn, a former journalist who teaches at the University of Southern California, &quot;they&#39;re in the same business as pretty much every media company, which is aggregating audiences and using that to sell advertisements.&quot;

And Kahn believes that Facebook, by considering itself a &quot;neutral&quot; platform, &quot;allows the media ecosystem to be polluted&quot; with bogus news.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Friday offered additional insight on plans to curb online misinformation while arguing for caution.

&quot;The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically,&quot; Zuckerberg said in a posting.

&quot;We believe in giving people a voice... We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties.&quot;

Zuckerberg said nonetheless that Facebook would step up efforts to weed out fake news with &quot;stronger detection,&quot; an easier process to report hoaxes and &quot;third party verification&quot; from &quot;respected fact checking organizations.&quot;

Tech entrepreneur Elad Gil said it should not be too difficult for a company like Facebook to apply its technical expertise to determine when a news story is fake.&nbsp;

&quot;Intriguingly, a group of undergrads at Princeton were able to build a quick and dirty fake news classifier during a 36-hour hackathon,&quot; Gil said in a blog post.

&#39;Click farms&#39; vs ideology&nbsp;

Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy argued that it is important to differentiate between &quot;click farms&quot; which make money off entirely fake news and politically driven news sites.

&quot;I think Facebook could do a lot to crack down on fake news, and I think that&#39;s something everybody could agree on, but if they try to go against the ideologically motivated sites it will inevitably get caught up in the culture wars,&quot; Kennedy said.

The prevalence of ersatz news, analysts note, comes in a context of deep distrust of mainstream media, which is often accused of one-sidedness.

Any effort to filter out those voices could &quot;lead to the relitigation of ancient disputes over media bias,&quot; said Kennedy.

Reason magazine editor Scott Shackleford said it would be hard to draw a line between filtering bogus news and ideological censorship.

&quot;So a decision by Facebook to censor &#39;fake news&#39; would heavily weigh in favor of the more mainstream and &#39;powerful&#39; traditional media outlets,&quot; he wrote.

City University of New York journalism professor Jeff Jarvis and startup entrepreneur John Borthwick argued in a blog post that the media and technology industries should work together to help readers establish the credibility of news.

&quot;We do not believe that the platforms should be put in the position of judging what is fake or real, true or false as censors for all,&quot; they wrote.

&quot;The platforms need to give users better information and media need to help them.&quot;

Even if the online platforms do not turn into media firms, the two wrote in the blog, they should &quot;hire high-level journalists inside their organizations&quot; to &quot;bring a sense of public responsibility to their companies&quot; and &quot;to explain journalism to the technologists and technology to the journalists.&quot;

(AFP)

Google and FB moved last week to cut ad revenue to fake news sites but media watchers say more needs to be done

Hillary Clinton was about to be indicted, Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump: the battle over fake news is heating up after a White House campaign in which the misinformation industry may have swung the outcome of the vote. Last week, Google and Facebook moved to cut off ad revenue to bogus news sites. But media watchers say more is needed to stamp out a powerful phenomenon seen by some people as a threat to democracy itself. The fake news hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- 'Did the Clintons Commit Murder?' -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads × One of those people is President Barack Obama, who has warned that fake news threatens the basic principle of freedom of speech. "If everything seems to be the same and no distinctions are made, then we won't know what to protect," Obama said during a visit to Germany. The hoaxes of the 2016 election season were in many cases spectacular -- "Did the Clintons Commit Murder?" -- and created by groups purely out to make money from clicks and ads. And since Trump's victory, reports have exposed the dark underbelly of operations -- run from Macedonia to California -- that boast of making easy money with wholly fabricated stories, under such headlines as "Look At Sick Thing He Just Did To STAB Trump In The Back." An analysis published by BuzzFeed News found that the 20 top-performing bogus stories from hoax websites and extremely partisan blogs generated slightly more than 8.7 million "shares" on Facebook to just 7.4 million from major news websites, in the three months before the election. Now, the outcry over fake news and its apparent role in the election is prompting calls for Facebook to consider itself a media company, with editorial responsibilities, which the social network has repeatedly rejected. Arbiters of truth? Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan argued that Facebook "should hire a top-flight executive editor and give that person the resources, power and staff to make sound editorial decisions." For Gabriel Kahn, a former journalist who teaches at the University of Southern California, "they're in the same business as pretty much every media company, which is aggregating audiences and using that to sell advertisements." And Kahn believes that Facebook, by considering itself a "neutral" platform, "allows the media ecosystem to be polluted" with bogus news. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Friday offered additional insight on plans to curb online misinformation while arguing for caution. "The problems here are complex, both technically and philosophically," Zuckerberg said in a posting. "We believe in giving people a voice... We do not want to be arbiters of truth ourselves, but instead rely on our community and trusted third parties." Zuckerberg said nonetheless that Facebook would step up efforts to weed out fake news with "stronger detection," an easier process to report hoaxes and "third party verification" from "respected fact checking organizations." Tech entrepreneur Elad Gil said it should not be too difficult for a company like Facebook to apply its technical expertise to determine when a news story is fake. "Intriguingly, a group of undergrads at Princeton were able to build a quick and dirty fake news classifier during a 36-hour hackathon," Gil said in a blog post. 'Click farms' vs ideology Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy argued that it is important to differentiate between "click farms" which make money off entirely fake news and politically driven news sites. "I think Facebook could do a lot to crack down on fake news, and I think that's something everybody could agree on, but if they try to go against the ideologically motivated sites it will inevitably get caught up in the culture wars," Kennedy said. The prevalence of ersatz news, analysts note, comes in a context of deep distrust of mainstream media, which is often accused of one-sidedness. Any effort to filter out those voices could "lead to the relitigation of ancient disputes over media bias," said Kennedy. Reason magazine editor Scott Shackleford said it would be hard to draw a line between filtering bogus news and ideological censorship. "So a decision by Facebook to censor 'fake news' would heavily weigh in favor of the more mainstream and 'powerful' traditional media outlets," he wrote. City University of New York journalism professor Jeff Jarvis and startup entrepreneur John Borthwick argued in a blog post that the media and technology industries should work together to help readers establish the credibility of news. "We do not believe that the platforms should be put in the position of judging what is fake or real, true or false as censors for all," they wrote. "The platforms need to give users better information and media need to help them." Even if the online platforms do not turn into media firms, the two wrote in the blog, they should "hire high-level journalists inside their organizations" to "bring a sense of public responsibility to their companies" and "to explain journalism to the technologists and technology to the journalists." (AFP)

Facebook in crosshairs as fake news battle heats up

Never in the US history, and perhaps in the modern history of any developed nation, a candidate was elected to the top political office in a circumstance like the one in which Donald Trump got elected. It was utterly negative, acrimonious and ugly.&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton received about 200,000 more popular votes than Trump.&nbsp; Yet, Trump is the winner due to the weird and archaic electoral college system. Trump also got less popular votes than either John McCain or Mitt Romney but he still won because a big number of voters, particularly democratic supporters, didn&#39;t turn up because of their distaste for the candidates.&nbsp;

There was something more than just race and gender in this American election. White women voted 53 per cent for Trump and 43 per cent for Hillary. Also, 8 per cent of Blacks and&nbsp; 29 per cent of Latinos voted for Trump. In both these cases the percentages of vote are marginally more than what Mitt Romney - the gentleman republican - won in 2012. The democratic blue wall in the north east and mid west crumbled. Unbelievably Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan went to Trump. The House of Representative and Senate also went to the republican way.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>Globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world</h5>
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A closer look in the political trends of the western world in the post-2008 global economic crisis reveals certain interest patterns. And then within these patterns there are country specific variations. Joseph Stieglitz once showed that globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world; rather they actually lost out significantly in manufacturing and some service sector jobs. The vast middle class became increasingly angry and impatient. Moreover, politicians,&nbsp; especially from the center left failed to address their concerns as they have done in the past. This explains the strategic part of the unpopularity of socialist French president Francois Hollande, electoral failures of UK&rsquo;s left leaning Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and now the failure of Hillary Clinton.&nbsp;

Hillary&rsquo;s case though was a bit more complex than this. She wanted to ride a &lsquo;first ever female&nbsp; president&#39; juggernaut , which wasn&rsquo;t quite there in reality. It perhaps existed only in the perception of the liberals. The folks in the US who supported Hillary ahead of Bernie just because of her gender should have learned their lesson from the failure of French politician Segoline Royale who lost the presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy about a decade back.

Too much discussion on mobilising African-American and Latinos openly by pro-Hillary liberal media seem to have created a majority white backlash particularly among the less educated blue collar ones. Moreover, not much mobilisation took place among the black voters who are generally disinterested in electoral politics. Florida is a case in point. Barack Obama&rsquo;s candidacy in last two elections had an extraordinary emotional value to the black community and they went out in drove to vote for him. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn&rsquo;t energise them enough to come out en masse for her.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

Also, there was this sense of dislike of Hillary among the electorate like Trump. And instead of choosing between two bad candidates a huge percentage of voters decided to stay home on the election day. The African American and Latino/ Hispanic were no exception. Overall voter&rsquo;s turnout percentage was way lesser this time than the recent past elections.&nbsp;

Tactically, the decision of Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s campaign to stick to the Obama coalition formula&nbsp; i.e. targeting liberals, minorities and women was wrong. Former president Bill Clinton rightly advised the campaign to divert enough effort to address the concerns of the angry working class white voters of the key battle ground and some blue wall states . But the campaign didn&rsquo;t pay heed to his thoughtful advice and went on to capitalise on Trump&rsquo;s flaws. They failed to assess the gravity of the reverse current fueled by economic discontents. Hillary was perceived as the establishment&#39;s favoured status quo candidate who won&rsquo;t change anything for the working class.&nbsp;

Trump&rsquo;s smear campaign and WikiLeak&rsquo;s&nbsp; revelations about her ties with the corporate world deepened the suspicion of the middle-class people who yearned for rapid economic changes despite gradual recovery under popular and outgoing Obama. Hillary&rsquo;s campaign failed to counter the perception of her as a shrewd status quo career politician of three decade marred with alleged corruptions, irregularities and controversies.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<h5>Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way.</h5>
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&nbsp;

Trump actually had worse controversies and disqualifications and there is hardly any guarantee that he would actually be able to do anything for the American working class in this inescapable economic reality of the globalised word. But his raw communication and newcomer to politics impression have resonated well with the crucial working class Americans of the swing states who saw their jobs flew to Asia and Latin America and economic well being vanished. Trump&rsquo;s anti-immigration card also fitted well in America First campaign scheme. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way.

The world has coped with Saudi Wahhabi kings, Zionist of Israel, Ayatollahs of Iran , brutal communist tyrants , genocidal African leaders, Islamist military dictators of Pakistan and Hindutva administration of India and so on. We will probably fund a way to cohabit with Trump&rsquo;s America. Adaptability is a great survival trait after all. Moreover American system still have enough checks to limit the vicious instinct of Trump. It would be be interesting to watch whether he actually comes of age after this divisive election win, becomes more responsible and do something constructive to the USA and the rest of the world.&nbsp;

&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Hillary was perceived as the establishment's favoured status quo candidate who won?t change anything for the working class

Never in the US history, and perhaps in the modern history of any developed nation, a candidate was elected to the top political office in a circumstance like the one in which Donald Trump got elected. It was utterly negative, acrimonious and ugly. Hillary Clinton received about 200,000 more popular votes than Trump. Yet, Trump is the winner due to the weird and archaic electoral college system. Trump also got less popular votes than either John McCain or Mitt Romney but he still won because a big number of voters, particularly democratic supporters, didn't turn up because of their distaste for the candidates. There was something more than just race and gender in this American election. White women voted 53 per cent for Trump and 43 per cent for Hillary. Also, 8 per cent of Blacks and 29 per cent of Latinos voted for Trump. In both these cases the percentages of vote are marginally more than what Mitt Romney - the gentleman republican - won in 2012. The democratic blue wall in the north east and mid west crumbled. Unbelievably Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan went to Trump. The House of Representative and Senate also went to the republican way. Globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world × A closer look in the political trends of the western world in the post-2008 global economic crisis reveals certain interest patterns. And then within these patterns there are country specific variations. Joseph Stieglitz once showed that globalisation has brought benefits for wealthy investors almost across the world and for the middle class of the developing world. But not much to the working class of the developed world; rather they actually lost out significantly in manufacturing and some service sector jobs. The vast middle class became increasingly angry and impatient. Moreover, politicians, especially from the center left failed to address their concerns as they have done in the past. This explains the strategic part of the unpopularity of socialist French president Francois Hollande, electoral failures of UK’s left leaning Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and now the failure of Hillary Clinton. Hillary’s case though was a bit more complex than this. She wanted to ride a ‘first ever female president' juggernaut , which wasn’t quite there in reality. It perhaps existed only in the perception of the liberals. The folks in the US who supported Hillary ahead of Bernie just because of her gender should have learned their lesson from the failure of French politician Segoline Royale who lost the presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy about a decade back. Too much discussion on mobilising African-American and Latinos openly by pro-Hillary liberal media seem to have created a majority white backlash particularly among the less educated blue collar ones. Moreover, not much mobilisation took place among the black voters who are generally disinterested in electoral politics. Florida is a case in point. Barack Obama’s candidacy in last two elections had an extraordinary emotional value to the black community and they went out in drove to vote for him. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn’t energise them enough to come out en masse for her. Hillary, on the other hand, was like any other democratic candidate who generally enjoyed black support but didn’t energise them enough to come out en masse for her. × Also, there was this sense of dislike of Hillary among the electorate like Trump. And instead of choosing between two bad candidates a huge percentage of voters decided to stay home on the election day. The African American and Latino/ Hispanic were no exception. Overall voter’s turnout percentage was way lesser this time than the recent past elections. Tactically, the decision of Hillary Clinton’s campaign to stick to the Obama coalition formula i.e. targeting liberals, minorities and women was wrong. Former president Bill Clinton rightly advised the campaign to divert enough effort to address the concerns of the angry working class white voters of the key battle ground and some blue wall states . But the campaign didn’t pay heed to his thoughtful advice and went on to capitalise on Trump’s flaws. They failed to assess the gravity of the reverse current fueled by economic discontents. Hillary was perceived as the establishment's favoured status quo candidate who won’t change anything for the working class. Trump’s smear campaign and WikiLeak’s revelations about her ties with the corporate world deepened the suspicion of the middle-class people who yearned for rapid economic changes despite gradual recovery under popular and outgoing Obama. Hillary’s campaign failed to counter the perception of her as a shrewd status quo career politician of three decade marred with alleged corruptions, irregularities and controversies. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way. × Trump actually had worse controversies and disqualifications and there is hardly any guarantee that he would actually be able to do anything for the American working class in this inescapable economic reality of the globalised word. But his raw communication and newcomer to politics impression have resonated well with the crucial working class Americans of the swing states who saw their jobs flew to Asia and Latin America and economic well being vanished. Trump’s anti-immigration card also fitted well in America First campaign scheme. Bernie connected with the economically aggrieved blue collar Americans in a constructive way, Trump in a negative fear mongering way. Hillary failed to connect to them in any trustworthy way. The world has coped with Saudi Wahhabi kings, Zionist of Israel, Ayatollahs of Iran , brutal communist tyrants , genocidal African leaders, Islamist military dictators of Pakistan and Hindutva administration of India and so on. We will probably fund a way to cohabit with Trump’s America. Adaptability is a great survival trait after all. Moreover American system still have enough checks to limit the vicious instinct of Trump. It would be be interesting to watch whether he actually comes of age after this divisive election win, becomes more responsible and do something constructive to the USA and the rest of the world.

Trump's Ascendancy: How did it happen?

In her first public appearance since conceding to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the US presidential vote has exposed deep divisions, in the &quot;greatest country in the world.&quot;

&quot;Over the past week, a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was,&quot; the former Democratic candidate told an evening benefit event in Washington. &quot;The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this: America is worth it.&quot;

She was addressing donors and other guests at an event for the Children&#39;s Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group for underprivileged children.

The event honored Clinton for her contributions to the organization, for which she first worked as a young lawyer in the 1970s before later serving as chair of the board of directors.

&quot;I will admit coming here tonight wasn&#39;t the easiest thing for me,&quot; she told an auditorium of several hundred people. &quot;There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house again.&quot;

Many in the audience were deeply disappointed about the results of the election, she said.

&quot;I am too, more than I can ever express,&quot; she said to wistful laughter. &quot;But as I said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love and about building an America that is hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted. I didn&#39;t get into public service to hold high office.&quot;

Urging the audience to continue supporting disadvantaged children, she alluded to one of Trump&#39;s major campaign promises -- to deport millions of undocumented immigrants -- without mentioning her former Republican rival by name.

&quot;There are also children who are afraid today, like the little girl I met in Nevada who started to cry when she told me how scared she was that her parents would be taken away from her and be deported,&quot; she said. &quot;No child should have to live with fear like that.&quot;

Despite progress made progress under President Obama, she added, more than 31 million children still live at or near poverty in the United States.

&quot;I hoped to have had the opportunity to build on the progress that President Obama has made because I know that we are stronger together when we are lifting each other up,&quot; she said. &quot;So I urge you please don&#39;t give up on the values we share.&quot;

With the final election results still trickling in, Clinton remains ahead of Trump in the popular vote by more than one million.

However, Trump decisively won the election -- decided by indirect &nbsp;voting -- by winning the electoral vote by 290 to Clinton&#39;s 232.

&quot;America is still the greatest country in the world,&quot; Clinton said. &quot;This is still the place where anyone can beat the odds.&quot;

(AFP)

Clinton said the US elections had exposed deep divisions in the 'greatest country in the world'

In her first public appearance since conceding to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton on Wednesday said the US presidential vote has exposed deep divisions, in the "greatest country in the world." "Over the past week, a lot of people have asked themselves whether America is the country we thought it was," the former Democratic candidate told an evening benefit event in Washington. "The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to me when I say this: America is worth it." She was addressing donors and other guests at an event for the Children's Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group for underprivileged children. The event honored Clinton for her contributions to the organization, for which she first worked as a young lawyer in the 1970s before later serving as chair of the board of directors. "I will admit coming here tonight wasn't the easiest thing for me," she told an auditorium of several hundred people. "There have been a few times this past week when all I wanted to do is just to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house again." Many in the audience were deeply disappointed about the results of the election, she said. "I am too, more than I can ever express," she said to wistful laughter. "But as I said last week, our campaign was never about one person or even one election. It was about the country we love and about building an America that is hopeful, inclusive and big-hearted. I didn't get into public service to hold high office." Urging the audience to continue supporting disadvantaged children, she alluded to one of Trump's major campaign promises -- to deport millions of undocumented immigrants -- without mentioning her former Republican rival by name. "There are also children who are afraid today, like the little girl I met in Nevada who started to cry when she told me how scared she was that her parents would be taken away from her and be deported," she said. "No child should have to live with fear like that." Despite progress made progress under President Obama, she added, more than 31 million children still live at or near poverty in the United States. "I hoped to have had the opportunity to build on the progress that President Obama has made because I know that we are stronger together when we are lifting each other up," she said. "So I urge you please don't give up on the values we share." With the final election results still trickling in, Clinton remains ahead of Trump in the popular vote by more than one million. However, Trump decisively won the election -- decided by indirect voting -- by winning the electoral vote by 290 to Clinton's 232. "America is still the greatest country in the world," Clinton said. "This is still the place where anyone can beat the odds." (AFP)

'Wasn't the easiest thing for me': Hillary Clinton on first public appearance after election

Hillary Clinton blamed FBI director James Comey for losing the US presidential elections, for re-opening the investigation of Clinton&#39;s emails.&nbsp;

According to local media, Clinton told fundraisers and donors that Comey&#39;s letters just days before the November 8 election tilted the favor towards Trump. &nbsp;

&quot;There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful,&quot; AFP quoted the Democrat nominee saying.&nbsp;

&quot;But our analysis is that Jim Comey&#39;s letter raising doubts that were groundless (and) baseless -- and proven to be -- stopped our momentum.&quot;

&nbsp;Comey, just two weeks before the election, in a letter to the Congress said the FBI was re-opening the investigation and another letter just three days of the election saying the FBI could not determine any wrongdoing on her part.&nbsp;

The probe reminded Americans about the controversy and raised doubts while strengthening Donald Trump&#39;s anti-Clinton position.&nbsp;

&quot;After the third debate we felt so good about where we were,&quot; Clinton said. Trump, then was lagging behind Hillary, with allegations of sexual assault and racial rhetoric marring his campaign.&nbsp;

The campaign analysis &quot;showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back.&quot;

However, Comey&#39;s letter damaged the momentum so close to the election that it could not be &quot;overcome.&quot;

The FBI director received a lot of flak for reopening the probe so close to elections and without knowing if the new emails were relevant.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP)

Clinton told fundraisers and donors that the two letters written by Comey raised doubts and stopped the momentum

Hillary Clinton blamed FBI director James Comey for losing the US presidential elections, for re-opening the investigation of Clinton's emails. According to local media, Clinton told fundraisers and donors that Comey's letters just days before the November 8 election tilted the favor towards Trump. "There are lots of reasons why an election like this is not successful," AFP quoted the Democrat nominee saying. "But our analysis is that Jim Comey's letter raising doubts that were groundless (and) baseless -- and proven to be -- stopped our momentum." Comey, just two weeks before the election, in a letter to the Congress said the FBI was re-opening the investigation and another letter just three days of the election saying the FBI could not determine any wrongdoing on her part. The probe reminded Americans about the controversy and raised doubts while strengthening Donald Trump's anti-Clinton position. "After the third debate we felt so good about where we were," Clinton said. Trump, then was lagging behind Hillary, with allegations of sexual assault and racial rhetoric marring his campaign. The campaign analysis "showed that we were up in all but two of the battleground states, where we were tied or one point behind. In Arizona we were even. We felt real wind at our back." However, Comey's letter damaged the momentum so close to the election that it could not be "overcome." The FBI director received a lot of flak for reopening the probe so close to elections and without knowing if the new emails were relevant. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Hillary Clinton blames FBI director for loss

Ronald Rump has reached the Whitest house of the United States of America. Hearing this, there is now a pussy riot in the US also. With love, from Russia.

A self-proclaimed lover of curves will now occupy an oval office. How about that! If you wish hard enough, strong enough, the cosmos serves up your wish.&nbsp; 
Women, white women precisely, have made Rump come. To the highest office, that is.

Defying expectations, women voters slammed the door on the face of his woman opponent, Hilarious Contender. They didn&#39;t like her shimmying.&nbsp;

There were reports of topless protests by women against Rump when the country went to the polls. A Hindu soothsayer read that as a good omen. No wonder Rump loves the Hindus, even if a little less than he loves his steak.&nbsp;

Clearly, Contender and her supporters had underestimated Rump&rsquo;s charm.

But all is not well with the women who will now work with Rump. Sources inside the whitest, brightest house have said there has been a deluge since yesterday of resignation letters from female staff.&nbsp;

One source said women had kept two letters ready, bracing for any eventuality: Rump&rsquo;s presidency or the return of the intern banger.&nbsp; 
It is likely that the house will house only an all-male staff now.&nbsp;

A letter has already been issued by Rump&rsquo;s aide to the house chef ordering him to stop serving women guests food. The aide said, &ldquo;Rump does not want to be blamed for women getting fat. He can&rsquo;t be too careful!&rdquo;&nbsp;

Meanwhile, protocol officers have been instructed to buy stocks of higher high heels and smaller swimsuits, to be gifted to visiting female dignitaries and wives accompanying their statesmen husbands.&nbsp;

In her congratulatory message to Rump, Germany&rsquo;s Angel Mermaid expressed her displeasure at such a move. These are not the values that Germany and the US share, she said. Mermaid has been championing the right of heads of state to wear boring clothes.&nbsp;

Naren Moody of India, on the other hand, has applauded Rump&rsquo;s decision. It is to be noted that Moody&rsquo;s wife does not accompany him anywhere on his many state visits.

Analysts are awaiting Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s reaction to Rump&rsquo;s ascent to the house and the already growing stocks of swimsuits and heels there. It has been murmured in the alleys of think hubs like Crookings that the US and Saudi Arabia are headed for a nasty split.&nbsp;

While Rump&rsquo;s campaign slogans on the strict vetting of immigrants have already strained their relationship, the swimsuit is the straw breaking the Saudi camel&rsquo;s back.

&lsquo;Ronald Rump versus Hilarious Contender&rsquo; &ndash; this was the stuff American nightmares are made of.&nbsp;

Iranians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malawians, Guatemalans, Azerbaijanis on the other hand were seen amorously caressing their passports on voting day. Thank god, they said among themselves, at least we don&#39;t have to make the choice.&nbsp;

The ones without passports have disappeared off the streets.

Reports from Mexico suggest that the excitement around heels and swimsuits has been marred by apprehensions about funding the &ldquo;wall&rdquo;. Preparing for the increased taxes, immigrant Hispanic women in the US have switched to wearing swimsuits as a cost-cutting measure. Which of course is helping the businesses of Mexican drug dealers and rapists thrive.

Psephologists and journalists predicting a resounding victory for Contender riding on the women&rsquo;s vote are gasping. They are now packing their bags for Canada.&nbsp; 
Tarek Fatah awaits them there.

* This is a&nbsp;satire&nbsp;and is not to be taken seriously 
&nbsp;

(WION)

This was the stuff American nightmares are made of. Everybody else thanked their stars they didn't have to make the choice

Ronald Rump has reached the Whitest house of the United States of America. Hearing this, there is now a pussy riot in the US also. With love, from Russia. A self-proclaimed lover of curves will now occupy an oval office. How about that! If you wish hard enough, strong enough, the cosmos serves up your wish. Women, white women precisely, have made Rump come. To the highest office, that is. Defying expectations, women voters slammed the door on the face of his woman opponent, Hilarious Contender. They didn't like her shimmying. There were reports of topless protests by women against Rump when the country went to the polls. A Hindu soothsayer read that as a good omen. No wonder Rump loves the Hindus, even if a little less than he loves his steak. Clearly, Contender and her supporters had underestimated Rump’s charm. But all is not well with the women who will now work with Rump. Sources inside the whitest, brightest house have said there has been a deluge since yesterday of resignation letters from female staff. One source said women had kept two letters ready, bracing for any eventuality: Rump’s presidency or the return of the intern banger. It is likely that the house will house only an all-male staff now. A letter has already been issued by Rump’s aide to the house chef ordering him to stop serving women guests food. The aide said, “Rump does not want to be blamed for women getting fat. He can’t be too careful!” Meanwhile, protocol officers have been instructed to buy stocks of higher high heels and smaller swimsuits, to be gifted to visiting female dignitaries and wives accompanying their statesmen husbands. In her congratulatory message to Rump, Germany’s Angel Mermaid expressed her displeasure at such a move. These are not the values that Germany and the US share, she said. Mermaid has been championing the right of heads of state to wear boring clothes. Naren Moody of India, on the other hand, has applauded Rump’s decision. It is to be noted that Moody’s wife does not accompany him anywhere on his many state visits. Analysts are awaiting Saudi Arabia’s reaction to Rump’s ascent to the house and the already growing stocks of swimsuits and heels there. It has been murmured in the alleys of think hubs like Crookings that the US and Saudi Arabia are headed for a nasty split. While Rump’s campaign slogans on the strict vetting of immigrants have already strained their relationship, the swimsuit is the straw breaking the Saudi camel’s back. ‘Ronald Rump versus Hilarious Contender’ – this was the stuff American nightmares are made of. Iranians, Indians, Pakistanis, Malawians, Guatemalans, Azerbaijanis on the other hand were seen amorously caressing their passports on voting day. Thank god, they said among themselves, at least we don't have to make the choice. The ones without passports have disappeared off the streets. Reports from Mexico suggest that the excitement around heels and swimsuits has been marred by apprehensions about funding the “wall”. Preparing for the increased taxes, immigrant Hispanic women in the US have switched to wearing swimsuits as a cost-cutting measure. Which of course is helping the businesses of Mexican drug dealers and rapists thrive. Psephologists and journalists predicting a resounding victory for Contender riding on the women’s vote are gasping. They are now packing their bags for Canada. Tarek Fatah awaits them there. * This is a satire and is not to be taken seriously (WION)

Satire: Ronald Rump trumps Hilarious Contender

Build a wall, make nice with Moscow, tear up free trade deals and force Washington&#39;s allies to pay more for their own security. OK, and then what?&nbsp;

Beyond a few broad isolationist and protectionist strokes, President-elect Donald Trump has not painted a detailed picture of his foreign policy.&nbsp;

Now, with just ten weeks until he takes command of the world&#39;s sole superpower, Washington&#39;s friends and foes are seeking clues to his agenda.

And if it seems vague, perhaps that&#39;s intentional. In speech after campaign speech, Trump insisted on the virtue of &quot;the element of surprise&quot;.

In January, Trump was asked whether as president he would bomb Iran&#39;s nuclear sites instead of relying on a negotiated deal to keep them mothballed.

&quot;I want to be unpredictable,&quot; Trump said, insisting that US voters&#39; would support, as they eventually did, his shoot-from-the-hip style.

In the closing stages of his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly mocked the ongoing US-backed Iraqi campaign to liberate the city of Mosul.

Why had President Barack Obama&#39;s generals flagged up the siege four months in advance, giving the Islamic State group warning on the assault?

&quot;What a group of losers we have,&quot; he said on Saturday, as Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by US advisers and air power closed in on the city.

&quot;We need different thinking in this country, folks. They should have kept their mouths shut.&quot;

Generals might argue that building a coalition while preparing supply lines and refugee reception areas could not have been carried out in the dark.

Hardline rhetoric

But Trump is adamant, citing his experience negotiating property deals and luxury branding, that being unpredictable can be a plus.&nbsp;

&quot;He doesn&#39;t have a foreign policy track-record to explore,&quot; wrote former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden wrote for online journal The Cipher Brief.

&quot;So that leaves pretty much the campaign rhetoric to rely on. And campaign rhetoric historically gets softened by the realities of office.&quot;&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s rhetoric is certainly aggressive.&nbsp;

This time last year, his prescription for the Islamic States was simple: &quot;I would bomb the shit out of them. I&#39;d just bomb those suckers.&quot;

But he is not a neoconservative, with grand plans to remake the world in America&#39;s image through military adventurism and coercive diplomacy.

Despite evidence that he supported it at the time, Trump insists that former president George W&nbsp;Bush&#39;s invasion of Iraq was a terrible mistake.

He has touted a form of great power politics, &quot;making deals&quot; with US rivals to unite against threats like &quot;radical Islamic extremism.&quot;

&quot;Wouldn&#39;t it be nice if we actually got along with Russia and China and all these countries?&quot; Trump said in January. &quot;Wouldn&#39;t it be nice?&quot;

Allies like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and European NATO members will have to pay their way, however, Trump has no time for free riders.

Climate &#39;hoax&#39;&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s presidency will apparently be much more skeptical of free trade, believing export powers like China are stealing American jobs and capital.

He has threatened to tear up existing deals like the North American Free Trade Area, forcing Mexico to pay export tariffs to pay for his border wall.&nbsp;

He would drive a hard bargain in talks on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific trade deals, and take China to task for alleged currency manipulation.

Trump has also made noises about reauthorising US agents to use torture that have spread concern among allies and intelligence leaders themselves.

Last year, the United States and around 180 countries signed a landmark deal to slow climate change, an idea Trump has dubbed &quot;a hoax.&quot;&nbsp;

Iran has expressed concern that he would try to make good on a threat to rip up the nuclear agreement it signed last year with six world powers.

And Syrian refugees may no longer find safe haven in the United States, Trump having deemed them too great a risk of extremist violence.

In short, almost all of Nobel peace laureate Obama&#39;s foreign policy legacy is at risk, even his successful effort to normalize ties with communist Cuba.

But, once in the White House and advised by the National Security Council, State Department and US Trade Representative will Trump follow through?

Who knows? He&#39;s unpredictable.

(AFP)

Nobody really knows. His usual answer is, 'I want to be unpredictable'

Build a wall, make nice with Moscow, tear up free trade deals and force Washington's allies to pay more for their own security. OK, and then what? Beyond a few broad isolationist and protectionist strokes, President-elect Donald Trump has not painted a detailed picture of his foreign policy. Now, with just ten weeks until he takes command of the world's sole superpower, Washington's friends and foes are seeking clues to his agenda. And if it seems vague, perhaps that's intentional. In speech after campaign speech, Trump insisted on the virtue of "the element of surprise". In January, Trump was asked whether as president he would bomb Iran's nuclear sites instead of relying on a negotiated deal to keep them mothballed. "I want to be unpredictable," Trump said, insisting that US voters' would support, as they eventually did, his shoot-from-the-hip style. In the closing stages of his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly mocked the ongoing US-backed Iraqi campaign to liberate the city of Mosul. Why had President Barack Obama's generals flagged up the siege four months in advance, giving the Islamic State group warning on the assault? "What a group of losers we have," he said on Saturday, as Iraqi and Kurdish forces backed by US advisers and air power closed in on the city. "We need different thinking in this country, folks. They should have kept their mouths shut." Generals might argue that building a coalition while preparing supply lines and refugee reception areas could not have been carried out in the dark. Hardline rhetoric But Trump is adamant, citing his experience negotiating property deals and luxury branding, that being unpredictable can be a plus. "He doesn't have a foreign policy track-record to explore," wrote former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden wrote for online journal The Cipher Brief. "So that leaves pretty much the campaign rhetoric to rely on. And campaign rhetoric historically gets softened by the realities of office." Trump's rhetoric is certainly aggressive. This time last year, his prescription for the Islamic States was simple: "I would bomb the shit out of them. I'd just bomb those suckers." But he is not a neoconservative, with grand plans to remake the world in America's image through military adventurism and coercive diplomacy. Despite evidence that he supported it at the time, Trump insists that former president George W Bush's invasion of Iraq was a terrible mistake. He has touted a form of great power politics, "making deals" with US rivals to unite against threats like "radical Islamic extremism." "Wouldn't it be nice if we actually got along with Russia and China and all these countries?" Trump said in January. "Wouldn't it be nice?" Allies like Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and European NATO members will have to pay their way, however, Trump has no time for free riders. Climate 'hoax' Trump's presidency will apparently be much more skeptical of free trade, believing export powers like China are stealing American jobs and capital. He has threatened to tear up existing deals like the North American Free Trade Area, forcing Mexico to pay export tariffs to pay for his border wall. He would drive a hard bargain in talks on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific trade deals, and take China to task for alleged currency manipulation. Trump has also made noises about reauthorising US agents to use torture that have spread concern among allies and intelligence leaders themselves. Last year, the United States and around 180 countries signed a landmark deal to slow climate change, an idea Trump has dubbed "a hoax." Iran has expressed concern that he would try to make good on a threat to rip up the nuclear agreement it signed last year with six world powers. And Syrian refugees may no longer find safe haven in the United States, Trump having deemed them too great a risk of extremist violence. In short, almost all of Nobel peace laureate Obama's foreign policy legacy is at risk, even his successful effort to normalize ties with communist Cuba. But, once in the White House and advised by the National Security Council, State Department and US Trade Representative will Trump follow through? Who knows? He's unpredictable. (AFP)

Trump: What exactly will the new president do?

A WikiLeaks release from this past weekend suggests that&nbsp;Bernie Sanders was&nbsp;blackmailed by the Clinton campaign when they competed during&nbsp;the primaries to see who would be the Democratic presidential nominee.

After being asked about the topic, Sanders made some pointed remarks about the potential impact of Clinton&#39;s wealth on her policy making decisions, discussing the possible isolating effect of extreme wealth. He told CNBC in May:

&quot;Theoretically you can be a multibillionaire and in fact be very concerned about the issues of working people. Theoretically that&#39;s true.&quot;

Then he added, &quot;When you hustle money like that, you don&#39;t sit in restaurants like this. You sit in restaurants where you spend, I don&#39;t know what they spend, hundreds of dollars for dinner and so forth. That&#39;s the world you are accustomed to. And that&#39;s the worldview that you adopt. I&#39;m not going to condemn Hillary and Bill Clinton because they&#39;ve made a lot of money. That type of wealth has the potential to isolate you from the reality of the world,&quot; he said.

The WikiLeaks dump shows that not only did a campaign manager&nbsp;object to this comment, particularly Sanders&#39; use of the word &quot;hustle&quot;, or highlight it as something negative in need of counter-messaging, he seemed to believe that he had control of Sanders, who&nbsp;crossed a line by speaking this way&nbsp;despite explicitly saying&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m not going to condemn Hillary or Bill Clinton&quot;.

Here is Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook&#39;s&nbsp;response to this remark after&nbsp;the campaign brought it to his attention,&nbsp;as released by&nbsp;<a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/47397">WikiLeaks</a>: &quot;This isn&#39;t in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?&quot;

What did Clinton&#39;s campaign have &quot;over&quot; him? What else did this prevent him from saying or doing? Exactly how profound an impact did this have on the US election? None of this is currently evident, but Sanders&#39; supporters are livid, and it seems they have reason to be.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-releases-20000-emails-of-democratic-party-officials-working-against-bernie-sanders-3076">Also read: WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2016-bernie-sanders-responds-to-a-donald-trump-presidency-8625">Also read: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency</a>

WikiLeaks, months earlier, also released emails showing that the Democratic National Committee favoured Clinton over Sanders, and, as the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-emails-show-dnc-favored-hillary-clinton-over_us_57930be0e4b0e002a3134b05">Huffington Post</a> reports,&nbsp;considered whether it would be advantageous to highlight his Jewish heritage or his identification as an&nbsp;atheist -- whatever would make a &quot;several points difference with my peeps [voters]&quot;.

While Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, even still, her campaign has a lot of explaining to do.

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

'This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage...' Clinton's campaign manager said in what seems like silencing

A WikiLeaks release from this past weekend suggests that Bernie Sanders was blackmailed by the Clinton campaign when they competed during the primaries to see who would be the Democratic presidential nominee. After being asked about the topic, Sanders made some pointed remarks about the potential impact of Clinton's wealth on her policy making decisions, discussing the possible isolating effect of extreme wealth. He told CNBC in May: "Theoretically you can be a multibillionaire and in fact be very concerned about the issues of working people. Theoretically that's true." Then he added, "When you hustle money like that, you don't sit in restaurants like this. You sit in restaurants where you spend, I don't know what they spend, hundreds of dollars for dinner and so forth. That's the world you are accustomed to. And that's the worldview that you adopt. I'm not going to condemn Hillary and Bill Clinton because they've made a lot of money. That type of wealth has the potential to isolate you from the reality of the world," he said. The WikiLeaks dump shows that not only did a campaign manager object to this comment, particularly Sanders' use of the word "hustle", or highlight it as something negative in need of counter-messaging, he seemed to believe that he had control of Sanders, who crossed a line by speaking this way despite explicitly saying "I'm not going to condemn Hillary or Bill Clinton". Here is Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook's response to this remark after the campaign brought it to his attention, as released by WikiLeaks: "This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?" What did Clinton's campaign have "over" him? What else did this prevent him from saying or doing? Exactly how profound an impact did this have on the US election? None of this is currently evident, but Sanders' supporters are livid, and it seems they have reason to be. Also read: WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders Also read: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency WikiLeaks, months earlier, also released emails showing that the Democratic National Committee favoured Clinton over Sanders, and, as the Huffington Post reports, considered whether it would be advantageous to highlight his Jewish heritage or his identification as an atheist -- whatever would make a "several points difference with my peeps [voters]". While Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, even still, her campaign has a lot of explaining to do. (WION)

WikiLeaks suggests Bernie Sanders was blackmailed during Democratic Primary

WikiLeaks released 20,000 emails from the top of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that purportedly show the party working against senator Bernie Sanders and his election campaign on Friday. 
 
The leak came hours before the party&#39;s presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced senator Tim Kaine as her running mate for the presidential elections. The party had been accused of favouring throughout the campaign and attempting to sideline Sanders. 
 
In one of the many emails released, the party&#39;s national press secretary Mark Paustenchbach writes to communication director Luis Miranda and is seen trying to shape a negative &#39;Bernie narrative&#39; during his campaign.

&quot;Wondering if there&rsquo;s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was &quot;a mess.&quot;

Specifically, DWS had to call Bernie directly in order to get the campaign to do things because they&rsquo;d either ignored or forgotten to something critical.&quot;

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: DNC plotted to expose Bernie Sanders as an atheist <a href="https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD">https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash">#FeelTheBern</a> <a href="https://t.co/mCQJGvMBTQ">pic.twitter.com/mCQJGvMBTQ</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756529316209590280">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

 
One of the biggest revelations from these email is that the DNC was coordinating with reporters to put out stories about Bernie Sanders. 
&nbsp;

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: Comms Director goes running to Chuck Todd, telling him <a href="https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe">@Morning_Joe</a> aren&#39;t allowed to criticize DWS <a href="https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR">https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756574594073497602">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
 
Business Insider reports that Politico&#39;s Kenneth Vogel sent an advanced copy of his story to Paustenbach with the subject line reading: &quot;per agreement ... any thoughts appreciated.&quot; 
 
In a mail to Miranda, Paustenbach wrote, &quot;Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn&#39;t share it,&quot; adding, &quot;Let me know if you see anything that&#39;s missing and I&#39;ll push back.&quot; 
 
In another instance, the emails reveal that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was angry at being criticised by MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. According to Salon&#39;s report, Scultz asked for an apology and told Chuck Todd at the network that &quot;this must stop&quot;. Schultz also took the matter up with the network&#39;s head. 
 
Schultz served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s presidential campaign in 2008 and has been criticised for her bias against Sanders, the report says. 
 
The emails show several instances where the DNC went out of its way to sabotage Sanders&#39; campaign. 
&nbsp;
<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: &quot;Yes, Super PAC paying young voters to push back online on Sanders supporters&quot; <a href="https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH">https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash">#FeelTheBern</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756609314232606720">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

 
The Democratic party is days away from its national convention in Philadelphia from July 25-28 where Clinton will be formally announced as the presidential nominee. 
 
(This report first appeared in DNA)
</div>
</div>

Emails show that the party's national committee was coordinating with reporters to put out negative stories about Bernie Sanders

WikiLeaks released 20,000 emails from the top of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that purportedly show the party working against senator Bernie Sanders and his election campaign on Friday. The leak came hours before the party's presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced senator Tim Kaine as her running mate for the presidential elections. The party had been accused of favouring throughout the campaign and attempting to sideline Sanders. In one of the many emails released, the party's national press secretary Mark Paustenchbach writes to communication director Luis Miranda and is seen trying to shape a negative 'Bernie narrative' during his campaign. "Wondering if there’s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was "a mess." Specifically, DWS had to call Bernie directly in order to get the campaign to do things because they’d either ignored or forgotten to something critical." #DNCLeaks: DNC plotted to expose Bernie Sanders as an atheist https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/mCQJGvMBTQ — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 One of the biggest revelations from these email is that the DNC was coordinating with reporters to put out stories about Bernie Sanders. #DNCLeaks: Comms Director goes running to Chuck Todd, telling him @Morning_Joe aren't allowed to criticize DWS https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 Business Insider reports that Politico's Kenneth Vogel sent an advanced copy of his story to Paustenbach with the subject line reading: "per agreement ... any thoughts appreciated." In a mail to Miranda, Paustenbach wrote, "Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn't share it," adding, "Let me know if you see anything that's missing and I'll push back." In another instance, the emails reveal that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was angry at being criticised by MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. According to Salon's report, Scultz asked for an apology and told Chuck Todd at the network that "this must stop". Schultz also took the matter up with the network's head. Schultz served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and has been criticised for her bias against Sanders, the report says. The emails show several instances where the DNC went out of its way to sabotage Sanders' campaign. #DNCLeaks: "Yes, Super PAC paying young voters to push back online on Sanders supporters" https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH #FeelTheBern — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 The Democratic party is days away from its national convention in Philadelphia from July 25-28 where Clinton will be formally announced as the presidential nominee. (This report first appeared in DNA)

WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders

In the wake of Republican nominee Donald Trump winning the US presidential elections, a number of Americans are gathering&nbsp;in the streets to express either shock or jubiliation.

Live from Manhattan, this is a compilation of some tweets that show the deep divisions that exist in America today:

Some folks on Twitter resorted to&nbsp;humour:&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Is it too soon to tell my Mexican boyfriend I&#39;m just not ready to be in a long distance relationship??? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionNight?src=hash">#ElectionNight</a>
&mdash; Bree Essrig (@BreeEssrig) <a href="https://twitter.com/BreeEssrig/status/796260999045136384">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While there is chaos at many places:&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
BREAKING: Chaos outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan saying &quot;America united, we will never be divided&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews">@WIONews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionNight?src=hash">#ElectionNight</a> <a href="https://t.co/yoTyXuptAC">pic.twitter.com/yoTyXuptAC</a>
&mdash; Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArchithNEWS/status/796244588889600000">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
NYC Trump Protesters ?? 
 
This Has Soros Written All Over It 
 
Civil Unrest Is The Lefts Goal 
 
Stay Vigilant<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpProtest?src=hash">#TrumpProtest</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpPresident?src=hash">#TrumpPresident</a> <a href="https://t.co/B7g7Tvtych">pic.twitter.com/B7g7Tvtych</a>
&mdash; #MAGA ?? Colleen (@col_nj) <a href="https://twitter.com/col_nj/status/796566998780100608">November 10, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Student walkout at Central Academy in Des Moines -- with &quot;Dump Trump&quot; signs up. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpPresident?src=hash">#TrumpPresident</a> <a href="https://t.co/tg3xfPFdYc">pic.twitter.com/tg3xfPFdYc</a>
&mdash; ANTONIO ARELLANO (@AntonioArellano) <a href="https://twitter.com/AntonioArellano/status/796415982277427201">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

People also started suggesting that the elections are rigged:&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
People are protesting outside the Hilton hotel Midtown saying &quot;one person one vote&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews">@WIONews</a> <a href="https://t.co/3tt0bNoMok">pic.twitter.com/3tt0bNoMok</a>
&mdash; Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArchithNEWS/status/796243099433533441">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On the other hand, there&#39;s red everywhere:&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
A man is selling &quot;Make America Great Again&quot; caps outside of the Hilton hotel in Midtown <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews">@WIONews</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZO7a91Et3l">pic.twitter.com/ZO7a91Et3l</a>
&mdash; Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArchithNEWS/status/796248791976476672">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Amidst the celebrations and protests on the streets, many are even contemplating leaving for greener pastures:&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Emigrate?src=hash">#Emigrate</a> crashes Canada&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/immigration?src=hash">#immigration</a> website<a href="https://t.co/LxS575qLSo">https://t.co/LxS575qLSo</a>
&mdash; Puneet Pandeya (@puneetpandeya) <a href="https://twitter.com/puneetpandeya/status/796261321561935872">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

(Contributed By: Zeba Khan)

Currently, there are reports of massive protests and chaos in several states

In the wake of Republican nominee Donald Trump winning the US presidential elections, a number of Americans are gathering in the streets to express either shock or jubiliation. Live from Manhattan, this is a compilation of some tweets that show the deep divisions that exist in America today: Some folks on Twitter resorted to humour: Is it too soon to tell my Mexican boyfriend I'm just not ready to be in a long distance relationship??? #ElectionNight — Bree Essrig (@BreeEssrig) November 9, 2016 While there is chaos at many places: BREAKING: Chaos outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan saying "America united, we will never be divided" @WIONews #ElectionNight pic.twitter.com/yoTyXuptAC — Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) November 9, 2016 NYC Trump Protesters ?? This Has Soros Written All Over It Civil Unrest Is The Lefts Goal Stay Vigilant#TrumpProtest #TrumpPresident pic.twitter.com/B7g7Tvtych — #MAGA ?? Colleen (@col_nj) November 10, 2016 Student walkout at Central Academy in Des Moines -- with "Dump Trump" signs up. #TrumpPresident pic.twitter.com/tg3xfPFdYc — ANTONIO ARELLANO (@AntonioArellano) November 9, 2016 People also started suggesting that the elections are rigged: People are protesting outside the Hilton hotel Midtown saying "one person one vote" @WIONews pic.twitter.com/3tt0bNoMok — Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) November 9, 2016 On the other hand, there's red everywhere: A man is selling "Make America Great Again" caps outside of the Hilton hotel in Midtown @WIONews pic.twitter.com/ZO7a91Et3l — Archith Seshadri (@ArchithNEWS) November 9, 2016 Amidst the celebrations and protests on the streets, many are even contemplating leaving for greener pastures: #Emigrate crashes Canada's #immigration websitehttps://t.co/LxS575qLSo — Puneet Pandeya (@puneetpandeya) November 9, 2016 (Contributed By: Zeba Khan)

Americans can't decide how to react to Donald Trump's win

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont.

Donald Trump is projected to win traditional Republican strongholds Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia, while Hillary Clinton is projected to bag Vermont.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, polling has closed in crucial swing states --&nbsp;Florida and Virginia.

Early reports indicate that it is tight between the two presidential contenders in Florida and Virginia.

(WION)

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump brace for election outcome after voting closes in some states

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is leading in three states -- Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- while his rival Hillary Clinton is projected to win Vermont. Donald Trump is projected to win traditional Republican strongholds Indiana, Kentucky and Georgia, while Hillary Clinton is projected to bag Vermont. Meanwhile, polling has closed in crucial swing states -- Florida and Virginia. Early reports indicate that it is tight between the two presidential contenders in Florida and Virginia. (WION)

Live US election 2016: Trump leads in Indiana, Kentucky; Clinton ahead in Vermont and Virginia

Thousands of people across America took to the streets to riot in a show of protest against the thought of a Donald Trump presidency.&nbsp;

In California, at Berkeley High School, thousands of students left school to openly denounce the new president-elect.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
NOW: Thousands of students at Berkeley High School in CA walked out of class with their teachers, to say that he is not their president. <a href="https://t.co/vcKGKDPdE9">pic.twitter.com/vcKGKDPdE9</a>
&mdash; KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) <a href="https://twitter.com/KING5Seattle/status/796405036532174848">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The LA Times reports that shortly after Trump gave his victory speech in New York, at about 3 am NY time, about 2,000 people rallied at UCLA, when two separate protests joined together, UCLA Seargeant Miguel Banuelos told the LA Times.

The UCLA protest peaked at 1 am local time, when a Trump pinata was set on fire in a trash can, the LA Times reports. There were five businesses who reported broken windows, and one incident of vandalism.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hundreds of students march from freshman dorms to I.V. chanting &quot;Fuck Donald Trump&quot; and &quot;Not my president.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8wx7dU01GA">pic.twitter.com/8wx7dU01GA</a>
&mdash; Daily Nexus (@dailynexus) <a href="https://twitter.com/dailynexus/status/796270980456857600">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The Daily Nexus, the student paper at UC Santa Barbara,&nbsp;reports that students there&nbsp;waved Mexican flags and denouced&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;with profane language.

<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-10/us-protests-against-trumps-election/8011454">ABC </a>reports that about 100 protesters took to the Capital Hill neighbourhood of Seatle to block roads and set garbage bins on fire.&nbsp;ABC also reports that hundreds at the University of Pittsburgh marched through the streets, mostly&nbsp;calling for unity.&nbsp;

In Pennsylvania, hundreds of University of Pittsburgh students marched through the streets, with some in the crowd calling for unity,&nbsp;according to the student-run campus newspaper, the Pitt News.

The Pitt News&#39; Twitter account posted videos of peaceful protests that took place the morning after the election results were announced.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en">
New Protest going down Forbes sidewalk protesting &quot;hate.&quot; Sign in front says &quot;love trumps hate&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenJ_Caruso">@StephenJ_Caruso</a> <a href="https://t.co/1511Sayu2u">pic.twitter.com/1511Sayu2u</a>
&mdash; Stephen Caruso (@StephenJ_Caruso) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenJ_Caruso/status/796412950965784576">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

At least two protests are planned for Trump&#39;s hometown New York, one in Union Square and the other in Columbus Circle. Facebook events for demonstrations in Union Square and Columbus Circle were created on Wednesday morning, with more than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/177936919332882/">10,000&nbsp;Facebook</a> users responding that they would be present at the protests, <a href="http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Donald-Trump-New-York-City-Reaction-Protests-Union-Square-Columbus-Circle-NYC-400546271.html">NBC New York</a> reports.

The Union Square protest is hosted by a group called the Socialist Alternative, and they plan to march for over 40 blocks to picket outside the Trump Tower, NBC New York reports.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2138893776334981/">The Columbus Circle</a> demonstration is hosted by the anti-racism group&nbsp;Answer Coalition, and so far about 1,000 people have indicated they plan to attend.

Some in New York didn&#39;t even wait for Trump to be declated winner, booing the Republican presidential candidate as he was on his way to cast his ballot.&nbsp;

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Dwn2fxuzLww" width="560"></iframe>

Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/story/crisis-text-line-call-volume-doubled-since-trumps-win">Teen Vogue </a>reports that calls have doubled for a teen suicide hotline, many from the LGBTQ community, with &quot;election&quot; and &quot;Trump&quot; the two words cited most by testers.&nbsp;

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the anti-Trump protests, or negative consequences,&nbsp;since the announcement was made&nbsp;that he will be the next American president.&nbsp;No doubt there will be more protests to come --&nbsp;it has not even been a full 24 hours.

But Trump pledged to be a president for &quot;all Americans&quot;, and&nbsp;many&nbsp;don&#39;t seem to believe that will come&nbsp;true.

While Trump led in the all-important&nbsp;electoral votes, defeating Clinton&nbsp;by a high margin of 279 to 228, Clinton led the popular vote&nbsp;with about&nbsp;200,000 more votes overall.

(WION)

'Not my president!' was a common refrain in protests and in hashtags, as Americans everywhere denounced the man who will be their president

Thousands of people across America took to the streets to riot in a show of protest against the thought of a Donald Trump presidency. In California, at Berkeley High School, thousands of students left school to openly denounce the new president-elect. NOW: Thousands of students at Berkeley High School in CA walked out of class with their teachers, to say that he is not their president. pic.twitter.com/vcKGKDPdE9 — KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) November 9, 2016 × The LA Times reports that shortly after Trump gave his victory speech in New York, at about 3 am NY time, about 2,000 people rallied at UCLA, when two separate protests joined together, UCLA Seargeant Miguel Banuelos told the LA Times. The UCLA protest peaked at 1 am local time, when a Trump pinata was set on fire in a trash can, the LA Times reports. There were five businesses who reported broken windows, and one incident of vandalism. Hundreds of students march from freshman dorms to I.V. chanting "Fuck Donald Trump" and "Not my president." pic.twitter.com/8wx7dU01GA — Daily Nexus (@dailynexus) November 9, 2016 × The Daily Nexus, the student paper at UC Santa Barbara, reports that students there waved Mexican flags and denouced Trump with profane language. ABC reports that about 100 protesters took to the Capital Hill neighbourhood of Seatle to block roads and set garbage bins on fire. ABC also reports that hundreds at the University of Pittsburgh marched through the streets, mostly calling for unity. In Pennsylvania, hundreds of University of Pittsburgh students marched through the streets, with some in the crowd calling for unity, according to the student-run campus newspaper, the Pitt News. The Pitt News' Twitter account posted videos of peaceful protests that took place the morning after the election results were announced. New Protest going down Forbes sidewalk protesting "hate." Sign in front says "love trumps hate" @StephenJ_Caruso pic.twitter.com/1511Sayu2u — Stephen Caruso (@StephenJ_Caruso) November 9, 2016 × At least two protests are planned for Trump's hometown New York, one in Union Square and the other in Columbus Circle. Facebook events for demonstrations in Union Square and Columbus Circle were created on Wednesday morning, with more than 10,000 Facebook users responding that they would be present at the protests, NBC New York reports. The Union Square protest is hosted by a group called the Socialist Alternative, and they plan to march for over 40 blocks to picket outside the Trump Tower, NBC New York reports. The Columbus Circle demonstration is hosted by the anti-racism group Answer Coalition, and so far about 1,000 people have indicated they plan to attend. Some in New York didn't even wait for Trump to be declated winner, booing the Republican presidential candidate as he was on his way to cast his ballot. Meanwhile, Teen Vogue reports that calls have doubled for a teen suicide hotline, many from the LGBTQ community, with "election" and "Trump" the two words cited most by testers. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the anti-Trump protests, or negative consequences, since the announcement was made that he will be the next American president. No doubt there will be more protests to come -- it has not even been a full 24 hours. But Trump pledged to be a president for "all Americans", and many don't seem to believe that will come true. While Trump led in the all-important electoral votes, defeating Clinton by a high margin of 279 to 228, Clinton led the popular vote with about 200,000 more votes overall. (WION)

US Election: Trump presidency sparks riots across United States

Donald Trump&#39;s stunning performance in the US presidential election triggered shock and angst in Asia, where observers fretted over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change.

Although the race remained too close to call, Trump has won key states in the nail-biter against Hillary Clinton, building momentum as large numbers of American voters shrugged off concerns over the billionaire&#39;s temperament and lack of experience.

Trump&#39;s rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, restricting immigration, dismissing climate change, and otherwise disengaging from the rest of the world.&nbsp;

In often hushed scenes, viewers at election-watching events around Asia stared at giant screens tallying the returns as they digested the impact of Trump possibly heading the world&#39;s most powerful nation.

Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia -- the world&#39;s most populous Muslim country -- said she was particularly concerned by Trump&#39;s calls to temporarily ban from Muslims from countries with a history of terror ties.

&quot;As a Muslim I feel very uncomfortable if Trump wins. He has always been anti-Muslim and I am afraid he will discriminate against Muslims,&quot; said Sugiyo, a member of a leading Indonesian moderate Muslim organisation.

&quot;The United States is a multicultural country and there are a lot of Muslims there, so this is very terrifying,&quot; she said at a US embassy event in Jakarta.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/uselection2016/">Click here for detailed coverage of the US election &gt;&gt;</a>

&nbsp;&#39;Dangerous&#39; for the planet&nbsp;

Financial markets registered their concern, with Tokyo&#39;s main index tumbling 5.5 per cent, leading regional stocks mostly downward.

Trump&rsquo;s tirades against global free trade were a big concern, said Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines.

&quot;The world is globalising and if the US, which is one of the economic powerhouses, is going to put up walls, I don&#39;t see that as good for the world economy,&rdquo; she said.

&quot;They can practically slow down economic growth for everybody. He is a businessman. He should know better.&quot;

Greenpeace Southeast Asia&rsquo;s executive director Yeb Sano said he was struggling to understand how Trump, who has threatened to &ldquo;cancel&rdquo; the historic UN pact struck last year to address climate change, could win.

&ldquo;In the context of a lot of other things happening around the world right now, it would be fair to ask: &ldquo;What have we become?,&rdquo; Sano said.

&ldquo;On climate change, clearly this is a massive blow to our prospects of progress and hope that the Paris Agreement had given us.&rdquo;

At election events around the region, American Democratic supporters gradually deflated throughout Wednesday morning, while Republicans were buoyed.

Bradley Jordan, a retired 59-year-old Californian in Bangkok, said a Trump win would &quot;throw the whole world upside down.&quot;

&quot;It&rsquo;s dangerous for the planet. If Trump wins, we will do nothing about climate change and the planet will be screwed. I just can&rsquo;t believe this is happening right now,&quot; he said, adding that he may renounce his US citizenship.

Even some Republicans expressed surprise.

&quot;To be honest we didn&#39;t really think he would win. The polls have all been quite clear,&quot; Kym Kettler-Paddock, a US Republican, said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

She said Trump&#39;s outsider status was bound to increase uncertainty abroad in the short-term over what type of president he would be.

&quot;I think after that transition period it would settle down,&quot; she added.

But Amanda Mohar, the vice chair of Democrats Abroad Hong Kong, said the overseas fears are justified given Trump&#39;s calls to tear up international agreements he doesn&#39;t like.

&quot;His instability up to this point has made his administration very unpredictable. We have no idea if he says he&#39;s going to review all of our treaties, if he&#39;s actually going to do that,&quot; Gohar said, adding that he would be a &quot;dangerous person&quot; in office.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

With Donald Trump set to win, markets took a tumble with Tokyo's main index coming by 5.5 per cent

Donald Trump's stunning performance in the US presidential election triggered shock and angst in Asia, where observers fretted over the implications for everything from trade to human rights and climate change. Although the race remained too close to call, Trump has won key states in the nail-biter against Hillary Clinton, building momentum as large numbers of American voters shrugged off concerns over the billionaire's temperament and lack of experience. Trump's rise has been keenly watched abroad as he campaigned on a platform of trashing trade agreements, restricting immigration, dismissing climate change, and otherwise disengaging from the rest of the world. In often hushed scenes, viewers at election-watching events around Asia stared at giant screens tallying the returns as they digested the impact of Trump possibly heading the world's most powerful nation. Dianita Sugiyo, 34, a university lecturer in Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim country -- said she was particularly concerned by Trump's calls to temporarily ban from Muslims from countries with a history of terror ties. "As a Muslim I feel very uncomfortable if Trump wins. He has always been anti-Muslim and I am afraid he will discriminate against Muslims," said Sugiyo, a member of a leading Indonesian moderate Muslim organisation. "The United States is a multicultural country and there are a lot of Muslims there, so this is very terrifying," she said at a US embassy event in Jakarta. Click here for detailed coverage of the US election >> 'Dangerous' for the planet Financial markets registered their concern, with Tokyo's main index tumbling 5.5 per cent, leading regional stocks mostly downward. Trump’s tirades against global free trade were a big concern, said Clarita Carlos, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. "The world is globalising and if the US, which is one of the economic powerhouses, is going to put up walls, I don't see that as good for the world economy,” she said. "They can practically slow down economic growth for everybody. He is a businessman. He should know better." Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s executive director Yeb Sano said he was struggling to understand how Trump, who has threatened to “cancel” the historic UN pact struck last year to address climate change, could win. “In the context of a lot of other things happening around the world right now, it would be fair to ask: “What have we become?,” Sano said. “On climate change, clearly this is a massive blow to our prospects of progress and hope that the Paris Agreement had given us.” At election events around the region, American Democratic supporters gradually deflated throughout Wednesday morning, while Republicans were buoyed. Bradley Jordan, a retired 59-year-old Californian in Bangkok, said a Trump win would "throw the whole world upside down." "It’s dangerous for the planet. If Trump wins, we will do nothing about climate change and the planet will be screwed. I just can’t believe this is happening right now," he said, adding that he may renounce his US citizenship. Even some Republicans expressed surprise. "To be honest we didn't really think he would win. The polls have all been quite clear," Kym Kettler-Paddock, a US Republican, said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. She said Trump's outsider status was bound to increase uncertainty abroad in the short-term over what type of president he would be. "I think after that transition period it would settle down," she added. But Amanda Mohar, the vice chair of Democrats Abroad Hong Kong, said the overseas fears are justified given Trump's calls to tear up international agreements he doesn't like. "His instability up to this point has made his administration very unpredictable. We have no idea if he says he's going to review all of our treaties, if he's actually going to do that," Gohar said, adding that he would be a "dangerous person" in office. (AFP)

US Election 2016: Shock and angst in Asia as Trump rises

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