State’s 2-year colleges, 4-year universities sign agreement letting students move in ‘reverse’
After graduating high school, many students use a community college or another two-year college as a stepping-stone to a four-year college and a bachelor’s degree. Sometimes, after actually transferring to a four-year school, those same students find life gets in the way and they have to leave school before they have the chance to finish the degree, with nothing to show for their hard work except a headache and student loans. But educators in Alabama have a solution to help give credit to these students where credit is due. Officials of the Alabama Community College System (ACCS), public universities across the state, and Huntingdon College gathered Wednesday to announce a new agreement that will allow students to transfer credits from four-year institutions back to a two-year institution in order to complete a degree. “Many people understand that you can take courses at community colleges, transfer those credits to a university, and apply them toward a four-year degree,” said Jimmy Baker, acting chancellor of the ACCS. “Our new agreement makes it possible for students to transfer credits in the other direction, too, helping them to attain a recognized credential they can use in the workplace or as they further their education.” Commonly known as “reverse transfers” this process has been, theoretically, possible for several years at some institutions, but technical difficulties often got in the way. The new agreement was reached with support of the National Student Clearinghouse to ensure a seamless transition for students wishing to go back to community college to complete an associate’s degree. “This agreement exemplifies the way that Alabama’s educational institutions can work together for the greater good,” said Lineville-Republican Sen. Gerald Dial. “It demonstrates our collective commitment to giving our students every opportunity to succeed.” In helping students get degrees from two-year colleges, the reverse transfer agreement will improve completion rates, which is a major objective at all levels of education. Presidents and/or designees from all of the institutions in the Alabama Community College System, every public four-year university, and Huntingdon College signed the agreement. To be eligible for a reverse transfer, students must have earned at least 25 percent of the credits they need for a degree from a community college and have earned at least three semester hours from the four-year institution as part of the overall associate degree requirements.
Ronda M. Walker: How to recover from our election hangover
How do we recover from our election hangover? I was 20 years old when I had my first opportunity to vote in a presidential election. I was thrilled! I had my candidate’s bumper sticker on my car and I was confident he would be victorious. He lost. Four years later I had another opportunity to pick a presidential candidate and I did so with enthusiasm. This time I actually knew my candidate. Although I did not know him well, we did meet and I enjoyed his sense of humor and his dedication to public service as well as his commitment to coalition building. I just knew he was the best person to lead our country and I was proud to vote for him. He lost. Of the seven presidential elections I’ve voted in, my chosen candidate won only three times. I’ve known the thrill of victory, but more often I’ve felt the agony of defeat. The American people have endured a brutal campaign season the past 18 or so months. A campaign that came to a conclusion last night as election results rolled in state by state. We have a winner. An unpredicted winner. The polls, practically all of them, were wrong. The media was wrong. We are all experiencing some level of shock today. For some it’s an exuberant shock, for others devastating shock. About 50 percent of the popular vote went to the loser. So how do we recover? How do we move past the disappointment, hateful rhetoric, and divisive Facebook posts? First, we remember that our representative democracy is the best system on earth. The average American has a voice regarding our governance. Win or lose, our votes matter, we can vote representatives in and out of office. Our democracy has weathered the test of time. Although comparatively we are a young nation, we have presented our system of government many unique challenges and she has risen to the task and handled them beautifully. Second, whether you believe it or not, this is not the worst time in American history. Many will say they have never seen our nation so divided. They have never seen such dark and difficult days. To those that believe this is bad as it’s ever been, I encourage you to read up on your American history. Just a quick survey of the past 150 years is replete with examples of times that were far worse. From the horrors of slavery to the blood spilled in civil war. From the growing pains of shifting from an agrarian society to an industrialized society. To a global war, then a second global war. To the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. And remember the time we fought back against a murderous Nazi psychopath and won. We refused to allow our fellow citizens to be denied basic civil rights. We have seen our buildings fall and our sense of personal security shattered. We have seen tough times and we have persevered and come out stronger on the other side. But in order to recover from this election hangover there are a few specific things we all must do. First, pick up a history book. Refresh your knowledge about the founding of this nation, about the trials and tribulations we have faced and overcome. Second, diversify your sources of news and information. Do not make the mistake of relying on only one news source to keep yourself informed. Be it television, newspaper, or blogspot — diversify. Third, scale back your exposure to social media and expand your exposure to actual people. You have to understand that people paid specifically to stir the pot of hate and divisiveness write many of the comments on social media. Reading the comments gives you a false sense of reality. Enjoy social media as a medium to see photographs of your friends’ children, and to share your favorite recipes, but don’t use it as a source of news and information. Fourth, expand your circle of friends. There was a time I believed the majority of people in America had a four-year college degree. Because, most everyone I knew had one so it stood to reason others did too. The fact is only about 30 percent of Americans have a four-year college degree. If we have a tight circle of friends that think, look, and live like we do, we begin to experience a skewed sense of place. When is the last time you had someone into your home for a meal that has a different color skin than you? When is the last time you had a reasonable and respectful conversation about a controversial topic with someone who disagrees with your views? When is the last time you drove to the other side of town to shop at a store or dine at a restaurant? Do all of those things. If we avoid confronting our fear of the Other, then that fear grows and festers. However, if we face our fear, we will quickly realize our concerns of the unknown were largely unfounded. Is there someone in your workplace, church, or neighborhood you don’t trust? Get to know them. Do you have a local leader who made a decision that you disagree with? Instead of running them down behind their back or in a letter to the editor, call them on the phone and discuss the issue personally. I bet they would appreciate the opportunity to speak to you directly. Healing from the hate, fear, and divisiveness will only come through relationship building on a local level and that can happen regardless of who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As individuals, most of us cannot effect significant change on the national level. But what you can do is take your sick neighbor a meal. You can reach out to the child of the single mom who struggles to find enough time to spend with them because she works three jobs. You can ask that coworker to lunch that rubs you the wrong way. Endeavor to actually
Donald Trump rides his movement to vindication and the White House
Donald Trump awakened a movement of angry working-class voters fed up with political insiders and desperate for change. On Tuesday, that movement propelled him to the White House. Trump’s stunning, come-from-behind victory over Hillary Clinton – a far more organized and experienced rival – served as a raised middle finger to the political establishment from his fervent backers. “I have been so ready for this,” said Oklahoma resident Holly Berry, who flew all the way from Tahlequah to celebrate at Trump’s victory party in Manhattan. Berry, who works in sales, said that she can no longer afford her health insurance, which has spiked 86 percent. “People are sick and tired,” she said. “This country’s fed up with everything. We’re ready for a change. We’re ready for lower taxes, ready for our economy to grow, we’re ready for jobs.” But to millions of others, the billionaire businessman’s elevation to the presidency is a shocking and terrifying reality that will take time to comprehend. Many see the president-elect as a bigot and a misogynist unfit for the office. “He scares the daylights out of me,” said Wendy Bennett, a Democrat and government worker from Reno, Nevada, who cast her ballot for Clinton. “I think his personality is going to start World War III. He reminds me of Hitler.” Lisa Moore, a registered Republican from Glen Rock, New Jersey, crossed party lines to vote for Clinton, who would have been the nation’s first female president. “As a woman, in good conscience, and as the mother of a daughter, I can’t vote for somebody who’s so morally reprehensible,” said Moore, an exercise instructor. The 2016 election was vindication for Trump, a former reality TV star who was underestimated from the start. While pundits assumed his poll numbers would sink as soon as voters started taking the race seriously, Trump was drawing thousands each night to rallies packed with angry, largely white supporters who felt ignored and lied to by Washington. While statistics showed the U.S. economy improving overall, it didn’t feel that way in places like upstate New York, Pennsylvania’s coal country and former manufacturing towns across the Midwest devastated by outsourcing and globalization. Chaos abroad only added to the feeling that the country was sliding backward. Together, those factors drove a yearning to return to a simpler time when America was the world’s undisputed superpower and middle-class wages were on the rise. “We have our fingers in too many baskets,” said Joe Hudson, 49, an engineer and registered Republican from Virginia Beach, Virginia, who said he would be voting for Trump because “we’re not taking care of our own people.” “We’re trying to be too involved in world politics. And our country is imploding from within,” he said. “We need a new direction, a new attitude, and people to stop arguing and letting the media affect how we feel.” Trump’s vow was simple: He’d “Make America Great Again.” His outsider status, coupled with his personal business success, lent credibility to a populist message that emphasized recapturing manufacturing jobs, restoring American strength abroad and curtailing legal and illegal immigration. Trump promised to immediately create new jobs, end conflicts abroad and – in Trump’s words, “win again” Trump, early on, painted his supporters as a “movement” larger than himself. “This isn’t about me; it’s about all of you and our magnificent movement to make America great again all over this country. And they’re talking about it all over the world,” he said at a rally in Miami last week during the race’s furious final stretch. “There has never been a movement like this in the history of our country – it’s never happened. Even the pundits, even the ones that truly dislike Donald Trump, have said it’s the single greatest phenomena they have ever seen.” But as he worked his base into a frenzy and locked down one primary win after the next, Trump was also repelling large swaths of the populace – including women, college-educated whites and minorities – with his deeply divisive rhetoric. Trump launched his campaign with a speech that accused Mexico of sending rapists and other criminals across the border. He later questioned 2008 Republican nominee and former POW John McCain‘s status as a war hero, saying he preferred people who hadn’t been captured. He mocked a disabled reporter. And he called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on” – a blanket religion test denounced by many as un-American. After securing his party’s nomination, Trump questioned a federal judge’s ability to treat him fairly because of the judge’s Hispanic origin, repeatedly insulted a Muslim-American family whose son had been killed in Iraq, and got into an extended spat with a former beauty queen, at one point instructing his millions of Twitter followers to “check out” her non-existent sex tape. Again and again, Trump appeared poised to close the gap with Clinton, only to go off on a tangent that would send his poll numbers tumbling. Then came the release of shocking old video footage from an “Access Hollywood” bus in which Trump bragged about being able to grope women because he was famous. The video’s release was followed by a string of allegations from women who said Trump sexually harassed or assaulted them. Trump denied the accusations, at one point threatening to sue the women. But one October surprise was overshadowed by another. Trump’s numbers had already been rising with news of health care premium increases when the FBI director informed Congress that the bureau had found a new trove of emails potentially relevant to its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server a secretary of state. While the FBI eventually announced that there was nothing in the emails to merit criminal prosecution, the damage appeared to have been done. On Tuesday, Trump won a commanding victory, buoyed by a new Trump coalition. “It’s time to get together,” he said. Republished with
Analysis: Donald Trump’s win a shock to the system
A shockwave. There’s no other way to describe the massive change Americans voted for Tuesday. In electing Donald Trump to the White House, Americans handed the reins to someone whose campaign was premised on an unrelenting challenge to the status quo, distrust in government and dismissal of the politicians from both parties. They chose a man who promised to channel their anger, as much as carry their hopes. He didn’t merely promise change, he promised disruption. The ramifications of the Trump presidency are difficult to measure. In his ugly, knock-down fight against Democrat Hillary Clinton, his personality was a draw more than his policies. The stump speeches that drew thousands to raucous rallies were laced with proposals but powered by his one word political philosophy: “Winning.” But it resonated in a way few expected with white, working-class America, across the Rust Belt and in rural communities, where the scars of the Great Recession endure and winning felt like a long-lost concept. He understood their anxiety about jobs moving overseas and immigrants moving in. He claimed to hate the liberal media as much as they did. He sounded like no politician ever. This was their uprising, the elevation of a 70-year-old reality-TV and real estate mogul willing to speak their truth, rewrite rules and insult anyone along the way. It is nothing short of whiplash – for Americans and people around the world who were alarmed by his harsh rhetoric about longtime allies and other cultures. Trump’s victory comes eight years after a coalition of blacks, Hispanics, women and young people elected the first black president and ushered in what many viewed as a new era of progressive dominance in presidential politics. Tuesday’s results are a stunning, if confusing, indictment of the policies of President Barack Obama, who nevertheless remains popular. “There’s nothing like it in our lifetime,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who in the days leading up the election dubbed a Trump win a “social revolution” on par only with Franklin Delano Roosevelt‘s clubbing of Herbert Hoover for his handling of the Great Depression in 1932. To many policy experts, economists, military brass, diplomats – the establishment, Trump would say – Trump’s proposals are viewed as improbable, impossible, and at times unconstitutional. Democrats and Republicans in Washington recoiled from his proposed ban on Muslims from entering in the U.S. Few think his vow to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border is workable, at best. And really only Trump knows if his promise to “bomb the s–t out out of” the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria seen is anything more than bluster. There’s mixed evidence on whether Trump’s victory is an endorsement of such plans. Voters sent enough Republicans back to the Senate to give the GOP control of both chambers, a clear government mandate. But for all the talk about immigration, exit polls showed it was a low priority for most voters. Just 1 in 10 voters said immigration was the most important issue facing the country. More than half of voters opposed Trump’s plan for a “big, beautiful wall.” Clearly, what many voters opposed was Clinton. The former secretary of state and veteran of two decades of political battles proved to be an exceedingly damaged candidate, distrusted both by her supporters and opponents alike. Her historic candidacy, to be the first female president, failed to rouse the enthusiasm or emotion that drove Obama’s coalition to the polls. Her disconnect with white, working-class voters appears to have been her downfall. Even Obama’s dire warnings – “the fate of the Republic rests on your shoulders” – didn’t do the trick. It wasn’t enough to scare people about a President Trump. Americans had fears about Clinton, too. Her penchant for secrecy was spun into scandal with brutal impact. Her use of a private email server as secretary of state not only dogged her for months – but returned at precisely the wrong moment in late October when FBI Director James Comey notified Congress he was reviewing new emails for evidence that she or her handlers mishandled classified information. Comey cleared Clinton again Sunday, but in the nine intervening days, as a cloud of suspicion hovered over her, nearly 24 million people cast early ballots. That’s a sizeable chunk of all the votes cast for president. Trump’s win made a mockery of all the usual political rules. He had virtually no ground game, his advertising on television didn’t come close to matching his rival’s. He largely ignored the practice of voter targeting and analytics, elevated to religion after Obama’s two victories. Clinton’s campaign raised $513 million – roughly double what Trump raised, including $66 million from his own pocket. While pollsters and political professionals in both parties dismissed him, he declared he had galvanized long-alienated voters into a movement. “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” Trump declared. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Hillary Clinton calls Donald Trump to congratulate him on victory
On the eve of the election, Hillary Clinton was standing behind a podium bearing the presidential seal. By the time the votes were counted, Donald Trump had captured the White House in a political earthquake. Clinton conceded the presidency to Trump in a phone call early Wednesday morning, a stunning end to a campaign that appeared poised right up until Election Day to make her the first woman elected U.S. president. Clinton, who watched the returns hunkered down with family and close aides at a Manhattan hotel suite, made no public appearance before supporters who had gathered under the glass ceiling of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center planning to celebrate what was expected to be her historic victory. Clinton planned to make a statement later Wednesday morning. The mood inside the convention center grew increasingly grim as Trump captured battleground states like Florida, North Carolina and Ohio and shattered a longstanding “blue wall” of states in the Upper Midwest that had backed every Democratic presidential candidate since her husband, Bill Clinton, won the presidency in 1992. Democrats – starting with Clinton’s campaign and the White House – were left wondering how they misread their country so completely. Aides stopped returning calls and text messages. Supporters left election night parties in tears. “My disappointment makes me not trust the rest of the world,” said Katie Fahey, who had flown to New York from Grand Rapids, Michigan, wearing a red pantsuit, expecting a victory party. “I don’t even want to go out. I want to wear sweatpants and curl myself up in a corner.” The results were startling to Clinton and her aides, who had ended their campaign with a whirlwind tour of battleground states and had projected optimism that she would maintain the diverse coalition assembled by President Barack Obama in the past two elections. On the final day of the campaign, Clinton literally followed Obama to stand behind a podium with a presidential seal at a massive rally outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. As she walked up to the lectern, the president bent down to pull out a small stool so the shorter Clinton could address the tens of thousands gathered on the mall. Before leaving the stage, Obama leaned over to whisper a message in Clinton’s ear: “We’ll have to make this permanent.” Clinton’s stunning loss was certain to open painful soul-searching within the party, which had endured a lengthy primary between Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who drew strong support among liberals amid an electorate calling for change. “The mistake that we made is that we ignored the powerful part of Trump’s message because we hated so much of the rest of his message. The mistake we made is that people would ignore that part and just focus on the negative,” said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, who was not affiliated with the campaign. The tumultuous presidential cycle bequeathed a series of political gifts for Clinton’s GOP rival: An FBI investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server, questions of pay-for-play involving her family’s charitable foundation, Sanders’ primary challenge, Clinton’s health scare at a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony and FBI Director James Comey‘s late October announcement that investigators had uncovered emails potentially relevant to her email case. Yet her team spent the bulk of their time focused on attacking Trump, while failing to adequately address Clinton’s deep liabilities – or the wave of frustration roiling the nation. Every time the race focused on Clinton, her numbers dropped, eventually making her one of the least liked presidential nominees in history. And she offered an anxious electorate a message of breaking barriers and the strength of diversity – hardly a rallying cry – leaving her advisers debating the central point of her candidacy late into the primary race. Clinton’s campaign was infuriated by a late October announcement by Comey that investigators had uncovered emails that may have been pertinent to the dormant investigation into Clinton’s use of private emails while secretary of state. On the Sunday before the election, Comey told lawmakers that the bureau had found no evidence in its hurried review of newly discovered emails to warrant criminal charges against Clinton. But the announcement may have damaged Clinton while her campaign tried to generate support in early voting in battleground states like Florida and North Carolina. In the nine days between Comey’s initial statement and his “all clear” announcement, nearly 24 million people cast early ballots. That was about 18 percent of the expected total votes for president. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate as Democrats fall short
Republicans held onto their slim Senate majority, a stinging blow to Democrats in a night full of them. Democrats had been nearly certain of retaking control but saw their hopes fizzle as endangered GOP incumbents won in Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and even Democrat-friendly Wisconsin. GOP-held New Hampshire remained too close to call on Wednesday morning, but even if Democrats eked out a win there it would not make a difference. Republicans started the night with a 54-46 majority in the Senate and were on track to end up with at least 52 seats, presuming they win a December runoff in Louisiana, as expected. The outcome added to a debacle of a night for Democrats, who lost the presidency and faced being consigned to minority status on Capitol Hill for years to come. Republicans celebrated their wins, already looking ahead to midterms in 2018 when Democrats could see their numbers reduced even further with a group of red-state Senate Democrats on the ballot. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who will serve in that role next year under a President Trump, issued a statement congratulating the president-elect. “After eight years of the Obama administration, the American people have chosen a new direction for our nation. President-elect Trump has a significant opportunity to bring our nation together,” McConnell said. “It is my hope and intent that we succeed in the years ahead by working together with our colleagues across the aisle to strengthen our national and economic security.” As the night wore on, Democratic operatives struggled to explain why their optimistic assessments of retaking Senate control were so mistaken. Some blamed unexpected turnout by certain segments of white voters, or FBI Director James Comey‘s bombshell announcement that he was reviewing a new batch of emails connected with Democrat Hillary Clinton. In Pennsylvania, GOP Sen. Pat Toomey won a narrow victory for his second term over Democratic challenger Katie McGinty. It was a race Democrats expected to win going into the night – and one that many Republicans felt nearly as sure they’d lose. The story was the same in Wisconsin, where GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, written off for months by his own party, won re-election against former Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold in a rematch. In Missouri and North Carolina, where entrenched GOP incumbents Roy Blunt and Richard Burr faced unexpectedly strong challenges from Democrats, both prevailed in the end. Democrats did grab a Republican-held seat in Illinois, where GOP Sen. Mark Kirk lost to Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a double-amputee Iraq war vet. That stood as the one Democratic pickup. The other bright spot for Democrats was in Nevada, where Minority Leader Harry Reid‘s retirement after five terms created a vacancy and the one Democratic-held seat that was closely contested. Reid maneuvered to fill it with his hand-picked successor, Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada’s former attorney general who spoke often of her family’s immigrant roots in a state with heavy Latino turnout. Cortez Masto will become the first Latina U.S. senator. She beat Republican Rep. Joe Heck, who struggled with sharing the ticket with Donald Trump, first endorsing and then un-endorsing Trump to the disgust of some GOP voters. Indeed the Senate races were shadowed every step of the way by the polarizing presidential race between Clinton and Trump. Yet in the end, Trump was apparently not the drag on GOP candidates widely anticipated. Republicans like Johnson who endorsed him and stuck with him won re-election, as did others like Pennsylvania’s Toomey who never backed Trump until the very end. And so did a few like GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona who un-endorsed Trump after audio emerged of him boasting of groping women. McCain, at age 80, won his sixth term in quite possibly his final campaign. The 2008 GOP presidential nominee was re-elected without much difficulty despite early predictions of a competitive race, and struck a reflective note ahead of the outcome. “While as Yogi Berra said, ‘I hate to make predictions, especially about the future,’ I’m not sure how many more I have in me,” McCain said. In Indiana, GOP Rep. Todd Young beat former Democratic senator and governor Evan Bayh, who mounted a much-ballyhooed comeback bid, but wilted under scrutiny. And in Florida, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio beat Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, giving Rubio a platform from which he could mount another bid for president in 2020. In New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democrats’ leader-in-waiting for a new Congress, easily won re-election. But the results elsewhere meant he would be leading a Senate minority when he replaces Reid in the leader’s role. Even though the GOP’s renewed control of the Senate will be narrow, the advantages of being in the majority are significant. The controlling party holds the committee chairmanships, sets the legislative agenda and runs investigations. First up is likely to be a nominee to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donald Trump election elicits fears, some cheers around the globe
The world will face a starkly different America when President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office in January. While the billionaire businessman’s triumph was welcomed in some countries, others saw it as a big shock, as governments will now have to deal with a man who has cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told NATO allies they would have to pay for their own protection and vowed to make the Mexican government pay for a multibillion-dollar border wall. Leaders weren’t sure what to expect after a U.S. campaign in which Trump upended foreign policy orthodoxy on numerous fronts, including the international movement to contain the spread of nuclear weapons. Putin sent Trump a congratulatory telegram Wednesday morning and made a televised statement expressing the hope that frayed U.S.-Russian relations could be put back on track. He said Moscow is ready to try to restore good relations. “We aware that it is a difficult path, in view of the unfortunate degradation of relations between the Russian Federation and the United States,” he said, adding that “it is not our fault that Russian-American relations are in such a state.” Russia was at times a focal point during the U.S. campaign, with government officials and the Hillary Clinton campaign team suggesting the Russian government was involved in hacking her campaign’s emails. Trump expressed admiration for Putin and his tough leadership style, and some Clinton surrogates questioned Trump’s business dealings with Russia. Dmitri Drobnitski, a columnist at the popular, generally pro-Kremlin website LifeNews, said Trump’s victory will help the entire world. “I congratulate the American people with their will and with their democracy and with their strength and with their courage,” he told The Associated Press. “So this is not only a victory for the Americans, who defended their democracy against the liberal, global elite- no, this is a victory that the American people brought to the whole world.” Trump’s win caused trepidation in Mexico, where his remarks calling Mexican immigrants criminals and “rapists” were a deep insult to national pride. Trump has suggested slapping a 35 percent tax on automobiles and auto parts made by U.S. companies in Mexico. Financial analysts have predicted a Trump win would threaten billions of dollars in cross-border trade, and government officials say they have drawn up a contingency plan. “It’s DEFCON 2,” Mexican analyst Alejandro Hope said. “Probably something as close to a national emergency as Mexico has faced in many decades.” Trump’s electoral triumph is also being felt strongly in the volatile Middle East, where multiple crises are unfolding. In Iran, leaders emphasized the need to keep the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers on track despite Trump’s harsh criticism of it during the campaign. Iran’s president said Wednesday the deal “cannot be overturned by a single government.” Trump has suggested he would try to renegotiate the agreement under which Iran curbs its nuclear program in exchange for a gradual lifting of international sanctions. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump as a “true friend of the State of Israel.” Netanyahu said that he believes the two leaders “will continue to strengthen the unique alliance between our two countries and bring it to ever greater heights.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that he hopes “peace will be achieved” during Trump’s term. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated Trump. In a statement on his website, al-Abadi said he hopes the “world and the United States will continue to support Iraq in fighting terrorism.” The Taliban called for the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan once Trump takes office. In a statement sent to The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a Trump administration “should allow Afghans to become a free nation and have relationships with other countries based on non-interference in each other’s affairs.” In Europe, NATO allies will wait to see if Trump follows through on suggestions that the U.S. will look at whether they have paid their proper share in considering whether to come to their defense. Trump’s rhetoric has challenged the strategic underpinning of the NATO alliance, rattling its leaders at a time when Russia has been increasingly aggressive. “As a candidate, Trump called into question NATO and trade agreements, and reached out to Moscow,” said Daniela Schwarzer, an expert on trans-Atlantic relations at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “His campaign of discrimination, lies and aggression harmed the principles of liberal democracy. Even if President Trump doesn’t implement everything, Germany and Europe can’t rely on the trans-Atlantic partnership as usual and have to stand up for Western values themselves.” Trump’s victory pleased leaders of the nationalist Alternative for Germany party, which has campaigned strongly against Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s policy of letting hundreds of thousands of migrants into the country. “It was high time that people disenfranchised by the political establishment get their voices back in the United States of America too,” party co-leader Frauke Petry said. The French populist, anti-immigrant politician Marine Le Pen congratulated Trump even before the final results were known, tweeting her support to the “American people, free!” Trump’s victory was viewed with shock in Ireland, a country fearful of Trump’s campaign pledge to confront U.S. companies using Ireland as a tax shelter. Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole wrote Wednesday: “The republic of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt is now the United Hates of America.” In Asia, security issues and trade will top the agenda for the new administration, from North Korea and the South China Sea to the contentious and yet-unratified Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. China is seen as favoring Trump because he appears less willing to confront China’s newly robust foreign policy, particularly in the South China Sea. Clinton, by contrast, was disliked in Beijing for having steered the U.S. “pivot” to Asia aimed at strengthening U.S. engagement with the region, particularly in the military sphere. Scholar Mei Xinyu wrote in the Communist Party newspaper Global Times that China would find it easier to cope with a Trump presidency. “Trump
Alabama politicians react to Donald Trump’s stunning victory
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump scored a shocking and historic upset victory in the early hours of Wednesday morning, defeating Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump maintained an Electoral College count lead over Clinton throughout the early evening, and as the votes were counted overnight, Trump’s lead widened until he secured the necessary 270-plus electoral votes around 2:45 a.m. ET. Here’s what Alabama politicians have to say about Trump’s victory: U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (via statement): Last night the American people roundly rejected the failed Obama-Clinton policies that aren’t working for our country. We now have the opportunity to come together to champion conservative causes and reverse the damage that has been done from big government policies like Obamacare and Dodd-Frank. I look forward to working with President-elect Trump and my conservative colleagues in Congress on commonsense solutions that will ensure a brighter future for all Americans. Alabama 1st District Rep. Bradley Byrne (via Facebook): Congratulations to President-elect Donald J. Trump and his entire team on tonight’s historic victory! It is time for new leadership in Washington. Now is the time for unity, and I look forward to seeing the positive change that will come from a unified Republican government. Alabama 2nd District Rep. Martha Roby (via statement): I offer my sincere congratulations to Donald Trump upon his impressive and decisive victory. There is much to do to get this country back on track, and I’m eager to get to work. As someone who has spent the last six years in Congress playing defense against the Obama Administration, I am eager to play offense to advance conservative priorities and to protect Alabama’s interests. No matter what, I will continue to fight on behalf of the people I represent and focus on the issues that matter to them. Alabama 3rd District Rep. Mike Rogers (via statement): As I have said before, Donald Trump was the only option for Americans to vote for as president. The people have spoken for real change and I congratulate Mr. Trump on his tremendous victory. For Republicans in Congress, we will now have a champion in the White House for our conservative agenda, to repeal and replace Obamacare, rebuild our national defense, and restore Constitutional rule. I look forward to working with the new Trump Administration to make America great again. Let’s get to work. Alabama 6th District Rep. Gary Palmer (via Twitter): Congratulations @realDonaldTrump – I look forward to working with you. This article will updated as additional comments are available.
Donald Trump is elected president in historic upset
Republican Donald Trump pulled off a historic upset Tuesday when he was elected the 45th president of the United States of America. The billionaire businessman, who never before held elected office, caused a political earthquake when he crossed the 270 electoral vote threshold at 2:31 a.m. ET, stunning pollsters, politicos, and financial markets across the globe. Taking the stage in the early hours of the morning to make an acceptance speech, Trump said Clinton had called him to offer her congratulations and to concede the race. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division and get together,” he told supporters in the New York City crowd. “It is time for us to come together as one united people. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans.” Trump’s victory defied late polls showing his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton with a modest, albeit persistent, edge. It also brought uncertainty to the world’s financial markets, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling as much as 500 points in after-hours trading. More than 110 million votes had been counted in the presidential race by 2:30 a.m. ET, with millions more outstanding.
