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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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
