US Election: Trump gains key states as Democrats watch in despair

Egypt and Qatar, both instrumental in efforts to promote regional de-escalation and end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, have issued statements congratulating Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after he declared victory in the US election.

On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi extended his congratulations, expressing hope that Trump’s return to the White House might foster peace in the Middle East.

"I wish him all the success... and I look forward to reaching peace together, upholding regional stability and strengthening the strategic partnership between Egypt and the United States and their friendly peoples," Sisi said on X.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said he looked forward to "working together again... in promoting security and stability both in the region and globally".

Donald Trump's claimed US presidential election victory on Wednesday will essentially end the criminal cases brought against him, at least for the four years he occupies the White House.

The first former US president to face criminal charges, Trump for much of this year faced four simultaneous prosecutions, over allegations ranging from his attempt to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

A New York jury in May found him guilty of falsifying business records tied to the Daniels payment, making him the first former US president convicted of a felony.

Trump, a Republican, told an interviewer on October 24 that he would fire US Special Counsel Jack Smith -- who led the federal prosecutions over his attempts to overturn his election defeat and retention of classified documents after leaving office -- "within two seconds" of being sworn in.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and cast the prosecutions as politically motivated.

"The American people have heard these Democrat prosecutors' cases against President Trump and they're still going to elect him anyway," said Mike Davis, the founder of the Article III Project, a conservative legal advocacy group.

While Trump as president will have the authority to fire Smith and shut down the federal cases against him, he will not have the same control over the New York hush money case or Georgia's prosecution of him for trying to overturn his 2020 loss in that state.

But his unique role as president makes it unlikely he will face legal consequences in either case during his term in office.

US news broadcaster CBS News reports that Nevada, a key swing state, is now rated as "leaning" towards Trump. 

While this is not an official projection, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, backed Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. If Trump manages to flip the state, it would add another six electoral college votes to his tally.

Germany's foreign minister congratulated Donald Trump after he claimed election victory on Wednesday and pledged the country will remain "a close and reliable ally for the future American government".

Addditionally, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday congratulated "my friend Donald Trump" after he claimed victory in the US presidential election.

"I hope Turkey-US relations will strengthen, that regional and global crises and wars, especially the Palestinian issue and the Russia-Ukraine war, will come to an end," the Turkish president wrote on X.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog vowed to strengthen his country's "ironclad bond" with the United States as he congratulated Donald Trump, who claimed victory in the US election.

"Congratulations to President @realDonaldTrump on your historic return to the White House... I look forward to working with you to strengthen the ironclad bond between our peoples, to build a future of peace and security for the Middle East, and to uphold our shared values," Herzog said in a statement.

Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on his election "victory" and said his country's alliance with the United States would stand firm against their arch-foe Iran.

"Congratulations to President-elect @realDonald Trump on his historic victory. Together, we'll strengthen the US-Israel alliance, bring back the hostages, and stand firm to defeat the axis of evil led by Iran," Israel Katz, who was named defence minister late Tuesday, said on X.

For those who are continuing to follow the latest updates, here is a brief breakdown of Election Night:

• Former President Donald Trump addressed his supporters after securing his third battleground victory of the night by winning Pennsylvania, moving him closer to a White House victory. Other swing states, including Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, remain too close to call.
• Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has won California, New York, and other traditionally Democratic states. However, her path to victory has narrowed now that Trump has broken through the Democrats' "blue wall."
• Republicans will hold control of the Senate after flipping some seats previously held by Democrats, while the outcome in the House is still undecided.
• In addition to the national races, several governor races are being decided, along with critical ballot measures on issues such as abortion and marijuana.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump after he claimed victory in the US presidential election, expressing hope that Washington and Brussels will work together on a "strong transatlantic agenda".

"I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump. The EU and the US are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens.

"So let's work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them," von der Leyen wrote on X.

I warmly congratulate Donald J. Trump.

The EU and the US are more than just allies.

We are bound by a true partnership between our people, uniting 800 million citizens.

So let's work together on a strong transatlantic agenda that keeps delivering for them.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 6, 2024

Republican former president Donald Trump closed in on a new term in the White House early Wednesday, needing just a handful of electoral votes to defeat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

US media have thus far projected that Trump has won in more than half of the 50 US states, including three key battlegrounds Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, two of which voted Democratic in the last election.

That gives him 266 electoral votes, just shy of the 270 needed to win the presidency. Fox News has already called the race in Trump's favor.

Harris has so far captured 219 electoral votes, including California and New York -- as well as the US capital Washington.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Donald Trump after the Republican claimed victory in the U.S. presidential election, and said he looked forward to working with him.

"I look forward to working with you in the years ahead," Starmer said on X on Wednesday.

"I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come."

Congratulations President-elect @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory.

I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. pic.twitter.com/QYHLd4k4EG

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 6, 2024

Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump after he claimed victory in the U.S presidential election, and said it would strengthen ties between the two countries.

In a post on X Meloni offered her "most sincere congratulations" to Trump, and said Italy and the United States had an "unshakeable alliance".

"It is a strategic bond, which I am certain we will now strengthen even further," she said.

A nome mio e del Governo italiano, le più sincere congratulazioni al Presidente eletto degli Stati Uniti, Donald #Trump.

Italia e Stati Uniti sono Nazioni “sorelle”, legate da un’alleanza incrollabile, valori comuni e una storica amicizia.

È un legame strategico, che sono certa…

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) November 6, 2024

 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he looked forward to renewing collaboration with Donald Trump, who has claimed victory in the US election, to strengthen the "comprehensive global and strategic partnership" between the countries.

"Let's work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi said in a post on X.

Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together,… pic.twitter.com/u5hKPeJ3SY

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 6, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Donald Trump on Wednesday on what he hailed as an "historic return" to the White House.

"Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America," Netanyahu said on X after Trump claimed victory in the US presidential election

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone about the US election in which Donald Trump has claimed victory, Berlin said early Wednesday.

"It was agreed to coordinate closely with each other on this issue," Scholz's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told AFP.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday congratulated "President Donald Trump", saying he was ready to work with the US vote frontrunner "with respect and ambition" like "we managed to do for four years".

In a post on X, Macron said that the relationship with Trump, who is leading the US presidential vote, would "take account of your convictions, and mine", adding: "For more peace and prosperity."

Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump. Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 6, 2024

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump for winning the US presidential election and said his return to power will help keep the alliance "strong".

"His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through NATO," Rutte said in a statement.

The Democrat had planned to spend election night at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington DC, but it was revealed just after midnight that she would not be attending.

Once campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond made the announcement, the crowd quickly thinned at Harris’s headquarters at the historically Black university.

Earlier, the celebratory mood at Howard had already soured as two key swing states were called in favour of Trump.

Speaking from Harris’s headquarters, Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li told the BBC that it is "pretty grim right now."

"People are getting increasingly anxious," she added. "But there is still a pathway. I am still holding on to that, but this is not the night we wanted."

Kamala Harris wins Minnesota.

Donald Trump on Wednesday pledged to help the United States heal in a speech to his cheering supporters, though he had not been widely declared the winner of the White House race.

"We are going to help our country heal, we are going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help and it needs help very badly," Trump said in Florida.

Fox News has declared Trump the winner of Tuesday's US presidential election, though no other network has yet followed suit.

Far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich welcome Trump's expected win.

Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania, defeating Democrat Kamala Harris in the critical battleground state.

Both candidates campaigned vigorously in the state, visiting it more often than any other.

Trump won Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes four years after Democrat Joe Biden carried the state, flipping it from Trump's column in 2016 on his way to capturing the "blue wall".

No Democrat has won the White House without also winning Pennsylvania since 1948.

The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 2:24 a.m. EST.

As Michigan's close race heats up, youth-led gun safety advocates from March for Our Lives are channelling efforts into advancing firearm regulations, aiming to prevent future tragedies like those at Oxford High and Michigan State.

"This is a tight race, and one that we're putting a lot of energy into," Mikah Rector-Brooks, a spokesperson with March for Our Lives, a youth-led gun safety group, told TNA's correspondent.

"We know that Michigan will be tight either way. In the past several years, we've had shootings at Oxford High School and Michigan State.

"In Michigan, we've come a long way. We've had some major victories. We got the first major gun safety law passed with more background checks. We'd like to see an assault weapons ban. With more gun safety candidates, we can prevent another school shooting.

"Guns are a part of life in Michigan but doesn't negate the need for gun safety, like safe storage, for instance, that protects young people."

Fox News has declared Donald Trump the winner of the US presidential election, the only network to make the call, after projecting he would win key battlegrounds Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

"Donald Trump elected as the next president of the United States," declared the front page of the Fox News website.

CNN, NBC News, ABC News and CBS News had yet to call the election - or the races in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania - for Trump, who was soon expected to speak to his supporters in Florida.

The AP has called Maine’s 2nd Congressional District for the Republican Party, giving Trump one Electoral vote.

The dollar surged and bitcoin hit a record high as traders bet on a victory for Donald Trump as he picked up two of the key swing states needed to take the White House, ramping up bets on fresh tax cuts, tariffs and rising inflation.

While polls had shown the race on a knife edge, the Republican appeared to be faring better than his Democratic opponent Vice President Kamala Harris as results rolled in.

Both candidates have picked up expected wins in safe states, but indications that the business tycoon was edging it boosted the so-called Trump Trade.

While many key swing states were too close to project, Trump won Georgia and North Carolina, with others still up in the air.

News that the former president's party had taken control of the Senate boosted the prospect of sweeping tax cuts, more tariffs and deregulation - seen as a boost for the greenback.

The dollar jumped 1.5 percent to 154.33 yen, its highest since July, while it was also up more than one percent against the euro and more than three percent against the Mexican peso.

Bitcoin piled almost $6,000 higher to a record $75,330.88, topping its previous peak of $73,797.98 in March.

Trump has pledged to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world" and to put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge of a wide-ranging audit of governmental waste.

Jubilant Donald Trump supporters gather in Florida on election night, expecting the ex-president to speak after he notched key wins in the race for the White House.

Men donning formal suits and women in dresses mingled at the Palm Beach County Convention Center event, where they rubbed shoulders with a die-hard Trump fan sporting their political hero's name emblazoned on a leather vest.

Whether dressed in formal attire or more casual wear, many of the attendees wore Trump's signature red "Make America Great Again" baseball caps.

"I feel like Trump has won this election. This is over, and I feel like the world's about to be much greater," said Moses Abraham, 22.

Trump pushed closer to victory over Kamala Harris, leaving the Democrat the narrowest of remaining paths to stop him from scoring a stunning political comeback.

"This is like 2016. I feel that we are on the same path to win. I feel very optimistic about tonight," said Jo Ann Poly Calvo. "Donald Trump is the perfect fit for America."

The Republican Party is set to take control of the Senate, according to a projection by  CBS.

There are still lots of races being counted, but it looks clear that the Democrats will lose their effective majority of just one.

The Democrats were hoping to take a Republican seat to limit the expected damage in West Virginia but, according to a projection, have failed to unseat Ted Cruz in Texas, which was one of the party's key targets.

Republican Donald Trump won the electoral vote tied to Nebraska's 1st Congressional District on Wednesday.

The former president easily bested Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris in the district that includes Nebraska's capital city of Lincoln and surrounding rural areas.

The district has long favoured Republican candidates.

It had not backed a Democrat for president since before 1992, when the state began splitting its Electoral College votes based on the popular votes in individual congressional districts.

The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 1:01 a.m. EST.

Dealing a major blow to his rival Kamala Harris, Donald Trump has won the key battleground state of Georgia, US media projected early Wednesday, flipping a state that voted Democratic in 2020.

CNN and NBC News made the call in the Republican former president's favour.

Kamala Harris has a slight momentum with wins in five states according to AP. 

Oregon, New Mexico, Virginia, Hawaii, and Nebraska's District 2 seem to side with the blues. But is it enough to close the gap between Harris and Donald Trump? Time, and the ongoing count, will tell.  

Republicans looked like strong favourites to wrest the closely divided US Senate from Democratic control Tuesday after flipping two states and fending off an effort to unseat their most vulnerable members.

While all eyes are on the White House race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump, hundreds of congressional elections will determine how much of the next president's agenda gets enacted.

Jim Justice, the sitting Republican governor of West Virginia, emerged as an easy victor over his Democratic challenger in the Senate race to replace retiring moderate Joe Manchin, an independent who voted with the Democrats.

Ohio then moved into the Republican column after longstanding Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown was defeated by Bernie Moreno, a Trump-endorsed businessman and the son of a one-time high-ranking Colombian government official.

The US Capitol is divided into the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are up for grabs—and a 100-member Senate, which has 34 seats at stake this year.

The Justice and Moreno victories reversed the Democrats' 51-49 Senate advantage, with Republicans looking to extend their lead with pick-ups in Montana, and possibly Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Democrats were looking to mitigate losses with gains in Texas and Florida, but conceded both as the sitting Republicans notched easy wins.

If Republicans win all the toss-up races, they'll have 55 of the 100 seats, giving them huge power to usher through Trump's domestic agenda and judicial appointments, should he prevail against Harris.

Democratic US representative Rashida Tlaib won a fourth term in Congress, easily beating back a challenge from Republican James D. Hooper with 77% of the counted votes. 

Meanwhile, Democratic representative Ilhan Omar won reelection to a US House seat representing Minnesota for a third term.

More updates from AP showing Trump winning in North Carolina and Idaho, while Harris takes California, Washington, and Oregon.  

James Zogby, veteran pollster and president of the Arab American Institute, tells The New Arab that he believes it'll take "a few days" for the results to come out.  

"Everything we've seen for the past few weeks has indicated that this is a 50-50 race, and everything we've seen tonight shows that. I'm fairly comfortable things are going well for Harris," he says. "If she wins, he's already setting the stage for an uprising. In addition to that, they've been preparing for months with legal teams." 

"I think that if she wins, it will be a very different Democratic Party. It will be older women, less Hispanic. We'll see where this goes. This is not the Obama coalition, and this is not the Biden coalition," he added.  

Some more results coming out of the US as AP calls Kansas and Iowa going to Donald Trump, while Maine's Presidential District One being called for Harris.

Imad Hamad, the Dearborn-based executive director of the American Human Rights Council has told The New Arab that participation in the US election was "above normal" and that "the turnout was really promising in Dearborn".

Hamad also said that many in the Arab American community took particular issue with US foreign policy in this election.

"For many people, it was a vote of conscience," Hamad said, adding "many voted for Harris, Trump, Stein or boycotted. We were happy that many who were going to boycott had a change of heart."

"We're eager to watch the results," he said.

Hamad also made comments about what happens after election day, saying the period "will be a time for reconciliation."

"It doesn't mean that differences are over. It means that we will tackle our differences in a new format," he said, adding "we have to be ready to deal with a new administration." 

A new round of states have been called for the US presidential election, with Texas, Nebraska District Three, Missouri, Montana and Utah being called for Donald Trump but AP.

Colorado and the District of Columbia have been called for Harris by AP.

The state of Ohio has been called for Donald Trump, according to AP.

A new round of states have been called in the US election, with Trump gaining Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana and Wyoming, according to AP. New York State was called for Harris.

The states of Delaware and Illinois have been called for Kamala Harris, accord to AP.

New states have been called as the race to the White House continues, with AP calling the state of Arkansas for Donald Trump and New Jersey for Kamala Harris.

As polls close for another round of states new calls are being made, with Trump winning the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina, according to AP.

AP has also called the states of Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Bernie Sanders has won his race in Vermont for the US Senate, according to AP, as results come in for the upper chamber of Congress.

Republican candidates Jim Justice for West Virginia and Jim Banks for Indiana have also been called by AP as winning their races.

West Virginia has been called for Donald Trump, according to AP, with the Republicans also flipping a Democrat Senate seat with Republican candidate Jim Justice winning after the retirement of Democrat Joe Manchin.

The United States is likely to become more isolationist regardless of who becomes its next president, India's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event in Canberra as Americans were still casting votes, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the election was unlikely to reverse what he called he called a long-term trend in US policy.

"Probably starting from (President Barack) Obama the US has become much more cautious about its global commitments," he said, pointing to a US reluctance to deploy troops and its withdrawal from Afghanistan under President Joe Biden.

"President Trump may be more articulate and expressive in that regard," he said during a panel discussion with the foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand.

But, he added, "it's important to look at the US more nationally than purely in terms of the ideology of the administration of the day."

"If we are truly analysing them, I think we have to prepare for a world where actually the kind of dominance and generosity which the US had in the early days may not continue."

That said, Jaishankar said on Tuesday that India's relationship with the United States would only grow in the future.

All three foreign ministers said their nations needed to step in to create the global environment they wanted.

"We all have an interest today in creating some kind of collaborative consensual arrangement." Jaishankar said.

"There is more protectionism," said New Zealand's Winston Peters. "The world we were once trying to build on is changing, and we'll have to react and change with it."

The first states have been called for both US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

AP's election map has called the states of Indiana and Kentucky for Trump, while Vermont has been called for Harris.

You can see the election map through The New Arab's US Election tag here.

As voting begins to wrap up in parts of the US, Arab American voters in Dearborn, Michigan, are telling The New Arab's correspondent Hani B that they are voting for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

This includes Rose Aljalham, 46, of Dearborn, who told The New Arab that although she has normally votes for Democrats, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to vote blue this year. 

Aljalham is Muslim and married to an Arab-American man, though she herself is not Arab. She doesn't believe Israel's war on Gaza and Lebanon are Muslim or Arab issues, but universal and humanitarian ones. 

"We have two parties that are genocidal."

She is under no illusions that a vote for Stein means entry into the White House, but she thinks it is meaningful and hopes for incremental change. 

"It would be a miracle if we could overcome the two-party system and get a third party candidate in there. However, I'm hoping we can at least get 5 percent for Stein so that in the future, it is easier for a third party candidate. Because the two-party system needs to be abolished."

A judge in a rural Virginia city has ordered two officials there to certify the results of the election after they filed a lawsuit last month threatening not to certify unless they could hand-count the ballots.

Waynesboro Election Board Chair Curtis Lilly and Vice Chair Scott Mares argued that election officials do not have access to the votes tallied by machines, which prevents them from verifying "the results of the voting machine's secret canvass."

Five registered voters then filed a separate lawsuit seeking to force the officials to certify the vote, and arguing that they would be disenfranchised otherwise. They said that the officials have no discretion over the certification process. It is the precinct-level officers, not Election Board members, who are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the vote. And they noted that voting machines are authorized by the Virginia Constitution and mandated by state code.

On Monday, Judge Paul Dryer issued a ruling ordering the officials to go through with the certification.

"The concerns that the Defendants raise regarding the security and accuracy of the electoral process are best raised via the legislative process," Dryer wrote. "The personal beliefs of members of a local board of elections cannot derail the electoral process for the entire Commonwealth."

Thomas Ranieri, the attorney for the defendants, said they have agreed to comply with the order. "They are law-abiding citizens," he said.

The order does not settle the original lawsuit, which is ongoing.

Research shows that hand-counting is actually more prone to error than machine tabulation. It is also costlier and more likely to delay results. But election conspiracy theorists across the US have been moving to support hand-counted ballots, four years after former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the past election was stolen from him.

Azmi Alaeddin, a small business owner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, told The New Arab that he felt he "had to choose Jill Stein" when voting in the US presidential election, noting that Israel's war on Gaza war a significant reason his community were not voting for Kamala Harris, who he said "refused to make any commitment to stop the arms [to Israel].

"She has to earn our votes," Alaeddin continued, adding "She was saying you'll be stuck with Trump. You don't earn someone's vote by saying someone is worse."

Alaeddin also said that while he hoped his vote would send a message to Harris, he had wanted another member of the Democratic Party to have run.

"We were really hoping someone outside of this administration could run. We were hoping for someone else to come out, to have some changes. She's part of the administration."

Donald Trump sought to undermine Tuesday the credibility of voting in the biggest city of must-win Pennsylvania, a soundly Democratic area that was part of the ex-president's unsupported 2020 fraud claims.

Amid reports of exceptionally high voter turnout in Philadelphia, Trump said there was "a lot of talk about massive cheating" in the city, as an official promptly denied the claim, calling it "yet another example of disinformation."

"Law enforcement coming!!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He provided no evidence to support his claim made as Americans voted in a tense election that polls have suggested is effectively tied between Trump and Kamala Harris.

"There is absolutely no truth to this allegation," said City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican.

"Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure."

Philadelphia police did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump's claim.

About 6 in 10 described the economy as not so good or poor, similar to four years ago when the economy was staying afloat due to trillions of dollars in government aid provided during the pandemic. But as the country came out of the pandemic, inflation began to climb because of supply shortages and higher consumer demand aided by additional government relief. Ultimately, in 2022, higher food and energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

About two-thirds of voters said they were very concerned about the cost of food and groceries. About half had concerns of health care, housing costs and gasoline prices.

Almost 6 in 10 voters said their personal finances were holding steady. But about 3 in 10 described themselves as "falling behind," a higher share than in 2020.

Still, both candidates' experiences raised some sharp questions from voters about whether they should be in the White House.

Harris' time as Biden's vice president and quick ascendance to the Democratic nomination left about one-quarter of voters seeing her as untested - a characterization that Trump doesn't face so substantially after having been commander-in-chief from 2017 to 2021.

But Trump has also deployed fiery rhetoric about going after his perceived enemies, a threat that carried weight with many voters after his refusal to accept his 2020 loss contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the US Capitol.

Nearly 6 in 10 are very or somewhat concerned that another Trump term would bring the US closer to being an authoritarian country, where a single leader has unchecked power. Slightly fewer than half say the same about Harris.

Trump held an advantage over Harris on which candidate could better handle the economy, as well as on the issue of immigration. On abortion, Harris was seen as the stronger candidate. During the campaign, Harris talked about access to abortion and medical care for women as an issue of fundamental freedom, whereas Trump said it was a matter best left to the states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Trump said tariffs on rivals and allies alike - as well as greater oil production - would pump up the economy, while Harris said his tariffs would worsen inflation. She maintained that tax breaks for parents and assistance for new homebuyers as well as start-up company founders would be more helpful.

On the question of who would better handle taxes, AP VoteCast found the two polled relatively even.

What unified the country was a sense that the status quo hasn’t been working. About 8 in 10 voters want at least “substantial change” in how the country is run, including about one-quarter who said they want complete and total upheaval. But what that change would look like is a source of dissent and division.

Harris and Trump have offered clashing ideas on what America needs - all of which was reflected in an unprecedented campaign season. Harris has the unique status of being a woman of color who emerged as candidate only in July, when Biden exited the race following concerns about his age. The 78-year-old Trump, by contrast, faced two assassination attempts and was convicted of multiple felonies regarding his business dealings.

About 7 in 10 voters said the country was on the wrong track, with Trump promising a return to his time in the White House as the fix and Harris saying her policies were geared toward the future.

Voters said the economy and immigration are the top issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting a ballot in Tuesday’s presidential election.

AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide, found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change as Americans faced a stark choice between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

About 4 in 10 voters considered the economy and jobs to be the most important problem facing the country, as frustration with inflation spiking in 2022 lingered in the form of higher grocery, housing and gasoline costs. Roughly 2 in 10 voters said the top issue is immigration, and about 1 in 10 picked abortion .

But when asked what most influenced their vote, about half of voters identified the future of democracy as the single most important factor. That was higher than the share who answered the same way about inflation, the situation at the US-Mexico border, abortion policy or free speech.

Those issues also outweighed considerations of recent assassination attempts against Trump or the legal cases he is facing, as well as the possibility of Harris becoming the first female president.

 A US judge on Tuesday denied a bid by Republicans to block seven counties in the battleground state of Georgia from accepting some absentee ballots, and chided the party's lawyers for what he termed discrimination against political opponents.

The Republican National Committee on Sunday sued the seven counties in Savannah federal court for allowing voters to return absentee ballots over the weekend and on Monday. They said the early voting period was supposed to close on Friday, and asked the court to block the counties from accepting the ballots.

In a telephone hearing on Tuesday, which is Election Day nationwide, US District Judge Stan Baker said the counties Republicans were targeting had all been Democratic-leaning in previous elections.

"I would only be invalidating votes in the select counties that plaintiffs have cherry picked based on nothing more than the past political preferences of the citizens in those counties," said Baker, an appointee of Republican former President Donald Trump, who is again his party's presidential candidate.

Baker said the Republicans were asking him to "tip the scales of this election by discriminating against citizens that are less likely to vote for their candidate."

Georgia is one of seven battleground states likely to decide the outcome of the election between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. President Joe Biden won the southern state in 2020, the first Democratic victory there since 1992.

"Georgia is making its voice heard," Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Lutvak said in a post on X.

A spokesperson for the RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Arab American voters are reportedly largely voting for Donald Trump, according to The New Arab's correspondent in the state Hani B. 

"Every voter under the age of 30 I've spoken to so far has voted from Trump" Hani said from the polling station at the Academy of Americas in Detriot, adding that people didn't seem to care about his previous 'Muslim ban' that he enacted during his first presidency. 

One Yemeni American told The New Arab that "he has his cons, but I think he'll still be better for us." 

However, one man in his mid-40s who asked not to be named said that he voted for Harris because "Trump is the biggest liar in the world." 

You can read more about which states the Arab American voting bloc will be important here.

In footage aired by CNN, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has been calling voters from the DNC headquarters urging them to vote. The calls, made alongside campaign staffers, are part of a final push from the Harris campaign in the waning hours of the election.

The New Arab's US Correspondent Brooke Anderson says that Pennsylvania is likely to be the most important of the seven swing states in the US for a number of reasons.

These include having the largest number of electoral college votes out of the swing states, amounting to 19 votes, as well as being tied between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in most polls.

Likewise, the peculiarities of Pennsylvania state law means that counting mail-in ballots doesn't start until election day, unlike other states.

"There could be another red mirage with days of vote counting," she said, adding "there's already a lot of litigation in Pennsylvania and it's still the middle of the afternoon."

The former leader of the UK's Conservative Party William Hague has called Donald Trump a "serious danger" and said "we all need him to lose" on X. 

Hague, who was also the UK's Foreign Secretary under David Cameron, wrote in The Times that despite the previous affiliations between the UK's two largest political party's, Labour and the Conservatives, "we should all be Democrats" in this election.

At least two polling sites in the US election battleground state of Georgia were briefly evacuated on Tuesday after fake bomb threats that election officials in the state blamed on Russian agents.

The threats, which were deemed to be non-credible, caused two polling locations in Fulton County, Georgia, to be evacuated. Both re-opened after about 30 minutes, officials said, and the county is seeking a court order to extend the location's voting hours past the statewide 7 p.m. deadline.

Republican Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Russian interference was behind the Election Day bomb hoaxes.

"They're up to mischief, it seems. They don't want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory," Raffensperger told reporters.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, the FBI said it was aware of non-credible bomb threats to polling locations in several states, with many of them originating from Russian email domains.

Georgia alone received more than two dozen phony bomb threats on Election Day, most of which occurred in Fulton County, an FBI official said.

(Reuters)

US Capitol Police on Tuesday arrested a man at the visitors center who smelled like fuel and was carrying a torch and a flare gun, police said in a statement.

The Capitol Visitor Center was closed while they investigated, US Capitol Police said.

Tuesday, 5 November is Election Day in the United States.

(Reuters)

A Pennsylvania court approved a request on Tuesday to extend voting hours in a strongly pro-Trump county after voting machines in the key swing state experienced an Election Day software glitch.

The ruling means the polls will stay open for an additional two hours in a county that broke roughly 70 percent to 30 percent in favor of Trump in 2020, in a pivotal state that could decide the outcome of this year's presidential race between Trump and his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.

The case was brought by the local board of elections, who said a "software malfunction" at electronic voting machines had "prevented voters from scanning their completed ballots," according to court documents filed Tuesday.

In response, the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas ordered that voting hours be extended from 8pm to 10pm local time (0300 GMT).

"This morning's ballot processing issues in Cambria have resulted in delays - this is unacceptable, plain and simple," Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement after the case had been submitted.

"Our legal team acted immediately to support extended hours to give voters the opportunity to vote - we need voters to STAY IN LINE!" he added.

Elon Musk will spend the night with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, according to reports from the New York Times. 

As well as spending time watching festivities, he will also be watching the returns alongside Trump. 

Palestinians in war-ravaged Gaza told news agency AFP on Tuesday that whoever emerges victorious in the US presidential election must end the conflict in the territory, which has taken an appalling human toll.

"We are hanging by a thread, and like every other people in the world, we are looking for someone who can stop the war," said Ayman al-Omreiti, 45, from Gaza City's Al-Daraj neighbourhood.

"Our hope is that the American people will choose someone who can end the suffering of the Palestinian people."

Millions of Americans began to cast their ballots on Tuesday in a contest that pre-election polling suggested was too close to call.

Omreiti, who has been displaced several times during the 13 months since the war broke out, said he hoped Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris would defeat Republican rival Donald Trump.

"The Palestinian people are worried about a possible Trump victory, and we hope the results will be favourable for his opponent, Harris, because she has called for an end to the war several times," he said.

The FBI has issued a warning about fake videos circulating online that seek to undermine confidence in the US election process. 

On Tuesday, the FBI highlighted two deceptive videos that encouraged Americans to "vote remotely" due to purportedly high "terrorist" threats at polling places and claims of voter fraud in prisons across several swing states.

These videos were manipulated to resemble an official FBI press release and a report from CBS News, but they garnered limited views on X.

The FBI stated that these videos aim to "undermine our democratic process and erode trust in the electoral system."

CBS News confirmed on X that the video featuring its branding is "fabricated."

According to the BBC, the content of these videos is consistent with material produced by a broader disinformation network based in Russia, which has been responsible for creating hundreds of fake videos in recent months.

FBI Statement on Inauthentic Use of Bureau Name, Insignia in Promoting False Election-Related Narratives: https://t.co/jaudpZn3vd

— FBI (@FBI) November 5, 2024

Donald Trump has arrived to cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida, accompanied by his wife, Melania.

Speaking to reporters, he expressed his "honour" at seeing long lines at polling stations, declaring, "This is the best campaign."

When asked about the possibility that neither he nor Kamala Harris may secure 270 electoral votes by the end of the night, Trump responded, "A thing like that should never happen," emphasising his desire for inclusivity in his campaign.

Feeling "very confident," Trump noted that Republicans appear to be showing up “in force” and said, "I hear we’re doing very well." 

In response to a question about whether he would instruct his supporters to refrain from violence, Trump asserted, "I don’t have to tell them that there’ll be no violence. Of course there will be no violence," adding that his supporters are "not violent people" and believe in non-violence.

"I certainly don’t want any violence," he concluded, "but I certainly don’t have to tell [these] great people."

The New Arab's US correspondent Brooke Anderson reports that on Election Day, the US Muslim advocacy group Emgage Action has launched a series of initiatives to boost Muslim voter participation.

Following its endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket, Emgage Action unveiled its get-out-the-vote efforts, highlighting its outreach statistics.

The organisation reported knocking on over 115,000 doors to connect with voters in local communities.

Additionally, they made more than 550,000 phone calls to inform and engage community members and sent over 2.15 million text messages to encourage participation in this pivotal election.

"We are incredibly proud of our extensive ‘Get Out the Vote’ efforts this election season. It represents a commitment to fighting for justice, dignity, and freedom for our communities," said Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action in a statement.

"Through our endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, we’re not only calling for new leadership but for an active rejection of harmful policies and anti-Muslim rhetoric."

He continued: "With this election, we have the power to help build a future where civil rights are protected and the Muslim community’s voice is stronger than ever."

Today is Election Day, and your vote has the power to shape our future! Emgage Action has mobilized Muslim voters across the country, empowering our community to make our voices heard. From 115,000+ doors knocked to 550,000+ phone calls and 2,150,000+ text messages sent, we’ve… pic.twitter.com/tFKf58uzoZ

— Emgage Action (@EmgageAction) November 5, 2024

Ahead of her election night watch party at Howard University in Washington, DC, Vice President Kamala Harris will dedicate her day to mobilising voters in swing states through a series of radio interviews.

She emphasised the importance of the day during an interview with Pittsburgh's "The Big K Morning Show with Larry Richert," stating, "I will be at my alma mater, at Howard University."

In contrast, Donald Trump began Election Day in Michigan, concluding a late-night rally in Grand Rapids before heading to Florida, where he intends to cast his vote in person, despite previously indicating he would vote early.

He has also planned a campaign watch party in Palm Beach later that evening.

Harris shared her personal tradition of dining with family on Election Day, mentioning, "I have a lot of my family staying with us."

Throughout the day, she aims to remind voters of the importance of their participation, urging Pittsburgh residents to head to the polls: "I would urge everyone to just remember that in our democracy, the people get to decide, and your vote is your power."

An Arab American voter based in Dearborn, Michigan explains why he voted for Donald Trump on Election Day, adding that "if it was my choice, I wouldn’t vote for either one of them.

"They both suck. But the person I think can help me as someone that runs a business, that’s Trump," said Mohsen Harb, 22, told The New Arab.

Harb doesn’t believe either candidate will be good for Lebanon or Palestine, but thinks Trump, for whom he also voted in 2020, will at least be better for the US economy.

"I want things to get better here, for people to have some money to be able to live, to eat. [Biden and Harris] gave more money to Israel to f***ing blow up kids instead of giving to people that had their homes destroyed in hurricanes," he said.

"They care more about them than the American people, and I feel like Trump cares more about people here than people there."

Harb works at his family’s auto shop in Detroit, and said the last four years under Biden/Harris have been difficult for the business.

"People just don’t have the money. People come in and they don’t have $10 to plug their tire. Everything’s gone up. Rent, gas, everything."

"If Trump wins or Kamala, at this point, things don’t look any better for Arabs. … But I honestly think [Trump] would help with things overseas a lot more than she would."

"At the end of the day, Netanyahu’s going to do what he wants, and it’s not in either of their control. But Biden hasn’t even asked him to stop."

America votes: we are inside a voting station in Dearborn, Michigan. Here’s my audio report as we record what’s going on. @globalnewsto pic.twitter.com/9m7QoTSZlv

— 𝚂𝚎á𝚗 𝙾’𝚂𝚑𝚎𝚊 Global News (@ConsumerSOS) November 5, 2024

The New Arab's Arabic-language news site Al-Araby al-Jadeed reports that Bill Bazzi, the mayor of Michigan's Dearborn Heights, said in an interview that he had received assurances from Trump on several occasions regarding his commitment to halting conflicts in the Middle East.

Bazzi expressed his support for Trump during the elections, citing the former president’s promises as a significant factor in his decision.

He also highlighted the importance of stability in the region, particularly for communities with ties to Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries.

A federal judge says Missouri can’t block federal officials from observing elections in St. Louis.

At issue is a settlement agreement with the St. Louis Board aimed at ensuring people with mobility and vision impairments can access polling places.

The settlement was reached in 2021 under Trump’s Justice Department after federal officials found problems, such as ramps that were too steep and inaccessible parking, according to the court papers.

But Missouri is among several states pushing back against federal election monitors. And on Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft argued in a lawsuit that state law "clearly and specifically limits who may be in polling places."

He also accused the federal government of "attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri’s elections."

US District Judge Sarah Pitlyk wrote Monday night that the case boils down to two individuals at one polling place to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as has happened at least twice before without any problems.

"Being prevented from enforcing its election laws may also be a harm to the State of Missouri, but that harm also has a counterweight in the United States’ interest in enforcing the ADA," Pitlyk wrote.

Voters in Puerto Rico will elect a new resident commissioner, the island’s representative with limited voting powers in the U.S. House. The outgoing resident commissioner, Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, is running for governor.

There’s another item on the ballot that involves Congress: statehood.

Voters will be asked for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political status.

The nonbinding referendum offers three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, under which issues like foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated.

Regardless of the outcome, a change in status requires approval from Congress.

Nearly 2 million voters are eligible to participate in Tuesday’s election, although it remains to be seen how many people will do so.

Voter apathy has dominated recent elections.

As of 9 a.m. ET, polling stations have opened in Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arkansas, New Mexico, Utah, Mississippi, and various locations in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

This follows the earlier opening of polls this morning in states including Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.

In one hour, voting will commence in California and Idaho. At 11 a.m. ET, polls will open in Washington and Alaska, with Hawaii's polling stations set to open at noon ET.

A recent poll from Israel's Channel 12 news shows that Donald Trump is overwhelmingly favoured by Israelis over Kamala Harris as the next US president.

Dan Perry, former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, explained to news broadcaster Al Jazeera that this support stems from a perception that Trump would unconditionally back Israeli actions.

However, Perry suggested that Israelis "may be in for a surprise," given Trump's unpredictability, and predicted that Trump might actually push for a swift resolution to the conflict in Gaza if re-elected.

Perry elaborated, saying that while Trump might be indifferent to how peace is achieved, he’s historically opposed to "forever wars."

This, Perry argued, could potentially undermine Israeli interests if Trump’s desire to assert his power leads him to advocate for a rapid ceasefire.

Despite these possible contradictions, Trump has cultivated strong support in Israel, bolstered by his actions during his presidency, including relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem and recognising Israel’s sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Trump has also described himself as "the best president in the history of Israel."

Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance cast his vote in person earlier today in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Accompanied by his wife and their children, Vance was seen arriving at a local polling station.

He appeared in good spirits as he joined the many Ohioans turning out for Election Day.

Voting is now underway in Arkansas, adding to nearly 30 states where polls are currently open. Arkansas contributes six electoral college votes, a modest figure compared to populous states like California, with 54 votes, and New York, with 28.

The number of electoral votes per state largely depends on its population size, which directly affects its representation in the Electoral College.

Meanwhile, voting has also begun in states such as Mississippi and North Dakota, which opened polls about 30 minutes ago.

The Uncommitted National Movement, which aims to hold the Democratic Party accountable, has recently faced accusations, following a report that alleged the group receives donations from a Democratic Party-aligned PAC.

Critics claim that despite its strong opposition to Kamala Harris, the group has also expressed disdain for Donald Trump, leading some to question whether it would endorse any candidate at all- including third party candidates.

According to a recent report by Middle East Eye, the organisation allegedly received $400,000 from a Democratic PAC, restricting its ability to back any leader other than Harris.

In response, Uncommitted called these claims "unfounded and absurd."

In September, the movement announced it would not endorse Harris, arguing that she had failed to meet its key demands.

However, the group encouraged uncommitted voters to resist a Trump presidency.

Led by anti-war activists, the Uncommitted National Movement was established to pressure President Biden and Vice President Harris into endorsing a permanent Gaza ceasefire and enacting an arms embargo on Israel.

During Michigan’s Democratic Primaries, the group urged voters to register as "uncommitted," seeking to convey dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party on these issues.

pic.twitter.com/mtPIEishd9

— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) November 5, 2024

Some Republican-led states say they will block the Justice Department's election monitors from going inside polling places on Election Day, pushing back on federal authorities' decades-long practice of watching for violations of federal voting laws, the Associated Press reports.

Officials in Florida and Texas have said they won't allow federal election monitors into polling sites on Tuesday.

And on Monday, Missouri filed a federal lawsuit seeking a court order to block federal officials from observing inside polling places.

The Justice Department announced last week that it's deploying election monitors in 86 jurisdictions across 27 states on Election Day.

The Justice Department declined to comment on Monday on the Missouri lawsuit and the moves by other Republican-led states.

The race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump is a dead heat, and both sides are bracing for potential legal challenges to vote tallies.

The Justice Department’s election monitoring effort, a long practice under both Democratic and Republican administrations, is meant to ensure that federal voting rights are being followed.

According to a report by the nonprofit organisation Center for Countering Digital Hate, false or misleading claims about the US election made by billionaire Elon Musk have garnered a staggering two billion views on his social media platform this year.

The report highlights that at least 87 of Musk's posts have promoted election-related claims that fact-checkers have determined to be false or misleading.

Notably, Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, has publicly endorsed Donald Trump for president.

The report also indicates that X (formerly Twitter) is playing a significant role in facilitating the spread of misinformation regarding electoral fraud.

In Pennsylvania, one of the seven pivotal swing states, some users on X have exploited instances where local election administrators flagged incomplete voter registration forms, misrepresenting these events as examples of election interference, as noted by the watchdog group Common Cause.

Furthermore, Cyabra, a company that employs AI to identify online disinformation, reported that an X account with 117,000 followers was instrumental in disseminating a false video that falsely claimed to show mail-in ballots for Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania.

Voters are beginning to arrive at their local polling stations to select their next president. 

In New York City, where polls opened just over an hour ago, some residents are casting their ballots at the Anna Silver Elementary School in Manhattan. 

A man votes at PS 20 Anna Silver Elementary School, on Election Day for the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Manhattan. Photo by @andrewkellyfoto pic.twitter.com/vaCwXiRkMX

— corinne_perkins (@corinne_perkins) November 5, 2024

A staff member for Donald Trump, who served as a regional field director for the Republican Party in western Pennsylvania, was dismissed on Friday after it was revealed that he is a white supremacist, according to US news outlet Politico.

The publication identified Luke Meyer, 24, as the Pennsylvania-based field staffer who had worked for five months for the former president and operated under the pseudonym Alberto Barbarossa as an online white nationalist.

Meyer is reportedly a co-host of the Alexandria podcast alongside Richard Spencer, the organiser of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he has regularly expressed racist views.

After Politico presented evidence linking him to the Barbarossa alias, Meyer acknowledged the connection and admitted to concealing his online identity from members of Trump Force 47, the branch of the Trump campaign responsible for volunteer mobilisation efforts.

It’s just after 6 am (11:00 GMT) on the East Coast, marking the official opening of polls in Vermont.

Polling began earlier in the small town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, right after midnight Eastern Time (05:00 GMT) on Monday.

Following Vermont, polling will open in New York and Virginia, with additional polling locations across the six time zones of the United States set to open as morning breaks.

Election Day is here! Polls are now open in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Virginia. Find all of the information you need about your polling place and voting hours at https://t.co/PbebAZob1u. pic.twitter.com/ryc3iVRcLB

— Indivisible Guide 🥥🌴 (@IndivisibleTeam) November 5, 2024

Major stock markets rose and the dollar remained under pressure Tuesday as the United States votes in a knife-edge presidential election.

Equities in Shanghai and Hong Kong won strong support from hopes over China's economy, while European indices grew slightly as investors await interest-rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England on Thursday.

"A contested election result could cause volatility on the markets," noted Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"Equally, a clear winner quickly after voting ends could provide some relief to investors."

A win for Republican Donald Trump is expected to boost the dollar, restoke inflation, and send Treasury yields higher owing to his pledges to slash taxes and impose tariffs on imports.

Analysts see less upheaval from a win by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

"A pro-tariff Trump presidency could see the dollar strengthen amid concerns higher inflation will prompt the Fed to keep interest rates higher," predicted Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"There is likely to a period of volatility particularly if the result is contested, but investors should keep their eyes on long-term horizons as historically financial markets have risen over the course of both Democratic and Republican presidencies."

In a presidential election that appears to be incredibly close, it was fitting that the first votes cast on Election Day were evenly split, with three for Donald Trump and three for Kamala Harris.

The tiny New Hampshire resort town of Dixville Notch has a tradition dating back to 1960 of being the first in the nation to complete in-person voting. The town’s six voters began casting their ballots on the stroke of midnight Tuesday and the vote count was complete 15 minutes later.

In an election where tensions have run high, the setting in Dixville Notch couldn’t have been more congenial. Voting took place in the living room of the Tillotson House, with cookies and coffee and a couple of very friendly dogs.