North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama said she struggled with a “crushing sense of hopelessness” after the 2020 presidential election that was brought on by the death and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of political and racial unrest and the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“I was in a low place,” she said. Then she got an idea.

VERO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Nicole sent multiple homes toppling into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday and threatened a row of high rise condominiums in places where Hurricane Ian washed away seawalls and other remaining protections only weeks ago.

“Multiple coastal homes in Wilbur-by-the-Sea have collapsed and several other properties are at imminent risk,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a social media message. In the Daytona Beach area, most bridges to the beachside have been closed to all but essential personnel and a curfew was put into effect, he said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Price increases moderated in the United States last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows.

Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% from September, the government said Thursday. The year-over-year increase, down from 8.2% in September, was the smallest rise since January. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, “core″ inflation rose 6.3% in the past 12 months and 0.3% from September.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was supposed to be a red wave that former President Donald Trump could triumphantly ride to the Republican nomination as he prepares to launch another White House run.

Instead, Tuesday night’s disappointing results for the GOP are raising new questions about Trump’s appeal and the future of a party that has fully embraced him, seemingly at its peril, while at the same time giving new momentum to his most potent potential rival.

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.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will meet Monday with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s Group of 20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, a face-to-face meeting that comes amid increasingly strained U.S.-China relations, the White House announced Thursday.

It will be the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies since Biden became president in January 2021 and comes weeks after Xi was awarded a norm-breaking third, five-year term as the Chinese Communist Party leader during the party’s national congress.

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Democrats maintained small but dwindling leads over their Republican rivals in the races for U.S. Senate and governor, contests that could determine control of the Senate and the rules for the 2024 election in a crucial battleground state.

The races remained too early to call two days after the election, with some 600,000 ballots left to count, about a quarter of the total cast.

BIRMINGHAM, Mich., Nov 8 (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump has spent months teasing a 2024 presidential run, suggesting to supporters on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections that he would throw his hat into the ring as soon as next week.

"I'm going to be making a very big announcement on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida," Trump told supporters at a rally for Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance.

PHOENIX, Ariz., Nov 9 (Reuters) - Republicans made modest gains in U.S. midterm elections but Democrats performed better than expected, leaving control of Congress and the future of President Joe Biden's agenda unclear on Wednesday morning.

Many of the most competitive races were too close to call and Republicans acknowledged that the election was not producing the sweeping "red wave" victory they had sought.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The control of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate still hangs in the balance with vote counting underway for the 2022 midterm elections.

Major U.S. media outlets have not called at least five Senate races and dozens of others for the House as of early Wednesday morning.

"It's probably going to be election week in some states," University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato told CBS News Radio.