Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Discussion on Twitter included posts about voting machine problems in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and spiked after popular commentators alleged the malfunctions were deliberate, said the Election Integrity Partnership, a coalition of research groups studying online election information. First polls close in U.S. midterm elections that could rein in Biden's power The first polls closed on Tuesday in U.S. midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans win control of Congress, which would give them the power to block much of President Joe Biden's agenda in the next two years.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Factbox-How voters ranked top concerns in key states in U.S. midterms - Edison Research

Here is a comparison of how voters ranked as their No. 1 concern nationally and in select key states in deciding how to vote in the U.S. midterm elections, according to exit polls released by Edison Research. These preliminary results represent each issue's share out of 10. More specific percentages will be presented in later updates.

U.S. Supreme Court weighs barring lawsuits against public nursing homes

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday signaled they were unlikely to broadly prevent people who depend on federal assistance programs including Medicaid from suing when states violate their rights even as they weighed barring a narrower class of cases concerning nursing home care. The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Health and Hospital Corp of Marion County, an Indiana municipal corporation, of a lower court's ruling that let the family of Gorgi Talevski, a nursing home resident diagnosed with dementia, pursue a lawsuit claiming his rights were violated while at the facility.

Epstein accuser Giuffre ends defamation lawsuit against Harvard's Dershowitz

Virginia Giuffre, one of dozens of women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sexual misconduct, on Tuesday dropped her lawsuit claiming Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz was among the men with whom Epstein compelled her to have sex. In jointly issued statements, Giuffre, 39, said she "may have made a mistake" in saying Epstein trafficked her to Dershowitz two decades ago, saying she had been young at the time and was in a "very stressful and traumatic environment."

Musk's Twitter faces fresh conspiracy theories during U.S. midterms vote - experts

Election experts reported new conspiracy theories spreading across Twitter and other social media platforms as Americans headed to the polls on Tuesday, days after Twitter Inc fired half its staff and new owner Elon Musk tweeted a recommendation to vote for Republican candidates. Discussion on Twitter included posts about voting machine problems in Maricopa County, Arizona, and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and spiked after popular commentators alleged the malfunctions were deliberate, said the Election Integrity Partnership, a coalition of research groups studying online election information.

First polls close in U.S. midterm elections that could rein in Biden's power

The first polls closed on Tuesday in U.S. midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans win control of Congress, which would give them the power to block much of President Joe Biden's agenda in the next two years. Motivated by concerns about high inflation and crime, voters were poised to usher in an era of divided government in Washington, despite warnings from Democrats about the erosion of abortion rights and the undermining of democratic norms.

Voting machine problems in battleground Arizona seized on by Trump, election deniers

Problems with dozens of electronic vote counting machines in the battleground state of Arizona on Tuesday were seized upon by former Republican President Donald Trump and his followers, who falsely claimed it was evidence of election fraud by Democrats. Just a few hours into Election Day, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer told reporters that about 20% of electronic vote tabulation machines in the state's most populous county were malfunctioning, and technicians were being deployed to fix them.

Storm Nicole churns toward Bahamas en route to Florida and hurricane status

Tropical Storm Nicole gained strength on Tuesday as it churned toward the Bahamas on track for Florida's Atlantic coast, where a hurricane warning was posted for nearly 250 miles of shoreline with millions of residents warned to hunker down and prepare. Nicole, packing maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 km per hour), will likely grow into a hurricane on Wednesday around the Bahamas before making U.S. landfall along Florida's east coast north of Miami on Wednesday night or early Thursday, forecasters said.

Factbox-Inflation, abortion top issues for U.S. voters casting midterm ballots, exit poll finds

Inflation and abortion topped the list of issues motivating U.S. voters in Tuesday's midterm elections, followed by crime, immigration and gun policy, an exit poll conducted by Edison Research showed. Turnout for the midterms, which will determine control of Congress and a number of state governorships, was about evenly divided between men and women, according to the poll.

Investors brace for government gridlock as Republicans seen gaining in U.S. midterms

Investors are expecting Republican gains in U.S. midterm elections, a result that will likely scale back Democratic spending and regulation but set up a bruising fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling next year. Republicans are favored to win control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate, polls and betting markets show, though there are still hours left to vote in many districts. With Democratic President Joe Biden in the White House, that result would lead to a split government, an outcome that has been accompanied by positive long-term stock market performance in the past.

COP27-Tree-counting NGO offers data to tackle deforestation

California-based non-governmental organisation CTrees launched on Tuesday a data service to help countries limit deforestation and monitor the number of trees they have. Based on 20 years of data, CTrees' platform uses advanced satellite technology to enable the detection of changes in forests, including degradation, fires and clearance.