*By Carlo Versano*
There is an unspoken tradition in Washington that the president faces the press a day after a midterm election that revokes power from his party in Congress. When Democrats gained control of both houses in 2006, a humbled President George W. Bush called it a "thumping." In 2010, an equally-chastened President Barack Obama admitted his party took a "shellacking."
No such thing happened on Wednesday.
President Trump vacillated between subdued and combative as he called Tuesday's election ー in which Democrats took control of the House and several pivotal governorships ー a "very close-to-complete victory."
Trump took credit for the GOP's ability to maintain control of the Senate and blamed certain losses of House Republican candidates on their disloyalty. He praised Rep. Nancy Pelosi, calling her "very smart," but then warned House Democrats that he would have Senate Republicans probe their conduct, should they use their newfound subpoena power to investigate him.
In a nearly two-hour-long press conference from the East Room of the White House that began with a low-key statement but quickly deteriorated into a rollicking Q&A, the president ratcheted up his antagonism of the gathered press corps. He called CNN's Jim Acosta a "rude, terrible person" and excoriated PBS' Yamiche Alcindor for asking "a racist question" when she attempted to probe him on whether his rhetoric was emboldening white nationalists.
As the president spoke, the AP called the contested Montana Senate race for Jon Tester, one of the Democrats that Trump was reportedly most hoping to defeat.
A California law taking effect Jan. 1 could make pork harder to find and more expensive.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is looking to speed up consideration of a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.
Jill and Carlo talk about the latest from Tokyo including Simone Biles plans to compete in the balance beam final, Dr. Fauci's dire Delta warning, high profile vaccine mandates from employers like Walmart and Disney, and Square's acquisition of Afterpay.
A shortage of ammunition in the U.S. is having an impact on law enforcement agencies, people seeking personal protection, recreational shooters and hunters.
Scientists who studied a big COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts concluded that vaccinated people who got so-called breakthrough infections carried about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
The Biden administration has announced sweeping new pandemic rules for federal workers and some contractors.
U.S. regulators have taken action that will make it easier to get a cheaper and similar version of a brand-name insulin at the drugstore.
A new interactive tracker from the Atlantic Council shows that 81 countries are at some stage of development with a central bank digital currency, but the U.S. is notably absent from its list of frontrunners.
Fueled by vaccinations and government aid, the U.S. economy grew at a solid 6.5% annual rate last quarter in the clearest sign to date that the nation has achieved a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession.
The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits slid last week, another sign that the job market continues to recover rapidly from the coronavirus recession.
