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Early results in the US midterm elections have delivered results favourable to the Democrats, boosting hopes they can wrest control of Congress from the Republican Party.
Democrat Roy Cooper claimed victory in the seat of North Carolina which has been held by the Republicans since 2008.
Democrats have also held onto three House districts in Florida redrawn by Republican lawmakers earlier this year, all of which backed Donald Trump by at least nine percentage points.
Michelle Price from the Associated Press says control of both houses of Congress will be critical for the remainder of Trump's time in office.
"If Republicans manage to hang on to control of these chambers, it could consolidate power for the president and make him even stronger. But if Democrats win, then the president may be facing investigations and even a possible impeachment over the course of the next two years."
The long term governor of Texas, Greg Abbot, has conceded he has lost to his Democrat rival Gina Hinajosa.
She becomes the state’s first Latina governor and the first Democrat to hold the office in more than three decades.
Had Greg Abbot won, he would have started his fourth term as Governor.
As governor of Texas, Ms Hinajosa will have the power to sign or veto legislation, recommend a state budget and make appointments across state government, including the education commissioner.
Inflation and the cost of living have dominated the minds of US voters in the midterm elections, seen as a major test of President Donald Trump's second term.
The concern runs across party lines, with a Pew Research Center survey released last month finding 88 percent of Democratic supporters and 82 percent of Republican supporters regarded the economy as very important to their midterm vote.
Many voters interviewed by local media across the country after voting blame the Trump administration's war with Iran and sweeping tariffs for the cost of living pressures they're facing.
These voters in Washington DC say they have been struggling to cope with higher fuel and food prices.
"In this election, the economy, gas prices, store prices, and stuff like that.""I think affordability is a big problem, just in terms of real estate and groceries and normal cost of living.""Well, I mean it certainly affects life, right? It affects cost, it affects gas, it affects groceries. But obviously some people feel those pressures more acutely than others."
Specialist police have been brought in to investigate an alleged breach of data from New South Wales Health.
The breach came to light after an online cybersecurity hack-tracing service, Hackmanac, shared an image of a dark web forum where a hacker claimed to have been responsible for compromising a range of sensitive documents.
Police Strike Force Civic is working with New South Wales Health and Cyber Security New South Wales to investigate the breach, which health minister Ryan Park says has been traced to a remote health server.
The Minister says he was informed of the incident at the weekend.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his UK counterpart Andy Burnham have hatched a plan for a high profile gathering to explore the protection of parliamentarians from online harm.
The group will convene for the first time next year.
The pair released a joint statement saying talented people choose not to stand for election because of the hate they see directed at elected officials, especially female parliamentarians who are three times more likely to report receiving sexualised or gender-based threats.
Mr Albanese says it is an issue in both the UK and Australia.
"Our concern about the toxic online environment that is posing a threat to democracy like ours, including part of that threat being of course the violence against parliamentarians. But certainly not limited to that."
Beaconsfield mine collapse survivor Todd Russell has revealed he has a terminal illness and will see out his days at home with friends and family.
He'd previously announced in 2025 he had started treatment in hospital for an undisclosed illness.
The 54-year-old made global headlines 20 years ago when he and co-worker Brant Webb were rescued after spending two weeks trapped below the surface of a mine in northern Tasmania.
The collapse killed fellow miner Larry Knight, but Mr Russell and Mr Webb returned to the surface after a daring rescue mission almost one kilometre underground.
Spanish police have opened an investigation into the death of a football player in an on-field collision.
But Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui has told Spanish news agency EFE criminal proceedings are unlikely.
30-year-old Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel experienced a cardiac arrest after being struck in the chest by Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono during their second division match.
Owono was shown a straight red card for the incident, which happened in added time.
