International
Polling stations close in half of the US states, including Pennsylvania

The polling stations of half of the US states have already closed at 20.00 local time (01.00 GMT), including Pennsylvania, the hinge state that grants the most compromises for the Electoral College and of which the results are not yet known.
Polling stations in Pennsylvania closed at 8:00 p.m. local time (01.00 GMT), although in Cambria County, a Trump bastion, they will remain open until 10:00 p.m. local time (03.00 GMT on Wednesday) due to problems with counting machines.
That state, where there are 19 compromises, is the most important of the seven keys that will determine the outcome of the presidential elections.
Counting in the US elections.
The closure of polling stations in Pennsylvania marks the beginning of the vote count, since state legislation establishes that ballots, both those deposited at the polls and those sent by mail, cannot be counted until the end of election day.
This regulation could significantly delay the vote counting process and delay the announcement of the results beyond tonight.
Most of the eyes are on this and six other hinge states that are called to decide today’s elections, of which Georgia and North Carolina have also closed, with 16 compromises each.
They also closed at that time in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and the District of Columbia.
In the previous two hours, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Ohio did it.
At 03.00 GMT on Wednesday the schools in Montana, Nevada and Utah will end their day, while at 04.00 GMT on Wednesday they will do so on the west coast (California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho).
2020 Elections
The results of most states will soon arrive, but in the key states, predictably very tight, it can take several hours or even days to project a winner.
That can generate a situation similar to that of the last 2020 elections, when the winner was not known until four days later.
Americans do not decide by popular vote who will be their next president, but they designate a number of voters in each state who make up the Electoral College and who are responsible for electing the next tenant of the White House.
The Electoral College has 538 compromises and, to win, Trump or Harris need at least a majority of 270.
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.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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