AP National News

By SARA BURNETT, JILL COLVIN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans inched closer to a narrow House majority Wednesday, while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s leadership. Either

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Facebook parent Meta is laying off 11,000 people, about 13% of its workforce, as it contends with faltering revenue and broader tech industry woes, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a letter to employees Wednesday. The job cuts come just a week after widespread layoffs at Twitter under its new

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, ZEKE MILLER and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden claimed vindication the day after the midterm elections, saying Democrats had “a strong night” and he planned to change nothing about his approach despite facing the likelihood of divided government in the nation’s capital. “I’m prepared to work with

By JUAN A. LOZANO and MICHAEL GRACZYK Associated Press HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas has executed an inmate for killing his mother and burying her body in her backyard nearly 20 years ago. Tracy Beatty was given a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. His execution came after courts had rejected

By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With the promise of a red wave receding, Republicans are facing the stark reality that any return to power would mean presiding over a narrowly split Congress. Meanwhile, the party’s dismal performance weakened House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as he reaches for the

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s military said Wednesday it will withdraw from the only Ukrainian regional capital it captured, but Kyiv was skeptical and an analyst warned this could be a ruse to lure the country’s forces into a deadly trap. A forced pullout from the city of Kherson would

By AARON MORRISON AP National Writer Voters in four states have approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fifth state rejected a flawed version of the question. The measures approved Tuesday could curtail the use of prison labor in

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Republican Tom Kean Jr. has defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski in New Jersey’s 7th District. Kean’s victory comes two years after he narrowly lost to Malinowski and more than two decades after he first sought election to Congress. Malinowski was vying for a third term

By SARA BURNETT, JILL COLVIN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans were closing in Wednesday on a narrow House majority while control of the Senate hinged on a series of tight races in a midterm election that defied expectations of sweeping conservative victories driven by frustration over inflation and President Joe Biden’s

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Margins between Democrats and Republicans narrowed considerably Wednesday in key Arizona races as election officials chipped away at counting more than half a million mail ballots returned on Election Day and shortly before. Democrats maintained small but dwindling leads in key races for U.S. Senate, governor

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has refused to throw out statements made to police by the woman accused of killing professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson and set the case for trial in June 2023. State District Judge Brenda Kennedy said Wednesday police did not violate the rights of suspect Kaitlin Armstrong when they

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press There were plenty of milestones in this year’s midterm elections. A Massachusetts Democrat is the country’s first openly lesbian candidate to be elected governor. Maryland voters elected the state’s first Black governor. And Vermont will finally send a woman to Congress after being the only state never to have

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press Voters did not encounter widespread problems on Election Day. That has not stopped former President Donald Trump and other Republicans from falsely portraying minor snags at polling places to undermine confidence in the results. Two years after conspiracy theorists spread lies about President Joe Biden stealing

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes have rested their case in his Capitol riot trial. That move came after a man described as the far-right extremist group’s “operations leader” for Jan. 6, 2021, told jurors that he never heard anyone discussing plans to storm the

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan., (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly narrowly won reelection in Republican-leaning Kansas by racking up big leads in the Kansas City area and other places where abortion rights are popular. Meanwhile, her party helped an independent candidate deny the GOP nominee a few crucial votes. Kelly argued

By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With the promise of a red wave receding, Republicans are facing the stark reality that any return to power would mean presiding over a narrowly split Congress. Meanwhile, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy was weakened by the party’s dismal performance as he reaches

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats outperformed expectations in battleground Wisconsin in Tuesday’s midterm, leaving Republicans shocked at the narrower than expected win by two-term incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson and a further eroding of support in reliably conservative Milwaukee suburbs. The biggest win for Democrats came with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has defeated Democrat Mandela Barnes to keep a seat in Republican hands. Johnson won a third term in the midterm elections that concluded Tuesday, preventing Barnes from becoming the state’s first Black senator. Johnson, a Republican businessman, has drifted toward the

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a dozen meetings and sessions over the summer and fall, South Carolina efforts to pass a stricter abortion law have failed. Senators Wednesday rejected a House-backed proposal and House members didn’t return for another meeting to try and work out a compromise. The bill failed

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press A Massachusetts Democrat is the country’s first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the office of governor. In Maryland, voters elected the state’s first Black governor. Vermont will finally send a woman to Congress, after being the only state never to have had female representation in the House.