International

As midterm count drags on, focus shifts to 2024 White House race

Photo: Gregg Newton / AFP

| By AFP | Chris Lefkow |

Control of the US Congress hung in the balance on Thursday as ballot-counting dragged on and attention shifted to the next big election — the 2024 presidential race — and whether Americans could see a Joe Biden-Donald Trump re-match.

With 209 seats so far, Republicans appear poised to secure a slim majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives, but control of the Senate may come down to an early December runoff in the southern state of Georgia.

Biden celebrated on Thursday what he said was the success of his Democratic Party in fending off a predicted Republican landslide in a stormy economic climate.

“For months and months, all of you heard from the press and the pundits was Democrats are facing to disaster … a giant red wave,” he said. “Folks, that didn’t happen.”

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“The American public have made it clear — they expect Republicans to work with me,” he said.

Speaking a day earlier, Biden who turns 80 this month and is already America’s oldest president, insisted he intends to run for a second term in 2024 despite calls by some members of the party for him to hand the reins over to a new generation of leaders.

He promised a final decision “early next year.”

A drubbing would have surely raised questions about whether Biden should run again. But instead he did better than his two Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering in their first midterms.

The 76-year-old Trump has promised a “very big announcement” in Florida on Tuesday that is expected to be the launch of his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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Trump’s early entry into the race would appear designed in part to fend off possible criminal charges over taking top secret documents from the White House, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year.

It may also be intended to undercut his chief potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who emerged as one of the biggest winners from Tuesday’s midterms.

“(Trump’s) intention is to consolidate his support early and crowd out other potential candidates,” said Jon Rogowski, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

‘Ron De-Sanctimonious’

The 44-year-old DeSantis, a Harvard- and Yale-educated lawyer, notched up a nearly 20-point victory over his Democratic opponent in the Florida governor’s race and took credit for a host of Republican victories in other races in the Sunshine State.

“We not only won election, we have rewritten the political map,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got so much more to do and I have only begun to fight.”

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While DeSantis has emerged as Trump’s main rival for the nomination, the former president continues to dominate in the polls when Republicans are asked who they want to represent the party in the 2024 White House race.

But Trump may have lost the backing of a major ally — the powerful media empire of conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

Pointing to the party’s disappointing midterms showing, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship of Murdoch’s News Corp, declared in an editorial on Thursday that “Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.”

The cover of the tabloid New York Post depicted Trump on a precarious wall as “Trumpty Dumpty” who “had a great fall” in the vote, blaming him for the failure of Republicans to sweep past Democratic rivals.

It celebrated DeSantis as “DeFUTURE.”

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Trump coined his own derogatory nickname for DeSantis, a one-time ally, referring to him as “Ron De-Sanctimonious” and belittling his election victory.

“Shouldn’t it be said that in 2020, I got 1.1 Million more votes in Florida than Ron D got this year, 5.7 Million to 4.6 Million?” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “Just asking?”

Biden was asked by reporters on Wednesday about a Trump-DeSantis showdown.

“It’ll be fun watching them take on each other,” he said.

In the Senate, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Trump-endorsed candidate Mehmet Oz, seizing the Pennsylvania seat after the most expensive Senate race in US history.

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The final makeup of the Senate now hangs on three seats: Arizona and Nevada, where the counting of votes could take several more days, and Georgia, where there will be a December 6 runoff between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and former American football star Herschel Walker.

Even with a slim majority in the House, Republicans could stymie Biden’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into the president and his allies.

International

U.S. to invest $700 million in coal plants and mines under Trump initiative

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a $700 million funding package aimed at supporting the American coal industry, marking the latest step in his administration’s efforts to boost the use of the fossil fuel.

According to Trump, the funding will be used to keep 14 coal-fired power plants operating across ten states, maintain 42 coal mines, and support the construction of two new power plants and an export terminal.

The president said the initiative will be financed through the Defense Production Act, a law enacted in 1950 that grants emergency powers to the president to support and direct domestic industries considered critical to national interests.

Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has pursued policies designed to expand domestic energy production and roll back a number of environmental regulations. He has also repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus regarding human-caused climate change.

Coal remains the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions among major energy sources, making it a central focus of debates over climate policy and energy security.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright defended the initiative, describing coal as a critical resource for both electricity generation and industrial production.

The announcement comes as global energy markets continue to evolve. According to an analysis by the Global Energy Monitor, the world added and commissioned more coal-fired power capacity in 2025, although overall coal consumption declined. The report also found that the United States was the only major economy to record a significant increase in coal-fired power generation during that period.

The new funding package underscores the administration’s commitment to supporting traditional energy industries while debate continues over the balance between energy security, economic growth and environmental objectives.

International

Four decapitated bodies found in abandoned vehicle near Guerrero state Congress

Police in Mexico have found four decapitated bodies inside an abandoned vehicle parked near the state Congress building in Guerrero, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The southern state of Guerrero, home to the resort city of Acapulco, has long been affected by violent clashes between criminal organizations competing for control of drug trafficking routes.

According to prosecutors cited by AFP, the bodies were wrapped in black plastic bags and left inside a car parked at one of the rear entrances of the legislative building in the state capital, Chilpancingo.

Authorities say the region has seen intensified conflict between rival drug trafficking groups, including the Sierra Cartel and Los Ardillos, a criminal organization that Indigenous communities have accused of carrying out attacks in the mountainous, impoverished areas of the state.

The ongoing violence highlights the persistent security crisis in Guerrero, where organized crime continues to exert significant influence over large parts of the territory.

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International

Foro Penal Reports 404 Political Prisoners Still Held in Venezuela

The Venezuelan human rights organization Foro Penal, which leads legal defense efforts for political prisoners in the country, reported on Wednesday that 404 people remain imprisoned for political reasons, five fewer than the figure released a week earlier. Among those detained are 39 foreign nationals or individuals with dual citizenship.

According to data published by the organization, the current total includes 369 men and 35 women being held on political grounds. The report also indicates that 225 of the detainees are civilians, including one teenager, while 179 are members of the military.

Foro Penal stated that 167 of the prisoners have been convicted, whereas 237 remain behind bars without a final sentence. The organization also noted that it has documented 19,102 politically motivated detentions in Venezuela since 2014.

The updated figures come amid an ongoing process of prisoner releases announced by Venezuelan authorities. Two weeks ago, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said that approximately 300 detainees would be freed as part of a new round of releases, separate from those granted under an amnesty approved earlier this year.

Days later, acting President Delcy Rodríguez stated that the number of releases would reach 500 in the coming days. However, relatives of political prisoners and human rights organizations have questioned the pace of the process, arguing that the number of verified releases remains significantly lower than the figures announced by the government.

Foro Penal has reported that dozens of prisoners have been released in recent weeks, but the organization maintains that hundreds of people continue to be detained for political reasons despite the government’s promises and the implementation of the amnesty process.

Families of detainees have continued to demand greater transparency regarding the release process, alleging that many of the promised excarcerations have yet to materialize and calling on authorities to provide clear information about those who remain in custody.