First Thing: Harris concedes to Trump but urges supporters to ‘never give up’

Harris calls on her supporters to stay engaged in the fight for US democracy. Plus, prosecutors to drop criminal cases against Trump

Good morning.

Kamala Harris formally conceded the election to Donald Trump on Wednesday, calling on her supporters to “never give up” and to fight for American democracy as he prepared to choose his top team.

Speaking at her alma mater, Howard University, after the Republican gained more than the 270 votes needed to win the electoral college, Harris said: “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. Hear me when I say: the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up.” She drew loud applause as she told the crowd she would aid the peaceful transition of power.

For the first time in two decades, Republicans look set to win the popular vote: at the time of writing, Trump had 51% against Harris’s 48%. With the results still trickling in, Joe Biden, who said he spoke to Trump on Wednesday and invited him to the White House, will address the nation on Thursday.

How many people voted for Trump compared with 2020? The vote count is ongoing – but Trump is expected to hit the 74m votes he won in 2020, while Harris looks set to fail to reach the 81m votes Biden gained in 2020.

US elections 2024: control of House remains unclear

Control of the US House of Representatives remained unclear early on Thursday morning, though the Republicans secured their widelyexpected majority in the US Senate.

With two pillars of power already in Republican control, the stakes are higher than ever for the Democratic party, as winning control of the House could serve as their only way to check Trump’s power as president.

At time of writing, 38 races remained uncalled, with the Republicans up one seat, giving them 206, while the Democrats were down one seat, at 191.

When will we know? It may take days yet to determine the winner of the House – in 2022, it took more than a week.

US special counsel to shut down criminal cases against Trump

Special counsel prosecutors will end their criminal cases against Trump before he assumes office in January, according to two sources close to the matter, as his victory means the cases will not go to trial.

The decision is being taken because the cases will not be finished by inauguration day, and once Trump is in the White House, the special counsel’s office would be prohibited from pursuing further criminal actions.

The justice department has long been aware that if the Republican candidate were elected, Trump’s attorney general would probably drop the charges against him over his retention of classified documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

How much of this was planned by Trump? His legal strategy had been to delay the criminal cases until after the election – he repeatedly told rallies that he was running to save himself.

In other news …

The Biden administration aims to grant billions in security aid to Ukraine before leaving office in January, sources have told Reuters.

Californians have been forced to evacuate as fast-moving wildfires tear through the state, lashed by powerful winds.

Germany’s coalition has collapsed after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, fired his finance minister in a shock development.

Iran’s foreign ministry has called on Trump to review the US government’s approach to the region, amid the Republican’s mixed messages on his foreign policy positions in the Middle East.

Stat of the day: 2 million at risk of starvation in Myanmar state

Two million people in Myanmar’s Rakhine state are at risk of starvation within months after conflict and trade blockades caused economic collapse and a looming famine, a senior UN official has warned. Many households surveyed reported eating “a single meal a day – some even less”, said Kanni Wignaraja, the UN assistant secretary general and regional director for the United Nations Development Programme.

Don’t miss this: ‘Trump can’t stop global climate action’

For a much-needed injection of optimism on the future of climate negotiations, have a read of this piece by Bill Hare, the chief executive of Climate Analytics. Hare says the wheels of energy transition are already in motion and argues that even with Trump in the White House, the rest of the world can stick together to enact meaningful action against global heating. Even in the US, it may not be in Republicans’ political interests to roll back green investment.

Climate check: 2024 ‘virtually certain’ to be hottest ever

The EU’s space programme has said it is “virtually certain” that this year will be the hottest on record . Its report found that 2024 will probably be the first year with temperatures more than 1.5C (2.7F) hotter than before the Industrial Revolution, in an alarming milestone. While world leaders had pledged to stop Earth from heating 1.5C by 2100, global heating is on track to roughly double that.

Last Thing: Make my bed? That’s against doctor’s orders, I’m afraid

Professional medical advice is now casting doubt on what parents of teenagers have spent decades trying to get them to do: make their beds, that is. Doctors are letting TikTok know that dust mites, which live in all our bedding, prefer a well-made bed that traps moisture and helps them thrive. Other advice, which perhaps may be less welcome for the chore-shy, includes changing your bedding once a week.

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