Democrat Jeff Merkley defeated Republican Senator Gordon Smith in Oregon, the Portland Oregonian projected on Wednesday, to further expand Democrats’ majority in the new Congress.
With the results of three races still to be determined from Tuesday’s election, Democrats have now gained six seats to raise their majority in the 100-member Senate to 57.
If these remaining contests all go to Democrats, they would end up, for the first time in three decades, with the 60 Senate seats needed to pass legislation even in the face of Republican procedural hurdles.
To reach 60, Democrats would have to win a runoff in Georgia, a recount in Minnesota and a come-from-behind victory in Alaska.
“We don’t see it happening,” a Democratic party aide said. “But we’ll see.”
A three-way contest in Georgia involving Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss appeared headed toward a Dec. 2 runoff.
Winners had also yet to be declared in the races involving Republican senators Norm Coleman in Minnesota and 84-year-old Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was convicted last month of lying on Senate forms to hide favors he received from a contractor. Coleman finished ahead of Democrat Al Franken, the former Saturday Night Live comedian, in the final vote count, but his 571-vote margin falls within the state’s mandatory recount law.
Democrats were projected to gain 20 seats in the 435-member House, raising their majority to 255. Seven races remained undecided.
Even if Senate Democrats fall short of a “filibuster-proof majority” of 60, they expect to win over at least a few moderate Republicans to pass major legislation.
Democrats won the Senate and House two years ago, but Republicans have routinely blocked legislation on matters from Iraq to health care and energy.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
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