President-elect Trump is already filling positions in his administration as he prepares for a White House meeting with President Biden. And the search continues for more than a dozen monkeys that escaped from a South Carolina research facility last week. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.
President-elect Trump building his team as meeting with Biden nears
President-elect Donald Trump continues to work to fill appointments in his administration as President Joe Biden looks to engage in a peaceful transfer of power. It was announced over the weekend Biden and Trump will meet at the White House later this week.
Officials said the two will hold a meeting in the Oval Office Wednesday morning, Nov. 13, one week after Trump won the presidential election.
Trump furthered his lead over the weekend. The Associated Press projected him to win Arizona, making it a complete sweep of the seven battleground states.
As Trump prepares for a second term, he announced real estate investor Steve Witkoff and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler will co-chair his inauguration committee. The organization will plan events for Trump’s swearing-in as the 47th president on Jan. 20, 2025.
Days after naming his campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, Trump has filled another role in his administration. Late Sunday night, Nov. 10, he selected former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Thomas Homan as the “border czar.”
Homan will be in charge of the nation’s border and maritime and aviation security.
In addition, CNN reported Trump is preparing to offer New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik the role of the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Trump confirmed he would not be inviting back former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley or his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to his incoming administration.
Trump has spoken to numerous world leaders since election night. A source told Reuters the president-elect recently had a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Reuters has since reported the Kremlin denies. The source said Trump told Putin to not escalate the war with Ukraine.
Trump spoke Wednesday, Nov. 6, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call reportedly joined by Trump ally Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk was seen over the weekend joining the president-elect and Trump’s granddaughter at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
It was not clear if that was the first time the president-elect golfed at his club since an assassination attempt on his life in September.
Russia, Ukraine launch record numbers of drones in overnight attacks
As President-elect Trump reportedly spoke with both Russia and Ukraine’s president, the war between the two countries rages on. A record number of drone strikes were launched over the weekend.
Ukraine launched its largest attack on Moscow since the start of the war, striking Russia’s capital late Saturday night, Nov. 9, into early Sunday, Nov. 10. Russia said a total of 34 drones were launched in Moscow’s direction, but all of them were shot down.
Kryvyi Rih. An ordinary five-story apartment building hit by Russian terrorists with a missile. The first to fifth floors of one of the stairwells were destroyed. So far, seven people have been reported injured, including two children. Emergency rescue operations are underway,… pic.twitter.com/usuWFCrehZ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 11, 2024
That attack came after Ukraine said Russia launched a total of 145 drones Saturday night, the most ever in a single night-time attack during the war. Ukraine said its defenses shot down more than 60 of the drones, while others left Ukrainian airspace.
Israeli strikes kill dozens in Lebanon and northern Gaza
Israeli strikes killed dozens of people in Lebanon and northern Gaza Sunday, Nov. 10.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the offensive there left at least 23 people dead, including seven children, in a village north of Beirut away from areas of the country where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah has a major presence. Israel did not issue an evacuation warning before the strike.
Israel’s military said the strike hit a Hezbollah site used to store weapons and the strike is under review.
The strike in northern Gaza was on a home that was sheltering displaced people, according to a hospital official in the territory. At least 17 were killed. The Israeli military said it targeted a site where militants were operating.
The strikes came less than 24 hours hours after Qatar announced it suspended its role as mediator for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza because neither side is willing to come to an agreement.
1 dead, 16 injured in shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama
One person is dead, and 16 others injured after a shooting at Tuskegee University in Alabama Sunday. Authorities said the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Jaquez Myrick, has been charged with one federal count of possession of a machine gun.
#tuskegee #tuskegeeuniversity pic.twitter.com/lUYRgi7fN4
— alyssa (@alyssa70953495) November 10, 2024
They said Myrick was found leaving the scene of the shooting, which occurred during a homecoming week celebration at the school. Investigators said he was found with a handgun with a machine gun conversion device.
The person who was killed was an 18-year-old who the school said was a “non-university individual.”
The university canceled all classes for Monday.
25 of 43 escaped monkeys in South Carolina recovered
More than half the monkeys that escaped a South Carolina research facility have been caught.
Last Wednesday, Nov. 6, 43 rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis, a medical lab that uses the animals for clinical drug trials, in Yemassee. That’s about 60 miles west of Charleston.
As of Sunday night, 25 of the 43 runaway primates had been rounded up. They were all checked out by a team of vets and are in good health.
43 monkeys that were being used for vaccine development escaped from a lab in Yemassee, South Carolina on Wednesday and are currently on the loose. This video, taken near the facility on Wednesday afternoon, appears to show shadowy figures moving through the woods. CBS News could… pic.twitter.com/ds1tOOpTZi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 7, 2024
Officials said the remaining monkeys do not seem to have gone far. They say a “significant number” of them are still near the facility eating food left out for them and interacting with other monkeys still inside the facility. Trappers have not yet been able to corral them.
Biden, Harris to appear together for first time since election for Veterans Day ceremony
For the first time since Election Day, President Biden and Vice President Harris will make a public appearance together Monday. They will attend a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
The White House said the two will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The president will then deliver remarks at the cemetery’s amphitheater.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will also be in attendance.
Last week, President Biden issued a proclamation for Veterans Day, saying in part, “Each one of our nation’s veterans is a link in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days — bound by a sacred oath to support and defend the United States of America. Throughout history, whenever and wherever the forces of darkness have sought to extinguish the flame of freedom, America’s veterans have been fighting to keep it burning bright.”
