Israeli voters headed to the polls Tuesday for a closely watched election that is widely regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration.  The election, which could endanger Netanyahu’s nearly 19 years leading the country, has seen record turnout. Voting closed at 10 p.m. local time, or 4 p.m. EDT.  Here’s…

Israeli voters headed to the polls Tuesday for a closely watched election that is widely regarded as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration.  The election, which could endanger Netanyahu’s nearly 19 years leading the country, has seen record turnout. Voting closed at 10 p.m. local time, or 4 p.m. EDT.  Here’s…

Democratic lawmakers urged the Venezuelan government to hold elections following opposition leader María Corina Machado’s recent return to the country after nearly a year in exile. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Machado’s return to Venezuela “welcome news” in a statement shared to social platform X Monday.…

The leaders of Finland and Norway initiated a direct call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday morning amid broader diplomatic efforts to wind down Russia’s yearslong war with Ukraine.  Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre noted in a joint press release that they did not speak on behalf of…

A localized ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia took effect on Tuesday after first lady Melania Trump announced last week she secured a temporary humanitarian agreement for the border city of Oleshky.  The Russian-occupied town is located in southern Ukraine, and residents have faced shortages in food and medicine amid the ongoing war. The pause…

President Trump’s approval rating inched up by 1 point from a record low last week, according to a new poll. The Reuters/Ipsos survey, released Monday, found 32 percent of U.S. adults support the president’s job performance, while 66 percent disagreed. This is a slight uptick from the pollster’s previous findings, which showed Trump with a…

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is locked in a tight race against her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, according to a new survey. The Marist University poll, released one week before the midterms, found the incumbent trailing Jackson by 2 percentage points among likely voters in the state — a lead that falls within the survey’s margin…

Election season is known for fiery policy exchanges and personal attacks, but November’s midterms have been marked by notable moments that have been criticized for going beyond the pale.  From a controversial campaign ad in Ohio to a candidate telling his opponent to “shut up” on the debate stage, closely contested battleground races have become…

With less than two weeks to go before the midterms, the Trump administration is ramping up its warnings about voter fraud and is not ruling out the prospect of weighing in on states’ election certification efforts. The Justice Department (DOJ) reportedly sent letters Friday to California election officials, directing them to identify potential noncitizens on…

Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed pushed back at Fox News’s Bret Baier in an interview that aired on Friday evening over questions about his alleged ties to an Islamist political group.  After Baier began asking the candidate about accusations repeatedly made by his opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), that the Democrat has ties…

Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Ainsley Earhardt held their wedding rehearsal dinner on Friday evening at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. Both Trump and first lady Melania Trump were in attendance, as well as other top Trump administration officials, according to Fox News. The president is not expected to attend the…

President Trump pushed back Saturday morning against reports he was considering replacing the White House press briefing room with an indoor swimming pool but said he was considering moving media “to a less obnoxious location.” On Tuesday, The New York Times reported Trump expressed to aides he would like to bring back an indoor pool…

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday sent letters to election officials in every California county asking that they identify potential noncitizens on their voter rolls, according to several reports.  The letter warned local officials would “risk significant federal scrutiny” if they failed to comply with this request, The New York Times reported, citing a…

Ukraine’s Starlink satellite links have been restored after the country experienced limitations with accessing this critical technology, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Saturday.  SpaceX’s military-grade version of Starlink, called Starshield, supports Ukraine’s drone operations and communication.  Zelensky confirmed the restoration in a statement shared on social media Saturday afternoon local time.  “The speeds are now…

A GOP campaign ad featuring the estranged mother of Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton (D) received blowback this week after it was revealed Acton’s mother stood by her husband after he was charged with sexually abusing Acton as a child. Court records show that the mother, Donna Arthur, has faced legal troubles of her own,…

The son of GOP Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), Warren Norman, said Friday he is “leaning” toward supporting the Democratic candidate in South Carolina’s Senate race, pediatrician Annie Andrews.  Ralph Norman, who was defeated by Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) in the GOP primary, said in a radio interview this week he would back the Republican nominee…

Former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) suggested this week that Maine Sen. Susan Collins (R) should leave the Republican Party to become an independent.  Manchin, who made the switch from the Democratic Party to become an independent in 2024, has repeatedly pushed for more lawmakers to break away from the two-party system.  The former senator told…

President Trump called on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) to “IMMEDIATELY resign” and accused her of using a fake name in a Truth Social post on Thursday evening.  “Please inform the Speaker of the House of Representatives, James Michael Johnson, that the Dumocrat Party has just conceded her seat,” Trump wrote. “Ilhan Nur Said Elmi, her…

President Trump said early Friday morning that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was 85 percent full and “looking really good” after months of a multimillion-dollar renovation project.  The president also alleged in a Truth Social post shared shortly before 1 a.m. EDT that the pool “hasn’t worked properly since 1922.” “We have cameras set up…

Agriculture Secretary Brooke reiterated Thursday the Trump administration’s commitment to major restructuring at the U.S. Forest Service despite legal hurdles.  “We are full-bore ahead in the reorganization,” Rollins said during a media call, according to The Associated Press. “We believe in it more today than we ever have — taking the USDA to our constituents,…