Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Explainer: What might happen if U.S. election result is disputed? Despite incomplete results from several battleground states that could determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, President Donald Trump proclaimed victory over Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. U.S. Election Day unfolds smoothly, despite fears of disruption

Americans turned out by the millions to vote on Tuesday in a mostly calm show of political determination and civic duty amid the coronavirus pandemic and deep tensions around one of the most polarizing presidential races in U.S. history. The masks worn by many voters and the sight of boarded-up storefronts in major city centers were reminders of two defining issues of the 2020 election, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country and concern about unrest over the election outcome after a summer of protests against racial injustice. Confidence and irritation at White House as Trump team awaits election results

President Donald Trump's aides pored over election maps in the White House West Wing and cheered their candidate in the East Room as Election Day results in critical states such as Florida and Ohio came in favoring the Republican leader on Tuesday. But their cautious confidence took on irritation when Arizona, a state that backed Trump in 2016, was called by Fox News for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, said sources familiar with the situation who asked not to be named. Democrats falling short in bid for control of U.S. Senate

A Democratic drive to win control of the U.S. Senate appeared to fall short, with Democrats picking up only one Republican-held seat while six other races remained undecided early on Wednesday. Democrats defeated Republican Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona but lost the Alabama seat held by Democratic Senator Doug Jones. With Pennsylvania up in the air, one rural county goes big for Trump

As commissioners of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, worked to finish tallying the vote early on Wednesday, the only question was whether President Donald Trump would top the 84% support he received in the rural Republican stronghold in 2016. The fate of the state - and Trump's chances in the national election - would be for others to decide. Explainer: What might happen if U.S. election result is disputed?

Despite incomplete results from several battleground states that could determine the outcome of the U.S. presidential race, President Donald Trump proclaimed victory over Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Wednesday. The premature move confirmed worries Democrats had voiced for weeks that Trump would seek to dispute the election results. That could set off any number of legal and political dramas in which the presidency could be determined by some combination of the courts, state politicians and Congress. Major case testing LGBT and religious rights goes before U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court, with its newly expanded conservative majority, is set on Wednesday to hear a dispute over the city of Philadelphia's refusal to place children for foster care with a Catholic Church-affiliated agency that prohibits same-sex couples from applying to be foster parents. The one-hour oral argument via teleconference will be the first major case to be heard by President Donald Trump's appointee Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed to the court last week and participated in cases argued on Monday and Tuesday. After tumultuous campaign, an uneasy American electorate heads to the polls

Americans head to the polls on Tuesday to conclude a bitter and divisive U.S. election campaign, as Republican President Donald Trump seeks to overcome Democratic rival Joe Biden's lead in opinion polls to win four more years in the White House. The voting caps a campaign dominated by the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people in the United States and put millions out of work, and shaken by nationwide protests over racial injustice against Black Americans. Republican Senate would darken outlook for aggressive U.S. climate policy

A failed Democratic drive to gain control the U.S. Senate could reduce the prospects for aggressive legislation to combat global climate change, even if Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden were to win the White House. By early Wednesday morning, the presidential race between Biden and incumbent Republican President Donald Trump was too close to call, but emerging results from down-ballot races pointed to Republicans maintaining a majority in the Senate. Trump gains with Latinos, loses some white voters: exit polls

As the U.S. presidential race remained undecided, President Donald Trump showed some surprising gains with Latino and other nonwhite voters, but they may have been offset by losses among those who supported him four years ago, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research. Here are some highlights from the polls, based on in-person interviews with voters on Tuesday, in-person interviews at early voting centers before Election Day and telephone interviews with people who voted by mail. Californians pass proposition to let Uber treat drivers as contractors: projection

Voters in trend-setting California backed a ballot proposal by Uber and its allies that cements app-based food delivery and ride-hail drivers' status as independent contractors, not employees, according to a projection by data provider Edison Research. Victory in the most expensive ballot contest in state history is a rebuke to state legislators and allows Uber, Lyft and allies to set the employment terms of the gig economy that they helped create. Some had threatened to leave California, their home market, if they lost.