Evening Update: Johnson steps aside; Mississippi Senate race at 65 votes; Trump says he'd fight Iran war again
Democrats' House count grows, Iran gloats over the vote, and oil drops under $100.
5 PM CT video brief · 1:22Presenter voice and image generated with AI tools.Read transcript
I'm Nora Vale with your 5 PM World Brief for Wednesday, November 4. NBC: Democrats at least 259 House seats. Mississippi Senate: 65-vote gap. Johnson won't seek GOP leader post. GOP leadership vote Nov. 10. Trump: Iran war 'largely' hurt GOP; 'I'd have to do it again.' Iran: 'NO TO WAR.' IRGC claims four tankers hit mines. Brent crude under $100, first time since September. Supreme Court hears Guerrero v. Johnson. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: Snow will develop over parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Thursday. Light rain and higher elevation snow over parts of the Pacific Northwest. Our opinion. Count lawful votes, defend the Constitution, lower energy costs. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale.
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted that "Americans said NO TO WAR," warning that "our NO comes with a Nightmare" if Washington ignores voters, CBS News reported. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed four oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines on a prohibited route south of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned a network run by two Indian nationals that it said helped Iran's shadow fleet sail under false flags.
Brent crude fell more than 8% on Wednesday to about $94 a barrel at noon Eastern, dropping under $100 for the first time since September, CBS News reported. Brent had climbed to a high of $116 on Oct. 23 and closed at $103 on Tuesday.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said the United States will bring Ukrainian and Russian delegations together in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11 to discuss "post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures, and ending the war," Reuters reported. Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S., and the two sides remain far apart on terms.
NBC News projects Democrats will control both the House and Senate in January and estimates they will win at least 259 House seats, with Democrats having flipped 35 House seats so far. Key Senate races remain uncalled in Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola leads GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Mississippi, where Democrat Scott Colom leads GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 65 votes in the current count, NBC reported. Republicans notched their first gain as Jace Yarbrough won Texas' 32nd District.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told staff on a Wednesday call that he does not plan to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, Fox News Digital reported, as House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan mounts a bid for minority leader. House and Senate Republicans will hold minority leadership elections on Nov. 10, while House Democrats vote Nov. 18-19, NBC News reported.
In his first public appearance after the midterms, President Trump spoke to workers at the White House ballroom construction site as the last piece of steel went up, NBC News reported. Asked about the election, he said it is "largely true" the Iran war hurt Republicans "because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term," but added, "if I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again," because "You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon," CBS News reported.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that "The reason we lost is the war," listing ending the Iran war, the cost of living, putting America first and the U.S. relationship with Israel as reasons Trump voters backed Democrats, CBS News reported. Multiple sources told CBS News that Trump has been asking advisers whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth should stay, though other sources said no decision has been made.
The Supreme Court heard argument Wednesday in Guerrero v. Johnson (No. 25-1003), on whether a claim relies on a "previously unavailable" new constitutional rule when the prisoner could have raised it in an earlier federal habeas petition, SCOTUSblog reported. Texas Solicitor General William R. Peterson argued for the state, joined by Emily M. Ferguson for the United States, and Jeremy Schepers argued for Texas death-row prisoner Dexter Johnson.
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