Clinton Concedes Election, Urges Supporters to Accept Trump

  Democrat Hillary Clinton has conceded the American presidential election to Republican Donald Trump. Most political experts and voter studies had predicted Clinton would win the election. But after very close voting in many states across the country, Trump received the required 270 electoral votes early Wednesday to win the White House. In a speech Wednesday to supporters, Clinton said she was “sorry” for the loss, which she described as “painful.” But she said Americans owe Trump “an open mind and a chance to lead.” ​ Clinton is a former secretary of state, U.S. senator and wife of two-term president Bill Clinton. She called Trump early Wednesday morning to congratulate him on his victory. She said that she told him she would work with him for the good of the country. She said America is “more deeply divided than we thought.” Clinton said she hopes Trump “will be a successful president for all Americans.” She urged her supporters to "please never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it.” If she had won, Clinton would have become the first female president of the United States. During her speech, she said she was disappointed she had not “shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling.” She also spoke directly to young girls and women watching her speech. “Never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world, to pursue and achieve your own dreams.” During his acceptance speech to supporters early Wednesday, Trump congratulated Clinton on her campaign effort. “Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country. I mean that very sincerely.” The president-elect also called on all Americans to unite. “To all Republicans and Democrats and Independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time.” Trump's victory ended one of the most divisive presidential campaigns ever. Both Clinton and Trump repeatedly said the other candidate was unfit to serve as president. The win also ends eight years of Democratic Party rule in the White House. Political experts have said the change could lead to the undoing of many of President Barack Obama’s policies. Obama said Wednesday he had congratulated Trump by phone and that he will meet with him Thursday at the White House. Obama promised a smooth change of leadership. He also urged the country to join him in supporting Trump’s efforts to succeed as president. “We all want what's best for this country,” he said. “We try really hard to persuade people that we're right, and then people vote. And then if we lose, we learn from our mistakes. We do some reflection, we lick our wounds, we brush ourselves off, we get back in the arena. We go at it. We try even harder the next time.” House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, who leads the Republican majority in the House, said Trump had managed to win a great political battle.  Ryan was slow to back Trump’s candidacy and had publicly disagreed with him on several issues. But on Wednesday, he said he was “excited” about working with him. I’m Anne Ball. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for Learning English based on reports from VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   concede - v. to admit that you have been defeated and stop trying to win disappointed – adj. unhappy about something that didn’t meet expectations shatter – v. to break up glass ceiling – n. unfair barriers that block people, especially women, from getting the most powerful jobs pursue – v. to try to do something over time gratitude – n. showing thankfulness to someone for a helpful act root – v. express support for reflection – n. serious and careful thought arena – n. involved in the area of politics  

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Hillary Clinton Concession Speech

Hillary Clinton publicly admitted losing the presidential election on Wednesday. She spoke of the pain of defeat and hopes for the success of Donald Trump’s presidency.

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Are you in the Mood to Learn the Subjunctive?

For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Today, we're going to talk about using the subjunctive. English speakers use the subjunctive to express a wide variety of unreal or possible situations. Today, we will only focus on how to use the subjunctive with a noun clause to express urgency or importance. For example, "I suggest that you arrive early." Polite, yet urgent The subjunctive offers speakers a polite and diplomatic way to tell someone to do something, or stress that something is very important. It is a useful alternative to a direct command. A mother might tell a child, "Stop eating with your hands." How can we be polite and stress urgency at the same time? We suggest that you use the subjunctive. Instead of the direct command, "Stop eating with your hands," you could say, "It is important that you eat with a fork." Imagine you are a supervisor. You want your employee to stop being late for work. You could say, "Come to work on time." But a more polite way would be to use the subjunctive: "It is very important that you come to work on time" or "It is essential that you manage your time more efficiently." In most situations, the speaker using the subjunctive has power over the listener. In our examples, the mother has power over the child, the boss has power over the employee. Verb + that + object + simple verb There are two common structures for the subjunctive. The first one uses a verb followed by that, followed by the object, followed by the simple form of the verb. For example, "His father demanded that he join the army." In this example, demanded is the verb, that marks the beginning of the noun clause, he is the object, and join is the subjunctive verb. That is optional. You could also say, "His father demanded he join the army." The most common verbs that are followed by the subjunctive are advise, ask, propose, suggest, request, and insist. Listen for the subjunctive in this conversation between cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. In this scene, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck come across Elmer Fudd, a hunter who is looking for rabbits. Bugs Bunny: Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home? Daffy Duck: Shoot him now! Shoot him now! Bugs Bunny: You keep out of this. He doesn't have to shoot you now. Daffy Duck: He does so have to shoot me now. I demand that you shoot me now. ​[gunshot] The subjunctive sentence in the dialog is, "I demand that you shoot me now." Daffy Duck meant to say, "I demand that you shoot him now" – him referring to Bugs Bunny.  Listen again. Bugs Bunny: Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home? Daffy Duck: Shoot him now! Shoot him now! Bugs Bunny: You keep out of this. He doesn't have to shoot you now. Daffy Duck: He does so have to shoot me now. I demand that you shoot me now. [gunshot] It is + adjective + that + object + simple verb The second form of the subjunctive uses it is followed by an adjective, followed by that, followed by the simple form of the verb. For example, "It is vital that he take his medicine." Remember, there is no third person –s in the subjunctive. Don't say, "It is vital that he takes his medicine." Fortunately, there are only a few adjectives that are used in this form of the subjunctive. Here are some examples: It is essential that you bring your wallet. It is imperative that you read the instructions. It is important that she arrive on time. It is necessary that she book the ticket in advance. Politicians love to use the subjunctive because it gives a serious and authoritative tone to what they are saying. Listen to Florida Senator Marco Rubio using the subjunctive in a 2015 speech. At the time, he was seeking to become the presidential nominee of the Republican Party. "And I just think it's critically important that the next president of the United States be someone that understands the 21st century and has ideas that will make America…allow America to fulfill its potential." A good way to practice the subjunctive is to listen to political speeches in English. You are likely to hear both of the forms that we discussed today. There are many other ways that English speakers use the subjunctive. We covered some of them in our episodes on conditionals and advanced conditionals. Another common use is to express wishes, as we showed in our episode on modals of certainty and hope. Until next time, remember: it is important that you learn the subjunctive. For Everyday Grammar, I'm Jill Robbins.   Adam Brock wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Now it's your turn. In the comment section below, give some advice for Learning English. Use the subjunctive in your response. For example, "To improve your English it is important/imperative/necessary that you…" ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   subjunctive – grammatical term of or relating to the verb form that is used to express suggestions, wishes, uncertainty, possibility, etc. vital – adj. extremely important essential – adj. extremely important and necessary imperative – adj. very important potential – n. a quality that something has that can be developed to make it better

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Hungry Harvest CEO and Co-Founder Evan Lutz

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Melissa Fitzgerald: From Hollywood Actress to Passionate Activist

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New Study Links Using Facebook and Living Longer

A well-known study in 1979 found that people who socialize with others live longer than people who keep to themselves. A new study shows that socializing online may have health benefits as well. To test the theory, researchers from Harvard, Yale, Northeastern and the University of California at San Diego looked at the Facebook profiles of 12 million people. Then they compared the profiles with the California Department of Public Health records over a two-year period from 2011 to 2013. The researchers found that that people with more friends online were less likely to die than similar people who were not as connected. The researchers published their findings in an article titled "Online social integration is associated with reduced mortality risk" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Findings of the Study Not all Facebook usage was connected to a longer life. Getting friend requests related to reduced mortality, but sending friend requests did not. Similarly, posting photos and being tagged in photos was connected to living longer, but sending messages on Facebook was not. People who were tagged in many photos had the lowest mortality rates in the study.   Some diseases had a significant reduction of mortality with Facebook users. Deaths from infections, diabetes, mental illness or dementia, heart disease, stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, liver disease, and homicide all were significantly lower for Facebook users than for non-users. Other causes of death did not show a relation to Facebook usage, including sexually transmitted diseases, several types of cancer, unintentional injuries, drug overdoses, and suicides. Limitations of the Study The study did not examine any other social media sites to see if using them prolonged life. Also, two of the researchers worked at Facebook while the study was being conducted. William Hobbes, one of the researchers who was a postdoctorate fellow at Northeastern University, and co-author of the study, worked at Facebook as a research intern in 2013. Hobbes said that Facebook agreed not to interfere with the research, no matter what the result was. But, he added, researchers “were pretty confident that we were going to find this result." The researchers were careful to say that their results showed an associative relationship between using Facebook and living longer, not a causal one. In other words, researchers did not prove that using Facebook makes someone live longer. The study simply showed a connection between a longer life and some activities users do on Facebook. The researchers say the findings may be able to help show how online social networks can help improve people’s health on a global scale. I’m Jonathan Evans. For more information, you can read the entire study at PNAS: Online social integration is associated with reduced mortality risk. Carolyn Nicander Mohr wrote this report for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. Do you believe that using Facebook can help extend your life? Will you be tagging more friends in photos now? Do you think using other social media sites can also lead to living longer? Share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   socialize - v. to talk to and do things with other people in a friendly way mortality - n. the quality or state of being a person or thing that is alive and therefore certain to die : the quality or state of being mortal dementia - n. a mental illness that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real cardiovascular - adj. of or relating to the heart and blood vessels​ postdoctorate - adj.  a postdoctorate student is an individual holding a doctoral degree who is engaged in mentored research and/or scholarly training for the purpose of acquiring the professional skills needed to pursue a career path of his or her choosing. associative - adj. of or involving the action of associating ideas or things  causal - adj. relating to or showing the cause of something

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Looking at Words Used to Describe Trump’s Victory

  This is What’s Trending Today: As you read stories about the American elections, you may be seeing a lot of unfamiliar words. Some of the wording relates to the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. But what do words like “stunning,” “underdog,” “jitters” and “status quo” mean? Many people are calling Trump’s victory “stunning.” The New York Times newspaper wrote that “Trump’s stunning upset over (Hillary) Clinton … has shocked the world.”  Sometimes, the word stunning means “very beautiful or pleasing.” It can be used to describe a work of art or an image of snow-covered mountains. But in this case, stunning means “surprising,” according to Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary.  The word “underdog” was a term used to describe Trump, the candidate, during the election campaign. This expression comes from the sport of dog fighting. The underdog was the term for the animal that lost the fight. Over time, underdog has spread. Americans now use it when talking about sporting events, elections or other forms of competition. For example, a sports team that is expected to lose a game is considered the “underdog.” Many observers considered Trump, the Republican Party candidate, an underdog heading into Election Day. The U.S. presidential election also caused some people to feel anxiety. When people are nervous they are said to be having “jitters.” This comes from the thought that people who are nervous or worried about something cannot sit still. Late Tuesday night, when it looked as if Trump might win the election, people started reacting. Newspapers and other media began reporting that financial markets were showing signs of “election jitters.”  And finally, one phrase you may have heard over the past 24 hours is “status quo.” Status quo is not an English word. But it is used fairly often to describe the way things are today, compared to other times. Status quo is an everyday expression taken directly from Latin. It may be used, without any changes, in your native language, too. The term can be used to describe the motivation of many American voters. Political scientists say many people were not happy with the status quo. So, they voted for Trump.   And that’s What’s Trending Today.   I’m Anna Matteo. Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Did you learn new words or terms by following the U.S. election? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________   Words in This Story unfamiliar – adj. not frequently seen, heard, or experienced​ upset – n. an occurrence in which a game, contest, etc., is won by a person or team that was expected to lose phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen  

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After Surprise Win, President-Elect Trump Calls for Unity

President-elect Donald Trump Wednesday called on Americans “to come together as one united people.” But he faces a divided nation as he prepares to take the presidency from Barack Obama on January 20, 2017. Trump spoke to his supporters in New York City after Clinton, a Democrat, called him to congratulate him on his victory. In his speech, Trump praised Clinton. Although he had called her “crooked Hillary” during much of the campaign, Trump told his supporters that Clinton should be thanked for working “very hard over a long period of time” for the United States. Hillary Clinton is ahead now in the popular vote – in other words, more voters overall chose her. But Trump earned the electoral votes in enough states to win the presidency. He did so, in part, by getting the votes of workers in industrial states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Trump promised to bring back factory jobs there by renegotiating trade deals and limiting immigration. Van Jones explains the reactions of some people who opposed the new president-elect. Jones is a former adviser to outgoing President Barack Obama. “You have people putting children to bed tonight, and they're afraid of breakfast,” he said on CNN television early Wednesday morning. “They're afraid of 'How do I explain this to my children?' I have Muslim friends who are texting me tonight, 'Should I leave the country?' I have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight." During his campaign, Trump called for a ban on Muslim immigration. But in recent months, Trump, who has no government experience, said he would order better background checks for people from nations with terrorism problems. He also promised to stop illegal immigration. Trump said many Mexican immigrants are bringing crime and drugs to the United States. Reaction on Twitter and Facebook Reactions on Twitter and Facebook showed the different ways Americans reacted to Trump’s victory. MJR wrote: “That’s it. President-Elect Trump. Godspeed to you. May you find the words to heal a divided nation and may God Bless the United States.” But Cindy wrote: “My heart breaks for this divided nation and the future of our democracy.” Some were disappointed the United States did not elect its first woman president. Wrote Zoe on Facebook: “To those who will tell me this isn't personal, you could not be more wrong. As I watched the election results come in last night, I felt viscerally sick.” Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, urged Americans to give him a chance. “Give him a chance as your president-elect like we all did with President Obama and we all did with President Bill Clinton,” she said. How divided were Americans in the 2016 presidential election? Last month, The Washington Post spoke to voters in the state of Virginia. It found more than half the people supporting Clinton said they did not have close friends or family voting for Trump. It also found that more than half the people voting for Trump did not have close friends or family voting for Clinton. Lilliana Mason teaches political science at the University of Maryland. She said many Americans not only do not know people who voted for a different candidate, but get news about the campaign that matches their opinions. It might explain why Trump supporters expected his victory, while Clinton supporters were surprised. Most pre-election polls and experts predicted a Clinton victory. Despite the divisions between Trump and Clinton supporters, 2016 was not the most divisive presidential election, said Paula Baker. She is a presidential historian at the Ohio State University. “I just finished teaching a course on presidential elections.  Throughout we wondered whether this was the worst ever.  And clearly no. Consider 1800 for divisiveness.” In 1800, Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams after saying his opponent and his party would bring a government of “witches” opposed to freedom. Obama/Trump to Meet Obama announced that he will meet with Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss the transition of power. It may be an uneasy meeting. Trump argued for several years that Obama was not a legal citizen of the United States and therefore was not eligible for the presidency. During the campaign, Obama said Trump is not qualified to be president. He also campaigned hard for Hillary Clinton, who was his secretary of state during his first term. Trump is expected to move quickly to repeal Obama’s successes, including a law providing health care coverage for Americans, environmental and labor rules, and an international climate change agreement. However, even Trump may face problems trying to advance his agenda in Congress. Billy Tauzin is a former congressman from Louisiana. He said, “As Americans, we hate gridlock, but we don’t want compromise." Yet Trump will have an advantage. His party, the Republicans, not only took the White House, but held on to their majorities in the House and Senate in Tuesday’s election. I’m Bruce Alpert. Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   breakfast - n. the first meal of the day texting - v. sending a message on a portable telephone pledge - v. to promise viscerally - adv. coming from strong emotions course - n. a subject taught at a school witch - n. a woman who is thought to have magic powers gridlock - n. a situation in which no progress can be made advantage - n. something that gives someone a better chance of succeeding transition - n. a change from one government to another

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Republicans Keep Control of Congress

  The Republican Party will keep control of the United States Congress after nationwide elections Tuesday. The party’s candidates captured at least 51 of the U.S. Senate’s 100 seats, while the Democratic Party controls at least 47. The Republican majority could rise to 53 when results from two additional races are confirmed. The Senate race in the northeastern state of New Hampshire was still too close to call early Wednesday. In the race, incumbent Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, is running against Governor Maggie Hassan, a Democrat. The state of Louisiana will hold a special runoff election in December to fill another Senate seat. Voters will choose between Republican John Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell. The new Congress will take office in January. The Republican majority in the House is likely to be smaller than its current majority, but not by as much as recent opinion surveys had predicted. Having a majority in Congress is important because the party in power leads committees, sets the legislative agenda and can order investigations. With the election of Republican Donald Trump as president, political experts are wondering about relations between the Trump White House and Congress. The current Congress has blocked many policies of Democratic President Barack Obama. This has resulted in a lack of action on many issues in both the House and Senate. This legislative inaction is often described as political “gridlock.”  Numerous studies have repeatedly shown that American voters have grown tired of continuing gridlock in Washington. One of the new Senate's first items of business will be filling an opening on the U.S. Supreme Court. President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. But Republicans refused to hold hearings or vote on the nomination. They said that since the nomination came with less than a year remaining in Obama’s term, the next president should choose Scalia’s replacement.   Being an incumbent from either party helped most of the returning Senate candidates win. Among the winners were Florida’s Marco Rubio, who decided to seek reelection after ending his campaign for the presidency. Arizona Republican John McCain won his sixth term in the Senate at age 80, in what was likely his last campaign. Another incumbent, New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, was easily re-elected. There had been reports that he would have been a candidate for majority leader if the Democrats had taken control of the Senate. One exception to the incumbent winners was Republican Mark Kirk in Illinois. He lost to two-term Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, by more than 700,000 votes. Duckworth served in the U.S. military in Iraq, where she lost both her legs when a helicopter was shot down. She says she will try to make issues of importance to military veterans a priority in the Senate.    I’m Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on information from VOANews.com, Reuters and the Associated Press. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story incumbent – n. person who has already held an office or position runoff – adj. an additional vote or race that is held to decide a winner agenda – n. list of topics to be discussed gridlock – n. situation in which no progress can be made priority – n. something more important than other things that needs to be dealt with first  

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Donald Trump Victory Speech

On Election Day, Donald Trump was voted America's 45th president. In the early hours of the next day, he gave a victory speech to the nation. He will be officially sworn into office January 20, 2017.

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1100 UTC Newscast for November 9, 2016

From Washington, this is VOA News. I’m Michael Brown reporting. Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States, after pulling off a stunning and unexpected win over the Democratic (Party) candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Trump said Clinton called to congratulate him. Trump appealed for unity as he addressed supporters at his election headquarters in New York City. “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division--(we) have to get together. To all Republicans, and Democrats, and independents across this nation, I say 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, and this is so important to me.” Trump's victory denied Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman elected president in the U.S. (UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN) “I had a feeling that a lot of people were not really, they were embarrassed to tell that they were supporting him (Trump), but we would see a lot of people voting for him at this Election Day. And I’m so happy to see that this is possible, that you can go against political correctness.” (UNIDENTIFIED MAN) “So this is a Brexit (Britain's plan to withdraw from the European Union)  vote. This is the U.S. equivalent of a Brexit vote. All of the polls didn’t believe it. All of the polls said it wasn’t going to happen…” Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager addressed supporters at her election headquarters in New York Tuesday night. But no timetable was given on when Clinton will speak publicly, although political observers expect she will make a statement sometime on Wednesday. Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election sparked a drastic plunge in stock prices on global markets, weakening the U.S. dollar, and pushed down oil prices. Some analysts in New York tell VOA Trump’s plan to reduce regulation could be helpful to the oil drilling and banking sectors. This is VOA News.   We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

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