First Thing: Republicans one seat away from control of House in midterms - The Guardian US

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Good morning.

Republicans are connected the brink of taking power of the US House of Representatives aft a flurry of races were called for them yesterday.

The enactment had expected an overwhelming triumph successful the little enclosure of Congress owed to precocious ostentation and dissatisfaction with the Biden administration. But determination was unexpectedly beardown enactment for the Democrats, who person controlled the House since 2019.

Even if the Republicans bash assertion triumph successful the House, it is apt they volition person the narrowest borderline of the 21st period – rivalling 2001 erstwhile they had a nine-seat majority.

Nearly a week connected from the midterm elections, 3 contention calls successful California and New York pushed the Republicans to 217 seats, 1 disconnected from the 218 needed to bid a majority.

  • What’s happening successful Arizona? The Democratic campaigner for politician successful Arizona, Katie Hobbs, has defeated her far-right, Trump-endorsed opponent, staving disconnected a large menace to voting rights successful the state. Kari Lake, a erstwhile TV anchor who denies the 2020 predetermination results, has refused to accidental if she volition concede to Hobbs.

  • How did the Democrats stave disconnected the predicted reddish wave? Analysis shows they person Generation Z to thank. Last week’s large wins tin beryllium attributed mostly to young voters, who showed up en masse and overwhelmingly voted blue.

Trump to tube up with run uncover contempt Republican pushback

Donald Trump
Sources accidental Trump volition present the code from Mar-a-Lago today, adjacent though his candidates fared poorly successful the midterms. Photograph: Gaelen Morse/Reuters

Despite attempts by immoderate to dissuade him, Donald Trump is expected to denote his 2024 statesmanlike run contiguous arsenic planned, according to aggregate sources adjacent to the erstwhile US president, inserting himself into the halfway of nationalist authorities arsenic helium attempts to container retired imaginable rivals seeking the Republican nomination.

Trump volition present astatine 9pm ET a code from the ballroom astatine his Mar-a-Lago resort, wherever helium precocious hosted a subdued midterm elections ticker party, and item respective argumentation goals that aides anticipation could go cardinal themes of the statesmanlike campaign.

Trump’s remarks were being finalized precocious into the nighttime with a brace of speechwriters and his governmental team, the sources said, with aides keen for the erstwhile president to convey a grade of seriousness arsenic helium seeks voters to elevate him to a 2nd word successful the White House.

The governmental squad astatine Mar-a-Lago are alert nevertheless that Trump has a penchant for veering disconnected publication and delivering quality arsenic helium pleases, often fixating connected grievances implicit debunked predetermination fraud claims that person historically done him nary favors.

  • Why has helium decided not to hold his announcement? We antecedently reported that immoderate members of his squad argued delaying the announcement would springiness him the quality of being wounded by the disappointing results successful the midterms and would marque him look weak.

  • Are Republicans blessed helium is running? Not all. The Alabama congressman and once-zealous Trump supporter, Mo Brooks, has a remarkable caller stance connected the governmental aboriginal of his erstwhile hero. “It would beryllium a atrocious mistake for the Republicans to person Donald Trump arsenic their nominee successful 2024,” helium said.

Russia strives to debar G20 isolation arsenic China and India region themselves

Sergei Lavrov
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s overseas minister, cautiously missed a video code by the Ukrainian president. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo/EPA

Russia has been battling to forestall diplomatic isolation astatine the G20 acme successful Bali arsenic its accepted allies – China and India – started to region themselves from the warfare successful Ukraine, which a draught communique said had caused untold economical harm to the world.

Narendra Modi, the Indian premier minister, and Xi Jinping, the president of China, voiced interest astir the warfare without breaking from their erstwhile defence of Moscow.

US officials were inactive pushing for the last communique to pin much blasted connected Russia. The draught includes connection noting “most members powerfully condemned the warfare successful Ukraine”, and stresses that “it is causing immense quality suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities successful the planetary economy”.

The summit’s host, Indonesia, has been trying to support references to the warfare to a minimum, arguing the G20 is not a information forum and that reiteration of good known positions volition forestall advancement connected issues specified arsenic planetary indebtedness and post-Covid recovery.

  • What did the UK’s caller premier curate accidental astir Putin? Rishi Sunak told the G20 that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, should person been prepared to look satellite leaders astatine the summit, arsenic Russia leaving Ukraine would marque “the azygous biggest difference” to satellite affairs.

In different quality …

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, visits Kherson
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said it was important to sojourn Kherson to amusement residents his enactment and to show that ‘we are truly returning, we truly rise our flag’. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential property service/Reuters
  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy made a astonishment sojourn to Kherson connected Monday, saying the recapture of the confederate metropolis marked “the opening of the extremity of the war”. To chants of his sanction and cheers, the Ukrainian president told the crowd: “We are moving forward. We are acceptable for peace, bid for each our country.”

  • Family members of a erstwhile Russian situation inmate, who defected to Ukraine aft being recruited by the Kremlin-linked backstage subject radical Wagner, person expressed “horror” implicit his evident execution aft a gruesome video emerged that showed him being struck repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

  • Michelle Obama has said Donald Trump’s emergence to powerfulness successful the 2016 US predetermination “still hurts” but she and her hubby had “laid a marker successful the sand” with his presidency. The erstwhile archetypal woman said “leadership matters” and ruled retired the anticipation of moving for president herself successful future.

  • The complaint astatine which quality sperm counts are decreasing has much than doubled since the crook of the century, and the mean level has dropped beneath a threshold that makes conception importantly much difficult. These findings are portion of a study published contiguous successful the Human Reproduction Update journal.

  • Israel has said it will not cooperate with an FBI investigation into the sidesplitting of the Palestinian American writer Shireen Abu Akleh by the Israeli army. Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, denounced the enquiry arsenic “interference successful Israel’s interior affairs”.

Stat of the day: jury orders Oscar-winner Paul Haggis to wage further $2.5m successful rape lawsuit

Paul Haggis arrives astatine  New York ultimate  tribunal  for his proceedings  successful  October.
Paul Haggis arrives astatine New York ultimate tribunal for his proceedings successful October. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

The Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered yesterday to pay an further $2.5m successful damages successful a rape lawsuit, bringing the full to $10m for a pistillate who said helium sexually assaulted her astir a decennary ago. While accuser Haleigh Breest’s lawyers called the verdict just, Haggis insisted helium had been falsely accused and was financially ruined by warring the civilian case. The assemblage sided with Breest past week, awarding her $7.5m successful compensatory damages for suffering and decided that she was besides owed punitive damages. Haggis vowed to appeal. “I can’t unrecorded with lies similar this. I volition dice clearing my name.”

Don’t miss this: Divisions tally heavy successful Uvalde aft schoolhouse shooting

Uvalde Activism OG
‘If you’re not trying you’re complicit.’ Photograph: Christopher Lee/the Guardian

Prior to the shooting, the Texas metropolis grappled with constabulary corruption, entrenched weapon civilization and the lasting wounds of segregation. Now the illusion of “Uvalde Strong” has ruptured arsenic families request change. At the halfway of it each are the families of those who were murdered, whose grief superseded immoderate concerns astir civic unity oregon governmental allegiance. For them, firing the inept, voting retired the gun-friendly and changing weapon laws are each portion of a ngo to marque Uvalde safer. To marque children safer. Resistance to that ngo feels personal.

… Or this: Republicans divided implicit 2024 tally and foretell ‘blood connected the floor’

Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis successful  November 2019, successful  Sunrise, Florida.
Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis successful November 2019, successful Sunrise, Florida. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

As Donald Trump prepares to denote his candidacy today, determination is unease among the grassroots of the Republican party, wherever support has been eroding for months. Republican region chairs and activists accidental the erstwhile president’s enactment has fallen arsenic a effect of his continued pushing of predetermination conspiracy theories, the investigations into his businesses and governmental actions, and his attacks connected his astir threatening challenger, Ron DeSantis. Above all, determination is simply a deepening fearfulness that Trump is adjacent much divisive than helium was 2 years agone erstwhile helium mislaid the fashionable ballot to Joe Biden by much than 7m votes, and is truthful unelectable.

Indigenous activists, including Sonia Guajajara, astatine  Cop27 successful  Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Indigenous activists, including Sonia Guajajara, astatine Cop27 successful Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Photograph: Nariman El-Mofty/AP

Dozens of media organizations from astir the satellite person published a joint editorial nonfiction calling for a windfall tax connected the biggest fossil substance companies. The funds raised should beryllium redistributed to poorer, susceptible countries, the editorial says, arsenic they are suffering the worst impacts of the clime situation contempt having done the slightest to origin it. “Humanity has to extremity its addiction to fossil fuels,” the editorial, which was coordinated by the Guardian, says. “Rich countries relationship for conscionable 1 successful 8 radical successful the satellite contiguous but are liable for fractional of greenhouse gases. These nations person a wide motivation work to help.”

Last thing: Five things astir Michelle Obama revealed successful her caller book

Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama: ‘Progress isn’t astir a dependable ascent upward. There are ups and downs and stagnation. That’s the quality of change.’ Photograph: NBC/Nathan Congleton/Getty Images

Almost 4 years aft her memoir, Becoming, Michelle Obama is erstwhile again giving readers penetration into her life. In The Light We Carry, Obama shares applicable tips and contented astir everything from overcoming fearfulness to however precisely you tin “go high”. Peppered among the proposal – from Obama and vicariously from household members, friends and colleagues – are stories astir her life. From taking up knitting during the Covid pandemic to however she and Barack person ne'er been “everything” to each other, present are five things we’ve learned astir the erstwhile archetypal lady.

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