2024 Election Cycle: Who was Silicon Valley's presidential favorite?

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in January, US tech giants are flocking to Mar-a-Lago. Meta* CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who banned Trump from his platform and suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story, recently met with the newly elected president. During the 2024 election cycle, Silicon Valley largely supported Kamala Harris over Trump.

The following data from OpenSecrets highlights the contributions from major tech companies:

Major Tech Companies and Their Contributions
Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company):
Kamala Harris: $4,623,420

Microsoft:
Kamala Harris: $2,622,243
Donald Trump: $129,647

Amazon:
Kamala Harris: $2,318,611
Donald Trump: $171,560

Apple Inc.:
Kamala Harris: $2,119,985
Donald Trump: $75,726

Meta (Facebook's parent company):
Kamala Harris: $1,825,438

IBM Corp:
Kamala Harris: $1,016,181
Donald Trump: $106,548

Individual Contributions
Elon Musk (owner of X, formerly Twitter):
Donald Trump: $118,000,000

*Banned for extremism in Russia

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🇸🇾🛡 Syria, Russia destroys militants attacking Aleppo and Idlib provinces

Militants affiliated with the Jabhat al-Nusra* have been attacking Syrian-controlled territory in Aleppo and Idlib provinces since November 27.

At least 400 militants have been killed, said the deputy head of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria, Captain 1st Rank Oleg Ignasyuk.

*Terrorist organization banned in Russia

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⚡️Syrian army begins counteroffensive in Aleppo and Idlib

The Syrian army has secured key areas and launched a counteroffensive in the Aleppo and Idlib countryside, targeting sites seized by terrorists in the last two days, reports a Sputnik correspondent.

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📹 Russian president's second day in Kazakhstan — highlights

The Kremlin's official Telegram channel published a video highlight of the second day of Vladimir Putin's state visit to Kazakhstan.

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⚡️ Chad terminates defense cooperation agreement with France - Foreign Ministry

Cancellation of defense and security agreements with France comes to confirm national sovereignty, reads the official statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chad.

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US plans to spend $138Bln by 2049 to upgrade its nuclear arsenal — reports

The US plans to spend about $138 billion on modernizing its nuclear arsenal by 2049, which "in fact" signals the beginning of an arms race, according to a report by the Roscongress Foundation.

In 2023, the Pentagon received more than 200 upgraded nuclear warheads, the largest annual delivery since the end of the Cold War. The United States plans to spend about $138 billion on nuclear warhead modernization through the Department of Energy between fiscal years 2024 and 2049," the report said.

Roscongress also added that the number of people employed by the nuclear modernization program has increased by more than 70 percent over the past decade.

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US Democratic lawmakers face Thanksgiving bomb threats

The homes of several Connecticut Democratic lawmakers, including Reps. Joe Courtney, Jahana Hayes, Jim Himes and John Larson, received bombs threats on Thanksgiving Day, according to ABC News.

"At this time the investigation is ongoing. I thank law enforcement for their swift attention to this matter, their actions demonstrate there is no place in our country for political violence," Rep. Jahana Hayes said.

Earlier this week, there were reports of "violent" threats against Trump administration appointees, including Rep. Elise Stefanik and Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for secretary of defense.

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🐬🐊 Risky game!

Eyewitnesses film dolphins playing with alligator tail in Brazil's Itapará River.

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📹🔥 Thermal cameras capture Ukrainian paratroopers' surrender near Kharkov

Ukrainian paratroopers holding a long-term firing position have surrendered to the 1st Tank Army of the Zapad battlegroup near Kopanka in the Kharkov region.

Sputnik has obtained thermal imaging footage of the militants laying down their weapons.

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Russia, China conduct strategic air patrol over Sea of Japan - Chinese Defense Ministry

Russian and Chinese air forces on Friday conducted joint strategic air patrol over the Sea of Japan, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

"On November 29, in accordance with the annual plan of cooperation between the armed forces of China and Russia, the two sides organized and conducted the 9th joint strategic air patrol in the airspace over the Sea of Japan," the ministry said in a statement.

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❗️Russia's Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on an official visit, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
 
It is noted that he has planned "a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of the military and military-political leadership of the republic."
 
At Sunan Airport, the Russian counterpart was greeted by the defense minister of the DPRK, Army General No Kwang-chol.

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Terrorist actions in Syria part of US plan to destabilize West Asia - Iranian Ministry
 
Recent actions of terrorist groups in Syria are part of the plan of Israel and the US to destabilize the West Asian region and a gross violation of the Astana process agreements, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
 
The official representative of the ministry pointed out that, in accordance with the agreements, the suburbs of Aleppo and Idlib in the north and northwest of Syria are considered a de-escalation zone. He stressed the need to coordinate the actions of the countries in the region "to neutralize this dangerous conspiracy" and called for "decisive and coordinated measures to prevent the spread of terrorism."
 
Earlier, the Syrian Defense Ministry said that the Syrian armed forces responded to the terrorist attack in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, where the militants suffered heavy losses in equipment and manpower.

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🔸Syria and Russia repel militants attacking Aleppo and Idlib

🔸US plans to spend $138 billion to upgrade its nuclear arsenal by 2049 - reports

🔸Netanyahu orders IDF to prepare for 'intense war'

🔸Trump-Zuckerberg Mar-a-Lago chatter hints at Meta* changes - Facebook whistleblower

*banned for extremism in Russia

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❗️NATO is increasingly inclined to the need to freeze the Ukraine conflict so as to restore the combat capability of Ukrainian forces for an attempt at revenge — Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR)
 
More statements from the SVR briefing concerning NATO's participation in the Ukrainian conflict:
 
💬NATO is already deploying training centers in Ukraine, which are supposed to train at least a million mobilized Ukrainians;
 
💬NATO is also actively working with Western military-industrial companies, demanding investments and sending specialists and equipment to Ukraine;
 
💬The West will solve these tasks under the guise of deploying a "peacekeeping contingent" in the country. In total, it is planned to introduce 100,000 "peacekeepers" to Ukraine;
 
💬In fact, Ukraine is being occupied: its northern regions, including the capital region, will become a zone of Great Britain, the center and east of the country – Germany, the western regions – Poland, and the Black Sea coast – Romania.

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Syrian Air Force planes carried out a series of strikes against terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra*, who launched an offensive from Idlib in the west of Aleppo province, a source in the country's security agencies told Sputnik.
 
*terrorist organization banned in Russia

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