Israeli deadlock, Maine's tight Senate race and Jay-Z halftime show (Updated)

Hi, I'm Kim Venel, in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Walsh Asperger in Chicago, it's Tuesday, October 27th, today. The polls close in Israel, without a clear majority. Maine's Republican Senate incumbent Susan Collins faces her biggest challenge of the polls in almost 30 years. India's East Coast braces for Cyclone Arnab. And Marina Corrina Machado pushes for elections in Venezuela, while the U.S. calls for a slower approach. This is Royce's World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week. Israel's election has ended in an apparent deadlock. That's according to exit polls by Israeli news networks. Early exit polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's block winning 50 seats. Netanyahu's main challenger is Gotti Eisenkot, a former military chief promising accountability for security failures. Eisenkot's block, which includes his Yashar party and three others, looks to secure slightly more seats than Netanyahu's. But neither party will likely have a clear majority to form a government. Two unaligned parties remain up for grabs. The election saw a record turnout of more than 74 percent, as of 8 p.m. local time. For voter Claire Tugentoff in Tel Aviv, the decision is clear. "I vote for liquid BB because I think he's the best man in the country to lead the country towards the outside world and that he is a very seasoned diplomat." Since the first election, since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, Eisenkot, a former military chief, is promising accountability for security failures under Netanyahu. The supporter Yuri Tamer says he's confident Eisenkot will come out on top. "We need someone like him to lead this country. This is a beautiful country with best people in the world and with deserve they like him." Follow along at Reuters.com for the latest election results. Two men have been charged in the U.K. in connection with a security incident at RAF Fairford last month. Five British men were detained outside the base in late September. Prosecutors say one of them was trying to assist Iranian intelligence operations, though it's still not clear what the men were doing outside the base. West Bomers stationed there had conducted strikes on Iran, but were removed from the base following the incident. Prime Minister Andy Burnham says the activity was likely coordinated by Tehran, which Iran has denied. As India braces for cyclone Arnab to make landfall, residents along its eastern coast are already dealing with downed trees and blocked roads. The storm is expected to make landfall Wednesday, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. Authorities have evacuated nearly 50,000 people to shelters. And in neighboring Nepal, officials are warning tourists to stay away from high-altitude areas, fearing the cyclone could trigger avalanches and flash floods in the Himalayas. There is of course another big election looming, the U.S. midterms. And in Maine, Republican Senator Susan Collins is in the toughest race of her career. She is the only Republican incumbent defending a Senate seat in a democratic-leaning state, and she's locked Nick and Nick with Democrat Troy Jackson. Reporter Andy Sullivan is in Portland, where voters have been flooded with attack ads, in what is also one of the country's most expensive Senate races. Now, Democrats have repeatedly tried and failed to unseat Collins many times before. She's won re-election easily over the past 30 years, even as the state has backed Democrats in presidential elections. But this year, she faces powerful headwinds. Trump is not popular here, and his war with Iran has driven up the cost of heating oil, which people need to warm their homes through the long, frigid winters. Trump's trade war with Canada is also hammered iconic industries like lobster and blueberry farming. Running against Collins is Troy Jackson, who is emphasizing his opponent's allegiance to Trump in the hope that they swing Republicans tired of the president. Political insiders here in Maine tell me that they're seeing fewer of the independent, persuadable voters than they have in years past, the kind of people who helped get Collins elected. They say that people are now firmly in one camp or another. I've spoken to several voters who say that they backed Collins in years past, but may not vote for her this time. Their distaste for Trump is just too strong. Trump has told people to pretend that he's on the ballot in this year's election. That may not help here in Maine. And Tropic has unveiled the paperwork for its highly anticipated IPO. On the one hand, the company filing unsurprisingly outlines how the company expects demand for advanced AI to continue to skyrocket. But it also lays out the risks and there's a lot of them, almost 100 pages worth, including quote, existential risks to humanity. Deals editor Echo Wang says the IPO will put the AI frenzy to the test given the company is spending much more than it's making. And that loss the company booked for the six months is this year was over 80 billion dollars. And the revenue was a little bit over 16 billion. So you do the math. That doesn't only speak to Anthropic. It speaks to the broader AI lab universe where the competitors, for example, open AI and some of the other hyperscalers, they all spend so much money because to achieve the height rose to achieve the more sophisticated advanced model that it requires a lot of compute. And that is very, very costly. Venezuela and opposition leader Maria Carina Machado's return home is raising questions about how quickly the country's US-backed political transition to democracy could move. Machado is pushing for presidential elections as soon as next year. But the Trump administration, which through its support behind now interim president Del Si Rodriguez after removing Nicholas Maduro, wants a more gradual process. And it doesn't want Machado involved at all. Here's what is Andy and bureau chief Julia Sims Cobb. So the Trump administration has been focused on a three phase plan for Venezuela since January. That's stabilization recovery and transition. And as part of this effort, they are backing negotiations between the ruling party and a faction of the opposition. Machado's movement is not included in these negotiations. And the negotiations are meant to reform both the top court and the electoral council to make election conditions fair in future. Machado wants elections next year, and has said so publicly. And so we expect that her return will put a little bit of pressure on these negotiations, especially because we've seen how much support she has from normal Venezuelans who are really eager for change to come as soon as possible. "Balondor winner is Harry Kane." Harry Kane, receiving the ball on door, football's highest individual honor after a record-breaking season for Bayern Munich and England. "I can imagine it was really tough this year, some of the incredible players. I was up against some of my teammates, some world-class players in the room tonight. So thank you to everyone who voted for me." Kane scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern, helping them to a league and cup double. Known for his relentless consistency and clinical finishing, Kane is the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001. Spain's Alexia Pateas won the women's ball on door for a third time. After helping Barcelona win the treble in addition to the Spanish Super Cup, she's since moved to the London City Lionesses. And in American football news, Jay-Z will headline the 2027 Super Bowl halftime show. The NFL has announced that the hip-hop mogul will take center stage at the championship game on February 14 in Los Angeles. It's the first time Jay-Z will perform at the Super Bowl, despite his company Rock Nation producing the show since 2019. NFL Commissioner Roger Gidell says he's been asking Jay-Z to perform ever since the partnership began. For more on any of the stories from today, as well as more analysis and news shaping our world, check out roitus.com or the roitus 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 favourite podcast player, and if you're listening on a smart speaker. Just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.