Good morning.
Democrats have reason for cautious optimism this morning, as some of their endangered candidates appear likely to emerge victorious in the midterm elections, but Republicans still enjoy a narrow advantage in the battle for control of the House of Representatives. The Senate is too close to call, with the race in Nevada coming down to the wire and Georgia likely to go to a runoff in December.
Americans headed to the polls yesterday to determine control of the US Congress for the next two years, and election forecasts had favored Republicans in the final days of campaigning. The president’s party typically loses seats in the midterms, and Joe Biden’s low approval rating, combined with concerns about the state of the US economy, had lowered Democrats’ expectations.
But some key races were tilting toward Democrats, including one of the biggest prizes of the night: a ferociously contested Senate race in Pennsylvania between Mehmet Oz, a Republican backed by Donald Trump, and the Democrat John Fetterman, who has been battling to assure voters he is fit for office after having had a stroke.
“We held the line,” a teary Fetterman said, declaring victory in a speech to supporters early this morning.
Who will win control of Congress? With many races still too close to call, control of Congress – and the future of Biden’s agenda – still hangs in the balance. Outcomes of some closely contested elections are not expected for several days, or even weeks. But the early results already returned one certainty: the election is not unfolding as Republicans had hoped.
Where can we see the results? A definitive run-down of victories and losses is yet to come, but keep a close eye on the Guardian live blog for the latest updates. And check our live election results page for full results of the congressional midterms, seat by seat. Full coverage of the midterms here.
Vermont and Michigan vote to protect abortion rights in constitutions
Voters in multiple states passed measures to enshrine the right to an abortion during yesterday’s midterm elections, in a rebuke to the crackdown on reproductive freedoms taking place across the US.
In Michigan, abortion rights campaigners declared victory on a ballot initiative looking to secure a constitutional right to abortion, meaning the state will now escape the imposition of a 1931 abortion ban that was on the books.
“Today, the people of Michigan voted to restore the reproductive rights they’ve had for 50 years,” said Darci McConnell, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, which put forth the ballot measure.
The news broke as other US states also saw victories for abortion rights initiatives.
Vermont became the first state in America to protect abortion rights in its state constitution just before Michigan, calling its result on Tuesday after its voters backed a ballot initiative by a huge margin.
What does this mean for anti-abortion Republicans? These wins are more blows for Republicans who are increasingly finding that, when put to a vote, Americans frequently do not agree with a sweeping agenda to dismantle abortion rights. So far, the anti-abortion movement has relied on judges, state houses and Republican lawmakers to curtail reproductive rights.
Ron DeSantis landslide victory brings Trump and 2024 into focus
It was expected to be a moment of triumph for Trump but it did not quite turn out that way. The former US president appeared uneasy about the underwhelming Republican performance in the midterms at an election watch party he hosted at his plush Mar-a-Lago resort last night, after it was clear there would be no “red wave” that he had implored his supporters to produce.
Meanwhile, at Ron DeSantis’s election victory party in Tampa last night, supporters of the rightwing Florida governor chanted: “Two more years!”
Governors serve four-year terms, but DeSantis is widely seen as a possible challenger to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. DeSantis’s strong performance in Florida yesterday – as other Republicans across the US faltered – has greatly strengthened that position.
Trump had been reported to be planning a 2024 announcement next week, seeking to capitalise on Republican success in the midterm elections. But on the night when the Republicans’ hoped-for “red wave” seemed unlikely – though control of the House and the Senate remained in the balance – the atmosphere at Mar-a-Lago, was reported to be anxious.
What has Trump said about DeSantis? Trump has warned his party rival not to run for president in 2024 and threatened to reveal information about him if he does. The former US president said he would tell reporters “things” about the Florida governor “that won’t be very flattering”.
Why else did Trump have a bad night? He received a blow when Doug Mastriano, a far-right Republican candidate, lost to Josh Shapiro in the Pennsylvania governor race. Trump had endorsed and heavily promoted Mastriano.
In other news …
An American woman has been detained in Saudi Arabia after she posted on Twitter that she and her young daughter had been lured to the kingdom and trapped there since 2019. US officials confirmed the detention of Carly Morris, 34, a native of California.
The US basketball star Brittney Griner was transferred last week from a detention center outside the Russian capital and is on her way to a penal colony, her legal team said today. The White House has called the two-time Olympic gold medalist detention’s “wrongful”.
Another American volunteer has died in combat in Ukraine, a spokesperson for the country’s International Legion confirmed, bringing the number of US fighters killed in the war against Russia to at least six. Timothy Griffin, from New York state, had been fighting alongside Ukrainians on the eastern front.
The Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, has sold 19.5m of his shares in the electric car company, according to filings published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a transaction worth $3.95bn. The move comes after his purchase of Twitter for $44bn.
Meta’s chief, Mark Zuckerberg, confirmed to executives that the company would begin laying off employees this morning, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Zuckerberg addressed hundreds of executives at the company on Tuesday morning, foreshadowing large cuts.
Stat of the day: First Gen Z member elected as midterms could usher in a more diverse Congress
Voters have elected the first-ever Gen Z member of Congress in the midterm elections on Tuesday, where a number of candidates are making history with their victories. Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old Democrat, defeated a Republican in his Florida congressional race, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday evening. The Afro-Cuban progressive has organized with the ACLU and March for Our Lives, the gun reform group, and called for universal healthcare on the campaign trail. The departure of 46 members from the House of Representatives has created an opening for a new class of young and diverse candidates to seek federal office.
Don’t miss this: The truth behind the weight loss drug that makes food repulsive
In Beverly Hills’ doctors offices, celebrities are clamoring for Ozempic prescriptions. It has become popular in the last two years because it makes people lose weight fast. It is controversial because it works by triggering a chemical repugnance to food itself. After being injected with Ozempic, a user could try to imagine a moist slab of black forest gateau, or a calorically-dense, half-pound Baconator bacon cheeseburger from Wendy’s, and their body physically revolts, with spasms of nausea and waves of ill feeling. But what are the costs of the supposed wonder drug?
Climate check: Oil and gas greenhouse emissions ‘three times higher’ than producers claim
Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities around the world are about three times higher than their producers claim, data has shown. Climate Trace, a project to measure at source the true levels of carbon dioxide and other global heating gases, published a report today showing that half of the 50 largest sources of greenhouse gases in the world were oil and gas fields and production facilities. Many are underreporting their emissions, and there are few means of calling them to account.
Last thing: Oldest known sentence written in first alphabet discovered – on a head-lice comb
It is a simple sentence that captures the hopes and fears of modern-day parents as much as the bronze age Canaanite who owned the doubled-edged ivory comb on which the words appear. Believed to be the oldest known sentence written in the earliest alphabet, the inscription on the luxury item reads: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.” Analysis of the markings on the comb, which measures 3.5cm by 2.5cm, confirmed the writing to be Canaanite script, the earliest alphabet, which was invented about 3,800 years ago.
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