*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.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The White House is pushing a new reason to swipe right: Dating apps are starting to offer vaccination badges and “super swipes” for people who've gotten their coronavirus shots.
Israel and Hamas have announced a cease-fire to end a bruising 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip and brought life in much of Israel to a standstill.
President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday designed to curtail a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Anyone who gets vaccinated at select state-run vaccination sites in New York next week will receive a lottery scratch ticket with prizes potentially worth millions, as the state tries to boost slowing vaccination rates.
Amazon says it will extend its ban on police use of its face-recognition technology beyond the one-year pause it announced last year.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again, viral infections drop and business restrictions ease.
The U.S. economy’s faster-than-expected reawakening had some Federal Reserve officials discussing whether it might be time to start planning for easing back on one of the central bank’s levers for keeping interest rates low.
The European Union has taken a step toward relaxing travel for visitors from outside the bloc, with EU ambassadors agreeing on measures to make it easier for fully vaccinated visitors to get in.
Congress has passed legislation aimed at combating hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. It would expedite federal reviews of hate crimes and provide grants to local law enforcement.
