International
US Democrats celebrate Senate win over distraught Republicans
| By AFP |
Democrats celebrated Sunday a stunning victory to hold the US Senate, leaving Republicans in disarray and providing a critical base of political and legislative support for the remainder of Joe Biden’s presidency.
Although the fate of the lower House of Representatives is still up in the air, retaining control of the upper chamber in a midterm election many predicted they would lose by a wide margin is, in itself, a major triumph.
“I feel good and I’m looking forward to the next couple years,” said Biden, who was attending a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Cambodia.
The Senate oversees the confirmation of federal judges and cabinet members, and having the 100-seat body in his corner will be a major boon for Biden as he seeks to keep his policy agenda on track.
US midterms traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power, and with inflation surging and Biden’s popularity ratings cratering, Republicans had been expecting to ride a mighty “red wave” and capture both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s vote.
The deciding moment in the battle for control of the Senate came late Saturday, when US networks called the Nevada race for Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, giving the party the 50 seats it needs for an effective majority.
Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote if the chamber is evenly split 50-50.
One Senate race remains undecided — a runoff in Georgia set for December 6, in which the Democrats could add to their majority.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the result was a “vindication” of Democrats’ achievements, and a clear rejection of the “anti-democratic, authoritarian, nasty and divisive direction” offered by former president Donald Trump and his loyalists.
Trump was the biggest Republican draw on the midterms campaign trail, and the party’s performance — with many candidates he personally endorsed losing their high-profile races — was a damaging blow.
Trump is widely expected to declare his 2024 White House bid on Tuesday — an announcement he had planned as a triumphant follow-on to an expected crushing election victory by the party he still dominates.
Republicans’ ‘tiny trickle’
On Sunday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi toasted her Democrats for their strong performance, noting on CNN how the Republican “red wave” that had been predicted by pundits and the GOP collapsed into “a little tiny trickle.”
Republicans, meanwhile, are left to consider what went wrong, given the fair political winds they had at their backs going into the ballot.
After the Senate result was projected, Republican Senator from Missouri Josh Hawley called for the party to “build something new.”
“The old party is dead. Time to bury it,” he tweeted.
Trump’s response has been to double down on unfounded claims of ballot rigging, posting on his Truth Social platform that the results were a “scam” — and pointing a finger of blame at Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
“It’s Mitch McConnell’s fault,” he posted, saying the Kentuckian had badly allocated campaign funds and pursued a flawed legislative agenda.
“He blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him,” said Trump, who has long been at loggerheads with McConnell.
Republicans are slightly favored to eventually take control of the House of Representatives, but with a far smaller majority than they had envisaged going into Tuesday’s election.
It remains to be seen just how strong an impact the poor Republican performance will have on Trump’s standing in the party — and on his aspirations for a return to the White House.
While there are already senior party voices suggesting the time has come to move away from Trump’s conspiracy-fueled, hard-right leadership style, the former president still enjoys major grassroots support, and running against him for the presidential nomination would be a formidable task.
One possible challenger, Maryland’s outgoing Republican Governor Larry Hogan, said the party had to switch direction and move on.
“It’s basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race, and it’s like, three strikes and you’re out,” Hogan, a vocal Trump critic, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union talk show.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
“Donald Trump kept saying, we’re gonna be winning so much, we’ll get tired of winning. Well, I’m tired of losing. I mean, that’s all he’s done,” Hogan said.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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