LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republicans and Democrats awaited the outcome of vote-counting for crucial U.S. House districts in California on Wednesday, as the GOP moved within one win of maintaining control of the chamber next year.
In a rematch from 2022, Rep. Ken Calvert — the longest-serving Republican in the state’s congressional delegation — defeated rival Democrat Will Rollins in the 41st District, which lies east of Los Angeles and was a top target for national Democrats.
In Southern California's Orange County, Democrat Dave Min defeated Republican Scott Baugh in a closely divided swing district, ending Baugh's bid to seize the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in what was once a conservative stronghold.
The 47th District, southeast of Los Angeles, was a top target for national Republicans looking to protect and possibly expand the their narrow majority.
Calvert, who was backed by President-elect Donald Trump, claimed his 17th term in a district narrowly carried by Trump in 2020.
“This is a hard-fought victory that shows voters want someone who will put results above partisan politics,” Calvert said in a post on the social platform X.
Min, also posting on X, said that in Congress he will “fight to protect our democracy, safeguard our freedoms and expand economic opportunity.”
Baugh said on the same platform that “despite running a strong campaign … that effort is going to come up a little short.”
On Tuesday, Republican Rep. David Valadao’s victory in California’s 22nd District moved Republicans within two wins of retaining the House gavel, with the tally 216-207 in favor of the GOP, as counting continued in a sliver of races across the country.
With Calvert's win, the Republican tally reached 217.
Several races remained in play in California that could determine control of the House.
In the 45th District, anchored in Orange County, Republican Rep. Michelle Steel's lead over Democrat Derek Tran was whittled down to a few hundred votes as counting continued.
California is known as a liberal protectorate — Democrats hold every statewide office, dominate the Legislature and congressional delegation and outnumber registered Republicans by a staggering 2-1 ratio. Still, Republicans retain pockets of political clout in the Southern California suburbs and vast rural stretches, including the Central Valley farm belt.
Orange County was once considered conservative holy ground, where white, suburban homeowners delivered winning margins for Republicans year after year. It was a foundational block in the Reagan revolution. But the county has become more demographically diverse and Democratic over time, like much of the state.
The 47th District, which includes Huntington Beach and other famous surf breaks, has been occupied by Porter, a progressive favorite who in 2022 narrowly defeated Baugh, a former Republican legislator. Porter, known for grilling CEOs during Capitol Hill hearings, stepped aside to run for U.S. Senate, but lost in the primary.
Given the stakes in the closely divided district, the contest was especially rancorous. Min ads called Baugh a “MAGA extremist” who would endanger abortion rights. Baugh said Min’s “extreme liberal views” were out of step with the district.
FILE - Scott Baugh poses outside a polling place after voting in Huntington Beach, Calif., June 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Krysta Fauria, File)
FILE - California state Sen. Dave Min speaks to reporters in Huntington Beach, California, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia, File)
FILE - Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
BANGKOK (AP) — The death toll from Myanmar's powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake keeps climbing amid rescue efforts.
The military government said Saturday that 1,644 people have been killed, with thousands of others injured and dozens missing.
The earthquake struck midday Friday, followed by several aftershocks, including one that measured 6.4.
In Thailand, the quake rocked the greater Bangkok area, leaving 10 people dead.
Several countries, including Malaysia, Russia and China have dispatched rescue and relief teams.
Here is the latest:
An initial situation report on earthquake relief efforts issued Saturday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that it's mobilizing with other groups, and $5 million has been allocated from a Central Emergency Response Fund for “life-saving assistance.”
“Supply infrastructure and communication towers were severely impacted, electricity and water services were disrupted, including in Yangon Region,” it noted. “Landline, mobile and internet networks remain unstable.”
The immediate planned measures include a convoy of 17 cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies from China that is expected to arrive on Sunday, it said.
It noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anaesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers.”
Myanmar’s ruling military said on state television that the confirmed death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake increased to 1,644.
The new total is a sharp rise compared to the 1,002 total announced just hours earlier. The number of injured increased to 3,408, while the missing figure rose to 139 from Friday's quake.
Russia has sent a medical team to Myanmar to care for earthquake victims, a Health Ministry official said.
According to Alexey Kuznetsov, the medics include specialists in infectious diseases, resuscitation and traumatology.
Separately, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said that two planes carrying Russian rescue workers have landed in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon.
Earlier, the ministry reported that a mission, including search and rescue teams, canine units, anaesthesiologists and psychologists, was on its way to the disaster-stricken country.
The ministry said that its rescue teams are equipped with “endoscopes and acoustic devices for searching for people in rubble up to 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) deep, as well as ground-penetrating radars and thermal imagers.”
Hong Kong sent a group of 51 search-and-rescue personnel to help with earthquake relief efforts in Myanmar. The group includes firefighters and ambulance personnel as well as two search-and-rescue dogs, among others.
The group brings along nine tons (18,000 pounds) of equipment including life detectors and masonry cutting machines, as well as an automatic satellite tracking antenna system that provides network connection, according to a statement on the Hong Kong government’s website.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show the earthquake toppled the air traffic control tower at Naypyitaw International Airport.
The photos taken Saturday show the tower toppled over as if sheered from its base. Debris lay scattered from the top of the tower, which controlled all air traffic in the capital of Myanmar.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there had been any injuries in the collapse, though the tower would have had staff inside of it at the time of the earthquake Friday. It likely also stopped air traffic into the international airport, given all electronics and radar would have been routed into the tower for controllers.
Flights carrying rescue teams from China have landed at the airport in Yangon instead of going directly to the airports in the major stricken cities of Mandalay and Naypyitaw.
A spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said that Beijing will provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian aid for earthquake relief efforts.
An additional rescue team of 82 people left Bejing, hours after a different team of emergency responders from the Chinese province of Yunnan, bordering Myanmar, arrived in the earthquake-stricken country.
Additionally, 16 members of the Chinese civil relief squad Blue Sky Rescue Team in the city of Ruili, Yunnan, departed to Muse City in northern Myanmar to help with relief efforts, according to state broadcaster CGTN. Chinese authorities also sent a first batch of 80 tents and 290 blankets.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended condolences to Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The earthquake was felt in parts of China's Yunnan province, though casualties were limited. Two people in Ruili suffered minor injuries and 847 homes were damaged, according to authorities. Some high-rise buildings and older houses in urban areas were also partially damaged, but power and water supplies and transportation and communications lines have been restored.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters says that his government will support relief efforts “via the International Red Cross Movement."
“Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones, and to everyone else affected,” Peters posted on X.
South Korea will send the aid through international organizations to support recovery efforts following the recent earthquake.
The Foreign Ministry stated on Saturday that Seoul will closely monitor the situation and consider additional support if needed.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese rescuers arrive at the Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Haymhan Aung/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Saturday, March 29, 2025, Russian Emergency Ministry employees gather to board one of two planes with rescuers to Myanmar following Friday's earthquake, from a Moscow airfield, Russia. (Russia Emergency Ministry press service via AP)
Rescuers walk past the ruin of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
People stand near a damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after Friday's earthquake. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Rescue workers help an injured women who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, Myanmar's military leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, center, inspects damaged road caused by an earthquake Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Patients are evacuated outdoors at a hospital after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Tadchakorn Kitchaiphon)
Rescue workers take an injured man who was trapped under a building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
People wait at the damaged construction site of a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025, as rescuers search for victims following its collapse after an earthquake. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Relatives of workers of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a strong earthquake wait as rescuers search for victims, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Rescuers work at the site a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, early Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Volunteers look for survivors near a damaged building Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
In this image provided by The Myanmar Military True News Information Team, victims caused by an earthquake is seen compound of government hospital Friday, March 28, 2025, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (The Myanmar Military True News Information Team via AP)
