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Vice President Kamala Harris will not speak to supporters tonight from her alma mater in Washington, D.C., as previously planned.

Harris campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond briefly addressed those gathered at Howard University in the early morning hours Wednesday, informing them Harris would address voters at the university on Wednesday. It was not made clear when exactly that would occur.

Despite the bleak outlook for Democrats at that moment of the night, Richmond told those gathered at Howard there were ‘still votes to be counted.’

‘We still have states that have not been called yet,’ Richmond added. ‘We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken.’

Before Richmond spoke and informed the crowd Harris would not be speaking as originally planned, videos began circulating online showing those gathered at Howard vacating the premises as the race’s momentum appeared to swing in favor of Republicans. 

Richmond’s indication that Harris would be calling it a night early came roughly an hour before the race was called for President-elect Donald Trump. Republicans also took back control of the Senate early in the night Tuesday, and it still remains possible the GOP wins a supermajority with enough victories in the House of Representatives.

Trump is still expected to speak to voters tonight from the Palm Beach County Convention Center as planned.

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The Fox News Decision Desk projects former President Trump has defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a stunning victory, delivering him a second term in the White House after a historic election cycle filled with unprecedented twists and turns and two attempts on his life. 

Trump defeated Vice President Harris, who entered this race just over 100 days ago.

Trump will be the first president to serve two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892 — and only the second in history. 

Trump was first elected president in 2016, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and vowing to ‘Make America Great Again.’ He lost re-election to President Biden in 2020 during the global coronavirus pandemic but re-claimed the White House in 2024 after a nearly two-year campaign, vowing to ‘Make America Great Once Again.’ 

The President-elect was pushed over the 270 electoral vote threshold after a stunning win in the battleground states of North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

Trump’s comeback win was official after Fox News called Wisconsin in his favor, a state he narrowly lost in 2020.  

Pennsylvania was one of the most important states Trump to won, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign having identified it as one of three Rust Belt states on its ‘clearest path to 270 electoral votes.’

The once and future president also took Georgia, no doubt a sweet victory for him after a bitter, narrow loss there in 2020.

Trump formally announced his presidential campaign on Nov. 15, 2022 – just days after the midterm elections. 

Trump campaigned for a second term on the record of his first and focused on the failures of the Biden-Harris administration. The former president was able to point to the reversal of some of his key policies as reasons why inflation rose and the U.S. border crisis worsened.

Trump faced a crowded GOP primary field, but emerged as the frontrunner yet again, easily defeating his opponents – all of whom eventually endorsed him to be the 47th President of the United States – and winning each primary contest.

Until July, Trump was running against Biden, who was seeking re-election for a second term. 

But the two debated for the first time in June, and weeks later, after a disastrous debate performance, Biden was pressured by Democrat insiders to suspend his presidential bid.  

Biden made the announcement in a social media post and endorsed Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee in his place, moving his vice president to the top of the ticket. 

The decision for Biden to drop out of the race came just days after the Republican National Convention (RNC) finished, and after Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, formally accepted the GOP nomination. 

But Trump, just days before accepting the Republican nomination, survived an assassination attempt at a rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. During the event, Trump was showing off a chart highlighting how illegal immigration skyrocketed under the Biden-Harris administration. As he turned toward the chart, he was hit by a bullet that pierced the upper part of his right ear by the now-deceased would-be-assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks. Trump credits the chart for saving his life. 

But weeks later, in September, another would-be-assassin hid himself in the bushes at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. The gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, had an AK-47-style rifle pointing through the fence toward Trump as he was golfing. Trump was rushed off the golf course by U.S. Secret Service agents unharmed.

Just a day later, Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the ‘rhetoric’ of Biden, Harris and the Democrats was to blame. 

‘He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,’ Trump said of the gunman. ‘Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out.’ 

The general election showcased two very different visions for the future of the United States of America. 

The Trump campaign touted pro-growth, America first economic policies, securing the border, ending inflation, and restoring ‘peace through strength’ as part of the president’s plan.

The Trump campaign’s closing message was: ‘Harris broke it. Trump will fix it.’ 

In the final weeks of the campaign, Trump traveled to Pennsylvania to work at a McDonald’s drive-thru window as a fry cook in a jab at Harris, who previously claimed that she worked at the fast-food chain.

Meanwhile, Harris campaigned that Trump was a threat to democracy and warned supporters that he would sign a national abortion ban – something Trump repeatedly denied.

As for the rhetoric, it never quite fizzled. Trump held a massive, sold-out campaign rally just a week before Election Day at Madison Square Garden in traditionally blue New York City. Democrats, including Harris, later likened Trump to ‘Hitler.’ 

And less than a week before Election Day, Biden described Trump supporters as ‘garbage.’

Trump landed key endorsements from top Republicans during his bid for the White House but also created unlikely allies, like former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. 

Trump also drew support from top business leaders like Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick. Lutnick told Fox News Digital that many Wall Street leaders had privately committed their support to Trump. 

Trump’s victory comes after years of what his campaign called a ‘weaponization’ of the Justice Department. 

Trump’s post-presidential life and third campaign was reminiscent of his days in the Oval Office, marred by investigations, which the former president and his allies said were just part of an effort by his political opponents to prevent him from running for re-election in 2024. 

Trump, who was the first president in U.S. history to be impeached and acquitted twice, was also the first president to be indicted, not just once, but four times over. 

Just days after announcing his re-election bid in November 2022, Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped former DOJ official Jack Smith as special counsel. The appointment came several months after the FBI conducted an unprecedented raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, claiming he improperly retained classified records from his presidency. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from that probe. 

The case was eventually tossed completely by a federal judge in Florida, who ruled that Smith was improperly and unlawfully appointed as special counsel. 

Smith also took over an investigation into alleged 2020 election interference. Trump also pleaded not guilty, but his attorneys took the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court to argue on the basis of presidential immunity. 

The high court ruled that Trump was immune from prosecution for official presidential acts, forcing Smith to file a new indictment. Trump pleaded not guilty to those new charges as well. Trump attorneys are now seeking to have the election interference charges dropped in Washington, D.C., similarly alleging that Smith was appointed unlawfully. 

But that case wasn’t the first Trump-related Supreme Court ruling this election cycle. Colorado, attempting to use the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, sought to remove Trump from the 2024 primary ballot, but the Supreme Court sided unanimously with the former president, impacting efforts in several other states to do the same. 

In 2023, Trump was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with allegedly falsifying business records. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges but sat through an unprecedented six-week criminal trial in New York City this spring. The jury found him guilty. 

Trump appealed the ruling, and the judge presiding over the case set his sentencing date for after the election. 

Trump also sat inside a courtroom in the fall of 2023 for a civil fraud trial stemming from a lawsuit brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Judge Arthur Engoron demanded Trump pay more than $450 million. 

But a New York appeals court appeared open-minded and receptive in September to reversing or reducing that judgment. 

Trump has also appealed a ruling to pay E. Jean Carroll more than $80 million in a defamation suit. As president, Trump said Carroll was lying about allegations of sexual assault. This year, a New York jury ruled that he defamed Carroll’s character in denying the allegations and defending himself. 

And in Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis charged Trump in her election interference case. He pleaded not guilty but was booked and had his mugshot taken – a photo his campaign used throughout the election cycle to illustrate the ‘lawfare’ used against him. 

A Georgia judge tossed a number of charges against Trump, and the case is on hold.

The future of the cases and charges hang in limbo, as the president-elect will have the power to pardon himself once sworn in.

But Trump, through all of the unprecedented legal challenges, took every opportunity to campaign. After hours in court this spring, Trump delivered pizzas to the New York City Fire Department. 

Trump told his supporters he thought the prosecutions would have ‘the reverse effect’ on his presidential bid – and he was apparently right.  

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With the Senate flipping to the GOP column, it’s unclear how many Republicans they’ll have. But they could have well over 50 votes. But they won’t have 60 yeas to crack a filibuster. 

That could mean a pressure campaign to eliminate the filibuster. 

Here’s the other dynamic: Democrats are holding the seats they need to potentially win the House. 

Democrats have already flipped one key NY seat in their favor. 

With a GOP Senate and the possibility of a Democratic House, we would be on the precipice of history. 

There has NEVER been a double flip in U.S. history where one body flips in one direction and the other flips in the other. 

With a Republican Senate, there will be a race now for Majority Leader between Thune, Cornyn, and Rick Scott. That leadership vote is scheduled for next Wednesday. 

And it’s possible that Trump could influence who he wants to lead the GOP in the Senate. 

Also, if Democrats are able to flip the House, the roots of this can be traced back to swapping out Biden for Harris.

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Bubba Wallace, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain were each fined $100,000 and docked 50 driver points by NASCAR on Tuesday for violating member conduct policies in Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR conducted an investigation from the final laps and came to the conclusion that those three drivers violated sections 4.4.B&D: NASCAR Member Conduct of the Rule Book. Those sections include actions detrimental to stock car racing along with race manipulation.

The owners of each team — 23XI Racing (Wallace), Richard Childress Racing (Dillon) and Trackhouse Racing (Chastain) — were fined $100,000 and had 50 owner points taken away.

The crew chiefs and their respective spotters, along with team executives, will miss the 2024 season finale at Phoenix Raceway as a result of these violations.

All three racing teams said they would file appeals.

‘We took and looked at the most recent penalty that we had written for an infraction, very similar, which was the 41 car a couple of years ago at the Roval,’ NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer said. ‘We felt like we wanted to ramp this one up and we did, we did that in a way that we included team leadership. And this one, something that we feel like that, you know, we want to get our point across that it’s a responsibility of all of us, the team owners, the team leadership as well as ourselves here at NASCAR to uphold the integrity of our sport.’

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House Speaker Mike Johnson was declared the winner Tuesday night in his effort to keep Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District solidly red, according to The Associated Press. 

The four-term congressman was first elected in 2016 but gained prominence as a leader in the GOP after he was elected by his fellow members of Congress last year to replace former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California. Johnson was previously vice chair of the House GOP conference. 

Johnson’s victory Tuesday in his reliably red district came with little resistance. Democrats did not enter a candidate in the race. Joshua Morott, a Republican substitute teacher with little experience in politics, was Johnson’s only challenger. 

Johnson’s district sits in the northwest corner of the state and is home to Shreveport, Louisiana’s third most populous city. 

Despite lacking any true competition, Johnson still led his party’s fundraising efforts this election cycle. He brought in more than $19 million for his own campaign and $8 million for other GOP candidates, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.

Louisiana has been at the center of a redistricting battle, and earlier this year the state’s congressional map was redrawn to include two Black majority districts. The state is still facing legal challenges over whether the new maps unfairly discriminate against voters. 

Johnson’s future as GOP leader remains uncertain even if Republicans maintain control of the House after Tuesday’s election. Johnson has said he wants to continue in the leadership role if Republicans keep the House.

However, he has not indicated anything about his plans if they do not. People close to Johnson have said he would likely step down, according to NBC News.

Even if Republicans keep the House, a handful of them have signaled they either will not support Johnson to remain speaker or are unsure whether they would support him.

In addition to his duties as speaker, Johnson serves on the House Judiciary Committee and is chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.

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He went fishing with his coach, Deion Sanders, at Sanders’ rural estate in Texas. He rode a four-wheeler there and chased deer. Then he got on a plane to Penn State, where he appeared on Saturday’s national college football pregame shows on ESPN and Fox.

But now comes a moment of truth for him and his teammates at Colorado. With four games remaining in the regular season, they are still in the hunt for three of the biggest prizes in college football as the Buffaloes (6-2) prepare to play Saturday at Texas Tech (6-3):

∎ A conference championship is still possible.

∎ So is a berth in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The Buffs were ranked No. 20 in the first playoff rankings released Tuesday.

∎ Hunter, Colorado’s cornerback-receiver, also is a leading contender for the Heisman Trophy after promoting his candidacy on those shows.

“Only Travis has that type of energy that he can go all day like that and go city to city,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference in Boulder Tuesday.

Deion Sanders discusses Colorado’s weekend off

The Buffaloes had last weekend off, allowing Hunter and Sanders to retreat from work. But it came with some risk. At around 1 a.m. local time one night, Sanders said he heard Hunter racing a loud four-wheeler around the property.

“I’m just hearing this thinking ‘you better not fall off this darn four-wheeler. The whole country is gonna be at my throat if you fall off this four-wheeler,’ ‘ Sanders said.

Sanders said he then went to bed late and turned on his television in the morning.

“I wake up and see him on television,” Sanders said of Hunter’s appearances on ESPN and Fox. “I just bust out laughing. Like you just left. Like when did you leave? Like I didn’t even know he was going to make the rounds that early.”

Hunter had flown to the site of the Ohio State-Penn State game as part of his Heisman campaign. He’s a co-favorite to win it right now, along with Miami quarterback Cam Ward, according to BetMGM. Hunter’s selling point is his tirelessness as an elite two-way player who has scored eight touchdowns on offense while allowing zero on defense.

“Nobody ever done what I’ve been doing,” Hunter said on Fox’s pregame show Saturday. “It’s pretty much that simple.”

Deion Sanders on what’s next

It helped Colorado’s cause when both Kansas State and Iowa State lost games last week while the Buffs were off. As a result, Colorado now appears to have a simpler path to the Big 12 Conference championship game.

The Buffaloes and Iowa State are now tied for second place in the league with 4-1 records in conference play behind BYU (5-0). If BYU stays undefeated, the Buffaloes would play BYU for the league title if they win their four remaining regular-season games and Iowa State loses at least one more game. Colorado does not play Iowa State or BYU in the regular season and doesn’t want to leave it up to the league’s tiebreaker rules if they remain tied with the Cyclones.

“It’s right there in front of us, and we gotta go get it,” Sanders said.

Asked if his team is ready to seize this opportunity in the final month of the regular season, Sanders said “I would hope so” but also got a little speechless about it.

“Honestly man, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know. I don’t know. We been through a lot and we’re prepared for the moment. We’re not shying away from what we expect. We expect to be in this. We expect to be where we are. We expect to be better than where we are honestly.”

Deion Sanders talks tortillas at Texas Tech

They’re a long way from where they were at Nebraska on Sept. 7, when they lost 28-10.

That ‘was just a wake-up call,” Colorado punter Mark Vassett said Tuesday. “We thought we were gonna be really good coming out this season, and it was just a wake-up call that we’ve got to work harder.”

The Buffs since have won three straight road games and now have another one on national television on Fox in Lubbock.

“On the road, we love it,” Sanders said. “We gonna get booed. I heard they throw, is it tacos?”

Close. Fans there have been known to throw tortillas during games.

“Is that legal, to throw tortillas?” Sanders asked.

Not exactly, but it happens.

“We gonna try to make ‘em empty those things,” Sanders said.

Where does Colorado rank in College Football Playoff rankings?

A berth in the new 12-team College Football Playoff also is still possible. The five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic bids. The remaining seven spots will go to the highest-ranked teams as decided by the selection committee.

The first playoff rankings came out Tuesday, with Colorado ranked No. 20, behind No. 19 Kansas State (7-2), a team that beat Colorado last month, 31-28.

After playing at Texas Tech Saturday, the Buffs finish the season against teams at the bottom of the Big 12 standings: Utah (1-4) at home Nov. 16, at Kansas (1-4) Nov. 23 and Oklahoma State (0-6) at home Nov. 29.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

(This story was updated to add new information.)

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Penn State University Police and Public Safety is investigating the incident involving Jason Kelce that saw the former NFL star throw a heckler’s phone onto the ground after the person said a homophobic slur to Kelce in referring to his brother.

Penn State Police spokesperson Jacqueline Sheader confirmed the investigation to USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday afternoon and added the process is ongoing.

The incident, which took place just outside Beaver Stadium on Saturday as Penn State hosted Ohio State, was reported by university police. According to the police department’s daily crime log, an ‘officer observed a visitor damaging personal property’ outside of the stadium. The offenses were criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

Social media footage showed Kelce walking through a crowd while several people acknowledged him and asked for selfies. However, one person hurled anti-LGTBQ slurs toward Kelce about his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

‘Hey Kelce! How does it feel your brother is a (expletive) for dating Taylor Swift?’ the person shouted.

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Kelce turned around, grabbed the person’s phone and spiked it into the ground before picking up the phone and continuing to walk. Another video shared on social media showed the fan chasing Kelce and saying ‘give me my phone.’ Kelce then appeared to say the same slur back toward the person.

The former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center and current ESPN analyst apologized for his role in the incident prior to the Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Monday night. He said he ‘fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have.’

‘Everybody’s seen on social media everything that took place this week,’ Kelce said. ‘Listen, I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that that’s a productive thing.’

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The NBA on Tuesday suspended Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid three games without pay for ‘shoving a member of the media.’

The incident happened Saturday in the locker room following the Sixers’ 124-107 loss to Memphis.

“Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA,” Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said. “While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical.”

Embiid confronted and made physical contact with Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, who wrote a column critical of Embiid and referenced Embiid’s brother Arthur, who died in 2014, and Embiid’s son Arthur.

Philadelphia Inquirer Sixers beat writer Gina Mizell wrote that Embiid “struck and shoved” Hayes “during a profanity-laced tirade.”

Hayes told Mizell that Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and general manger Elton Brand “apologized for the incident, expressed regret that it happened, and asked me for my version of events. … They agreed that Embiid’s actions were unacceptable.”

Embiid has not played this season, sidelined with a knee problem, and his suspension will begin with the next game for which he is available, the league said.

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Holloway finished his shift after being hit but received medical attention back on the bench. His neck was stabilized before he was taken to the locker room on a stretcher. He was then transported to a local-area hospital for further evaluation.

With 1:11 left in the first period, the game was stopped for an early intermission. The plan was for it to resume with the final 1:11 of the first period, followed immediately by the second period.

Holloway, 23, is in his first season with the Blues after spending his first two NHL campaigns with the Edmonton Oilers. He had four goals and two assists in his first 12 games of the season.

All things Blues: Latest St. Louis Blues news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

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Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk said election night he plans to continue to be active in politics through the presidential election into the 2026 midterms. 

‘America PAC is going to keep going after this election — and preparing for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney and sort of judicial levels,’ Musk said on X Spaces Tuesday. 

Musk has taken an active role on the campaign trail for the former president and has helped canvass for Trump in key battleground states like Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina

According to its website, America PAC aims to ‘promote free speech, free markets, and a merit-based society.’ 

Musk made waves on the Pennsylvania campaign trail in support of Trump’s campaign, including offering $1 million a day to swing-state voters who sign his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution.

Musk was sued by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who called the contest an ‘illegal lottery’ aimed at influencing the results of a presidential election.

On Monday, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Musk could continue his efforts. 

Reuters reported Tuesday evening that Musk has also been sued in a proposed class action over the giveaway. 

Musk has given at least $118 million to America PAC, The Washington Post reported. He is expected to spend election night with the former president in Florida. 

The New York Times first reported the news, citing two people familiar with Musk’s schedule, that Musk will be among a small group of people watching the election results with Trump. 

Musk, after the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, wrote on X, ‘I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.’

Musk later appeared with Trump at a rally in Butler.

‘I want to say what an honor it is to be here, and, you know, the true test of someone’s character is how they behave under fire, right?’ Musk said at the beginning of his remarks. ‘And we had one president who couldn’t climb a flight of stairs and another who was fist pumping after getting shot.’ 

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