*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.
Voters around the U.S. are heading to the polls for elections with Ohio having abortion on the ballot.
A Jewish man in California has died after a confrontation during dueling protests over the Israel-Hamas war, and police said Tuesday they had identified a suspect who called 911 after the altercation.
More than 40% of American adults are considered obese, yet the medications many take are rarely tested in bigger bodies.
The U.S. attorney leading the Hunter Biden investigation appeared before Congress Tuesday.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case revolving around Second Amendment rights. The Biden administration is appealing a ruling that struck down a federal law that bans a person subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm.
The Air Force is asking Congress to restrict further construction of the towering wind turbines that have edged closer to its nuclear missile sites in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado.
Voters around the U.S. are heading to the polls Tuesday and some races could have major implications for how things turn out in the presidential election next year.
Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is being sued by his book publisher for breach of contract.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will have “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an indefinite period after its war with Hamas.
The Israeli army severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with airstrikes Monday, preparing for expected ground battles with Hamas militants in Gaza's largest city and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war.
