United States of America Presidential Elections 2024 Live News and Updates

Voting begins with first ballots cast in New Hampshire

Control of the U.S. Congress is at stake on Tuesday in elections that could flip both the House of Representatives and the Senate, while still leaving Capitol Hill divided between Donald Trump’s Republicans and Kamala Harris’ Democrats.

The outcome will play an important role in determining how easily the winner of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election will govern until the next congressional elections in 2026.

Nonpartisan analysts say Republicans stand a good chance of taking back the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority. But Republicans could also lose their grip on the House, where Democrats only need to pick up four seats to take back control of the 435-seat chamber.

As in the presidential election, the outcome will likely be determined by a small slice of voters. The battle for the Senate hinges on seven contests, while fewer than 40 House races are seen as truly competitive. (Reuters)

With sacred chants, ringing of bells and offerings of flowers and bananas, a Hindu priest in Kamala Harris’ ancestral village in southern India conducted prayers for her victory on Tuesday, hours after she and her opponent Donald Trump closed out their campaigns.

The temple ceremony in Thulasendrapuram, in the state of Tamil Nadu, was organised by local villagers and attended by more than a dozen of them and a few tourists.

Harris’ maternal grandfather P.V. Gopalan was born more than a century ago in Thulasendrapuram before migrating to the state capital Chennai. He was a high-ranking government official at the time of his retirement. (Reuters)