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Politics
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Highlights of 2026 election night across the US – in pictures
As polls close and election results roll in, Americans across the country wait in anticipation and celebrate announced outcomes US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Continue reading...
Democrat Annie Andrews flips South Carolina Senate seat held by Republicans since 1998
Andrews ran a campaign on healthcare affordability and beat Darline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham to win US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Democrat Annie Andrews , a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability, has won the race for US Senate in South Carolina , making her the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate for over a quarter century. Andrews had faced an uphill battle in what has been seen as a reliably Republican state against Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican powerbroker Lindsey Graham. Continue reading...
Democrats poised to sweep Florida congressional districts redrawn by Republicans
Major blow to Trump’s party as effort to redraw maps in its favor fizzles on excellent night for House Democrats US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Democrats have won three of the four congressional seats in Florida that Republicans redrew this year in their favor, and are narrowly leading in the fourth. It’s a surprising result that underscores how strongly Democratic candidates are performing on election night. Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Republicans who control the state legislature redrew the state’s congressional map earlier this year to create four new districts – the ninth, 14th, 22nd, and 25th – that favored Republicans. Had the districts been in place in 2024, Donald Trump would have won all but one by double digits. He would have won the final district by about nine points. Continue reading...
Alleged attack on One Nation supporter not believed to be politically motivated, Victoria police say
Police also allege Torquay man was attacked with a ‘blunt weapon’ rather than a baseball bat as originally reported An alleged attack on a One Nation supporter is not believed to have been politically motivated, Victoria police say, clarifying that a “blunt weapon” was allegedly used rather than a baseball bat as originally reported. On Tuesday, police confirmed they arrested a 37-year-old Hampton Park man and a 14-year-old boy over the alleged attack on a 60-year-old man outside his Torquay home on Sunday night. Continue reading...
Georgia: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes first Black, female governor in US
Billionaire Rick Jackson was favored to win until ex-Atlanta mayor campaigned with Barack Obama and Jon Ossoff US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor and Democrat, won the race for Georgia governor on Tuesday in an upset for Republicans. Bottoms will become the first Black, female governor in the US. Georgia is historically a swing state offering tight margins to the winners of statewide contests, and billionaire businessman Rick Jackson had been favored to win the race until recent days. Lance Bottoms campaigned with Democratic senator Jon Ossoff, who also won re-election on Tuesday, as well as former president Barack Obama days before the election. Continue reading...
Uber pays its drivers ‘wages’ and is liable for $81m payroll tax bill, Australia’s high court rules
Rideshare company unsuccessfully argued it didn’t employ workers and claimed money paid was not wages under NSW law The rideshare behemoth Uber has suffered a bruising loss in Australia’s high court that will cost it more than $80m in unpaid taxes. The court on Wednesday dismissed Uber’s claim it was not liable to pay payroll tax in New South Wales after it argued that it does not employ drivers and claimed that money paid to its drivers were not wages under state law. Continue reading...
Trump-endorsed Republican Byron Donalds wins Florida race for governor
Donalds, who billed campaign as ‘a continuation of the DeSantis-era of success’, becomes state’s first black governor Republican Byron Donalds will be the next governor of Florida, and its first Black leader, after defeating Democrat David Jolly in one of the country’s most-watched midterm races. Donalds was endorsed by Donald Trump and appeared twice with the president at rallies in the campaign’s closing days despite previously appearing to distance himself . He will succeed Ron DeSantis, the former presidential candidate who will be termed out of office in January. Continue reading...
Republican Ashley Moody defeats progressive Angie Nixon in Florida Senate race
Moody is elected over Nixon in a contest seen as a measure of whether the state remains reliably Republican US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Ashley Moody fended off a challenge from Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, to win Florida’s special election and retain her seat in the US Senate. It was the first election win for the Republican, who was appointed by Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis in January 2025, when Marco Rubio became US secretary of state. Moody will serve the remainder of his term until the 2028 election. Continue reading...
Canada joins coalition refusing to play ice hockey against Russia over Ukraine war
Growing number of countries are resisting Russia’s reintegration into international hockey after a sports court lifted a ban on competition Canada has joined a coalition of countries refusing to play ice hockey teams from Russia, with prime minister Mark Carney saying Russian skaters will not be able to compete in a world junior championship next month due to the war in Ukraine. “While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified, horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that’s going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada,” Carney told reporters on Tuesday. Continue reading...
North Carolina voters elect Roy Cooper, state’s first Democratic senator in 10 years
State’s ex-governor bests Michael Whatley, ex-chair of Republican National Committee, by focusing on lower costs US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Roy Cooper, North Carolina’s former governor, was elected to represent the state in the US Senate, marking the first time in 10 years the state’s voters sent a Democrat to the US Congress’s upper chamber. Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, to succeed Thom Tillis, the outgoing US senator. Continue reading...
Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire Senate race, avoiding Republican flip
Pappas focused campaign against Republican John Sununu on serving as a bulwark against Trump administration US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, has won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, protecting the open seat from a Republican flip in a closely fought contest against John Sununu, the former senator. Pappas, 46, is a centrist voice in the US House who has at times broken with his party on major legislation. He focused his Senate campaign on serving as a bulwark against the Trump administration, which is unpopular in the Granite State. Pappas will be the first openly gay man to serve in the US Senate. Continue reading...
Jon Ossoff wins Georgia Senate race over Republican Mike Collins
Rising Democratic star made his re-election campaign a referendum on the Trump administration’s misdeeds US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Jon Ossoff has been re-elected to the Senate in Georgia, defeating Mike Collins, his Republican challenger. Ossoff, regularly cited as a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028 , has becoming a rising star in the party. In recent months he has made headlines with a steady stream of viral speeches on conspicuously national issues. Continue reading...
US midterm voting issues: New York voting machine failures and Florida flooding affect some – video
Voter turnout has surged as Americans cast their ballots in the critical US midterm elections . Although mostly smooth, there have been some voting snags across the country. In Westchester county in New York, voting machines have been unable to scan as many as 250,000 ballots, and manual counting could delay the announcement of results there by several days. Meanwhile, a lack of paper ballots saw voters turned away from some polling stations in Illinois, while heavy rain and flooding forced election officials to relocate some polling places in Florida US midterm elections 2026 updates Continue reading...
Democrats look poised to win House control in midterm elections after two turbulent years of Trump
Victory for the party comes despite unusual and aggressive efforts by Republicans to redraw congressional districts US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Democrats are poised to take control of the US House of Representatives after two tumultuous years of Donald Trump’s second presidency. A change in House control would give Democrats a perch to conduct robust oversight of the administration for its final two years. Republicans currently hold 218 seats in the House and Democrats have 214. (There is one vacancy in a Republican seat, one vacancy in a Democratic seat and one Republican member switched his party affiliation to independent). Democrats need to flip just three seats to gain control of the House, something they are expected to do easily. Continue reading...
Canva layoffs: design giant to cut or relocate more than 1,200 jobs in major restructure
Chief executiveMelanie Perkins describes job cuts as ‘without doubt the hardest moment in our thirteen-year history’ in email to staff Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Canva is cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs, representing 22% of its global workforce, as part of a major restructure that includes laying off staff who helped build the Australian-founded design platform. The changes mirror a trend across the technology sector, where software companies are fighting to stay competitive against cheaper artificial intelligence disrupters while aggressively embedding AI tools themselves. Continue reading...
Democrats aim to retake Senate from Republicans as Americans go to polls
Party hopes disapproval with Trump’s presidency gives them advantage as Republicans defend slim majority Republicans are defending their majority in the US Senate against resurgent Democrats, who believe voters’ dissatisfaction with Donald Trump will put them back in control of Congress’ upper chamber just two years after being driven into the minority. The first race results have begun trickling in, with the Associated Press calling the Virginia Senate election for Democratic incumbent Mark Warner, who was expected to win. Continue reading...
US midterm voting goes smoothly with only a handful of issues nationwide
Voting machine issues affected Westchester county, New York, but emergency ballots were provided to voters US midterm elections – live updates Track live results from all 50 states Voting in US midterm elections took place relatively smoothly nationwide on Tuesday, with only a handful of reported issues as tens of millions of voters cast their ballots. With control of US Congress in the balance, glitches at polling locations were minimal as Americans lined up to vote. Continue reading...
Houses of Parliament at risk of ‘Notre Dame-style fire’ as renovation costs rise
Report says cost of maintenance could soon reach £2m a week, including 24-hour patrols to avert fire risk The Palace of Westminster will be at risk of a Notre Dame-style fire or a similar catastrophic event if MPs do not tackle the issue of funding refurbishments, a parliamentary committee has said. Decisions about how and when to begin a full restoration of the building, which is Grade I-listed and a Unesco world heritage site, have been repeatedly delayed amid disagreement over how it should be done and spiralling costs. Continue reading...
US midterm elections 2026 live updates: key House and Senate races to determine control of Congress for remainder of Trump’s term
Key states like Florida, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina see record turnout as Americans decide the direction of Congress for remainder of Trump’s term Track live results from all 50 states It’s almost 6pm ET on Tuesday 3 November, and the first round of polls in the US midterm elections are about to close. After months of campaigning, debate and analysis, Americans have been casting their ballots in these critical elections that will take the political temperature of the nation halfway through Donald Trump ’s second term – and determine the trajectory of the remainder of his presidency. Americans, who have already voted early in record numbers and are turning out in numbers significantly outstripping the totals from the 2022 midterms, will decide the balance of power in Congress and, therefore, Trump’s ability to advance his agenda for the next two years. Continue reading...
US midterm voters poised to deliver verdict on Trump’s second term
Results will determine makeup of Congress and other key offices and could define president’s final two years in office US midterms 2026 live – latest updates US midterm elections 2026: live results from Senate, House and governor races in all 50 states Donald Trump faced a political reckoning on Tuesday as millions of Americans voted in midterm elections that could shift the balance of power in Washington and define the final two years of his divisive presidency. Based on consistently favourable opinion polls, Democrats were optimistic about regaining control of the House of Representatives and potentially also the Senate, although the party has suffered enough anguish during the Trump era to remain wary. Continue reading...
US voters share why they cast their ballots – from frustration with Trump to affordability concerns
‘It’s the disregard for the rule of law. It just seems like they’re thumbing their nose at it’ In the battleground state of Maine , Todd Cox, 63, has supported the state’s incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins not once, but twice, in previous elections. Not this time. On Tuesday, Cox, a technology professional, cast his vote for Collins’ Democratic challenger Troy Jackson – driven not by pressing local issues, but broader concern “for the direction the country is going in”, he said. Continue reading...
Nasa astronaut casts midterms vote from space – video
Anil Menon has voted in the US midterm elections by casting an electronic ballot from the International Space Station. He said he filled out the ballot on his station computer and sent it to election officials in Harris county, Texas. In a social media post, he said all three US crew members onboard also had the chance to vote. US midterm elections 2026 live Continue reading...
US tech stocks recover after selloff spooks investors over AI spending
Midterms didn’t appear to have huge impact, though predicted wins for Democrats could mean more regulation US tech stocks made a recovery Tuesday afternoon after a selloff spooked investors over AI spending. The impact of Tuesday’s midterm elections didn’t appear to have a huge impact on Wall Street, though investors are predicting Democrats get at least a majority in the House and potentially gain seats in the Senate, which could lead to more AI regulation. Continue reading...
DoJ tells Democrats in letters they could be targets of Alaska ballot investigation
Top election lawyer and lawmakers received notes over alleged scheme to confuse voters with two Dan Sullivans The justice department has sent letters to a top Democratic election lawyer and other Democrats informing them they could be targets in a federal investigation into efforts to get an Alaska man with the same name as Republican senator Daniel Sullivan on to the ballot. The decision to send the letters is very unusual. The justice department has long avoided taking actions that could affect an election close to election day. It is also not common to send out target letters so early in an investigation; receiving a target letter does not mean that a person will be charged with a crime. Continue reading...