White House hopeful Hillary Clinton choked back tears as she struggled to avert a bruising defeat at the hands of rival Barack Obama in yesterday's New Hampshire presidential primary.
Polls released hours before the second nominating contest showed Obama enjoying a solid lead in New Hampshire and for the first time shattering Clinton's advantage among Democratic voters nationally.
Republican John McCain looked to lock in his advantage over rival Mitt Romney, who needs a strong showing after coming in a grim second last week in the Iowa caucuses, which launched this year's White House race.
Polls opened in the tiny resort village of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire at midnight and closed minutes later after all 17 of its registered voters had cast ballots, in keeping with an eccentric tradition.
Results written on a board in the ballroom where balloting took place showed Obama with seven votes; former senator with John Edwards with two; and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson one, on the Democratic side.
None were for Clinton.
McCain was the Republican victor with four votes, while Romney took two and former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani, one.
Clinton wrapped up her New Hampshire campaign with a raucous rally before 1,500 people in Manchester, New Hampshire, late on Monday.
In one of the few moments during Clinton's years on the political stage that her inner feelings have been exposed, the strain of the Obama juggernaut appeared to be taking its toll on Monday.
Asked how she managed to keep on going every day, the former first lady's eyes turned moist and red.
"It's not easy and I could not do it if I just didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do," she said, her voice quavering, after talking with voters in a coffee shop.
"This is very personal for me ... it is not just political ... I see what's happening ... we have to reverse it.
"Some people think elections are a game," she said, her voice breaking. "It is about our country, it is about our kids' futures."
The latest polls showed Obama as the favorite going into the crucial nominating clash, after he beat Clinton into third place in Iowa after John Edwards.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was