Marijuana Legalization Measure Loses in California

LOS ANGELES -- California voters weren't high on a ballot measure aimed at legalizing marijuana and appeared to heed warnings of legal chaos and a federal showdown when they defeated the initiative to make the state the first in the nation to allow the recreational use and sale of pot.

In addition, supporters of Proposition 19 blamed Tuesday's outcome on the conservative leanings of older voters who participate in midterm elections. They acknowledged that young voters had not turned out in sufficient numbers to secure victory but said they were ready to try again in two years.

"It's still a historic moment in this very long struggle to end decades of failed marijuana prohibition," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director for the Drug Policy Project. "Unquestionably, because of Proposition 19, marijuana legalization initiatives will be on the ballot in a number of states in 2012, and California is in the mix."

Tim Rosales, who managed the No on 19 campaign, scoffed at that attitude from the losing side.

"If they think they are going to be back in two years, they must be smoking something," he said. "This is a state that just bucked the national trend and went pretty hard on the Democratic side, but yet in the same vote opposed Prop 19. I think that says volumes as far as where California voters are on this issue."

With more than two-thirds of precincts reporting, Proposition 19 was losing by nine percentage points.

The measure received more yes than no votes in just 11 of the state's 58 counties, getting its strongest support in San Francisco and Santa Cruz counties.

In a sign of what a tough sell it was, an exit poll conducted for The Associated Press showed opposition cutting across gender and racial lines, as well as income and education levels.

The ballot measure even lost in the state's vaunted marijuana-growing region known as the "Emerald Triangle" of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties.

Voters in three other states cast ballots on medical marijuana-related referenda.

In South Dakota, voters rejected for the second time a measure to legalize marijuana for medical use -- a step taken by California in 1996 and 13 other states since. Oregon voters refused to expand their state's medical marijuana program to create a network of state-licensed nonprofit dispensaries where patients could have purchased the drug.

A medical marijuana measure on Arizona's ballot was too close to call early Wednesday.

California's marijuana proposal would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no children were present, and grow it in small private plots.

It also would have authorized local governments to permit commercial pot cultivation, as well as the sale and use of marijuana at licensed establishments.

Images of marijuana leaves and smashed-up cars and school buses appeared in dueling ads during the campaign that pitted the state's political and law enforcement establishment against determined activists.

Proponents pitched it as a sensible, though unprecedented, experiment that would provide tax revenue for the cash-strapped state, dent the drug-related violence in Mexico by causing pot prices to plummet, and reduce marijuana arrests that they say disproportionately target minority youth.

Popular support was hampered, however, by opposition from some medical marijuana activists, growers and providers, who said they feared the system they have created would be taken over by corporations or lose its purpose.

In the weeks leading to the election, federal officials said they planned to continue enforcing laws making marijuana possession and sales illegal and were considering suing to overturn the California initiative if voters approved it.

"Today, Californians recognized that legalizing marijuana will not make our citizens healthier, solve California's budget crisis, or reduce drug related violence in Mexico," White House Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske said.

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San Francisco Poll Worker Accused of Stealing Ballots

Published November 03, 2010

| Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco police have arrested a polling inspector on suspicion of stealing up to 75 ballots, a voting roster and other election materials in a bizarre heist.

Lt. Lyn Tomioka said Wednesday that 50-year-old Karl Bradfield Nicholas was arrested around 1 a.m. She said none of the ballot items has been recovered.

Director of Elections John Arntz says a polling inspector broke into the ballot-counting machine Tuesday afternoon and took off with the ballots and a memory pack that records the information from the ballots.

Arntz says the inspector also stole the cell phone of a teenage poll worker.

Police say Nicholas was booked on three felonies, including burglary. He's being held in the county jail.

A message left at a number listed for Nicholas in voter registration records was not immediately returned.

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Minorities Ride Republican Wave to Historic Wins

The historic Republican wave also produced historic results for minority candidates, from Latina and Indian-American governors to a pair of black congressmen from the deep South.

In New Mexico, Susana Martinez was elected as the nation's first female Hispanic governor. Nikki Haley, whose parents were born in India, will be the first woman governor in South Carolina, and Brian Sandoval became Nevada's first Hispanic governor.

Insurance company owner Tim Scott will be the first black Republican congressman from South Carolina since the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in the 1860s-1870s, after easily winning in his conservative district. Scott, a 45-year-old state representative, earned a Republican primary victory over the son of the one-time segregationist U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.

In Florida, military veteran Allen West outfought a two-term Democrat to win his House race. He is the first black Republican elected to Congress from Florida since a former slave served two terms in the 1870s.

The last black Republican in Congress was J.C. Watts of Oklahoma. He left office in 2003. There were 42 black Democrats in Congress this term.

Several Latino Republicans defeated incumbent House Democrats. In Texas, Bill Flores snatched a seat from Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards, who had served 20 years in Congress, and Francisco Canseco beat 11-year veteran Ciro Rodriguez. Jamie Herrera became the first Latino congressman from Washington state.

Opposition to President Barack Obama's agenda fueled Tuesday's Republican surge, and many also connected Obama to the rise of minority Republican candidates.

"Color is becoming less of an issue," said Richard Ivory, a black Republican political consultant and founder of hiphoprepublican.com. "There was a time when the white electorate saw race first and made judgments based on this alone. While black Republicans and Obama disagree ideologically, both are candidates whose message surpassed pigment."

Mark Sawyer, a UCLA professor and director of the university's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, said Obama's election pushed the Republicans to adjust to a more diverse electorate by seeking out minority candidates.

But he noted that almost all the victorious Republican minorities were elected in majority-white areas and opposed measures such as comprehensive immigration reform that are favored by many Latinos and blacks.

"This election does not show a substantive embrace of a minority agenda," Sawyer said.

Fourteen black Republicans were on House ballots nationwide, almost double the number in 2008. The largest number of black Republicans in Congress since Reconstruction has been two: Watts and Gary Franks of Connecticut, who left office in 1997.

On the Democratic side, Terri Sewell became the first black woman elected to Congress in Alabama.

Haley, who was backed by the tea party and Sarah Palin, is a 38-year-old state representative who was projected to win easily in conservative South Carolina. She faced unproven accusations of infidelity and questions about her finances and experience, and State Sen. Vincent Sheheen made the race closer than anyone expected. She is the nation's second Indian-American governor, after Bobby Jindal in Louisiana.

Marco Rubio, a Republican and Cuban-American, won a Senate seat in Florida. He will replace the retiring Mel Martinez, another conservative Cuban. Also in Florida, Rubio ally David Rivera, a state representative, held off a fellow Cuban-American, Democrat Joe Garcia, a former Obama administration energy official, for an open House seat.

Jean Howard-Hill, a black Republican who lost a House primary in Tennessee, was cautiously optimistic about the future of minorities in her party.

"We're going to jump up and down because we have two African-Americans going to Congress?" she said. "There are still opportunities for advancement. But I think we have a good platform to do that now."

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Legalize-Marijuana Measure Loses in California

Warned of dangers and legal chaos, California voters on Tuesday rejected a measure that would have made their state the first in the U.S. to legalize the use and sale of marijuana.

The spirited campaign over the proposal had pitted the state's political and law enforcement establishment against determined activists seeking to end the prohibition of pot.

It was by far the highest-profile of the 160 ballot measures being decided in 37 states. Other measures dealt with abortion, tax cuts and health care reform.

On a night of conservative advances in much of the country, Massachusetts voters spurned a chance to cut their taxes -- rejecting a proposal to lower the state sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent. Critics said the cut would have forced the state to slash $2.5 billion in services, including local aid to cities and towns.

In Oklahoma, voters overwhelmingly passed three measures that had dismayed some progressive and immigrants-rights groups. One makes English the state's "common and unifying language," another requires a government-issued photo ID in order to vote, and the third prohibits state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.

California's marijuana proposal -- titled the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act -- would have allowed adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of pot, consume it in nonpublic places as long as no children were present, and grow it in small private plots.

Proponents pitched it as a sensible, though unprecedented, experiment that would provide much-needed revenue, dent the drug-related violence in Mexico by causing pot prices to plummet, and reduce marijuana arrests that they say disproportionately target minority youth.

The state branches of the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens endorsed it, as did several retired police chiefs. However, every major newspaper, both political parties, the two candidates for governor and all but a handful of leading politicians came out against it.

Federal officials said they would continue enforcing laws against marijuana possession and sales if the initiative had passed.

Even facing defeat, Prop 19 supporters said they were buoyed by a new Gallup poll showing that national support for legalizing marijuana has reached an all-time high of 46 percent. Gallup said majority support could come within a few years if recent trends continue.

In South Dakota, voters rejected a measure to legalize medical marijuana -- a step already taken by California and 13 other states. A medical marijuana measure also was on Arizona's ballot, and Oregon voters were deciding whether to expand the state's current medical marijuana law by authorizing state-licensed dispensaries.

Among other notable ballot issues on Tuesday:

--Washington state's voters repealed taxes on candy, soda and bottled water adopted by lawmakers last year -- a move that could eliminate a projected $352 million in revenue over five years. Voters rejected a proposal to impose a state income tax on any income above $200,000, or $400,000 for couples.

--In Illinois, where the two most recent former governors have been convicted on federal charges, voters approved an amendment that enable future governors to be recalled by popular vote.

--Oklahoma voters approved a proposed amendment aimed at nullifying the segment of the new federal health care law requiring people to have health insurance. Similar measures were on the ballots in Arizona and Colorado.

--In Colorado, political leaders of both major parties opposed three measures to ban borrowing for public works, cut the income tax and slash school district property taxes. Opponents said the proposals would cost the state $2.1 billion in revenue and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.

--For the first time since the 1990s, there were no measures to ban same-sex marriage. But in Iowa, voters were deciding whether to oust three state Supreme Court justices who joined a unanimous 2009 ruling that legalized gay marriage there.

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Republicans Make Historic Gains in State Legislatures, Pick Up Hundreds of Seats

Republicans matched their historic victories in Congress with a sweep of state legislative chambers across the country Tuesday, a feat which will have considerable bearing on the next election. 

The GOP picked up at least 19 chambers and hundreds of seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures -- though the tally is not final and Republican recruitment arm GOPAC pegs the party's chamber pickups at about 23. In several states, Republicans took control of both chambers and the governor's seat. 

Though the taking of the U.S. House of Representatives overshadowed the victories for the Republican Party on the state level, the state legislatures take on outsized importance ahead of the 2012 cycle. State governments are responsible for redrawing the congressional districts in accordance with the results of the 2010 Census, and the GOP now has a much stronger voice in that process. 

"It is truly historic that we could flip that many legislative chambers in one off-year election," GOPAC Chairman Frank Donatelli told FoxNews.com. "It's broad, it's deep and it's across the entire country." 

The party picked up 20 chambers in the 1994 election and with the balance of power still unclear in several states, the GOP could surpass that performance in 2010. 

The state-level GOP wave could help their congressional counterparts build a bigger majority in the next cycle. Donatelli noted that it also gives Republicans an immediate chance to push their agenda while the U.S. Congress potentially falls prey to political deadlock. 

"We can now begin the reform process in a lot of these states right now. We don't have to wait for 2012 to happen," he said. 

Overall, more than 6,100 state legislative seats were up for grabs in 46 states. Republican state legislative candidates made a net gain of more than 500 seats on Tuesday, giving them more seats than at any time since 1928, according to the NCSL. 

In several states, the party took total control of one or two branches of government. 

The GOP took back both chambers in Alabama, North Carolina, Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. They also took control of the state legislatures in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio by winning the House -- they already held the Senate in those states. 

To boot, former GOP Rep. John Kasich ousted Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio. Republican Tom Corbett also took the Pennsylvania gubernatorial seat back from the Democrats, as did Republican Rick Snyder in Michigan. Republican governors will be in place in Alabama, Maine and Wisconsin as well. 

Since redistricting is often subject to a veto by the governor, single-party control of government is ideal for Republicans trying to shape the districts to their liking. 

In New York, Republicans were seeking to take back the state Senate, but it was still too close to call. 

More chambers were expected to fall from the Democrats, as voters registered their disenchantment with an anemic economy, high unemployment and an overall gloomy national mood leading up to the midterm elections. 

Michael Sargeant, director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said Democratic state candidates should be proud of the "hard-fought campaigns" they waged in a year when the tide was surging against them. 

"During a national recession, Democratic legislative majorities have worked hard to reverse the damage their states have suffered from national Republican policies. Democrats didn't back away from tough decisions, and their efforts to create and save jobs while balancing state budgets rarely received support from their Republican colleagues," he said in a statement. "In tough times Democratic legislators provided the steady leadership and made the wise investments needed to move their states forward." 

A bright spot for Democrats was in Illinois, President Obama's home state. The GOP had the Illinois House on its target list, but Democrats were able to fend off Republicans to retain control of both the House and Senate. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet Wins Colorado Senate Race, AP Reports

DENVER -- Sen. Michael Bennet narrowly defeated tea party Republican Ken Buck on Wednesday, allowing Democrats to hold onto a Senate seat once viewed a prime opportunity for the GOP to make gains.

Bennet provided a crucial firewall against further Republican gains in the Senate during midterm elections in which the GOP made a historic surge. Many polls showed that Buck had a small lead heading into the election.

The race attracted more out-of-state campaign money than any other Senate contest this year, prompting a stream of vicious attack ads as both parties viewed the race as the one that could tip the balance of power in Congress.

"This is definitely a race for the record books," Bennet said in a victory speech outside the Denver museum where President Barack Obama last year signed the stimulus bill into law.

Bennet urged sharply divided Colorado voters and politicians to "set aside our petty differences and make sure this state and this country lead in the 21st century." And he congratulated Buck, saying, "I honor his commitment to public service."

With 97 percent of the projected vote counted, Bennet was leading by about 15,400 votes out of 1.4 million cast.

Buck didn't immediately concede the race.

"We are still looking where returns need to be reported, as well as provisional ballots before making any decisions," Buck said in a post on his Facebook page.

Bennet, 45, was appointed to the seat last year to replace Ken Salazar, who became Interior Secretary. Before his appointment, Bennet was superintendent of Denver Public Schools and had never run for public office.

Democrats retained control of the Senate on Tuesday, though they lost at least six seats to the GOP. Senate races in Washington and Alaska were too close to call Wednesday.

With the Senate victory, Democrats were able to beat back strong GOP challenges in the midterms. Democrat John Hickenlooper won the governor's race, although Republicans picked up two House seats in the state.

During the Colorado campaign, Bennet painted Buck as too conservative, especially on social issues. Buck opposes abortion rights, even in cases of rape and incest, and considers sexual orientation a choice.

Bennet and the Democrats pounded Buck with attack ads calling him "too extreme for Colorado."

Buck sought to portray Bennet as part of the problem in Washington as the federal government carries out reckless spending.

Among the heavy-hitters coming to Buck's assistance was American Crossroads, a conservative group affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove that spent millions on ads attacking Bennet.

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Pelosi’s Political Future Clouded by Historic Losses for Dems

After Republicans dismantled the Democratic majority in the House on Tuesday, Democrats must decide whether to re-elect Nancy Pelosi as the top Democrat once party takes its new minority position -- and she must decide whether even to seek that role.

During the campaign, several Democrats said they wouldn't support the California liberal for leader or declined to commit to Pelosi for a third term if their party were to hold onto a slim majority, as their internal polling showed that her high negative rating were an albatross.

Pelosi, when asked if she asked if she would stick around in leadership, said, "I'll let you know," as she boarded an elevator.

With the loss of so many key chairmen and moderate Democrats in Tuesday's GOP onslaught, the Democratic leadership will face considerable upheaval.

Among those Democratic leaders and long-serving lawmakers were Reps. Ike Skelton of Missouri, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; 11-term moderate Gene Taylor of Mississippi, who pledged to repeal health care and said he wanted someone like Skelton to be leader; and 10-termer Chet Edwards of Texas. Other key losses included Reps. John Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee, Jim Oberstar, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and six-termer Ciro Rodriguez.

In all, Republicans picked up at least 60 House seats and were poised to gain a few more -- far more than what was needed for a majority and the biggest party turnover in more than 70 years.

But now that they have lost control of the House, the decidedly more liberal caucus has to decide how it wants to be led. If Pelosi decides to step down, or if lawmakers decide to remove her from the top of the food chain, it could touch off a leadership grab that may give Rep. Steny Hoyer, the present majority leader, a greater role. Or it could make way for another brand of leadership.

In the wake of the losses Tuesday night, Pelosi reflected on the Democrats' accomplishments in the majority and looked ahead to a new era of cooperation without indicating her plans.

"The outcome of the election does not diminish the work we have done for the American people," she said. "We must all strive to find common ground to support the middle class, create jobs, reduce the deficit and move our nation forward."

Some analysts say Pelosi and possibly other leaders will retire in the face of the huge losses and rebellion from some members. But several aides to Democratic leaders told FoxNews.com that she is taking time to consider her next move. Still others said the Democratic leadership has no intention of leaving.

Kristie Greco, a spokesman for House Majority Whip James Clyburn, said her boss plans to run for a leadership position in the next Congress but is "uncertain" about which one at this point because it is not clear what the other leaders will do.

Greco added that she did not know what the other leaders were going to do or what the agenda would be in the next Congress.

"We suffered a lot of losses last night and we need to reassess and regroup," she said.

Pelosi spokesman Nadeam Elshami said Wednesday that Pelosi has been talking to members of her family and caucus.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, offered a platitude Wednesday for the way forward for Democrats.

"House Democrats are committed to moving forward to create jobs for all Americans, strengthen the middle class, lower the deficit, and stand up for working Americans against the special interests," he said in a written statement.

Van Hollen also refused to accept any blame for the carnage suffered by Democrats.

"Last night's election was a perfect political storm born out of the understandable frustration felt by the American people in response to high unemployment caused by the worst financial crash since the Great Depression," he said. "The record amount of secret money spend by right-wing outside groups turned this political storm into a category 3 hurricane."

On the Republican side, victory spelled clarity: Rep. John Boehner of Ohio is expected to become the next speaker of the House while Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia will be majority leader and Rep. Kevin McCarty of California will become majority whip.

Indiana Republican Rep. Mike Pence, who has not said publicly but is widely expected to make a bid for a gubernatorial or presidential post, has opted not to seek re-election as chairman of the House Republican Conference, the No. 4 post in the House. That likelihood opened the door for Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas to declare his candidacy, as has Rep. Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party champion. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has said she will seek to retain her post as vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference. 

Cantor has already started reaching out to colleagues to make known his intention to stand for House majority leader by releasing a letter and governing document that promised all efforts would address job creation and the economy, shrinking the size of government while expanding liberty. The post would also give him the distinction of becoming the highest ranking Jewish member ever to serve in the House.

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Alaska's Write-In Vote Count for Senate Race Begins Next Week

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski began a drawn-out battle Wednesday for every ballot with her handwritten name on it in her bid to come back from a primary defeat that forced Alaskans to choose between Sarah Palin's tea party and the state's GOP establishment.

Meanwhile, the overseer of Alaska's elections told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the counting of write-in ballots will begin Nov. 10, with the hope of having a clear winner by late next week.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning, write-in votes represented 41 percent of the vote. GOP nominee Joe Miller had 34 percent; Democrat Scott McAdams, who all but conceded Tuesday night, had 24 percent.

While Murkowski celebrated the fact she was still in the race, it remained to be seen whether the write-in votes would keep her in office.

She was one of 160 candidates following conservative calls urging Alaskans to sign up to disrupt her campaign. Though she focused heavily on educating voters on how to cast a vote for her properly, it's not clear how many did so, filling in the ballot oval and writing "Murkowski" or "Lisa Murkowski." And while election officials plan to be lenient in deciphering voter intent in determining whether a ballot for Murkowski counts, they've provided no set standard for what would be allowable.

"At this point, without a single write-in ballot counted, Lisa Murkowski has no claim on a victory," Miller said in a statement on his website Wednesday. Expressing confidence he'd win, he added: "this campaign is not over!"

Murkowski was confident, too: "We're doing this," she said, choking up in front of supporters Tuesday as she stood with her husband and two sons. "We're doing this."

If Murkowski is successful, it would be historic. No U.S. Senate candidate has won as a write-in since Strom Thurmond did it in 1954.

A final ruling could take weeks -- and could come in the courts.

The latest tally didn't include potentially tens of thousands of absentee ballots that election officials don't plan to begin counting until Tuesday. Election workers plan to begin counting write-in ballots the following day, in Juneau, to avoid keeping citizens and candidates in the dark about whose names are on the ballots, Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell said. The count could take three days, he said, adding that he hoped Alaskans would have a "pretty clear answer" on who won by the end of next week.

That may not be the last word: campaigns will be allowed to have observers in the room to make note of any ballots they challenge. Dec. 9 is the deadline for an election challenge to be filed in superior court.

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Sink Concedes Florida Governor's Race to Republican Scott

Published November 03, 2010

| FoxNews.com

After a hard fought, bitter race that ended in a photo finish, Republican businessman Rick Scott claimed victory Wednesday shortly after his opponent Democrat Alex Sink conceded the Florida governor's race.

In his victory speech, Scott , who ran on an anti-establishment message and drew the support of the Tea Party, pledged to "work for every Floridian."

"Today is the end of politics as usual," he said about an hour after Sink said she couldn't see a path to victory. "We're going to work for the common good."

Earlier, Scott's campaign had called a win by Sink "a mathematical impossibility," after the campaign's numbers showed Scott with a lead of more than 68,000 votes.

Scott has 49 percent of the vote to Sink's 48 percent of the vote -- a lead of about 53,000 votes -- with 99 percent of the vote counted.

Scott will replace Gov. Charlie Crist, who opted against seeking a second term to run for the U.S. Senate, a bid that he lost Tuesday to Republican Marco Rubio. Scott will be sworn in Jan. 4.

Scott, 57, is a multimillionaire who jumped into the Republican primary race in April. Sink is the state's chief financial officer. She worked for 26 years in the banking business, eventually becoming one of the state's most prominent businesswomen.

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Republicans Capture House in Historic Wave, Claim 'Mandate' to Shrink Government

Republicans thundered into the majority in the House of Representatives Tuesday night, making historic gains by a proportion not seen in more than 70 years. 

The party so far has won more than 60 seats, with about 65 net gains projected by the time all ballots are counted -- far more than the party needed to seize the majority. Democrats, with the help of a victory by Majority Leader Harry Reid, held the Senate by a narrow margin but suffered several big losses in an election that just about put Republicans on equal footing with the president's party. 

House Republican Leader John Boehner, speaking briefly to reporters Wednesday morning alongside his deputy, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., claimed a "mandate" to cut the size of government and urged President Obama to respect the will of the voters and "change course." 

He said the American people want a climate that will promote job growth as well as a more accountable, smaller federal government. He also said his party needs to "lay the groundwork" for repealing the "monstrosity" health care law, with the eventual goal of replacing it -- an unlikely prospect as long as Obama is in the White House. 

"It's pretty clear that the Obama-Pelosi agenda's being rejected by the American people," Boehner said. "I think it's a mandate for Washington to reduce the size of government." 

Obama said at a press conference Wednesday that he wants to reach "consensus" with Republicans, calling for both parties to reach "common ground." He chalked up his party's losses to frustration over the economy. 

In House races from Florida to Virginia to Indiana to Texas Tuesday night, voters were sending a rebuke to the party in power by electing Republicans over Democratic incumbents. Seniority did not seem to matter. Longtime representatives were falling just as hard as freshmen, succumbing to campaigns -- many of them backed by the Tea Party movement -- that tied them to unpopular federal policies and proposals. 

The GOP gains would exceed those made during the Republican wave of 1994 when the party picked up 54 House seats. Not since 1938 has the party made such monumental inroads. With 218 seats needed for a majority, Republicans so far have officially won 239, while Democrats have won 185. 

Though unable to reach a majority in the Senate, Republicans have so far picked up six seats from Democrats and held down a number of others -- giving little ground as they shoot for a stronger foothold in the upper chamber. In a symbolic victory, GOP Rep. Mark Kirk beat Alexi Giannoulias for Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois after a hard-fought race. Conservative Pat Toomey narrowly defeated Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak, taking over for party-switching Sen. Arlen Specter. And three-term Sen. Russ Feingold was the latest incumbent Democrat to go down, losing his race for reelection in Wisconsin to Tea Party-backed businessman Ron Johnson. 

"What we're sensing tonight is a huge case of buyer's remorse all across America," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told supporters Tuesday night, describing the GOP gains as a rejection of the spending and "Washington takeovers" coming out of the federal government. 

In North Dakota, Republican John Hoeven beat Tracy Potter for the seat held by outgoing Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan. In Arkansas, GOP Rep. John Boozman trounced Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln, denying her a third term in Congress. Lincoln's vote for the president's health care overhaul was considered a turning point for the senator's popularity. Former Sen. Dan Coats in Indiana scored the first GOP Senate pick-up of the night, beating Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth for the seat left by retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh. 

But Democrats held onto a handful of key seats, most importantly Nevada. Reid campaigned hard to retain his seat, with supporters casting Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle as dangerous and unfit to serve. Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer was also able to fend off a stiff challenge from Republican Carly Fiorina in California. 

The party scored three victories for open seats. In West Virginia, Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin beat John Raese despite an aggressive campaign by the Republican to portray Manchin as a buddy to Washington Democrats and particularly Obama. In Delaware, Chris Coons beat Tea Party-backed Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell; in Connecticut, popular Attorney General Dick Blumenthal beat professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon. All those open seats were previously held by longtime Democratic lawmakers. The Delaware seat used to be held by Vice President Biden, the Connecticut seat held by longtime lawmaker Chris Dodd and the West Virginia seat held by the late Robert Byrd. 

Republicans also won open Senate seats in Florida, Utah, Kansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio. Those open seats were already held by Republicans, so the GOP wins there did not affect the balance of power. 

The Senate races in Washington, Alaska and Colorado are still too close to call. Republicans so far have claimed 46 Senate seats to Democrats' 49. Two independents vote with Democrats.

Among the slew of House victories, Republican Dan Webster defeated outspoken liberal Rep. Alan Grayson in Florida's 8th District, Republican Allen West beat Rep. Ron Klein in Florida's 22nd District and Republican Sandra Adams picked up a Democratic seat in Florida's 24th District. Tea Party-backed Kristi Noem ousted Democratic Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in South Dakota. Republican Bill Flores beat moderate Democratic Rep. Chet Edwards in Texas' 17th District. Republican Lou Barletta, a strident foe of illegal immigration, beat longtime incumbent Rep. Paul Kanjorski in Pennsylvania's 11th District. Longtime Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton, a committee chairman, was also defeated in Missouri. 

So-called purple states like Virginia followed a Republican trend on Tuesday. Republican Robert Hurt took Virginia's 5th District, defeating Rep. Tom Perriello who boldly campaigned with the president; Republican Scott Rigell defeated Virginia Democratic Rep. Glenn Nye in District 2. Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil also lost in Maryland's District 1, while Democratic Rep. Zack Space lost in Ohio's District 18. Republican Larry Bucshon picked up Rep. Brad Ellsworth's Democratic seat in Indiana, where Democratic Rep. Baron Hill was also defeated by a wide margin. 

On the other side, Democrat John Carney picked up the Republican House seat in Delaware formerly held by Rep. Mike Castle, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate. GOP Rep. Joseph Cao lost to Democrat Cedric Richmond in Louisiana. Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank held his seat against upstart Sean Bielat. 

 • RESULTS MAP: Explore the current party divide, and the polling numbers for the closest races
• TRACK KEY RACES: Track and follow up to 10 races. 
• CANDIDATE LIST: All you need to know about the candidates

With the strength of the Tea Party movement at their backs, GOP candidates were confident the enthusiasm of their supporters would help propel them to historic pickups in Congress and give them the leverage to put a check on the Obama administration's policies. 

Though Democrats barnstormed into Congress in huge numbers over the past two cycles -- helped in no small part by Obama's historic presidential run in 2008 -- frustration over the economy and far-reaching legislation passed under the current administration fueled a crop of candidates vowing to bring a renewed model of small-government conservatism to Washington. 

The most visible and vocal driver of that political breed has been the Tea Party, which aggravated several GOP primary contests by backing non-establishment candidates who, in many cases, won. A handful of those nominees lost on the Senate side Tuesday, opening the movement up to criticism that more tested candidates could have put the party over the edge. But the energy from the Tea Partiers was an undeniable factor in getting Republicans out to the polls. 

Republican Rand Paul heralded his victory in the Kentucky Senate race Tuesday as a sign of the Tea Party's vigor. 

"We've come to take our government back," he declared in his victory speech. "Tonight there's a Tea Party tidal wave and we're sending a message to them." 

A number of incumbents in both parties coasted to election, avoiding the upheaval that marked so many races. Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy easily won his reelection race, as did South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, who faced off against Democrat Alvin Greene, an unemployed unknown who won his party's primary without campaigning. 

Veteran Democratic Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, Democratic Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye and Democratic New York Sen. Charles Schumer won their reelection races. On the Republican side, victories were sealed by Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, Arizona Sen. John McCain. North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson. 

Freshman Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., also won her race to complete the term vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- she will have to run again in 2012. 

Thirty-seven governor's seats were also on the line Tuesday, with Republicans taking the majority of them. 

Republicans scored a big pickup in Ohio as John Kasich beat Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, an enthusiastic Obama ally whom the president tried to save. Republicans also notched a gain in Tennessee with a victory by Bill Haslam and again in Iowa with a win by Terry Branstad. Republican Tom Corbett seized a Democratic seat in the Pennsylvania governor's race as did Scott Walker in Wisconsin. And Republican Nikki Haley won the race for governor in South Carolina, weathering allegations of affairs which posed a distraction in the race. 

In California, former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown will return to his old job after beating former eBay executive Meg Whitman. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will keep his state's governor's seat in Democratic hands, beating Republican Carl Paladino. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper won the Colorado gubernatorial race for the Democrats, beating Republican Dan Maes as well as insurgent third-party candidate Tom Tancredo. Democrat Deval Patrick won another term in Massachusetts, as did Gov. Martin O'Malley in Maryland, where ex-Gov. Robert Ehrlich tried to mount a comeback.

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S. Korea Fires Warning Shots Toward N. Korean Boat

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's navy fired warning shots to chase away a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border early Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said, in the latest flareup of tension on the divided peninsula just days before the Group of 20 summit in Seoul.

The North Korean boat intruded on South Korean territory for about two hours before returning to North Korean waters early Wednesday, the ministry said. The fertile maritime border, the scene of three deadly skirmishes between the Koreas, is a key flashpoint because the North does not recognize the line drawn by the U.N. at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The firing comes just days after North Korea shot two rounds at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone, prompting return fire from South Korean troops, according to Seoul military officials.

South Korea is bracing for any possible North Korean moves to sabotage next week's Group of 20 summit of world leaders. North Korea has a track record of provocations when world attention is focused on the rival South.

In 1987, a year before the Seoul Olympics, North Korean agents planted a bomb on a South Korean plane, killing all 115 people on board. In 2002, when South Korea jointly hosted soccer's World Cup along with Japan, a North Korean naval boat sank a South Korean patrol vessel near the sea border.

President Lee Myung-bak said Wednesday that he does not believe Pyongyang would strike South Korea but that Seoul was ready for anything.

"The South Korean government is making thorough preparations against (any possible attacks) by North Korea and worldwide terrorist organizations," Lee told reporters during a televised news conference.

His comments came a day after militants in southern Yemen blew up an oil pipeline operated by a state-owned South Korean company, Korea National Oil Corp., according to company officials. It was not clear whether al-Qaida's local offshoot was behind the attack, a Yemeni official said.

Tensions on the peninsula have been high since the mysterious sinking of a South Korean warship killed 46 sailors in March.

An international investigation concluded that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo that sank the 1,200-ton Cheonan near the tense Korean sea border. North Korea flatly denied involvement and warned that any punishment would mean war.

On Tuesday, North Korea issued a lengthy point-by-point denial. The 7,000-word statement by North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission accused the South Korean-led investigation of fabricating data. The U.S. also was part of the investigation.

North Korea disputed the probe's conclusion that an aluminum torpedo sank the warship, saying all of its torpedoes are made of steel alloy. The statement said the North is willing to hand over parts of one of its torpedoes to South Korea for verification.

In Seoul, the Joint Chiefs of Staff dismissed North Korea's latest denials as "nothing new."

Meanwhile, the U.S.-led United Nations Command on Wednesday returned the bodies of two North Korean soldiers that found in the river running through the heavily fortified inter-Korean border.

The village is jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea, an arrangement established in 1953 to supervise the cease-fire that ended the three-year war.

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Former Russian Prime Minster Chernomyrdin Dies at 72

MOSCOW -- Viktor Chernomyrdin, who served as Russia's prime minister in the turbulent 1990s as the country was throwing off communism and developing as a market economy, died Wednesday. He was 72.

No cause of death has been released, but Chernomyrdin had grown thin in recent years and was reported to have been ill.

President Dmitry Medvedev sent his condolences to his family and friends. The president also ordered his chief of staff to organize Chernomyrdin's funeral on Friday, which will be also shown live on national television.

Chernomyrdin helped see Russia through some difficult times, including the economic devastation that followed the Soviet collapse and the war in Chechnya, and was much loved by Russians.

Born in a Siberian village, he was a bear of a man with an everyman's charm. He also had a knack for amusing his countrymen by bursting out with colorful, nongrammatical expressions. His statement that "we wanted the best but it turned out as always" has become part of Russian culture.

Chernomyrdin rose through the ranks of the Communist Party to head the Soviet oil and gas ministry from 1985 to 1989, when he was tapped to become the first chairman of the newly created state gas company Gazprom.

He was appointed prime minister by then President Boris Yeltsin in 1992 and held this post until March 1998. Following the financial crash of August 1998, when Russia defaulted on its debts and devalued its currency, Yeltsin asked him to return as prime minister, but the parliament refused to confirm him.

After Vladimir Putin became president, he appointed Chernomyrdin as ambassador to Ukraine in 2001, a move seen as an effort to distance a political heavyweight from Moscow. Chernomyrdin remained ambassador until last year.

Chernomyrdin is to be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery, the final resting place of Yeltsin, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and many of Russia's most beloved artistic figures.

He is survived by two sons and four grandchildren. His wife died earlier this year.

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UN: Somalia Vows to Release Child Soldiers in Army

Published November 03, 2010

| Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya -- A U.N. envoy says Somalia's government will work with the global body to release and rehabilitate the child soldiers in its army.

Radhika Coomaraswamy says the number of children in the Somali army is unclear. But she welcomed the commitment of Somalia's Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to develop a plan to address the problem of child soldiers in the Somali army.

Human rights groups and media have been reporting about the existence of child soldiers in Somalia for years.

In June, President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed ordered an investigation into the reports.

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Ugandan Court Bars Photos, Names of Gays in Paper

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Uganda's high court has ordered a controversial newspaper to stop publishing the names and photographs of people it says are gay, ruling that the publication is violating their right to privacy.

A gay rights group, Sexual Minorities Uganda, sought the injunction after the paper on Monday published its second straight edition with names and photos. The first edition, published in early October, sparked attacks against at least four gay Ugandans, Sexual Minorities Uganda said.

Justice Vincent Kibuuka Musoke ordered Rolling Stone on Monday to stop publishing the names and photos of gay Ugandans at least until Nov. 23, when Musoke said a final ruling will be made. Musoke said he ordered the injunction because publishing names and photos "is an infringement of the right to privacy of those whose photos appear in it."

Julian Onziema, the program coordinator for Sexual Minorities Uganda, said the group was happy with the justice's injunction but that other publications are beginning to print the same kinds of stories.

"We filed a suit against the paper for abuse of our fundamental human rights of privacy, association and security," Onziema said. "However my happiness might be short-lived because there are other tabloids in Uganda which are taking over from where Rolling Stone exploded from. They are making people hate us."

Rolling Stone's managing editor, Giles Muhame, says that publishing photos of gay Ugandans can help police find them. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda and anyone caught in a homosexual act can face up to 14 years in prison.

Gays in Uganda say they have faced a year of attacks and harassment since a lawmaker introduced a bill in October 2009 that would impose the death penalty for some homosexual acts and life in prison for others. The bill has not come up for a vote.

The legislation was drawn up following a visit by leaders of U.S. conservative Christian ministries that promote therapy they say allows gays to become heterosexual.

The bill became political poison after international condemnation, and many Christian leaders have denounced it.

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Al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens Attacks on Christians

BAGHDAD -- Al Qaeda's front group in Iraq has threatened more attacks on Christians following a bloody siege at a Baghdad church that left 58 people dead, saying that the "killing sword will not be lifted" from their necks.

The Islamic State of Iraq's warning of further violence against Christians comes two days after the group's assault on a Catholic church in downtown Baghdad -- the deadliest attack ever recorded against Iraq's Christians, whose numbers have plummeted since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion as the community has fled to other countries.

"We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood," the insurgent group said in a statement posted late Tuesday on militant websites.

The Islamic State of Iraq, which is an umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq and other allied Sunni insurgent factions, also said that its deadline for the Coptic Christian Church in Egypt to release Muslim women that the militant group claims are being held captive has expired.

As a result, "all Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for the muhajedeen (holy warriors) wherever they can reach them," the group said. The statement did not specify any one location, raising the specter of violence against Christians across the region.

The release of the women in Egypt was one of the militants' demands during Sunday night's siege, along with the release of Al Qaeda-linked prisoners held in Iraq.

The Baghdad church siege horrified Iraq's Christian community, hundreds of whom gathered Tuesday for a memorial service in Baghdad. One of the officials read a letter from Pope Benedict XVI to the crowd.

"For years the violence hasn't stopped hitting this country, and Christians are becoming the target of these cruel terrorist attacks," the letter read.

While Christians were the target Sunday night, Shiites bore the brunt of a string of 13 attacks on Tuesday that struck neighborhoods across the capital.

On Wednesday, the death toll in that violence climbed to 91 people, according to Iraqi police and hospital officials. No break down of the new death toll was immediately available.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Tuesday's attacks evoked painful memories of the bloody sectarian war Iraq's Sunni and Shiite militias fought in 2006 and 2007, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians.

They were designed to hit civilians at restaurants and cafes where many Iraqis were gathered to enjoy the warm evening. The violence demonstrated the insurgents' ability to carry out coordinated attacks from one side of Baghdad to the other despite a network of police and army checkpoints and blast walls crisscrossing the capital.

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Iran: West's 'Arrogance' Could Doom Nuke Talks

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's president said Wednesday that upcoming talks with six world powers about its disputed nuclear program will fail if those nations continue along what he called a "path of arrogance."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments, made in an address to a crowd of thousands in northeastern Iran, cast doubt on any possible progress in talks that Tehran has said it is ready to hold with the six powers -- the U.S. Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- sometime after Nov. 10.

The U.S. and some of its allies suspect Iran's civil nuclear energy program is a cover for a secret effort to develop weapons and are pushing Iran to fully open all facilities to international inspection and to give up uranium enrichment, a key element of its nuclear work that could give it a pathway to the bomb.

Iran denies having nuclear weapons ambitions and says it only wants to enrich uranium to the lower levels used in producing fuel for power plants.

The standoff is the central issue of dispute between Iran and the West, and Ahmadinejad often accuses the U.S. in particular of using the confrontation to thwart Iran's technological progress and of wanting to dominate the nations of the Middle East.

"If you want to continue the previous path of arrogance ... these people (the Iranian nation) will pursue you until you end up in hell," Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast live on state television.

The crowd, in the city of Bojnord, responded with chants of "death to the U.S."

The U.N. Security Council imposed a fourth round of tough sanctions against Iran in June over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which at higher levels of processing, can be used to make the fissile core of warheads.

At the time, Ahmadinejad dismissed the U.N. sanctions as "annoying flies" and as useless as "used tissues." In response, he said then that Iran would not hold talks with the West for at least two months to "punish" world powers.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council, which handles the country's nuclear negotiations, and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, are now exchanging letters on the date and place of a new meeting.

Negotiations foundered a year ago over a U.N.-drafted proposal for Iran to ship most of its stockpile of enriched uranium abroad for further processing and to be returned in the form of fuel rods for a Tehran research reactor that makes isotopes used in cancer treatment.

Fuel rods cannot be used to make weapons material. Iran balked at that deal. It accepted a similar proposal from allies Brazil and Turkey, but the other six nations said that offer fell short of their demands.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad warned that the new talks will fail if the West seeks to impose tougher conditions than those Tehran rejected last year.

But the Iranian president said a compromise could be reached if Iran is respected.

"The best path for them (world powers) is to respect nations, stop being obstinate, get out of glass palaces and sit down like a polite boy and talk on the basis of justice and respect. If they come like this, they may get results," Ahmadinejad said.

"But if they come with arrogance and deception, the response of the Iranian nation is the same it has already given."

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