Biden Wins 10 States, Trump 8 ; Close Fight In Florida
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are battling it out for the White House, with polls gradually closing across the United States Tuesday and a long night of waiting for results ahead.
The first results are trickling in, with US media projecting wins for the Republican incumbent so far in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia -- all states he won in 2016.
Biden has captured Connecticut, his home state of Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the three electoral votes given to the US capital Washington (District of Columbia). All were won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Trump's campaign claimed victory Tuesday in the must-win state of Florida, though US media said that race was still too close to call. The president's campaign made the claim in a tweet as ballots were still being counted in the state that holds 29 state-by-state Electoral College votes.
The New York Times put the president's chances of winning Florida at over 95 percent.
So far, that gives Biden 88 electoral votes and Trump 63. The magic number is 270. Observers expect the hotly contested race for the White House to come down to a handful of key battleground states.
Counting this year has been slowed by the unprecedented use of mail-in ballots in response to fears of the coronavirus. More than 100 million Americans had already cast votes before Election Day.
Trump, 74, expressed confidence as the evening approached, tweeting in all his characteristic all-caps "WE ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THANK YOU!"
He was watching the results come in at the White House, surrounded by staff. It was not clear whether he'd speak to the public at some point but he said earlier Tuesday that he wasn't yet "thinking about a concession speech or acceptance speech."
"Winning is easy," he said. "Losing is never easy -- not for me."
Biden, hunkered down with family at home in Delaware, likewise said that voter patterns during the day seemed to favor his side.
"What I'm hearing is that there's overwhelming turnout. And overwhelming turnout particularly of young people, of women, and an overwhelming turnout of African American voters, particularly in Georgia and Florida, over the age of 65," he told reporters.
"The things that are happening bode well for the base that has been supporting me."
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West Asia conflict: More than 700 travellers from MP stranded in UAE
Indore (PTI): More than 700 people from Madhya Pradesh, including two former MLAs, are stranded in the United Arab Emirates due to flight cancellations amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, an office-bearer of a travel agents' outfit said on Sunday.
Several people from the state had travelled to the UAE for tourism and business purposes, and the crisis in the region had left them stranded, Amol Kataria, chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India's MP unit, told PTI.
Many travellers from the state had cancelled their upcoming trips to Dubai and Sharjah, he added.
ALSO READ: Delhi airport: 100 int'l flights cancelled amid Middle East conflict
Kataria said that more than 700 people were stuck in the UAE, and among them, former MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sanjay Shukla is in Dubai.
"Due to the current international situation, our return to India today could not take place as Dubai airport was temporarily closed. We are receiving full cooperation from the Dubai administration and the Government of India. We will return to Indore as soon as the situation normalises," Shukla's post on social media stated.
Talking to PTI, the former Indore legislator's son, Sagar, said that his father had gone to Dubai three days ago with former Depalpur MLA Vishal Patel and some industrialist friends, and was scheduled to return to Indore on Sunday.
He said he had spoken to his father over the phone and heard explosions during the conversation, following which his father and his friends moved to a safe location.
He expressed hope that his father and his friends would return home soon with the efforts of the Indian government.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, in a social media post, claimed that over 100 citizens from the state were stranded at Dubai and Sharjah airports.
Women, children and families had been facing inconvenience for several hours, and anxiety had increased after flight cancellations, he said.
Patwari urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene immediately and ensure the safety of all Indians stranded in the UAE, while making arrangements for their early return home.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed early on Sunday.
Hundreds of flights have been disrupted across West Asia and in other countries, including India, due to airspace restrictions following the joint attack and retaliatory action by Iran.
