Politics and views in the United States.

Vice President Harris sends her supporters a Thanksgiving Day message to 'keep fighting,' Democrats flip a US House seat in Southern California, and Elon Musk posts names and titles of federal employees he hopes to fire.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

I still strongly believe the light of America's promise will burn bright as long as we never give up and we keep fighting.

This Thanksgiving, Vice President Kamala Harris says she's grateful for her supporters.

Nearly a month after losing to President-elect Donald Trump, she says the work done by campaign volunteers will have a lasting effect, and notes she got donations from 4 million first-time donors.

One of the most competitive House races finally has a winner.

Democrat Derek Tran narrowly beat Republican incumbent Michelle Steele to flip a Southern California seat.

Tran says he's looking forward to representing a district carved out in part to include America's largest Vietnamese community.

In the 49 years since the fall of Saigon, they have not had representation at the national level at Washington, D.C.

Tran won by roughly 600 votes.

And in Iowa, Republican Congresswoman Marionette Miller-Meeks won re-election, helping her party pad a very thin House majority.

Trump says he'll appoint his former National Security Council chief of staff Keith Kellogg as a special Russia-Ukraine envoy.

Trump vows a swift end to the war without sending more military aid, but some Republicans, including Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota, say they're frustrated the U.S. isn't providing Ukraine forces what they need.

It's not easy to be logical when the emotions are that strong that I think all of us feel in the defense of freedom of a democracy against a tyrant.

Democrats want President Joe Biden to approve more long-range missiles for Ukraine before leaving office.

Just days after Elon Musk posted the names and titles of federal employees whose jobs he called "fake," the workers are facing a barrage of online threats.

CNN correspondent Hadass Gold says the post's target workers involved in climate policy and regulation and could serve as a warning that other agencies are next.

Those people have had death threats.

They've had to leave their homes.

They've been fearful for their lives as a result of being targeted by Elon Musk.

Musk has been named co-director of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, an unofficial department created specifically to gut the federal workforce.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that would strip power from his successor and other Democratic state officials in favor of the Republican legislature.

But Meredith College political science professor David McLennan notes the bill also contains relief for areas hit by Hurricane Helene.

He says that puts some GOP lawmakers on the spot as they consider trying to override or putting forward clean disaster aid.

Because they want to delay or even hurt the chances of their counties and their people getting aid that they desperately need just to score some political points.

I'm Catherine Carley for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.