- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
Why I voted -- Americans share what drew them to polls
For some, it was a sense of civic duty. For others, it was a chance to voice anger at inflation or high crime. Still more savored the opportunity to send a message to Washington.
Voters on Tuesday thronged to polling stations across the United States to express themselves on a wide array of divergent concerns.
Their choices will decide the control of the US Congress, as well as many governorships, state legislatures and local offices.
Here's what some voters said drew them to the polls.
- 'Exercise democracy' -
"I've tried to come first, make sure that I do my part, and then I can get to work," said Robin Ghirdar, coffee in hand at a voting site in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
"There's so much polarization and misinformation that I'd like to make sure that my voice is heard."
In Union City, a majority Black suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, 26-year-old attorney Kuanna Harris said history pulled her to the voting booth.
"A bunch of my ancestors, whether they were Black or women, were not able to vote, so I think God put me here at this particular time to carry on that torch for them."
And on the opposite side of the country, in Los Angeles, Luciano Gamiz says he was thinking of authoritarian nations that "eliminate the voice of the little people."
"As a first generation American, it's an opportunity to just exercise my freedom and my right to vote, so I love it."
- 2020 election denial -
At a polling site in Brooklyn, New York, retired police officer Kevin Flynn voted because of "the situation that happened on January 6th" 2021, when Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol.
"Once an officer, always an officer... officers got injured" in the assault, said the 60-year-old. "It needs to be rectified."
Voter Donald Newton, 82, told AFP in Arizona's capital Phoenix that he believes Trump's unfounded claims of massive election fraud are the "truth."
He pointed to a discredited film's conspiracy theory about people smuggling illegal votes.
"It explains it all. And if you go and watch that, you'll be convinced this is the truth of what happened there: it was stolen, the election," he said.
In contrast, 30-year-old lawyer Alexandra Ashley, in Pittsburgh, said that "some people are trying to undermine democracy. And it's something that we can't lose."
And Susan Kwushue, a 50-year-old healthcare provider in Georgia, said having voted, she knew she "contributed in my own little way by voting to make sure that things get better."
- Abortion rights -
Reproductive rights are a banner issue for many voters, after the US Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion.
In Brooklyn, sustainability consultant Helen Rubenstein said that her motivation for voting was "first and foremost, my female reproductive rights, which are a healthcare issue."
Phoenix voter Mona Sablan, 56, said that for abortion, "it's the decision for the woman."
"I don't think the state -- I don't think the local, (or) federal (government) should have anything to say about this."
On the opposite side of the issue, 72-year-old Paul McMahon says he's opposed to abortion beginning at conception.
"Life is the most important thing to me," the retiree says outside a suburban Pittsburgh voting site.
- Toxic politics -
With growing political fissures in the United States, some voters said they are fed up with the hostility.
In Brooklyn, 39-year-old software engineer Quonn Bernard says "some candidates that have been up for office recently are into mud-slinging and negative campaigning."
"I just don't want those people representing me at the highest levels."
Pennsylvania voter Kay Georgopolous says she's opposed to Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, whom she thinks is "just a salesman."
"Politicians, a lot of them are playing games to keep us fighting amongst ourselves, the little people," she said.
Joshua Beron in Ohio told AFP that "I really try to not think of myself as being part of one party but try to vote for the best candidate."
Analysts have also warned of the threat of violence around the elections.
Donna Audritsh, a voter in the Washington suburb of Fairfax, Virginia, says she hopes that the country can "have a civil discourse about whatever the result is and that we can move forward instead of getting mired in fighting and arguing."
One 64-year-old voter in McAllen, a city in Texas along the US border with Mexico, said he hopes that there will not be a repeat of 2020.
"My expectation is that everybody acts civilized, that... all the parties accept their winnings or defeats and that we all act as a country," said Enrique Ayala.
A.Zimmermann--CPN