WASHINGTON (AP) —
ELECTION RDP
UPDATE: Democrats’ loss, Republicans’ gain
WASHINGTON (AP) — America has awoken to a new political dynamic today, with sharper dividing lines in an already divided government following yesterday’s midterm election.
Republicans have seized control of the Senate from the Democrats for the first time since 2006. And the GOP has an even tighter grip on the House.
One of President Barack Obama’s first phone calls following yesterday’s big election loss by the Democrats was to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who’s now positioned to become the new Senate majority leader. The two did not connect, but Obama left McConnell a message.
House Speaker John Boehner says yesterday’s victory is still not a time for celebration for his fellow GOP. He says, “It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.”
ELECTION RDP-GOVERNORS
GOP sweeps most governor’s races
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republicans have swept governor’s races across the country, scoring upsets in Democratic bastions like Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois.
The Democrats’ only significant victory came in Pennsylvania, where businessman Tom Wolf ousted GOP Gov. Tom Corbett.
Three contests remain too close to call: Alaska, Colorado and Connecticut.
BALLOT MEASURES
OR, DC vote on recreational marijuana
NEW YORK (AP) — Voters in Oregon and the District of Columbia have approved ballot measures allowing the recreational use of marijuana by adults.
Oregon will join the company of Colorado and Washington state, where voters approved the recreational use of pot two years ago.
And the District of Columbia is on the same path unless Congress, which has review power, blocks the move.
OBAMA
UPDATE: Obama sets afternoon news conference on election
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is holding an afternoon news conference Wednesday to share his take on the midterm election results.
The president will speak from the East Room about 2:50 p.m. on the election, which delivered a harsh verdict for the Democrats.
The president’s party lost control of the Senate, lost more turf in the GOP-controlled House and put a series of Democratic-leaning states under control of new Republican governors.
Obama used the term “shellacking” after his party lost the House four years ago. Midterm elections tend to go against the party that occupies the White House, so it’s not usually a comfortable moment for presidents.
GOVERNORS-CHRISTIE
NEW: Christie: GOP wins show focus on leadership
WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Republican victories in governor’s races across the country show voters want leaders who will “get things done,” rather that fighting over ideology.
Christie, chairman of the Republican Governors Association and a possible 2016 candidate for president, said he was gratified by GOP wins in Democratic-leaning states such as Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois, as well as victories in key swing states like Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.
Christie said voters “elect and re-elect governors to get things done.”
Christie, who campaigned for GOP candidates across the country, said the winners deserve the credit, not him. He said elections are “always about the candidate.”
Christie spoke Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show, ABC’s “Good Morning America” and Fox News Channel.
ADP
NEW: Survey: US businesses add 230,000 jobs in October
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies added 230,000 jobs in October, the most in four months and a sign that businesses are still willing to hire despite signs of slowing growth overseas.
Payroll processer ADP says the job gains were slightly ahead of the 225,000 added in September, which was revised up from an initial estimate of 213,000. Job gains above 200,000 are usually enough to lower the unemployment rate.
The figures indicate that the government’s jobs report on Friday could show a healthy pace of hiring. The ADP numbers cover only private businesses and sometimes diverge from the government’s more comprehensive report.
Construction firms added a solid 28,000 jobs last month, while manufacturing gained 15,000 positions.
UKRAINE
NEW: Ukraine to halt subsidies to rebel-held areas
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s prime minister says the government will freeze budget subsidies for eastern territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists, a move that could precipitate already grievous economic conditions there.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting Wednesday that $2.6 billion in state support will be held back from rebel-held areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Yatsenyuk says the payment of pensions and government benefits to residents in those territories will resume after they have been surrendered by separatist forces.
Aging industrial concerns in Ukraine’s coal-rich east have for many years relied heavily on state subsidies.
The regions are some of the most economically depressed in Ukraine, and living standards have slipped further over six months of fighting between government forces and separatist fighters.
LIBYA
NEW: Group: Land mines used by rival militias in Libya
CAIRO (AP) — An international rights group says it has found that Libya’s rival militias used land mines this summer when fighting broke out over control of the capital, Tripoli.
Human Rights Watch urged Wednesday that all militias refrain from using anti-personnel land mines and called upon the Libya Dawn militia group, which is allied with Islamist political factions, to get rid of any remaining stockpiles. Libyan Dawn now controls Tripoli after fierce clashes with militias of mountainous town of Zintan.
Human Rights Watch says in its report that it was not able to determine which militias used the land mines. It cites reporting by television networks, including Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, which showed footage in September of Libyan Dawn militiamen clearing land mines at the Tripoli Airport, the center of much of the fighting.
ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS
Car rams into Jerusalem crowd in attack
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police say a man has rammed a car into a crowded train platform in east Jerusalem in an “intentional attack.”
The police then shot and killed the attacker.
Police officials say the car hit the train platform, then rammed into cars after which the driver jumped out and tried to run away. The officials say he then attacked a group of policemen with a crowbar before he was shot and killed.
Wednesday’s attack came just over a week after a similar attack by a Palestinian motorist that drove into a train platform and killed a baby girl.
Palestinian protesters and Israeli police have clashed almost daily in east Jerusalem in recent months.
FAILED LAUNCH-ENGINES
NEW: Engine in failed rocket launch likely to be pulled
NEW YORK (AP) — Orbital Sciences says it will likely stop using the type of engines that were employed when its unmanned Antares commercial supply rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff last week.
The company says its investigation of the crash is continuing, but preliminary results point to a failure in one of its two main engines. Orbital says it still plans to fulfill its contract with NASA to deliver all remaining cargo to the Space Station by the end of 2016.
Orbital Sciences Corp., based in Dulles, Virginia, says there will be no cost increase for NASA. It will introduce an already-planned upgrade to the Antares propulsion system early in 2016.
Orbital doesn’t expect costs related to the accident to be material in 2015.
AUDI-RECALL
NEW: Audi recalling nearly 102,000 cars to fix air bags
DETROIT (AP) — Audi is recalling nearly 102,000 luxury cars because the front air bags may not inflate in a crash.
The recall covers certain A4 and S4 cars from the 2013 through 2015 model years, plus the 2013 through 2015 Audi Allroad.
Dealers will update an improperly programmed air bag control module to fix the problem sometime this month.
Volkswagen, which makes Audis, says in rare cases the air bags may not inflate in a secondary impact. That can increase the risk of injury.
Volkswagen says no crashes or injuries have been reported in the U.S.
The company says in documents posted by U.S. safety regulators that the problem was discovered in tests done in August. This led to a review of a small number of incidents in Europe.
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