Election Day, US Israel aid, Europe bomb threats (Updated)

Hi, I'm Kim Vannell in Wangenewy, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Walsh Esper in Chicago, it's Tuesday, November 3rd, today. Americans head to the polls in the midterms, with control of Congress at stake, as voters delivered their verdict on President Donald Trump's second term. Trump says he's ending nearly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel. Making Charles addresses the UK's legacy of slavery in the Caribbean, but stops short of an apology. This is Royce's World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week. Today is the day. "Oh my God, who's the vote?" I just want the votes to be counted, I want the votes to be heard. We are excited because we want to keep Iowa red. "He's one of the biggest goddamn court politicians there is, so I'm voting Democrat." Voters across the US are lining up at poll sites to say which direction the country should be headed. At stake, control of the House and Senate, which will determine the next two years of Donald Trump's presidency. The US president has said he wants Americans to vote as if he's on the ballot, and that's been Democrats' hope as well. Trump's sagging poll numbers and concerns over the cost of living have incumbent Republicans across the country facing a tough night. The latest Royce's Ipsos poll finds Trump's approval rating holding near a record low at 32%. And while forecasters generally favor Democrats to take the House, the Senate might be more complicated. Here's politics editor Scott Malone with "What to Watch." Democrats have more chances to win a Senate majority than would have been expected early this year, with seats in normally Republican-leaning states, including Texas, Iowa, and Kansas, seen as at least plausibly competitive for them, but by no means will it be a cape-walk. First indications will come after 7pm when polls close in South Carolina. The race there is for Lindsey Graham's former seat in the Senate. On South Carolina is a heavily Republican state and wouldn't normally be seen as an reach for Democrats at all. However, his sister, Darleen Graham, a newcomer to politics, is seeking the seat and Democrats are seen as at least having a chance there. If early results there show the race even as close, that could be a good sign for Democrats heading into the rest of the night. Next up, 730 polls close in North Carolina. Their Democrats are favored to pick up a seat. This would be Democrats first pick up on the night, a night that they must win at least a net for seats for a Senate majority. After that, we get into the more complicated and more competitive races. 8pm, there's a pair of poll closings in Michigan and Maine, both could take some time to see results on. 9pm polls close in Texas. Democrats think they have a pretty good chance there, but it must be said that in the last several U.S. Senate cycles in Texas, Democrats have thought they had a chance there only to fall flat. It's a heavily Republican state, but Democratic win there would be one major show of energy on the party's behalf, and two, make it a lot more easier and a lot more plausible for them to win a Senate majority. Beyond Texas, they get into even further afield states, including Kansas and Iowa. Both heavily Republican, neither traditionally has really been competitive for Democrats in quite some time, but on a big night, on a night with a lot of national energy, they are seen as in play. Finally, Alaska, the linchpin of it all. But Scott says it could easily take days before control of the Senate is clear. A lot of these races are going to be close. Close races take a long time to project winners in. Likewise, Maine, Alaska, critical races, both use rank-choice voting. That extends the counting period. We may also see a wave of legal challenges to races. All of that means more time, more delay. Those legal challenges Scott mentioned are already playing out. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday night rejected a last-minute attempt by the Trump administration to stop California from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters. Federal officials alleged those voters are likely not U.S. citizens, but California says the claims could wrongly disenfranchise eligible voters. Airports across Europe have been disrupted after at least seven flights received bomb threats, although no devices have yet been discovered. Flights to Warsaw, Sofia, Rome, and Murphy Airport in Spain were subjected to the threats on Tuesday. An airport in Warsaw was briefly shut down, and the Italian Air Force accompanied one of the flights to Rome. While no country pointed fingers over the bomb threats, they come at a time when European officials have been blaming both Russia and Iran for what they describe as "hybrid attacks" and acts of sabotage, Moscow and Tehran both deny any such campaign. The U.S. has carried out strikes on Iran's Kishm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. That's according to a U.S. official who said the strikes appear to be limited and are not a resumption of major combat operations. Another official said the strikes were defensive measures against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets. Contacts between Iran and the U.S. to end the now eight-month war is continuing, and President Donald Trump and his last pre-midterm speech yesterday said an agreement could be on the cards. "The only thing they have is the highest inflation in the last 15 years for any country, over 300 percent inflation, and they want to make a deal and that could happen." Trump has in recent weeks hinted at renewing strikes on Iran after the elections. "Even as he told reporters yesterday that he had no plans to do so." Meanwhile, President Trump on Fox and Friends on Tuesday says that the U.S. will no longer provide billions of dollars in annual aid to Israel after the end of this year. "Our as paying Israel in the BB Netanyan, I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion dollars a year, and we made a deal a month ago that we're stopping at their defined with it." The deal provides around $3.8 billion dollars in annual U.S. military aid to Israel and is set to expire in 2028. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes to win Israel off U.S. military assistance within the decade. Trump says Israel can still buy weapons after the aid expires. There's been no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office regarding Trump's comments. Elon Musk has been one of the biggest players in this year's midterms, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in the hopes of shaping the outcome. Now, he's also pursuing another goal, more control of the company's "he runs." A proposed merger between Space X and Tesla could bring him closer to that objective. The compensation experts say it wouldn't automatically trigger the massive $1 trillion payout attached to his Tesla compensation package. Reporter Chris Kirkham explains, "There's two pretty important distinctions between what's going on at Tesla and what's going on with Space X. At Tesla, he would only get increased voting control of Tesla as he earned these shares and achieved these goals. At Space X, he would only get the money if he achieved these goals, but they immediately granted him all the voting rights associated with that." He already had essentially control of Space X, but what you see is that with these additional shares, he was able to get 85% voting control of Space X. In a merger, that will be enough to essentially get control of Tesla too. While that ensures no one can oust Musk, what does it mean for the eye-popping milestones like establishing a million-person colony on Mars or putting a million robot taxis on the road? At this point, perhaps these goals were kind of about getting people enthused about the company. The plan was announced and the lead up to the IPO, so maybe this is a way to say, "Hey, this is a very ambitious company. We've got a lot of incredible goals." "We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past. The transatlantic trade and enslaved persons still cast a shadow over these islands." King Charles, in Antigua and Barbuda, addressing Great Britain's legacy of slavery in the Caribbean and other parts of its empire. "That shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow." Charles stopped short of an apology or the reparations, instead referring to what he called a "modern partnership" to address the wrongs of the past. "Through improving access to education, investing in jobs and opportunities, encouraging intercom and road trade." Britain transported over 3 million enslaved people and making it one of the biggest slave trading nations. The UK's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has gone further than any predecessor in addressing the country's slave trading past, saying he's open to an apology. Officials are now holding talks. on what form that might take. For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis on the news shaping our world, check out roigtis.com or the roigtis app. There's a link in the description to download it, and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from roigtis seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with all the results from the midterms. We'll see you then.