The Times of Israel liveblogged the results of the US election and the news from Israel as they unfolded Wednesday. This liveblog is now closed. Our new liveblog is here.

12:09 am

CNN exit poll results show positive signs for Trump

An exit poll from CNN shows that a plurality of Americans (34 percent) surveyed are voting with the economy in mind as their main issue. The second most important issue for them is racial inequality (21%), and only 18% place the coronavirus as their main issue.

The poll also finds that 48% think the US response to the pandemic is going well.

Both numbers are positive indicators for Donald Trump, who has campaigned on placing the rehabilitation of the economy over dealing with the coronavirus.

12:16 am

AP exit poll shows many unhappy with handling of virus

An AP exit poll shows voters rank the pandemic and the economy as top concerns in the race between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden.

About 4 in 10 voters say the coronavirus pandemic is the top issue facing the nation. Roughly 3 in 10 called the economy and jobs most important. Trump, who has downplayed the virus, sought to focus his campaign on the pre-pandemic economy, while Biden has said the economy won’t improve unless the virus is controlled.

Voters are more likely to think the government should prioritize limiting the spread of the coronavirus — even if it damages the economy — than to say the economy should be the top priority.

Roughly half of voters say the coronavirus situation in the US is not at all under control. About 6 in 10 voters said the economy is in poor shape, while about 4 in 10 said economic conditions are excellent or good.

Roughly three-quarters say they’ve known all along who they were supporting in this election.

About a quarter of voters say they are very confident that the votes in the election will be counted accurately, while 4 in 10 were somewhat confident. Roughly 3 in 10 said they are not confident in an accurate vote count.

The preliminary results come from AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 127,000 voters and nonvoters conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.

— AP

12:40 am

Israelis closely watching election results

Israelis may not be able to vote, but many are watching the US election with all the interest of a Peorian despite it being the middle of the night here.

Israel’s three main news stations are all putting on special all-night broadcasts to watch the results come in. That goes for radio stations and online news outlets as well.

The Ynet news website, among the most popular Hebrew-language news outlets, debuts a new homepage design to house all of its special election coverage.

The outlet’s Atilla Somfalvi, covering a protest outside the White House, tweets that he decided to don a second mask given the size of the crowd.

12:48 am

Republican Vermont governor says he voted for Biden

Vermont Governor Phil Scott says he voted for Joe Biden for president, making him the first Republican governor in the nation to acknowledge voting for the Democratic presidential candidate.

The Republican governor tells reporters Tuesday after casting his ballot in his hometown of Berlin, Vermont, that he had never voted for a Democrat in his life.

“As many of you knew, I didn’t support President Trump. I wasn’t going to vote for him,” Scott said. “But then I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough for me to just not vote. I had to vote against.”

He says he “put country over party, which again wasn’t an easy thing to do in some respects.”

A couple of other current Republican governors have said they aren’t voting for Trump, but they said they weren’t voting for Biden, either.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he left his ballot blank for president.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan says he voted for President Ronald Reagan, who died 16 years ago.

— AP

1:06 am

First polls close, early results expected soon

The first polls are closing in Kentucky and parts of Indiana, meaning the first exit polls and real results should emerge any minute.

It will be an hour before polls will close in a slew of battleground states like Georgia and Florida.

CNN reports that the Biden campaign is launching an 11th hour push to get voters to the polls in Florida, indicating that they do not think they have it in the bag.

1:12 am

Trump aide on Jewish vote: We are winning everywhere

Asked how he thinks Jewish turnout has been for US President Donald Trump, campaign adviser Boris Ephshteyn tells The Times of Israel, “We are winning everywhere!”

— Jacob Magid

1:17 am

Minor balloting issues reported in South Carolina, Georgia

More than 13,000 votes in one South Carolina county will have to wait a while to be counted because of a printing error.

Dorchester County Election Commissioner Todd Billman said at a news conference Tuesday that the mail-in ballots did not have the proper bars printed at the top so the scanner used to count the votes won’t register them. He says the error does not affect anyone’s vote.

The votes will have to be counted by hand and will not be counted Tuesday. Billman says Dorchester County’s full results will be finished by the Friday deadline to certify returns.

The county went for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

One Georgia county will leave polls open an extra two hours.

— with AP

1:21 am

Trump takes lead in Indiana with very first votes tallied

Very very early returns from Indiana show US President Donald Trump leading challenger Joe Biden 37,585 votes to 16,285 votes.

The results represent 2 percent of the state’s tally. They come from counties in the more rural northeast and southwest of the state.

Indiana is widely expected to remain in Trump’s pocket.

1:34 am

Biden takes early lead in red Kentucky

Early results in Kentucky show Joe Biden with a slight lead over Donald Trump 54% to 44.5% with 8% reporting.

The state is seen as solidly red, and those figures are likely to change as more votes are counted.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell is trailing Democratic challenger Amy McGrath in the state 52% to 42%.

 

1:43 am

Trump: We’re doing well; Biden: Go vote

US President Donald Trump claims that things are going swimmingly for him thus far.

“WE ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THANK YOU!” he tweets.

Biden, meanwhile, is still trying to get out the vote, telling people to stay in line even if polls close.

Nate Silver of 538.com notes that in states where party registration of voters is reported throughout day, precincts have been seeing higher and higher Democratic turnouts.

1:56 am

Trump calls into talk shows in key states as campaign predicts tight race

President Donald Trump called into talk radio shows in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin just hours before polls closed.

Trump projected confidence Tuesday that he will win key states like North Carolina and Florida and said he’s expecting a “great” evening.

He was set to call into conservative host Mark Levin’s show minutes after the first two interviews, but Levin abruptly said Trump would not be appearing. Levin said he was told the president couldn’t come on the show but gave no further details.

Trump told Wisconsin host Vicki McKenna that he is expecting a strong night based on lines of people waiting to vote. Trump has sown doubts about mail voting, without evidence, and is expecting most of his supporters to turn out on Election Day.

At the same time, his campaign was hosting a call with reporters in which they projected confidence but predicted a tight race that would come down to turnout.

— AP

1:59 am

Trump now winning in Kentucky

Trump is now leading in Kentucky with 14% of votes counted, though only by six points.

According to CNN, most of those votes were mail-in ballots, which are thought to skew Democrat.

In Indiana’s Boone County, nearly all votes counted show a slimmer lead for Trump over Biden than in 2016.

2:02 am

CNN hands Indiana to Trump, others too close to call

CNN projects Donald Trump will win Indiana.

The station says Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont are too close too call.

2:09 am

Trump takes early lead in Florida

Early results in Florida show Donald Trump leading Joe Biden 53% to 46% with 13% reporting, according to ABC News.

However, going county by county, CNN notes that Trump’s leads there are a bit smaller than in 2016.

In key Pinellas County, south of Tampa, Biden is winning with most votes there counted.

 

 

2:14 am

AP calls Kentucky for Trump, Vermont for Biden

The Associated Press is calling Kentucky for Donald Trump and Vermont for Joe Biden.

Neither of those are surprises and follow the states’ traditional voting patterns.

Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential contender to win Kentucky in 1996. Trump won the state in 2016 by nearly 30 points.

Democrats have won Vermont in every presidential election since 1992, and it is home to former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the state in 2016 by over 28 percentage points.

2:18 am

Biden takes lead in key Florida battleground

Joe Biden has taken the lead in Florida, with 37% of votes counted.

Biden leads 52% to 48% in the key battleground state, carrying the urban areas around Tampa.

The state is seen as a key bellwether for how the vote will go, because it will release its mail-in and early votes along with Election Day tallies.

If Biden can carry the state, he is expected to win the presidency. Without it, he will still have a chance, but will face an uphill battle, according to projections.

2:26 am

Biden leading in Georgia, Florida neck and neck

Joe Biden is trouncing Donald Trump in Georgia 55% to 43%, but with only 3% of likely votes reporting.

In Florida, Trump and Biden are neck and neck. In one worrying sign for the Democratic challenger, his lead in Miami-Dade County is much narrower than Clinton had over Trump in 2016. Clinton ultimately lost the state.

2:38 am

West Virginia goes to Trump as more polls close

The Associated Press and USA Today are calling West Virginia for Donald Trump. Ohio, where polls have also closed, is too close to call.

In Florida, with over 7.5 million votes tallied already, Joe Biden leads Trump by about 150,000 ballots.

North Carolina, which was supposed to close its polls at 7:30 p.m. local time, has extended voting until 8:15 p.m.

2:47 am

Jewish senate candidates losing in Georgia, QAnon backer ahead

Two Senate seats are up in Georgia. In one, Jon Ossoff, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2018, is slightly behind incumbent Republican David Perdue 49% to 48%.

Ossoff, a 33-year-old Jewish former journalist, got a boost after lashing out against Perdue in their most recent debate — on several issues, including an ad Perdue’s campaign ran that appeared to elongate Ossoff’s nose — went viral.

In a second race, Democrat Raphael Warnock is handily leading incumbent kelly Loeffler. Matt Lieberman, son of former Jewish Senator Joe Lieberman, has only 2.7 % of the vote.

Marjorie Greene, a QAnon-spouting candidate backed by Donald Trump, is winning her race for a seat in the House of Representatives, though with only a few thousands votes counted there.

Statewide, 5% of Georgia’s likely votes have been counted.

2:58 am

Florida race as tight as can be; Biden leads in Ohio, projected to take Virginia

Joe Biden continues to lead Florida, but by the slimmest of margins — fewer than 3,000 votes, out of nearly 10 million counted so far. There are still some two million votes to count.

In Ohio, Biden holds a commanding lead of 64% to 35%, but with only 10% of votes counted. However, most of the places reporting votes are urban which are widely expected to go for Biden. In Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, Biden’s lead is larger than Clinton ended with in 2016.

In Virginia, Trump is leading, but ABC News and AP have both called the state for Biden based on exit polls.

3:03 am

Head of Democrats in Israel says outlets should wait to call races

The head of the Israel chapter Democrats Abroad calls on state governments and media networks to refrain from making calls until all absentee ballots have been counted.

Heather Stone tells The Times of Israel that given the record number of mail-in and absentee ballots submitted in this year’s election, secretaries of state must be assured that the number of these ballots do not exceed the vote differential in each state before a winner is declared.

In critical swing states like Pennsylvania, officials only begin counting absentee ballots on the day after the election.

“All the votes need to be counted and it’s important to make sure that every voice is heard and to give secretaries of state the opportunity to get their numbers right before any numbers are called,” Stone says.

The Democratic activist says a Biden victory would be a positive development for Israel.

“Biden will return the US to its rightful position of being a world leader in foreign policy and in the international community. When the US is strong and is leading by its democratic principles and values, it’s a good ally for its friends such as Israel and a strong deterrent for its enemies such as Iran.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President Joe Biden, January 13, 2014. (photo credit: Haim Zach/GPO/Flash 90)

Stone says she’s optimistic as ballots have started to be counted in several states.

“The team here in Israel worked hard turning out voters in Pennsylvania and Florida through phone and text banking,” she says.

On the ground in Israel, the Democrats Abroad chapter doubled its membership, which now stands in the thousands, Stone says, while refraining from giving an exact number.

“The international numbers for web traffic on our voter registration site were over a million, and IP addresses from Israel tripled what they were in 2016,” she says. “We’re looking to have two times, if not more, of the voters we had in Israel in the last election.”

— Jacob Magid

3:11 am

Biden projected to win several more states as polls close

Polls have closed in 22 more states, and exit surveys are showing several wins for Biden.

The Associated Press calls Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts for Biden.

It gives Trump Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina and Oklahoma. USA Today also gives Mississippi to Trump.

The projections give Biden 85 electoral votes to Trump’s 55, but the night remains young.

 

3:26 am

GOP in Israel chief says local enthusiasm for Trump overwhelming

The head of the Israel chapter of Republicans Overseas expressed similar optimism regarding his party’s performance in today’s election.

Marc Zell tells The Times of Israel that Republican headquarters in DC believe that the party is “on its way to victory, and a very sizeable victory.” However, he acknowledges that it’s still too early to know and references the 2016 election, which didn’t turn in Trump’s favor until much later in the night.

Marc Zell, co-chair of Republicans Overseas Israel, visits the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on November 9, 2016, a day after Donald Trump won the 2016 US election. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Zell says turnout in Israel was overwhelming, with roughly 150,000 ballots cast in total. He speculates that 80% of those votes were for US President Donald Trump. he has consistently cited that number as the level of support for Trump in Israel, though a recent survey found it somewhat lower. He says enthusiasm among Republicans in Israel is so high that some tried to cast their absentee ballots on Tuesday, even though it was past the deadline.

Zell says the turnout spike included people who hadn’t voted ever or in many decades, large numbers of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Israel-born US citizens voters who don’t typically vote in US elections.

“Trump re-scripted the whole political dynamic, taking the focus off of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and placing it on the real threat which is Iran,” says Zell, who initially opposed Trump.

As Zell speaks, Fox News can be heard in the background talking about Biden’s lead in Ohio, a state that no Republican candidate has won the presidency without. Upon hearing the news, Zell says he has to go and ends the phone call.

— Jacob Magid

3:34 am

Trump widens lead in Florida, trails in Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has expanded his lead in Florida to over 200,000 votes, with 90% of votes counted.

However, fewer than half the votes in Miami-Dade County have been tallied, with Biden expected to make his biggest gains there. Several rural counties also have yet to report.

In Pennsylvania, seen as no less important, Biden holds a massive lead over Trump 81%-18%, albeit with only 5% reporting.

In Michigan, also a key state, Trump leads 59% to 34% with 5% of votes counted.

In Georgia, Trump leads 57% to 42% with 19% reporting.

3:50 am

Nevada judge orders polls to remain open extra hour

A judge in Nevada has ordered 30 Las Vegas-area voting sites to remain open for an extra hour after President Donald Trump’s campaign and Nevada Republicans cited reports that some locations did not open on time.

Clark County District Court Judge Joe Hardy Jr. in Las Vegas heard immediate arguments in an Election Day lawsuit filed to extend voting times to 8 p.m. for 22 specified sites, which had been scheduled to close at 7 p.m.

People vote at a polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP/John Locher)

Hardy adds eight additional sites at the request of attorneys for Democrats.

Clark County has 125 voting centers in and around Las Vegas. The judge ordered that anyone in line at the 30 sites at 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot.

— AP

4:07 am

Biden winning in Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio; Trump up in Virginia, Michigan

Joe Biden is holding a surprising lead of 49.8% to 48.7% over Donald Trump in Texas, with over 60 percent reporting. The state is seen as one of the most solidly Republican, but a growth explosion in urban areas has made it increasingly blue in recent years.

He also continues to hold a large lead in Pennsylvania, 67% to 32% with 14 percent reporting.

In Ohio, Biden is up 54% to 45%, with 56% of votes counted.

In Virginia, Trump holds a large lead, but is projected to lose. CNN notes that most votes in Fairfax County, a liberal suburb of Washington, DC, have not been counted.

In Michigan, Trump is up 57% to 41% with 14% reporting.

4:13 am

Trump projected to win five states, Biden seen winning New York, New Mexico

US President Donald Trump has won Louisiana, Nebraska, Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, while Democrat Joe Biden has won New Mexico and New York, the AP projects.

Nebraska, one of two states that divides its electoral votes, has five total electoral votes up for grabs. Trump won the statewide vote, which is good for two electoral votes. He also won the 3rd Congressional District, which nets him a third vote.

Nebraska’s 1st and 2nd congressional districts haven’t yet been called.

Trump nets 20 electoral votes from his wins in Louisiana, Nebraska, Nebraska’s 3rd, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, while Biden takes 34 electoral votes for winning New Mexico and New York.

— AP

4:19 am

Israeli Ben-David fails in Wyoming Senate bid

Republican Cynthia Lummis, a former congresswoman, has won an open Senate seat in Wyoming, beating out Israel-born Merav Ben-David, the AP projects.

Ben-David, a University of Wyoming ecology professor and climate activist, had been the first Israeli to win a major party nomination for a Senate seat, albeit in deeply red Wyoming.

Merav Ben-David poses for a photo in Cheyenne, Wyoming, August 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

Lummis will claim the seat held by Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, who’s retiring after four terms.

Lummis was heavily favored to win in the GOP-dominated state after raising and spending far more money than her Democratic opponent.

A former state treasurer and state legislator, Lummis comes from a prominent Cheyenne ranching family and has been well-known in Wyoming politics for over 30 years. She was Wyoming’s lone congresswoman from 2009-2017, when she stepped down to attend to family business matters following her husband’s death.

4:28 am

Ohio emerges as key prize as race there tightens

While much of the attention in the lead up to the vote was focused on Pennsylvania and Florida, it appears Ohio may once again play the kingmaker.

A New York Times analysis finds Trump likely to win Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, though Biden currently holds a slight lead in NC with some 81% of votes counted there.

However, Nate Silver of 538 notes that while if Trump wins all three he will have a 50-50 chance of winning the election, if he loses Ohio, it will drop to 1%.

No Republican in the modern era has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio.

Biden’s lead in the state has slimmed somewhat to 51%-48%, with some 63% reporting.

4:38 am

Trump may address supporters, Biden plans unclear

Kellyanne Conway, a top aide to Donald Trump, tells ABC News that Trump is expected to speak to the public sometime during the night, without specifying.

It is unclear if Joe Biden will deliver a speech in Wilmington as planned. He earlier indicated it would depend how the night went for him.

Both Trump and Biden have been uncharacteristically quiet on social media.

At the White House Tuesday night, more than 100 family members, friends, donors and staff were set to watch returns from the East Room.

Trump was watching votes come in upstairs in the residence with a few close aides.

Most top campaign officials were monitoring returns from a “war room” set up in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

— with AP

 

4:49 am

Jerusalem planning for either candidate to win US election

David Roth, the head of the North American desk at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, tells Army Radio that Israel is preparing for both the possibilities that Donald Trump wins reelection, and that Biden emerges victorious.

“There’s a lot of talks about what the policies will be. When Trump came into office, we didn’t know his stances — the two [candidates] now both have pro-Israel records,” he says.

5:22 am

Trump takes slight lead in Ohio; Biden still up in North Carolina, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has moved into the lead in the do-or-die state of Ohio.

With 70 percent of votes counted, Trump and Biden are separated by about 38,000 votes.

CNN notes that many of the votes yet to be counted in the state are early votes, which are expected to benefit Trump.

In North Carolina, Biden is up by about 13,000 votes, with 87% reporting.

Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania is down to about 5 points, but with only about 18% of the vote counted.

Trump is way up in Michigan and holds a slight lead in Wisconsin, both places Democrats were hoping to win back. But fewer than half of votes in either place have been tallied.

5:41 am

Trump takes lead in Pennsylvania in early vote count

Donald Trump has taken the lead in the key state of the Keystone State.

With about 33 percent of the vote tallied, Trump is up by nearly 200,000 votes. However, most of those votes are from Election Day, which are thought to lean Republican, and not mail-in or early ballots, according to CNN.

Trump is also still leading Biden in Michigan and Wisconsin, with similar amounts of the vote counted.

Trump is maintaining his leads in North Carolina and Florida, with 91% of votes tallied.

It is still quite premature to draw any conclusions, and most news outlets are taking a cautious approach before rewarding any closely-fought state to a candidate.

 

5:52 am

Nevada court won’t freeze overnight mail-in ballot count

Republicans and President Donald Trump’s campaign are getting no quick decision from the Nevada Supreme Court on an appeal aimed at stopping the count of mail-in ballots in the Las Vegas area.

The state high court does not stop election night counting, calling instead for written filings to be completed Monday, Nov. 9, in a case that could affect the vote tally in Clark County, a Democratic stronghold in an otherwise red GOP state.

Trump campaign officials say they want transparency. State Democrats say Republicans are trying to undermine the election.

Nevada is a presidential battleground state with six electoral votes at stake. Democrat Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016.

— AP

6:01 am

Despite warnings not to over-react, some Democrats begin to fret over results

Some opponents of Donald Trump are starting to hit the alarm, with vote returns not only not showing a Biden landslide, but a neck and neck race that will come down to a handful of states where the incumbent is currently leading.

There is also some sort of cognitive dissonance, given the fact that every pundit has spent the last three months warning that election night results can’t be trusted and election-watchers should wait a day or two for fuller results to become clear.

Former Mideast peace negotiator tweets that “champagne corks are popping in Riyadh; Jerusalem Moscow; Ankara; and I’m thinking Beijing too.”

But others are trying to walk their Democrat friends off the ledge.

 

6:08 am

Biden projected to sweep West Coast

Democrat Joe Biden has won California, Oregon and Washington state, while President Donald Trump has won Idaho, AP projects.

California, Oregon and Washington are all liberal states, while Idaho is conservative.

California has 55 electoral votes, the biggest haul of any state. It’s also the home of Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris. She served as the San Francisco district attorney and the state’s attorney general before winning election to the Senate in 2016.

Biden nets 74 electoral votes for the three Western states, while Trump takes four electoral votes from Idaho.

CNN says Idaho is too close to call.

— with AP

6:28 am

Fox News calls Florida for Trump

Fox News has awarded Florida to Donald Trump with 98 percent of the state reporting.

Other outlets have waited on calling the state.

In 2000, networks called the state for George W. Bush twice, before rescinding them, twice. In the second instance, Fox was the first to call Florida for Bush, leading the other networks to follow suit.

“We’re not absolutely sure quite what to do next,” ABC anchor Peter Jennings said at the time, according to the Washington Post.

The state ended up being contested and was only decided by a massive court battle.

6:56 am

Vote-counting won’t be done soon in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania

Bloomberg reports that vote-counting in three key states will not be completed today, meaning the presidential race is expected to take time before it is called.

Officials in Wisconsin say the winner won’t be called today. In Michigan, vote-counting will continue until Friday; and Pennsylvania is also taking its time.

7:06 am

Media calls Biden win in Virginia, Trump victory in Ohio, Texas

CNN projects a win for Joe Biden in Virginia, where he is up by some 200,000 votes after earlier vote tallies had put Trump in the lead.

Both CNN and Fox News project a win for Donald Trump in Ohio, where the incumbent is ahead 53%-45% with 94% of votes counted.

The Rust Belt state, which has 18 electoral votes, has been hotly contested — Trump seized it in 2016 and it is key to his efforts to win reelection.

Fox has also called a Trump triumph in Texas, where he’s ahead 52%-46% with 78% of votes counted.

7:28 am

Biden defeats Trump in Minnesota, Hawaii

Democrat Joe Biden has carried Minnesota, turning back a strong push by US President Donald Trump and holding on to a state narrowly won by Democrat Hillary Clinton four years ago.

Biden is awarded the state’s 10 electoral votes.

Biden makes up for his campaign getting a late start in Minnesota compared with Trump, who held several campaign rallies in the state this election cycle. The former vice president took advantage of anti-Trump sentiment and organizing efforts by the state’s Democrats, who stressed COVID-19 and health care issues.

Trump came within 1.5 percentage points of carrying Minnesota in 2016 and made winning the state this time a personal priority. Republicans invested time and money in building a field organization to boost GOP turnout, focusing on conservative rural Minnesota and suburban areas that were once mostly Republican but have become swing territory.

The last Republican presidential candidate to capture the state was Richard Nixon in 1972.

Biden has also won the state of Hawaii and awarded its four electoral votes.

Hawaii is a reliably Democratic state and last went for a Republican presidential candidate in 1984, when it was won by Ronald Reagan.

— AP

7:29 am

Donald Trump wins Iowa and Montana

US President Donald Trump has won Iowa and Montana.

The Republican nominee is awarded six electoral votes from Iowa and three electoral votes from Montana.

Trump won Iowa by more than 9 percentage points four years ago against Democrat Hillary Clinton, but his support eroded significantly over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the overall direction of the country.

Trump rallied in Iowa in the final stretch of the campaign, going so far as to announce he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable. In an appeal to the state’s farmers, he told them he was responsible for $28 billion in aid designed to help offset damage stemming from his trade war with China.

— AP

7:39 am

Health Ministry says 831 new virus cases yesterday, positive rate slightly down

Even though all eyes are currently on the US election results, the coronavirus outbreak in Israel hasn’t stopped, with the Health Ministry saying 831 cases were confirmed yesterday, with the positive test rate slightly down.

Of the 39,526 tests, 2.1% came back positive, down from 2.3% on Monday and 3% on Sunday.

The total tally is up to 316,792, including 9,782 active cases. Of them, 365 are in serious condition, including 162 on ventilators. Another 90 are in moderate condition and the rest have mild or no symptoms.

The death toll is unchanged at 2,592.

7:40 am

Biden set to speak shortly on election results

Democrat Joe Biden will speak shortly on the US election results, as many of his key states remain too close to call.

The Biden campaign gathers the press pool that covers him in Wilmington, Delaware, for an early morning statement but offers no further guidance.

Biden has spent the night watching the returns come in from his home, while reporters waited near the Chase Center in downtown Wilmington for potential remarks.

Biden began his day yesterday with a handful of campaign stops across the all-important state of Pennsylvania as voters went to the polls.

Hours after the polls have closed across America, however, the result of the presidential election remains unclear. A number of key states still have hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding, after a large influx of mail ballots have slowed down the count in states across the nation.

— AP

7:41 am

Trump wins Florida, biggest battleground prize

US President Donald Trump has won Florida and its 29 electoral votes, the biggest prize among the perennial battlegrounds and a state crucial to his reelection hopes.

A victory in Florida means reelection is within Trump’s grasp. A loss in the state would have made it nearly impossible for Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to retain the White House.

Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign had hoped the devastating toll of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly among older adults, would put him in a strong position in a state popular with retirees.

Trump moved his official residence to his Palm Beach estate Mar-a-Lago from New York last year.

Trump narrowly beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state in 2016.

— AP

7:55 am

Trump says Democrats ‘trying to steal the election’

US President Donald Trump tweets that Democrats are trying to “steal the election.”

He fetes a “big win” — even as the race is still undecided — and says he’ll be making a statement early Wednesday.

7:57 am

Biden says his hopes remain high, tells supporters to ‘keep the faith’

Joe Biden is asking his supporters to “keep the faith” as the counting goes on in the drawn-out US presidential election.

The Democratic presidential candidate emerges after midnight to speak on the election results that have left the outcome in the balance. He spent the evening watching the returns come in from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, then drove downtown by motorcade to make his statement outside the Chase Center.

He tells a gathering of supporters that his hopes for victory remain high despite the uncertainty and cautions them that it could take a day or longer to know who won.

He tells them: “Your patience is commendable.”

Hours after the polls have closed across America, however, the result is up in the air.

A number of key states still have hundreds of thousands of ballots outstanding, after a large influx of mail ballots have slowed down the count in states across the nation.

— AP

8:03 am

Initial poll: US Jewish voters favored Biden 77-21

Jewish voters have favored Joe Biden over US President Donald Trump 77%-21% in an exit poll.

The numbers, in a poll by GBAO Strategies for J Street, a liberal Jewish Middle East advocacy group that endorsed Biden, includes 800 voters who voted early or who answered questions on election night.

The poll, only part of which has been released, shows better numbers for Biden than polling ahead of the election suggested, albeit within the margin of error. An American Jewish Committee poll last month showed Jews voting for Biden over Trump 75% to 22%.

It comes as Americans likely would not know the winner of the presidential race until Wednesday, with Biden and Trump locked in an unexpectedly tight race. Polls had predicted a relatively easy victory for Biden.

The survey reached 800 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent. A source has provided the Jewish Telegraphic Agency with the results; the full poll will be available early Wednesday morning.

— JTA

8:05 am

Biden wins at least 1 electoral vote from Maine

Democrat Joe Biden has won at least one of Maine’s four electoral votes in his bid to unseat US President Donald Trump.

Biden wins Maine’s 1st Congressional District, good for one electoral vote. The statewide vote, which is worth two electoral votes, and the 2nd Congressional District, which is worth one electoral vote, still have not been called.

Maine split its electoral votes four years ago, awarding three to Democrat Hillary Clinton and one to Trump, who won the more rural and conservative of Maine’s congressional districts.

It marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.

Maine is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes. The other is Nebraska.

— AP

8:10 am

Twitter flags Trump tweet accusing Democrats of trying to ‘steal’ election

Twitter flags a tweet in which US President Donald Trump accused Democrats of trying to steal the presidential election.

“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump wrote on Twitter moments after Biden told supporters he expects to win.

Twitter labels the Trump tweet within minutes, saying “some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”

— AFP

8:22 am

More major US outlets call Trump win in Texas

US President Donald Trump has won Texas, US networks forecast, taking the rich prize of 38 electoral votes in the Lone Star state.

Texas is traditionally a staunchly Republican state but Democrat Joe Biden made major inroads in the campaign and it was thought the state could go blue for the first time since 1976.

— AFP

8:30 am

A quick overview of where things stand in the White House race

Following is a quick overview of where things stand at the moment in the US presidential election, according to major American news outlets.

According to CNN, Democrat Joe Biden has 219 guaranteed electoral votes to Donald Trump’s 209.

Fox News says Biden has 238 to Trump’s 213, while a tally by USA Today has Biden at 224 and Trump at 213.

The magic number of electoral votes to win the White House race is 270.

A number of key battleground states are still up in the air, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

— with AFP

8:33 am

Trump wins 4 of 5 Nebraska votes; Biden gets 1

US President Donald Trump has won four of Nebraska’s five electoral votes, while Democrat Joe Biden has won one electoral vote from the state.

The 1st Congressional District has been called for Trump. He also won the 3rd Congressional District earlier, as well as the statewide vote. Trump gets one electoral vote for each congressional district, plus two electoral votes for winning the statewide vote.

Biden’s win in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha, is a flip from 2016, when Trump narrowly won it against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

While Trump easily carried the state itself, Nebraska is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes.

In 2016, Trump won all five of Nebraska’s electoral votes.

— AP

9:05 am

Yesh Atid withdraws motion to dissolve government, slamming Blue and White

The Yesh Atid-Telem Knesset party withdraws its law bill to dissolve the Knesset, which had been planned to go up fgor a plenum vote today.

The move comes after Benny Gantz’s Blue and White decided not to immediately act on a previous ultimatum for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pass the budget by the end of October.

Yesh Atid says in a statement that “Blue and White again prevented the government from falling and kept Netanyahu in the leadership. We’ll be back next week.”

9:24 am

WATCH: Trump speaking now from White House

US President Donald is speaking in the White House East Room.

Watch it live here:

9:40 am

Trump falsely claims victory with vote count ongoing, vows to go to US Supreme Court

US President Donald Trump says without evidence that he has won the election. “We did win this election,” he declares. He says a “fraud” is being perpetrated, and says he will go to the Supreme Court to stop the vote count.

“A very sad group of people is trying to disenfranchise that group of people [that voted for me] and we won’t stand for it,” he says without evidence.

“What happened to the election? It’s off.”

“This is a fraud on the American public,” he charges. “This is an embarrassment for our country. We were getting ready to win this election; frankly we did win this election… This is a major fraud in our nation.”

In fact, various states are still counting millions of votes that were submitted legally, Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are locked in a tight battle, and the election is too close to call. As Trump speaks, CNN has Biden on 220 electoral college votes and Trump on 213, with 270 required for victory.

He says “we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court” to get all vote counting stopped. “We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning,” he says. “This is a very sad moment. We will win and as far as I’m concerned we already have.”

Trump says, without evidence, that he has won the races in Georgia and North Carolina, both of which are still too close to call.

In Georgia, Trump has 50.7% to Biden’s 48.1% with some 93% of ballots counted. In North Carolina, Trump has 50.1% to Biden’s 48.7% with 94% of votes tallied.

He also claims Republicans are winning in Michigan and Pennsylvania, in both of which less than 70% of the votes have been counted.

9:52 am

Pence predicts but doesn’t claim victory, vows vigilance as votes counted

Speaking immediately after Trump, Vice President Mike Pence sounds a different tone, predicting but not claiming victory and promising to protect the integrity of the ongoing vote count.

“While votes continue to be counted, we’re going to remain vigilant,” says Pence.

“We’re going to protect the integrity of the vote.”

“I truly do believe, as you do, that we are on the road to victory and we will make America great again,” he says.

9:56 am

Pundits express alarm as Trump falsely claims he has won US election

American commentators are expressing shock at US President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that he has won the presidential election even as many millions of votes are yet to be tallied.

9:59 am

Biden wins Arizona, flipping state for Democrats

Democrat Joe Biden has won Arizona and its 11 electoral votes, flipping a critical battleground state that Donald Trump won four years ago and that could help determine which candidate wins the US presidency.

The victory by Biden is a huge blow to Trump’s chances for reelection. Arizona has backed a Democratic presidential candidate only once in the last 72 years.

Biden’s campaign had focused on Arizona as part of its expanded battleground map through the Sun Belt, citing demographic changes, new residents and realignment away from Republicans among key suburban voters.

Arizona is among the more than half a dozen states that will help determine which candidate gets the 270 electoral votes to capture the White House.

Biden’s massive advantage in campaign cash allowed him to put Trump on defense across the country and work to build an unstoppable lead in the Electoral College.

— AP

10:04 am

Leading Israeli commentators slam Trump for premature victory claim

Channel 12’s Amit Segal, one of Israel’s leading political reporters known for his right-leaning views, says he would prefer Donald Trump to win the election, but slams his premature victory speech.

“Like most Israelis, I’d be very happy if Trump will be the president of the United States,” he writes on Facebook. “But his speech this morning was his most embarrassing since he entered politics.” Trump is trying to disenfranchise millions of Americans whose votes haven’t been counted, Segal charges.

“That was scary.”

“What we just witnessed is a terrible moment for the republic,” tweets Nadav Eyal of the rival Channel 13. “If the president is really going to the Supreme Court (for what?), even before the votes were counted, the whole concept of leadership change is shattered.”

Eyal notes that Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, didn’t back that stance.

— with Raphael Ahren

10:16 am

Biden wins 3 of 4 Maine electoral votes

Democrat Joe Biden has won at least three of Maine’s four electoral votes in his bid to unseat US President Donald Trump.

Biden won the statewide tally and the 1st Congressional District, good for three electoral votes. Trump, meanwhile, hopes to claim one electoral vote through a win in the 2nd Congressional District, which hasn’t yet been called.

Maine split its electoral votes four years ago, awarding three to Democrat Hillary Clinton and one to Trump, who won the more rural and conservative of Maine’s congressional districts.

It marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.

Maine is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes. The other is Nebraska.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 213.

— AP

10:46 am

Ex-astronaut gives Democrats US Senate win in Arizona: media

Retired space shuttle commander Mark Kelly has won a US Senate seat in Arizona, US media projects, defeating a Republican incumbent and breathing life into Democrats’ slim hopes of taking control of the chamber.

In this October 2, 2018, file photo, retired NASA astronaut and Navy Capt. Mark Kelly speaks as his wife, former US Rep. Gabby Giffords looks on during a roundtable discussion with gun violence survivors, at UNLV in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)

“I’m also confident that when the votes are counted, that we’re going to be successful in this mission,” Kelly, 56, has told supporters hours before Fox News and The New York Times projected him the winner against Senator Martha McSally, a trailblazing former fighter pilot.

McSally was aligned with US President Donald Trump earlier this year but distanced herself from him in the final month in the southwestern state, where changing demographics and moderate conservatives’ frustrations with Trump helped Democrat Joe Biden win the state in the presidential race.

— AFP

10:46 am

IDF says shooting attack thwarted in West Bank

A shooting attack has been prevented in the northern West Bank, the military says.

The Israel Defense Forces says troops thwarted the attempt and “neutralized” the Palestinian assailant.

It is unclear if he was shot or otherwise subdued.

There are no casualties on the Israeli side, according to the IDF.

Hebrew-language media says the attacker was holding a pistol.

10:50 am

Pennsylvania governor accuses Trump of ‘partisan attack’ on state’s democracy

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf lambastes US President Donald Trump for claiming he has won the state, even as only 64% of the votes have been counted.

In a tweet, Wolf accuses Trump of waging “a partisan attack on Pennsylvania’s elections, our votes, and democracy.

“I promised Pennsylvanians that we would count every vote and that’s what we’re going to do.”

11:02 am

UAE airline flydubai announces Tel Aviv route

The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned flydubai airline announces it will begin to offer flights to Tel Aviv from the end of the month.

The airline says that tickets are on sale for flights from November 26, and that it will offer a twice-daily service between Tel Aviv and Dubai.

The airline says in a statement that passengers will be able to use the routes not only to visit the UAE but also for stopovers on the way to the Indian Ocean, Far East and Africa.

“Following the recent bilateral agreement, the start of scheduled flights will contribute to economic development and create further opportunities for investment in pursuit of our shared interests and values,” says the airline’s CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith. “With the start of services there will be the option for increased accessibility to the UAE as well as onwards to the Indian Ocean, Far East and Africa reducing total journey times by several hours.”

With a few exceptions, non-Israeli citizens are currently not permitted to enter Israel under coronavirus restrictions.

The United Arab Emirates is classified as a “green” country under the Health Ministry’s regulations, meaning that travelers returning to Israel are not required to quarantine.

11:12 am

Biden campaign vows to fight Trump’s ‘outrageous’ fraud claim in court

Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign says it will fight any efforts by US President Donald Trump’s campaign to go to the Supreme Court to prevent ballots from being tabulated.

In a statement, Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon calls Trump’s statement that he will “be going to the US Supreme Court” and that he wants “all voting to stop” “outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect.”

O’Malley Dillon says the Biden campaign has “legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort.” And she says, “They will prevail.”

A winner has not yet been declared in the presidential race. There are still hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted, and the outcome hinges on a handful of uncalled battleground states.

— AP

11:22 am

IDF says Palestinian arrived from Nablus, shot at soldiers from his car

The Israel Defense Forces publishes more details about a thwarted shooting attack by a Palestinian in the northern West Bank.

“IDF soldiers who were at a military post near the southern exit of the city of Nablus responded with fire after a terrorist armed with a pistol arrived from the direction of the city and shot at them from his vehicle,” the statement says.

The assailant was “neutralized,” and there are no casualties on the Israeli side, the army adds.

11:30 am

German minister warns of ‘very explosive situation’ in US

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer warns the United States is facing a “very explosive situation” and a possible systemic crisis after US President Donald Trump prematurely declared election victory.

Following Trump’s remarks that he will go to the Supreme Court to stop ballots from being tallied, Kramp-Karrenbauer tells public broadcaster ZDF “this election has not been decided… votes are still being counted.”

She says Trump could create “a constitutional crisis in the USA.”

— AFP

11:39 am

Bill to hike fines for virus violations delayed amid ultra-Orthodox objections

A Knesset vote on raising fines for violations of coronavirus restrictions will be delayed until understandings are reached between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties.

The development follows a meeting Netanyahu held this morning with United Torah Judaism party leader Ya’akov Litzman.

The Haredi parties view the fine hikes as directed against their community, because most education institutions that have been caught violating the rules are ultra-Orthodox.

11:50 am

Biden moves slightly ahead of Trump in Wisconsin

Democrat Joe Biden moves slightly ahead of US President Donald Trump in Wisconsin, with 95% of the votes there counted.

Some 49.4% of the votes are for Biden, while 49.1% are for Trump. Fewer than 9,000 votes separate the two.

Winning Wisconsin would greatly boost Biden’s chances of winning the White House race, but he would still need a win in at least one other battleground state.

12:21 pm

Heavy rains cause floods along Israeli coast

Heavy rains are pounding Mediterranean coastal cities in Israel, causing floods in places such as Ashdod, Karkur, Bnei Brak, Deir al-Asad and elsewhere.

In some cases, the water drips into shopping malls and supermarkets.

12:22 pm

Assailant shot dead in West Bank is member of PA security forces

A Palestinian shot and killed while allegedly firing on Israeli soldiers at Huwarra checkpoint in the West Bank has been identified as 29-year-old Bilal Adnan Rawajbeh.

Rawajbeh was a legal advisor with the rank of captain in the Palestinian Preventative Security Forces, one of the PA’s most powerful intelligence organizations, according to the official Palestinian Authority WAFA news agency.

— Aaron Boxerman

12:46 pm

Biden’s lead in Nevada shrinks to 0.6%

The race in Nevada is tightening, with Democrat Joe Biden holding just a 0.6% lead over US President Donald Trump in a state he had been expected to win relatively easily.

With 85% of the ballots tallied, Biden has 49.4% to Trump’s 48.6%, according to CNN.

If Trump wins Nevada, that would make his path to the White House much easier since Biden would have to win three of Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

12:58 pm

WHO says COVID-19 spread in Europe accelerating further

The World Health Organization says there has been a “further acceleration” in the speed of COVID-19’s spread in Europe, which was responsible for about half of the globe’s new cases reported last week.

The UN health agency says in a weekly report that European countries have also recorded a 46% increase in deaths compared with the previous week. Although deaths also rose in the Americas, the rate of increase there is only 2%.

In Europe, France, Italy and the UK have reported the highest numbers of new cases while Andorra, the Czech Republic and Belgium have reported the highest rate per capita.

— AP

1:04 pm

Germany’s AfD party congratulates Trump even though he hasn’t won

The German far-right Alternative fuer Deutschland party congratulates Donald Trump on winning the US elections, despite the fact that the race has not yet been decided.

“From the way the results are looking, Donald Trump will win the US elections. It looks like he has won the Rust Belt and the South, and has a solid lead over Joe Biden. The Republicans will keep their majority in the Senate, too,” says MP Petr Bystron, who represents the party in the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee.

“US voters are grateful to President Trump for their booming economy, peace and prosperity. Under Donald Trump, the US economy raced from one high to the next, while unemployment fell to record lows,” he says in a statement.

“Fifty-four percent of Americans say they are better off than four years ago. In foreign policy, Donald Trump has also racked up a historic record, ending the conflict with North Korea and brokering peace deals between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Donald Trump brought the world four years of peace, security and freedom.”

— Raphael Ahren

1:09 pm

Knesset to vote Tuesday on Bahrain normalization deal

The normalization deal with Bahrain will be brought for a Knesset vote next Tuesday, according to various media reports.

The two countries last month formally signed the agreement to form diplomatic relations.

The Knesset bill is expected to pass by a wide margin, similar to a previous vote establishing ties with the United Arab Emirates.

1:40 pm

Nevada to resume counting ballots on Thursday morning

Nevada, where US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are locked in a close race, announces it will resume counting ballots tomorrow morning.

According to the latest statistics from the Nevada Secretary of State, Biden is currently leading with 49.33 percent of the vote, versus 48.69% for Trump.

The state has six electoral votes.

1:50 pm

Trump’s lead in Michigan shrinks as more mail-in ballots counted

US President Donald Trump’s lead shrinks in Michigan as more mail-in ballots come in for Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

With 83 percent of votes in the state counted, Trump leads with 49.8% of the vote, ahead of Biden with 48.5%, according to the New York Times electoral map.

2:07 pm

Court rejects Rabin assassin’s request for prison furlough to attend son’s bar mitzvah

A court rejects a request by Yigal Amir, who assassinated prime minister Yitzak Rabin, to be granted furlough from prison to attend his son’s bar mitzvah.

2:29 pm

US voters favor Biden on virus, Trump on economy

WASHINGTON — Voters in the US presidential election faced a public health crisis and a wounded economy, but neither candidate is emerging as the clear choice to handle both of those issues, according to AP VoteCast.

More voters — both nationwide and in key battlegrounds — say former US vice president Joe Biden would be better able to handle the coronavirus pandemic, the top concern for about 4 in 10 voters. But President Donald Trump edges out Biden on the question of who would be better to rebuild an economy besieged by nearly 11 million job losses and small businesses staring down a bleak winter. About 3 in 10 voters nationally rank the economy as the most pressing issue.

The competing concerns dominated the race between Trump and Biden, which concluded yesterday with the candidates locked in tight races across the battleground states. Biden warned that the economy can never fully heal unless the coronavirus is first contained and businesses can fully reopen. Trump argued that the economy should not be a casualty of the disease and maintained, without evidence, that the nation was “rounding the turn.”

Even as election night passed without a victor, clear lines were drawn in the electorate. Three-quarters of all voters say they knew all along who they supported. And Trump weighs heavily on their minds — two-thirds say their decision was driven by their opinion of the untraditional president, either for or against.

— AP

2:30 pm

Biden grows lead in Wisconsin, as Trump’s advantage in Michigan shrinks

Democratic challenger Joe Biden slightly expands his narrow lead in Wisconsin, while further eating into US President Donald Trump’s lead in Michigan as the race in that state gets closer.

3:03 pm

Armed anti-Trump protesters burn US flags in Portland on tense election night

PORTLAND, Oregon — Demonstrators burn US flags and march through Portland with protest songs and assault rifles as a confusing election night unfolds to high tension but without violence in the northwestern city.

The liberal enclave in the state of Oregon has braced for possible armed clashes after months of divisive rallies involving left-wing activists, right-wing militias and federal officers deployed by the Trump administration.

As US President Donald Trump claims he won the US election, despite key states still counting ballots, activists gather outside the Portland federal courthouse — the epicenter of the summer’s fraught anti-racism protests.

“We don’t like either candidate — I shamefully voted for Biden — but if Trump gets another four years people will be mad,” says one 20-year-old protester, who asked to be called “L,” as two American flags are ignited in front of the building.

Many at the courthouse shout slogans against Trump as well as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a bogeyman for anti-police protesters who won re-election, while others dance and twerk to loud hip-hop music.

The FBI has warned of the potential for armed clashes in Portland linked to the polls, but there were no signs of election night activity from right-wing groups such as the Proud Boys.

— AFP

Protesters burn an American flag outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on November 4, 2020. (Ankur Dholakia/AFP)
3:12 pm

Financial markets wobble on uncertainty in US election

NEW YORK — US stock futures and markets around the world are mostly holding steady or ticking higher in early trading this morning, but only after spinning through an election night dominated by surprises and sharp swings.

After rallying early this week amid hopes that Election Day’s arrival could clear the uncertainty that’s been weighing on markets, Treasury yields and US stock futures swung up, down and back again overnight as early results showed a race that’s still too close to call between US President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. It’s unclear when a winner can emerge.

Some of the sharpest moves are in yields for US government bonds, which had earlier risen on expectations that a Democratic sweep could mean big stimulus for the economy coming from Washington.

The 10-year Treasury yield swung from 0.88% late Tuesday up to 0.94% shortly after polls closed. It then sank to 0.77% as odds for a Democratic takeover of the Senate diminished and after Trump made premature claims of victories in several key states. It recovered to 0.81% roughly two hours before trading on Wall Street was set to open.

US stock futures swung through similar gyrations. S&P 500 futures rose, fell and rose again before sitting on a gain of 1.2%, as of 7:27 a.m. Eastern time. Dow futures were 0.4% higher.

— AP

3:29 pm

Government planning grants for municipalities that up virus testing — report

The government intends to give financial grants to municipalities that boost coronavirus testing levels, the Kan public broadcaster says.

The report comes amid concern of a recent drop in testing rates and ahead of a meeting of the so-called coronavirus cabinet.

According to Hebrew media reports, outgoing coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu will recommend preventing Israelis from entering Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the West Bank due to concerns people could be infected there.

He will also reportedly suggest Palestinian laborers who work in Israel be tested, and urge the implementation of his “traffic light” plan for dealing with the pandemic starting November 15.

3:40 pm

Virus czar said to urge against full implementation of next stage in lockdown exit plan

Coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu advises ministers to not fully implement the third phase of a multistage plan for lifting the national COVID-19 lockdown, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Speaking during a meeting of the coronavirus cabinet, Gamzu points to the R-number for transmission nearing 1, signaling the number of new cases could grow.

Coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu visits the coronavirus unit at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, northern Israel, September 27, 2020 (David Cohen/FLASH90)
4:08 pm

Biden overtakes Trump in Michigan, holds slim lead

Democratic nominee Joe Biden overtakes US President Donald Trump in Michigan and now holds a razor-thin lead of a few thousand votes in the state.

4:50 pm

Virus czar said to want surveillance cameras to track how many Israelis wear masks

Outgoing coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu tells ministers they should use surveillance cameras in cities to track how many Israelis are wearing masks in public, the Walla news site reports.

Gamzu, who is speaking during a meeting of the high-level coronavirus cabinet, reportedly asserts there are cameras that can identify whether someone is wearing a mask without using facial recognition technology.

After Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit pushes back against the proposal, Gamzu is said to explain the cameras are only meant to get an idea of how many Israelis are wearing masks and not as an enforcement mechanism. Mandelblit says he can back this, according to the report.

5:21 pm

Trump alleges ‘surprise ballot dumps’ in Wisconsin, Michigan as Biden takes lead

US President Donald Trump is complaining after Democratic challenger Joe Biden takes the lead in Wisconsin and Michigan as votes in those key states are counted.

“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled. Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted,” he tweets.

He adds: “VERY STRANGE, and the ‘pollsters’ got it completely & historically wrong!”

Trump falsely claimed overnight that he had won the election as results showed him well ahead in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, but Biden has taken a narrow lead in the latter two states following the tallying of more ballots.

5:34 pm

Biden vows no ‘rest until every vote is counted’

WASHINGTON — Joe Biden vows his campaign won’t “rest until every vote is counted” in the US election after President Donald Trump said he would seek Supreme Court intervention to halt the counting process.

“We won’t rest until everyone’s vote is counted,” Trump’s Democrat rival Biden says on Twitter.

— AFP

5:54 pm

Twitter flags Trump tweet on ‘surprise ballot dumps’

Twitter flags Trump’s tweet alleging that “surprise ballot dumps” put Joe Biden ahead of him in the votes counts in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Users must now click to view the tweet, which Twitter says “might be misleading.”

6:05 pm

Biden lawyer says Trump faces ’embarrassing defeat’ if he contests vote at Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump will suffer a harsh loss if he follows through on threats to challenge election vote counts in the US Supreme Court, a lawyer for Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign warns.

Trump “will be in for one of the most embarrassing defeats a president ever suffered before the highest court in the land” if he asks it to invalidate ballots counted after Election Day, says former White House counsel Bob Bauer.

— AFP

6:15 pm

IDF commander recounts shooting attack in northern West Bank

The commander of the soldiers who came under fire in what the military is describing as an attempted shooting attack in the northern West Bank says multiple troops returned fire at the assailant, a member of the Palestinian security services.

“The car with the assailant came from the city, turned left at the roundabout, and opened fire toward the [soldier’s] position. The commander of the troops responded quickly and fired his weapon,” says Lt. Col. Shahar Barkai, the commander of the soldiers’ unit, the Golani Brigade’s Barak Battalion.

“Immediately afterward, two soldiers at the bus stop ran over and joined the incident, opening fire at the assailant. The assailant was struck by a number of bullets,” Barkai says.

— Judah Ari Gross

6:27 pm

Democrats on track to maintain control of House, but lose incumbents to GOP

WASHINGTON — Disappointed Democrats drive toward extending their control of the House for two more years but with a potentially shrunken majority as they lose at least seven incumbents and fail to oust any Republican lawmakers in initial returns.

By midmorning today, Democrats’ only gains are two North Carolina seats vacated by GOP incumbents after a court-ordered remapping made the districts more Democratic. Though they seem likely to retain House control, their performance is an unexpected disappointment for the party, which hoped for modest gains of perhaps 15 seats.

After decades of trying, Republicans defeat 15-term Representative Collin Peterson from a rural Minnesota district that backed President Donald Trump in 2016 by 31 percentage points, Trump’s biggest margin in any Democratic-held district. Peterson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, opposed Trump’s impeachment and is one of the House’s most conservative Democrats. He is defeated by Republican Michelle Fischbach, the former lieutenant governor.

In Iowa, GOP state Representative Ashley Hinson defeats freshman Democratic incumbent Abby Finkenauer to win a hard-fought race for the state’s northeastern congressional seat. Hinson is a former television news anchor.

Also losing are freshmen Democrats Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala, health secretary under president Bill Clinton, in adjacent South Florida districts where Trump seems to consolidate support among Cuban voters. Others defeated are Democratic freshmen Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico and Kendra Horn in Oklahoma, who had surprising victories in 2018 in districts Trump carried decisively in 2016.

Democrats are also disappointed in the Senate, where they nursed fading hopes of winning the majority. Trump’s challenge from Democrat Joe Biden remains too close to call.

— AP

6:41 pm

Biden campaign chief says Democratic nominee on track to win election

Joe Biden’s campaign chief predicts the Democratic nominee is on track to lock up the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the US presidential election.

“By this afternoon, he will have leads in states that will put him over 270 electoral votes,” Jennifer O’Malley Dillon says in a call with reporters, according to NBC.

Biden “is on track to win this election, and he will be the next president of the United States,” she says.

Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien is also expressing optimism about the US president’s reelection chances.

“We feel like the president is in a very, very, very good position this morning,” he says in a phone briefing.

7:03 pm

Virus cabinet approves reopening of shops next week

The high-level coronavirus cabinet approves the reopening of shops on Sunday, Hebrew media reports say.

Stores won’t be allowed to open in “red” cities with low infection rates, according to the Walla news site, which also says shops will be barred from serving more than four customers at a time.

7:24 pm

McConnell dismissive of Trump’s claim of election win, says it’ll take time to count vote

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is discounting US President Donald Trump’s early claim that he’d already won the election, saying it’s going to take a while for states to conduct their vote counts.

The Kentucky Republican and Trump ally says that “claiming you’ve won the election is different from finishing the counting.”

McConnell also says he is untroubled by Trump’s vows to contest the vote count in key states, telling reporters in Louisville that “you should not be shocked that both sides are going to have lawyers there.”

He adds that “the courts will decide disputes. That’s the way we do it in this country.”

Early this morning, Trump said, “We will win this, and as far as I’m concerned we already have won it.”

But the outcome is still unclear in key states Trump would need if he is to win against Democrat Joe Biden.

— AP

7:38 pm

461 new coronavirus cases, 5 more fatalities since midnight

The Health Ministry says 461 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed so far today, bringing the number of infections since the pandemic began to 317,206.

The death toll rises to 2,597, with five fatalities since midnight.

The number of active cases drops to 9,639, with 364 people in serious condition, including 159 on ventilators. Another 102 are in moderate condition and the rest have mild or no symptoms.

Of the 23,561 tests performed today, 2 percent came back positive.

7:50 pm

IDF backs recognizing fighting in southern Lebanon as an official military campaign

The Israel Defense Forces will recognize the 18-year period that troops were deployed in southern Lebanon from 1982 to 2000 as an official campaign and grant a special pin to those who took part in it, providing Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the government approve the move.

This period, in which the IDF occupied southern Lebanon in order to defend northern Israel from terrorist attacks, will be known as “The Security Zone in Lebanon Campaign,” the military says.

The decision was made by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi on the recommendation of a committee led by former chief of staff Lt. Gen. (res.) Shaul Mofaz, the military says.

Mofaz’s committee, which included current IDF generals and former top commanders of the campaign, was tasked with considering the possibility of formally recognizing this period as an IDF campaign earlier this year, in light of the 20th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon and after years of requests from veterans of this period.

Kohavi accepted their recommendation, saying it was an “important and moral move, which expresses deep appreciation for the service of many generations (of soldiers), who defended the northern borders of the country and its citizens.”

Kohavi passed along his recommendation to Gantz. If the defense minister approves the measure, the matter then requires final approval from the government’s Ministerial Committee for Ceremonies and Symbols.

— Judah Ari Gross

7:52 pm

Trump to ‘immediately’ request Wisconsin recount — campaign chief

US President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien says the president plans to “immediately” request a recount in the battleground state of Wisconsin, where the race remains close.

In Wisconsin, if a race is within 1 percentage point, the trailing candidate can force a recount.

Stepien says in a statement: “The President is well within the threshold to request a recount and we will immediately do so.”

The fate of the United States presidency is hanging in the balance, with Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, battling for three familiar battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — that could prove crucial in determining who wins the White House.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 213.

— AP

8:16 pm

Democrats’ Senate push halted by GOP, but control teeters

WASHINGTON — Democrats had a disappointing night in the battle for Senate control, but it is too soon for Republicans to take a victory lap, although they brushed back multiple challengers to protect their now teetering majority.

Key races in North Carolina, Maine and Michigan remain undecided, and at least one in Georgia is headed to a January runoff.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says US President Donald Trump’s campaign helped his GOP allies, but it’s still too soon to declare victory as state election officials count ballots.

Election Night delivered a jarring outcome for Democrats who had devised an expanded political map, eager to counter Trump and his party’s grip on the Senate.

While Democrats picked up must-win seats in Colorado and Arizona, they suffered a setback in Alabama, and Republicans held their own in one race after another — in South Carolina, Iowa, Texas, Kansas, and Montana, dramatically limiting Democrats’ hopes to make inroads.

The races attracted an unprecedented outpouring of small-dollar donations for Democrats, from Americans apparently voting with their pocketbooks to propel long-shot campaigns.

— AP

8:27 pm

Helicopter ferrying senior Jordanian official lands at Jerusalem hospital — reports

A helicopter transporting a senior Jordanian official has landed at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, according to Hebrew media reports.

The official will be treated in the hospital’s coronavirus wing, reports say.

8:42 pm

Trump picks up 1 of Maine’s 4 electoral districts

US President Donald Trump has won one of Maine’s four electoral votes, just as he did in 2016.

Trump carries the state’s 2nd Congressional District, the more rural and conservative of Maine’s congressional districts.

While Democrat Joe Biden easily carries the state itself, Maine is one of only two states that divides its electoral votes.

Biden wins the 1st Congressional District and the statewide tally, good for three electoral votes. Trump’s victory in the 2nd Congressional District means he wins one electoral vote.

Maine split its electoral votes four years ago, awarding three to Democrat Hillary Clinton and one to Trump.

2016 marked the first time in state history that Maine divided its electoral votes.

In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win, Biden has 238 while Trump has 214.

— AP

8:43 pm

Biden to give televised address on US election results

Joe Biden will address the election results this afternoon, even as it remains too early for The Associated Press to call the presidential race.

The Democratic presidential candidate will issue a televised address in Wilmington, Delaware. He’s been watching the returns come in with family from his home there.

Biden’s campaign manager expresses confidence in an eventual win for Democrats during a call with reporters earlier today, pointing to their projections of the outcome in Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

But the AP is not calling the presidential race yet because neither candidate has secured the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. The AP called Arizona for Biden, but several key states remain too early to call: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Nevada.

As it stands, Biden has 238 electoral votes, while Trump has 214.

— AP

8:56 pm

GOP’s Susan Collins come-from-behind election in Maine, in blow to Democrats’ Senate hopes

Embattled Republican incumbent US Senator Susan Collins of Maine scores a come-from-behind election victory as her challenger concedes, virtually closing Democrats’ pathway to regaining control of the US Senate.

“I just received a very gracious call from Sara Gideon conceding the race,” says Collins, 67, who had trailed for months in polling against her Democratic rival.

Gideon says in a televised address that she spoke with Collins and “congratulated her on winning this election,” which chalks up another victory for Republicans from yesterday’s election.

Republicans are defending their 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Gideon’s loss makes it that much more difficult for Democrats to win back the upper chamber of Congress.

— AFP

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine announces that her competitor Sara Gideon, called to concede on November 4, 2020, in Bangor, Maine. (Scott Eisen/Getty Images/AFP)
9:12 pm

CNN, NYT, AP call Wisconsin for Biden

Democratic nominee Joe Biden has won the US presidential race in Wisconsin, according to CNN, the New York Times and the Associated Press, flipping the state that President Donald Trump won in 2016.

The Associated Press called Wisconsin for Biden after election officials in the state said all outstanding ballots had been counted, save for a few hundred in one township and an expected small number of provisional ballots.

The victory for Biden secures him 10 electoral college votes, bumping him up to 248 in total, while Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

9:18 pm

Trump campaign files suit to halt vote count in Michigan

US President Donald Trump’s campaign says it has filed a lawsuit trying to halt the vote count in battleground Michigan.

The latest counts gives Trump’s Democratic challenger Joe Biden a small lead, but the race is still too early to call.

Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien says in a statement that the campaign “has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.”

He says a suit was filed tiday in the Michigan Court of Claims “to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted.”

Michigan is a critical battleground state that helped deliver Trump the presidency four years ago, along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Neither Wisconsin or Pennsylvania has been called yet.

— AP

9:48 pm

Trump campaign requests recount in Wisconsin

The Trump campaign requests a recount in Wisconsin after election officials in the state said nearly all outstanding ballots had been counted, and multiple news outlets projected a Biden win.

Statewide recounts in Wisconsin have historically changed the vote tally by only a few hundred votes; Biden leads by .624 percentage points out of nearly 3.3 million ballots counted.

The victory for Biden secures him 10 more electoral votes, bumping him up to 248 in total, while Trump has 214. It takes 270 to win the presidency.

In 2016, Trump won Wisconsin by fewer than 23,000 votes, a breakthrough that along with wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania helped hand him his first term in the White House. Democrats were determined to reclaim Wisconsin, a state that before Trump hadn’t gone for a Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stephen earlier said the president planned to request the recount.

— with AP

10:15 pm

Trump’s lead narrows in Pennsylvania

Trump’s lead in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania narrows to seven points with around 80% of votes counted.

Trump leads Biden 52.8% to 46%, The New York Times reports.

The votes still to be counted are mainly mail-in ballots which are expected to heavily favor Democrats.

State officials say the final count is still days away, with most votes expected to be counted by Friday.

A recount in the state is possible, a state official says.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar says the state holds an automatic recount if the final vote tally results in a 0.5 difference.

“I think we’ll know more by the end of the day where we see where we are,” Boockvar tells CNN.

“I don’t think it’s inevitable. We are definitely tracking it,” she says.

The Trump campaign has also requested a recount in Wisconsin after multiple news outlets predicted a Biden win in the state.

10:37 pm

Trump campaign sues to stop vote count in Pennsylvania

The Trump campaign says it’s suing to stop the vote count in Pennsylvania over a lack of “transparency.”

Trump’s lead in the key swing state is narrowing as mail-in ballots are counted. The remaining votes are believed to heavily favor Democrats.

Justin Clark, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, says in a statement that the campaign is “suing to stop Democrat election officials from hiding the ballot counting and processing from our Republican poll observers.”

He says the campaign wants “to temporarily halt counting until there is meaningful transparency and Republicans can ensure all counting is done above board and by the law.”

Clark also says the campaign would seek to intervene in an ongoing Supreme Court case involving the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots.

There have been no reports by law enforcement of fraud or any type of ballot concerns out of Pennsylvania. The state had 3.1 million ballots mailed out that take time to count, and an order allows them to be counted up until Friday if they are postmarked by November 3.

Trump’s campaign earlier filed a lawsuit trying to halt the vote count in battleground Michigan as Biden took a slight lead there.

10:54 pm

Biden set to deliver live address

Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a live televised address at 4 p.m. EST (11 p.m. Israel time).

The Democratic challenger will make the speech from his home city of Wilmington, Delaware.

“We won’t rest until everyone’s vote is counted,” his campaign says, announcing the address.

Watch the speech live below:

11:11 pm

Trump campaign falsely declares victory in Pennsylvania

The Trump campaign falsely declares victory in Pennsylvania, even as it sues to stop remaining ballots from being counted in the state.

The campaign’s official Twitter account posts, “President Trump wins in Pennsylvania.”

White House Press Secretary also declares victory in the battleground state on her personal Twitter account. The social media company flags the post as misleading.

Trump himself falsely declared victory in the national election last night.

A little over 80% of Pennsylvania’s ballots remain to be counted, with the votes expected to heavily favor Democrats. Trump’s lead in the state is around six points, according to The New York Times.

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