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  • Israel’s rightist government celebrates as Trump claims victory
    on November 6, 2024 at 9:04 am

    By Jonathan Saul JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightist government celebrated on Wednesday after Republican Donald Trump claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election. The outcome is a relief for Netanyahu’s coalition, which has clashed with President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration over the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Congratulating Trump, Netanyahu said the former president was set for “history’s greatest comeback”. “Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” he said in a statement. “This is a huge victory.” Far-right ministers in the government also welcomed the results. “Yesssss, God bless Trump,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads one of two hardline, pro-settler parties in Netanyahu’s coalition, said on X. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the other pro-settler party, said: “God bless Israel, God bless America.” Israel’s settler leaders also welcomed the election results after Biden’s administration imposed sanctions and asset freezes on settler groups and individuals involved in violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “We expect to have an ally standing unconditionally beside us as we fight the battles that are a war on the entire West,” Israel Ganz, chairman of the main Yesha settler council, said in a statement to Reuters. (Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Ros Russell) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Hey stupid, it wasn’t just the economy. It was inflation
    on November 6, 2024 at 8:58 am

    By Dan Burns (Reuters) – U.S. presidential elections are all about “the economy, stupid”, said Bill Clinton’s strategist James Carville in 1992. And for American voters who cared more about the economy than other issues – and the nearly half who said they are worse off financially than four years ago – their choice for the next president appeared resoundingly clear: Republican Donald Trump. Trump claimed victory in the 2024 presidential contest after Fox News projected that he had defeated Democrat Kamala Harris after he won in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. He was leading in each of the remaining four battleground states, any one of which would push his Electoral College total above the 270 needed to win. About 31% of voters said the economy was their top issue, ranking second behind the 35% who said the state of democracy mattered most to them, according to national exit polling data from Edison Research. And the voters who identified the economy as their primary concern voted overwhelmingly for Trump over Harris – 79% to 20%. Meanwhile, the high inflation of the last couple of years and the toll that has taken on perceptions of financial well-being stood out as clear concerns that also steered voters toward Trump. More than half of voters said inflation had caused them a moderate hardship in the last year, while nearly one in four said it had caused a severe hardship. Those saying it had caused a moderate difficulty leaned somewhat more to Trump, 50% to 47%, but 73% of those calling it a severe hardship voted for the former president. Edison’s exit polling data showed 45% of voters across the country said their family’s financial situation was worse today than four years ago, compared with just 20% in 2020. Those voters favored Trump over Harris 80% to 17%. The results dovetail with surveys that have shown consumers giving the economy poor ratings even though unemployment is near historic lows, growth overall has been largely above trend, consumer spending remains robust, and overall household wealth is at a record high. The University of Michigan’s twice-monthly Consumer Sentiment Index, for instance, plunged to a record low in the summer of 2022 when inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index peaked at 9.1% year-over-year – the highest since the early 1980s. While it has improved in the two years since as stiff interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve have brought inflation back to near the central bank’s 2% target, sentiment remains well below the levels that prevailed during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021. (Editing by Catherine Evans) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • South Dakota has rejected an abortion rights measure but a vote on marijuana is too early to call
    on November 6, 2024 at 8:19 am

    Voters in South Dakota have rejected a proposal to add protections for abortion rights to the state constitution, preserving a near-ban there. The abortion measure was in a crowded field of ballot initiatives for Tuesday’s general election that also included a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The vote on marijuana was too early to call Wednesday. But voters rejected a measure to remove the state sales tax from food and a plan for a single, all-candidate primary election with the top two finishers for each office advancing. Here is a look at the biggest ballot initiatives. The abortion vote in South Dakota followed the rejection in Florida of a proposed change in its state constitution to protect abortion rights — the first time abortion opponents have won a statewide vote since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe vs. Wade in June 2022. The South Dakota measure would have barred restrictions on terminating a pregnancy during its first 12 weeks. From the 13th through the 26th week of pregnancy, state regulations would have had to be “reasonably related” to the patient’s physical health. Even after the 26th week, the state would have had to permit abortions to preserve a patient’s life or health. The ban in place since the Dobbs decision makes it a felony to perform an abortion except to save the life of the patient. South Dakota voters were considering a pro-marijuana ballot initiative for the fifth time in eight years. That includes three proposals to legalize recreational use over the past four years. The vote was still too early to call Wednesday. The latest measure would legalize recreational marijuana for those 21 and older, and up to 2 ounces in a form other than concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. The measure also would allow the cultivation of plants, with restrictions. Going into the election, 24 other states had legalized recreational use. South Dakota voters approved a law in 2020 legalizing the medical use of marijuana, four years after rejecting the idea. Separately in 2020, voters approved an amendment to the South Dakota Constitution to legalize recreational use, but the state Supreme Court nullified it. Voters rejected another proposal in 2022. Flush with cash, South Dakota last year dropped its sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2%, but voters rejected a proposal to eliminate the tax from food altogether. The Legislature’s research staff estimated the state would lose about $124 million in annual revenues or 5% of its general tax revenues of $2.4 billion. But critics of the measure suggested it was written so poorly that it could go further than intended, applying even to tobacco products. They argued that the loss of revenue would push the state to make up for it by enacting an income tax, and it drew opposition from a coalition of business and other interest groups. Supporters said they were trying to give people a break on food costs. The measure would have prohibited a state tax on “anything sold for human consumption,” except alcoholic beverages and prepared food, such as restaurant meals. Voters rejected a proposal to adopt what is sometimes known as a jungle primary after the leaders of both major parties criticized it. Those critics argued that the smaller Libertarian and No Labels parties would be unlikely to ever appear on the general election ballot. In South Dakota, Democrats allowed voters with no political affiliation to participate in their June primary, but Republicans did not. The election initiative would have amended the state constitution to end partisan primaries by having all candidates for an office run at once, with the top two advancing. Supporters of the change argue it would make elections better reflect voters’ wishes and ensure that 155,000 voters with no party affiliation can vote for their favored candidates in a primary. In a state where the GOP holds nearly 90% of the Legislature’s seats, it’s likely that in many places all of the general election candidates would have been Republicans. Meanwhile, a broader electorate could have helped more moderate GOP candidates at the expense of more conservative ones favored by party leaders. ___ Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Why AP called Pennsylvania for Trump
    on November 6, 2024 at 8:18 am

    WASHINGTON (AP) — If it wasn’t a red wave in the nation’s most consequential battleground, there was at least a red swell. Donald Trump reclaimed Pennsylvania by improving his margins across the state, shaving Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 win in Philadelphia, expanding his own dominance in rural parts of the state, and — at the time The Associated Press called the race at 2:24 a.m. ET — flipping key suburban counties to the GOP column. Trump led the state by some 175,000 votes at the time the AP called the race. Even if Vice President Kamala Harris were to carry the outstanding votes — which included ballots from counties she was losing — by 20 points over Trump, she still would not be able to close the gap. Trump’s victory showed up across the state. In populous suburban Philadelphia’s Bucks County and neighboring Northampton County, Trump was leading — two places seen as bellwethers that Biden won four years ago. Trump did several points better in the populous Philadelphia suburbs of Chester and Delaware. He was winning in Erie in the northwest corner of the state, which Biden took narrowly four years ago. Even in the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia, Trump was doing 3 percentage points better than he did four years ago. CANDIDATES: President: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green). WINNER: Trump POLL CLOSING TIME: 8 p.m. ET ABOUT THE RACE: The biggest contested prize this year, Pennsylvania saw dozens of visits by Harris and Trump — more than any state. The state was where Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler over the summer. He has appeared at rallies and events across the state and donned an apron at a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia in an effort to connect with voters. Harris appeared at the site where George Washington crossed the Delaware River during the Revolutionary War to highlight her support from some Republicans disillusioned by Trump. She held a get-out-the-vote rally in Philadelphia — a major source of Democratic support — in the race’s waning days. Trump carried the state by a single point in 2016, while Biden defeated him by 1 point in 2020. Pennsylvania struggled with a relatively new early voting option, which permitted voters to request mail ballots that could be cast before Election Day. Unlike early voting in other states that have polling places, Pennsylvania counties saw lines of people seeking to get early mail ballots in part after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk encouraged Republicans to embrace mail-in voting. In 2020, Trump said baselessly that mail ballots were rife with fraud. WHY AP CALLED THE RACE: Trump performed better in traditionally Democratic Philadelphia than Biden did four years ago and improved his margins in key populous suburban counties. The race was called when it became clear that even if Harris won the outstanding votes by a wider margin than she had been, she couldn’t close the gap. ___ Learn more about how and why the AP declares winners in U.S. elections at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

  • Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe defeats Democratic challenger to win Missouri governorship
    on November 6, 2024 at 8:18 am

    JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe won the Missouri governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Crystal Quade to maintain the GOP’s grip on the state’s government. Kehoe will succeed GOP Gov. Mike Parson, who chose him to be his second-in-command in 2018. Parson was barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Kehoe thanked Parson and Missouri first lady Teresa Parson, who both attended his Jefferson City watch party, before giving an at-times emotional acceptance speech in which he pledged a running start once he is sworn in. “As soon as my hand comes off the Bible, the Kehoe administration will be relentless in our efforts to make Missouri safer,” Kehoe said in prepared remarks provided to reporters. “We will ensure that Missouri is a state where it is easier to be a cop than a criminal, and we will not rest until the criminals who make our streets and our neighborhoods dangerous are held accountable.” Quade, the outgoing state House Democratic minority leader, said in a statement that she had called Kehoe to congratulate him. She told supporters that “all hope is not lost” and expressed optimism that an abortion-rights amendment on the ballot Tuesday could still pass — which it later did. “I promise you, we will keep fighting,” Quade told a watch party in her hometown of Springfield. Kehoe had been heavily favored to win. Republicans control Missouri’s state House and state Senate, and no Democrats serve in any statewide office. The last Democrat to serve in statewide office was former Auditor Nicole Galloway, who had been appointed to the position in 2015 and won reelection in 2020. She left office in 2023. Republican presidential candidates have won Missouri in every election since 1996. The last Democratic governor was Jay Nixon, who served two terms but was barred by term limits from seeking a third in 2016. Quade and other Democrats had hoped to gain ground in Missouri this year as voters also weighed in on the constitutional amendment to restore abortion rights to the state, which banned almost all abortions in 2022. Kehoe opposed the amendment and during a September debate said it would go too far. But he has also said he is open to amending the state’s law banning abortions to allow exceptions in cases of rape and incest. Missouri Democrats during the campaign had zeroed in on Kehoe’s position on who won the 2020 election in the final weeks of the gubernatorial race. Kehoe’s campaign this summer told CNN that Democratic President Joe Biden has “no business being president” and “is illegitimate in the eyes of the voters, of his party, and of the world.” That stands in contrast to what Kehoe had said shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Days afterward, Kehoe told the Kansas City Star that “the time now is for people to accept the results and move forward.” Kehoe edged out early favorite Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft during this year’s expensive GOP primary. He framed himself as the law-and-order candidate, campaigned on securing the southern border and touted his modest upbringing with five siblings and single mother in St. Louis. Kehoe, 62, ascended from president pro tem of the state Senate to lieutenant governor in 2018, when Parson became the state’s chief executive after former Gov. Eric Greitens resigned following a sex scandal. Voters first elected Kehoe to the state Senate to represent his Jefferson City-area district in 2010. Before that, he worked as a car dealer. Voters elected 39-year-old Quade to the state House in 2016. Her peers voted her House minority leader beginning in the 2019 legislative session. Missouri voters also elected Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who had been appointed by Parson in 2023. He defeated Democratic challenger Elad Gross to keep his seat. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com