*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 fiery crash near Houston with no one behind the wheel of a Tesla is drawing scrutiny from federal agencies that could bring new regulation of electronic systems that take on some driving tasks.
Despite a measurable impact that the COVID-19 pandemic made on carbon emissions throughout 2020, researchers are warning that to hold back climate change, nations need to keep pushing for reductions.
Apple said it has an agreement to reinstate Parler, the social network popular with supporters of former President Donald Trump it kicked off its app store in January over ties to the deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol.
The United States and China, the world’s two biggest carbon polluters, have agreed to cooperate to curb climate change with urgency.
Ezra Kucharz, chief business officer at DraftKings, talked to Cheddar about the online sportsbook's deal with the NFL and the future of legal sports gambling in the U.S.
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.
Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y. 17th District) is the first member of Congress to call on 82-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, to retire.
Nine lives notwithstanding, killing a cat in a hit-and-run soon could become illegal in New Hampshire.
Cheddar takes a closer look at the controversy surrounding COVID-19 "vaccine passports."
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 576,000, a hopeful sign that layoffs are easing as the economy recovers from the pandemic recession.
