International
Republicans make gains in US midterms but no ‘red wave’
| By AFP | Shaun Tandon with Andrea Bambino in Pittsburgh and Romain Fonsegrives in Phoenix |
Republicans appeared poised on Wednesday to carve out a slim majority in the US House of Representatives but their hopes of a “red wave” in midterm elections were dashed as President Joe Biden’s Democrats defied expectations.
With four key races yet to be called after Tuesday’s vote, the Senate remained in play but it was leaning Democratic and control may hinge on a runoff election in the southern state of Georgia in early December.
Republicans seemed on track to reclaim the House for the first time since 2018, but the midterms delivered a mixed bag for Donald Trump, who was widely expected to announce another White House run next week.
While the night saw wins by more than 100 Republicans embracing Trump’s “Big Lie” that Biden stole the 2020 election, several high-profile acolytes of the former president came up short.
And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a likely challenger to Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, scored a resounding victory in his re-election bid.
Among other races, Maura Healey of Massachusetts will make history as the first openly lesbian governor in the United States, and in New York, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul fended off a Republican challenge.
In ballot initiatives in five states, preliminary results indicated that voters supported abortion rights in a pushback to the anti-abortion movement which won a crucial Supreme Court decision in June.
Aiming to deliver a rebuke of Biden’s presidency against a backdrop of sky-high inflation and bitter culture wars, Republicans needed just one extra seat to wrest control of the evenly divided Senate.
But by early Wednesday the only seat to change party hands went to the Democrats, with John Fetterman, a burly champion of progressive economic policies, triumphing in Pennsylvania over Trump-endorsed celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.
In the 435-member House, results suggested Republicans were on track for a majority — but only by a handful of seats, a far cry from their predictions.
‘Never underestimate’
“Never underestimate how much Team Biden is underestimated,” White House chief of staff Ronald Klain tweeted.
Top Republican Kevin McCarthy — who hopes to be the lower chamber’s next speaker — struck an upbeat note, telling supporters in the early hours: “It is clear that we are going to take the House back.”
But Senator Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, bluntly conceded to NBC that the election is “definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.”
A Republican-controlled House could still derail Biden’s agenda, launching aggressive investigations, scuttling his ambitions on climate change and scrutinizing the billions of US dollars to help Ukraine fight Russia.
The president’s party has traditionally lost seats in midterm elections, and with Biden’s ratings stuck in the low 40s and Republicans pounding him over inflation and crime, pundits had predicted a drubbing.
That would have raised tough questions on whether America’s oldest-ever commander in chief, who turns 80 this month, should run again.
Instead Biden stands to emerge in much better shape than either of his Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama or Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering at the midterms.
Democrats need two more wins to successfully hold the Senate, while Republicans need three to flip it.
In Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin, counting the remaining votes for Senate could take days.
And Georgia may well go to a runoff on December 6 if neither candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold.
DeSantis romps to victory
On a night of close contests, one of the most decisive wins was for DeSantis, who won the gubernatorial race overwhelmingly in Florida, cementing his status as a top potential White House candidate in 2024.
DeSantis, who has railed against Covid-19 mitigation measures and transgender rights, won by nearly 20 points against a former Democratic governor in what used to be a swing state.
“We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob,” DeSantis told a victory party, using a derisive term for social justice campaigners.
But if the 44-year-old views his victory as a presidential mandate, he will likely face a stiff challenge from another Florida resident — Trump, who has teased an “exciting” announcement on November 15.
Trump, who faces criminal probes over taking top secret documents from the White House and trying to overturn the 2020 election, returned on Tuesday to his playbook of airing unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
In Arizona, Trump and his chosen candidate for governor, Kari Lake, alleged irregularities after problems with voting machines.
Officials in the most populous county of Maricopa said about 20 percent of the 223 polling stations experienced difficulties related to scanners but that no one was denied the right to vote.
Biden has warned that Republicans pose a dire threat to democracy, calling out their growing embrace of voter conspiracy theories that fueled last year’s storming of the Capitol.
In the run-up to the election, an intruder espousing far-right beliefs broke into the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International5 days agoDismembered bodies of five found in Guanajuato pickup truck
-
Central America5 days agoMassive fire destroys 100 shops in Honduras capital market
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador intensifies monitoring of Conchagua seismic activity
-
International3 days agoFrance will send a diplomatic delegation to Syria after 12 years without official representation
-
Central America5 days agoEl Salvador anticipates 125,000 international tourists during holiday season
-
Central America2 days agoEl Salvador’s $9.663 billion budget for 2025 focuses on key sectors with no new debt issuance
-
Central America5 days agoPresident Bukele expresses condolences over tragic Los Chorros collapse
-
Central America4 days agoHonduras Seizes Over 26 Tons of Cocaine in 2024, Marking Major Drug-Fighting Achievements
-
Central America4 days agoCosta Rica takes step toward full membership in Pacific Alliance to Stimulate Trade and Jobs
-
International2 days agoChrystia Freeland resigns as Canada’s deputy PM over dispute with Trudeau on U.S. Tariff Threats
-
International4 days agoGustavo Petro visits the Galápagos Islands for bilateral talks with Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa
-
International2 days agoAt least 12 injured in shooting at abundant life christian school in Wisconsin
-
International2 days agoVenezuela announces 179 new releases in post-election violence cases
-
International2 days agoTrinidad and Tobago Education Minister Lisa Morris-Julian dies in house fire with her children
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador’s bitcoin reserves soar in value as cryptocurrency’s bullish surge continues
-
International2 days agoMilan’s Via MonteNapoleone overtakes Fifth Avenue as world’s most expensive retail destination
-
International3 days agoMaría Corina Machado says that Nicolás Maduro is “cornered” inside and outside Venezuela
-
International2 days agoNearly 40 dead in Istanbul after consuming contaminated alcohol in six weeks
-
International3 days agoNetanyahu: “Israel’s policy in Syria will depend on the emerging reality”
-
International4 days agoVenezuelan opposition in Argentine embassy urges Brazil to expedite safe passage
-
International4 days agoMayor Brandon Johnson Vows to Protect Chicagoans from ICE Actions
-
International4 days agoEcuador police intercept major drug shipment destined for Europe
-
International15 hours agoHomemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
-
International15 hours agoColombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
-
International3 days agoThe new Syrian authorities plan to end compulsory military service
-
International3 days agoLula asks for severe sanction if the guilt of general arrested for coup is proven
-
International3 days ago
The Constitution of Venezuela, a quarter of a century later
-
International15 hours agoAustrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
-
International15 hours agoEcuador announces debt swap of $1.527 billion to protect Amazon rainforest