Trump calls US midterms 'crooked' and demands Alaska's remaining votes go to Republican senator

■ Steady

Trump calls midterms 'crooked' as Democrats prepare to take Congress

On Thursday President Trump called the midterm elections "crooked", despite having earlier accepted the results, and demanded that Alaska's remaining votes go to its incumbent Republican senator. A federal judge, Tanya Chutkan, also issued a 14-day restraining order halting construction of the 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington. Democrats won both the House and the Senate and take control in January, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces an impeachment push that he calls a sham.

• Alaska's Senate race is still uncalled, with ranked-choice counting possibly deciding it, and Mississippi remains too close to call.
• Vice-President Vance has blamed the Iran war for the Republican defeat, and Hegseth has defended the war as courageous and historic. The White House denies reports that Hegseth and Secretary of State Rubio are set to leave.
• Thomas Massie has filed eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, but conviction would need Republican votes in the Senate.
• On Wednesday California Governor Gavin Newsom commuted more than 500 death sentences to life without parole.