BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) — The world's only Key deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer, are found in piney and marshy wetlands bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Keys. For years, their biggest threat was being struck by vehicles speeding along U.S. Highway 1 or local roads.
But those waters surrounding the islands now pose the biggest long-term risk for this herd of about 800 deer as sea rise jeopardizes their sole habitat.
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The sun sets in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks through a residential neighborhood, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, interact as they walk through a residential neighborhood Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk along mangroves, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Pine trees, which have lost their needles, stand in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, walks in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A road sign warns motorists not to speed in an area frequented by Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat for the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks past collected rainwater flowing from a drain in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer, watches a Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, in front of his home, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A bucket of drinking water is left along a road for Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks in a residential neighborhood, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, crosses the road Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
These charismatic diminutive deer have been listed as endangered for almost 60 years after their numbers dipped to about 50 from hunting and poaching long ago. Yet they've made a tremendous comeback, with a peak population of about 1,000 in the mid-2010s before a deadly parasite and Hurricane Irma took a heavy toll.
However, experts and wildlife advocates say this conservation success story today is at risk of being undone by climate change. Sea level rise is already altering the landscape of Big Pine Key and at least 20 smaller islands the deer call home.
The bulk of the deer live on Big Pine Key, a marshy island 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Key West. They roam neighborhoods where about 4,500 people live, browsing on lush gardens and drinking water from buckets residents put out for them as natural freshwater supplies dwindle.
Key deer are far smaller than their North American counterparts, with the biggest bucks standing less than 3 feet (1 meter) tall at the shoulder and weighing around 75 pounds (34 kilograms).
“They were always vulnerable,” said Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, who oversees sea level rise projects and lives in Big Pine Key. “They’re much more vulnerable now. And with the sea level rising and their habitat shrinking, they’re becoming even more so.”
On Big Pine Key, mom and pop bars and restaurants dot either side of bustling U.S. 1, along with gas stations and small motels. The main industry revolves around the water — charter boats, fishing, diving, vacation rentals.
To protect the deer from being hit by vehicles, signs tell motorists they're entering deer habitat. A 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch of U.S. 1 is elevated and fenced, allowing deer to cross under the road. And speed limits are strictly enforced, often frustrating tourists driving to Key West.
Deer still are struck at an alarming rate. “The bottom line is that some 90 to 120 deer are known to be killed by vehicles each year,” said Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer.
Wildlife officials have worked hard get out the message: Don’t feed Key deer. They fear deer will approach cars and go near roadways for handouts.
Even with the traffic deaths, the population has remained stable. But a larger threat looms.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects that by 2100, seas will rise 1.5 feet to 7 feet (0.5 to 2 meters) in parts of the Florida Keys. The threat is greatest to low lying islands like Big Pine Key, where the highest point is only about 8 feet (2.4 meters) above sea level.
Sea rise will continue to shrink freshwater and food sources Key deer need to survive, experts say.
“So as the sea rises, that shrinks the amount of available freshwater, the amount of available, palatable vegetation, the places for bearing their young," said Bergh of the Nature Conservancy. "It puts them increasingly in conflict with people who are also occupying those higher grounds."
In addition to sea rise, climate change brings the threat of stronger hurricanes, with storm surges that can damage deer habitat and freshwater supplies.
Salt water intrusion also is responsible for killing many of the Florida slash pines that gave Big Pine Key its name. Mangroves are growing in their place in an ever-changing environment, choking deer habitat even more.
Key deer on Big Pine Key move through neighborhoods, munching on gardens. Some people even have names for ones that frequent their yards.
“They are very gentle, very, very gentle,” said Connie Ritchie, who sometimes sees about 30 deer a day. “And the longer you live here, the more you want to protect them. Big time. Protect them because they’re so innocent.”
“They have certain plants that they really love,” Ritchie said, noting that the federal deer refuge here hosts events where it gives away native plants. “So they’re trying to teach us to plant the plants that the deer won’t eat.”
Development on Big Pine Key began in the 1970s and 1980s “when entire swaths of land on islands that still held deer were developed into planned subdivisions, complete with saltwater canal networks to provide lot-buyers with direct water access,” said Svejkovsky of Save Our Key Deer.
While the key remains mostly rural with modest Florida bungalows and more palatial places, development has taken away some deer habitat.
”We have lots of people and the wildlife living in the same really concentrated area," said Katy Hosokawa, a park ranger at the National Key Deer Refuge, established in 1957 on 8,542 acres (3,457 hectares) of Big Pine Key. “So the more houses that we build, or the less lands that we have protected, the less areas that they have that are safe.”
The deer have adapted to the humans and move freely between wild spaces and the neighborhoods. "They roam, they spend their day grazing,” Hosokawa said. “We don’t have a really nutritionally dense soil, so they need to eat a lot of food to get what they need. But trust me, they’re very good at it. If it’s soft and tender, they will try to eat it.”
The future, while uncertain, looks grim.
Just six inches (15 centimeters) of sea rise, expected by 2030, would mean loss of 16% of the freshwater holes on Big Pine Key, said Nova Silvy, professor emeritus with Texas A&M University who has studied Key deer since 1968 and has lived here for several years.
By 2050, sea rise is expected to overtake about 84% of the 1,988 remaining acres (805 hectares) of the preferred habitat on Big Pine Key — and “the deer will already be gone,” Silvy said.
What happens if the deer can't survive in the Keys?
Bergh said he prefers to buy more time to keep the deer viable here. “And at some point, if that’s no longer possible, I personally think zoos are the most responsible alternative,” he said. “But that’s a terrible alternative. Who wants that for a wild animal?”
In rare instances, scientists have been allowed to relocate endangered species threatened by climate change as a last resort. But Silvy said, “The problem is if you take them any other place with deer, they’re going to interbreed and then you’ve lost the Key deer.”
Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
The sun sets in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks through a residential neighborhood, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, interact as they walk through a residential neighborhood Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk along mangroves, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Pine trees, which have lost their needles, stand in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Chris Bergh, the South Florida program manager for the Nature Conservancy, walks in the habitat of the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A road sign warns motorists not to speed in an area frequented by Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
This photo shows the habitat for the Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks past collected rainwater flowing from a drain in a residential neighborhood Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Jan Svejkovsky, chief scientist for Save Our Key Deer, watches a Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, in front of his home, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A bucket of drinking water is left along a road for Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walk in a residential neighborhood Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, walks in a residential neighborhood, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
A Key Deer, the smallest subspecies of the white-tailed deer that have thrived in the piney and marshy wetlands of the Florida Keys, crosses the road Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Big Pine Key, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation midday Thursday in his first appearance on camera in the aftermath of Donald Trump ’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
Control over the U.S. House of Representatives hangs in the balance, teetering between a Republican or Democratic majority with dozens of races left to be called.
The Republicans won control of the U.S. Senate early Wednesday.
Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest:
Republican Jeffrey Hurd won election to a U.S. House seat representing Colorado on Thursday, maintaining Republican control of the 3rd District seat now represented by GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert.
Boebert, who nearly lost her seat to Democrat Adam Frisch in 2022, decided this year to run for former Republican Rep. Ken Buck’s vacant seat in territory that’s even friendlier to Republicans. The victory by Hurd, an attorney seen as a moderate alternative to Boebert, marked the second loss in a row for Frisch, a former City Council member from Aspen, who campaigned as a pragmatic businessman. The Associated Press declared Hurd the winner at 12:10 p.m. EST.
Democratic Rep. Dina Titus won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Nevada on Thursday.
The Las Vegas district picked up Republican-leaning suburban areas after redistricting, turning it into a target for the GOP. But for the second election in a row, Titus defeated Republican Mark Robertson, a retired Army colonel. She has served seven terms in Congress. The Associated Press declared Titus the winner at 12:04 p.m. EST.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, issued a statement Thursday thanking the Harris-Walz campaign for running “an inspired and positive campaign focused on lifting people up.“
But the New York lawmaker issued caution on the status of the House races, saying “we must count every vote” in outstanding states like Arizona and California.
“I am proud that the Democratic Party does not believe in election denial,” Jeffries said. “Our Democracy is precious and it involves elevating public trust in our system of free and fair elections, not undermining it.”
He also quoted President Joe Biden, adding “We cannot love America only when we win.”
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin pledged during her reelection victory speech Thursday to work with President-elect Donald Trump when possible, but she also vowed to fight him to protect the national health care law and abortion rights.
Baldwin narrowly won reelection to a third term over Republican businessman Eric Hovde, who was endorsed by Trump. Hovde has yet to concede in a race where the margin is so close he could seek a recount.
“We deserve a politics with less vitriol, less division, less hatred and fewer lies. Actually, no lies,” Baldwin said to a room of supporters at a steamfitters union training center.
Baldwin defeated Hovde by just under 29,000 votes, a margin of 0.9%, based on unofficial results. State law allows for the race losers within 1 percentage point of the winner to seek a recount, but Hovde hasn’t yet said whether he’ll do that.
Hovde’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
▶ Read more about Wisconsin’s Senate race
President Joe Biden delivered remarks to the nation Thursday in what was his first appearance on camera following Donald Trump’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
“In a democracy, the will of the people always prevails,” he said near the beginning.
Biden said he had spoken with Trump and assured him that he would direct his administration to ensure a “peaceful and orderly transition,” because that’s what the people deserve. Biden was subtly nodding to how Trump, in 2020, refused to accept he lost the election. Trump was reelected this week.
Biden spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House after Democrat Kamala Harris lost this week to Donald Trump, speaking to his supporters and Americans.
The president reiterated that the U.S. election system “is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.”
He closed by saying that defeat doesn't mean one is defeated.
“America endures,” he said. “We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged.”
Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon on Thursday.
Hoyle, a first-term congresswoman, defeated Republican Monique DeSpain, an Air Force veteran. Hoyle succeeded longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio in 2022. The 4th District runs along the western portion of the state and includes Eugene. The Associated Press declared Hoyle the winner at 10:38 a.m. EST.
Independent Sen. Angus King won a third term in the U.S. Senate representing Maine on Thursday, turning back challenges from a former Republican state party chair and a Democratic environmental activist.
The 80-year-old former governor would be the oldest senator from Maine to serve if he completes his term, which ends in 2030, but he wasn't dogged by questions about his age like President Joe Biden, the former Democratic presidential nominee. King caucuses with Democrats and was first elected to the Senate in 2012. The Associated Press declared King the winner at 10:14 a.m. EST.
Donald Trump won the presidency after holding tight to his core base of voters and slightly expanding his coalition to include several groups that have traditionally been part of the Democratic base. That finding comes from AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters nationwide that shows what issues mattered to voters in this election.
Trump picked up a small but significant share of Black and Hispanic voters and made narrow gains with men and women. As Trump chipped away at parts of the Democratic coalition, Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t able to make enough of her own gains.
Trump succeeded in locking down his traditionally older, white base of voters, and he slightly expanded his margins with other groups into a winning coalition.
▶ Read more about how five key demographic groups voted
Around 50 European leaders on Thursday called for a stronger defense posture across the continent that no longer necessitates a fundamental dependence on Washington as they gave a guarded welcome to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
The European Political Community summit on Thursday in Hungary’s capital of Budapest reassessed trans-Atlantic relations in the hope that Trump’s second U.S. presidency will avoid the strife of his first administration.
“He was elected by the American people. He will defend the American interests,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the other leaders, adding that it was not the role of European Union leaders to “comment on the election ... to wonder if it is good or not.”
“The question is whether we are willing to defend the European interest. It is the only question. It is our priority,” Macron said.
There are concerns, too, that the robust military aid Ukraine has enjoyed under President Joe Biden will be cut under Trump, particularly if Republicans take control of the House.
▶ Read more about how European leaders are responding to Trump’s election
Federal Reserve officials are poised Thursday to reduce their key interest rate for a second straight time, responding to a steady slowdown of inflation pressures that exasperated many Americans and contributed to Donald Trump’s presidential election victory.
Yet the Fed’s future moves are now more uncertain in the aftermath of the election, given that Trump’s economic proposals have been widely flagged as potentially inflationary. His election has also raised the specter of meddling by the White House in the Fed’s policy decisions, with Trump having proclaimed that as president he should have a voice in the central bank’s interest rate decisions.
The Fed has long guarded its status as an independent institution able to make difficult decisions about borrowing rates, free from political interference. Yet during his previous term in the White House, Trump publicly attacked Chair Jerome Powell after the Fed raised rates to fight inflation, and he may do so again.
▶ Read more about interest rate cuts
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, social media users began pushing two conflicting narratives to suggest election fraud, one that revived false claims by Trump that the 2020 vote was stolen from him and the other questioning how Vice President Kamala Harris could have received so many fewer votes in 2024 than President Joe Biden in 2020.
Both narratives hinge on a supposed 20 million vote gap between Harris and Biden.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: President Joe Biden won approximately 20 million more votes in the 2020 election than Vice President Kamala Harris earned in the 2024 race, proving either that Trump has cheated his way to a second term or that there was widespread fraud four years ago.
THE FACTS: The claims are unfounded. Votes from Tuesday’s presidential election are still being counted, so any comparison with previous races would not be accurate. In addition, election officials and agencies monitoring the vote have reported no significant issues with Tuesday’s election. Claims of widespread fraud in 2020 have been debunked countless times.
▶ Read more on this fact focus
Iranians, like many around the world, are divided on what Donald Trump’s next presidency will bring: Some foresee an all-out war between Tehran and Washington, particularly as other conflicts rage in the region. Others hold out hope that America’s 47th president might engage in unexpected diplomacy as he did with North Korea.
But nearly all believe something will change in the U.S.-Iran relationship.
And while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state, has repeatedly expressed his own disgust with Trump, Iran’s new reformist president has kept the door open to talks with Trump to seek relief from international sanctions to buoy a cratering economy. The Iranian rial, in a free fall for years, hit its lowest value against the dollar on Wednesday before slightly recovering.
▶ Read more about the response in Iran to Trump’s election win
Trump’s second term could realign U.S. diplomacy away from traditional international alliances and more toward populist, authoritarian politicians, according to both those leaders and outside observers.
Among them are:
▶ Read more about these leaders and their diplomatic approaches
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders did not mince words in a scathing statement Wednesday.
“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” Sanders, Vermont’s senior senator, said.
“First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well,” Sanders said.
Sanders won reelection to a fourth term on Tuesday. He singled out wealth inequality, a slipping standard of living in the U.S., a lack of full health care guarantees and support for Israel’s recent military campaigns as problems Democrats need to focus on. Sanders’s 2016 presidential run was a key factor in pushing the dialogue in the Democratic party to the left. Sanders has built his political career outside — and often criticizing — the Democratic Party, but he caucuses with Democrats in the Senate.
“At the start of his mandate, we wish him much wisdom because this is the main virtue of rulers according to the Bible,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin said, speaking on the sidelines of a Rome conference on Thursday, according to Vatican News.
While acknowledging no one had a “magic wand” to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Parolin said the Holy See hoped Trump “can indeed be an element of détente and pacification in the current conflicts that are bleeding the world.”
Parolin also said he hoped Trump would work to end polarization in the U.S., including over abortion. On migration, he recalled Pope Francis’ call to welcome those fleeing wars, poverty and climate change.
After visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016 and asked about Trump’s call to build a wall, Francis famously said anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants was “not Christian.”
More recently, Francis recommended U.S. voters choose the “lesser evil” when asked how a U.S. Catholic should vote given Trump’s pledge to deport migrants and Vice President Kamala Harris’ support of abortion rights.
“I have long admired the United States of America as the champion of democracy, freedom and the rule of law,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said in a message to Trump from the northern Indian town of Dharamshala where he has lived in exile since fleeing Tibet in 1959.
“The Tibetan people and I have been honored to have received the support of respective U.S. Presidents and the American people, in our endeavor to protect and preserve our ancient Buddhist culture — a culture of peace, non-violence and compassion that has the potential to benefit humanity as a whole,” he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed his hopes in a call for strengthened cooperation between their two countries during Trump’s new term in office, according to a statement from the Turkish president’s office.
Trump’s impending return to the White House means he’ll want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden. His team is also pledging that the second won’t look much like the first one Trump established after his 2016 victory.
The president-elect now has a 75-day transition period to build out his team before Inauguration Day arrives on Jan. 20. One top item on the to-do list: filling around 4,000 government positions with political appointees, people who are specifically tapped for their jobs by Trump’s team.
That includes everyone from the secretary of state and other heads of Cabinet departments to those selected to serve part-time on boards and commissions. Around 1,200 of those presidential appointments require Senate confirmation, which should be easier with the Senate now shifting to Republican control.
▶ Read more about Trump’s transition
The House contests remain a tit-for-tat fight to the finish, with no dominant pathway to the majority for either party. Rarely, if ever, have the two chambers of Congress flipped in opposite directions.
Each side is gaining and losing a few seats, including through the redistricting process, which is the routine redrawing of House seat boundary lines. The process reset seats in North Carolina, Louisiana and Alabama.
Much of the outcome hinges on the West, particularly in California, where a handful of House seats are being fiercely contested, and mail-in ballots arriving a week after the election will still be counted. Hard-fought races around the “blue dot” in Omaha, Nebraska and in far-flung Alaska are among those being watched.
With a win in Wisconsin early Wednesday, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency. But his exact margin of victory is still unclear — there are two presidential races that the AP has yet to call:
Arizona: Officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County said late Wednesday they’ve got more than 700,000 ballots left to count, which means the races for president and senate were too early to call. In all, AP estimates there are at least a million ballots to be added to the results in Arizona. County election officials are expected to firm up those numbers on Thursday.
Nevada: AP estimated late Wednesday evening that there are more than 200,000 ballots left to count in Nevada — including more than 130,000 in Clark County. Given the narrow margins in the races for president and U.S. Senate, both are too early to call. The AP will further review results released by Nevada election officials on Thursday.
Arizona: Officials in Arizona’s Maricopa County said late Wednesday they’ve got more than 700,000 ballots left to count, which means the races for president and senate were too early to call. In all, AP estimates there are at least a million ballots to be added to the results in Arizona. County election officials are expected to firm up those numbers on Thursday.
Nevada: AP estimated late Wednesday evening that there are more than 200,000 ballots left to count in Nevada — including more than 130,000 in Clark County. Given the narrow margins in the races for president and U.S. Senate, both are too early to call. The AP will further review results released by Nevada election officials on Thursday.
The U.S. House majority hung in the balance Wednesday, teetering between Republican control that would usher in a new era of unified GOP governance in Washington or a flip to Democrats as a last line of resistance to a Trump second-term White House agenda.
A few individual seats, or even a single one, will determine the outcome. Final tallies will take a while, likely pushing the decision into next week — or beyond.
After Republicans swept into the majority in the U.S. Senate by picking up seats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana, House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted his chamber would fall in line next.
“Republicans are poised to have unified government in the White House, Senate and House,” Johnson said Wednesday.
▶ Read more about control of Congress
The remarks to the nation will be Biden’s first appearance on camera in the aftermath of Trump’s decisive victory over Harris.
Donald Trump spent his first day as president-elect receiving congratulatory phone calls from his defeated opponent, world leaders and President Joe Biden as he began the process of turning his election victory into a government.
Trump was keeping a low profile, staying out of the public eye after addressing supporters in Florida during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump to concede the race and to congratulate him, while Biden invited the man he ousted from the White House four years ago to an Oval Office meeting to prepare to return the keys.
Biden’s chief of staff later Wednesday nudged the Trump team to sign the required federal agreements necessary to begin an orderly presidential transition, a White House official said.
▶ Revisit how the news unfolded with Wednesday’s live coverage
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Mint Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris shake hands before the start of an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden speaks to union laborers about his administration's support for unions in Philadelphia, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech after the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, stand on stage at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
