Democrat Scott Cullum won a seat in the US Senate from the traditionally conservative state of Mississippi, according to media network estimates on Wednesday, becoming the first African American to be elected to the Senate from this southern state in more than 140 years.
Cullum, a 43-year-old prosecutor, was able to defeat the current Republican Senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith, in the midterm elections in which the Democrats achieved a landslide victory over the Republicans, thus regaining the majority in both chambers of Congress.
Collom's victory comes to intensify the blow to President Donald Trump, as voters across the country turned their backs on his Republican Party, even in states that have not elected any Democrat to the House of Representatives or Senate in Washington for decades.
This latest victory, which was announced by American media on Wednesday, including CNN, NBC, and CBS, will give the Democrats 55 seats in the 100-seat Senate, compared to 44 seats for the Republicans, pending the outcome of the state of Alaska, which has not yet been decided.
Hyde-Smith, who has been in office since 2018, acknowledged her defeat in the electoral race in a video clip she posted on “X”.
“Although this is not the outcome we worked for or hoped for, I respect the decision of Mississippi voters,” the 67-year-old senator said. “I want to congratulate Scott Cullum, wishing him well as he takes on the great responsibility of representing our great state.”
Cullum will become the first Democratic senator from Mississippi in 40 years, and the first black senator to represent the state since the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War.
One person was killed and others were injured, on Wednesday, when a three-story building collapsed near a construction site in New York, city authorities said.
Pictures from the site showed firefighters digging through a pile of rubble in front of what appeared to be a residential property whose walls had collapsed.
American media reported that some people were recovered from under the rubble, including a child who was taken out on a stretcher.
The New York Fire Department said that it had received reports of people trapped after a building collapsed around four in the afternoon (21:00 GMT) in the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn.
One person was declared dead upon arrival, according to the fire department, while four were taken to hospital in critical condition, while six people sustained minor injuries.
The cause of the building's collapse was not immediately known.
The city's building department said its inspectors rushed to the site "to assist in rescue operations and conduct structural safety checks on nearby buildings."
President Donald Trump defended the war against Iran despite growing popular opposition to it, during a veterans’ memorial ceremony that saw the Army Guard reprimand Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for not showing due respect near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In a speech he delivered at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, Trump said, “The courage and skill of our wonderful American warriors were exceptional by all standards.”
He added, "When this war ends, which will happen soon, the entire world will become a safer and better place, more peaceful and free of the dangers that we have been forced to suffer."
The war, which began on February 28 with American-Israeli strikes against Iran, has so far resulted in the death of 23 American soldiers and the injury of hundreds, according to Pentagon figures.
In his statements, Trump indicated that this war was not started by Washington but by Tehran, which he said “has been waging a war against America since 1979.” He stressed that American forces are working to prevent Iran from possessing the ability to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
During his speech before a crowd of soldiers, veterans, and senior administration officials, Trump singled out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was present, praising his “wonderful work.”
On Tuesday, Republican members of the US House of Representatives obstructed an effort launched by an outgoing Republican lawmaker to isolate Hegseth, claiming that he launched a war without authorization from Congress and misused his powers as Minister of Defense.
Hegseth sparked more controversy during the ceremony, as one of the army personnel charged with guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reprimanded a small group of people, including Hegseth, his wife, and a number of his aides, after some of them laughed after they took a picture in front of the shrine.
“All visitors must maintain an atmosphere of calm and respect at all times,” the guard said, after stopping his patrol to direct his gaze towards the group as they were climbing some stairs to leave, while Hegseth turned to look at him.
Trump (80 years old) participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the “Shrine of the Unknown Soldier” in the cemetery, which is an edifice that honors American soldiers who fell in wars.
In his speech, Trump also discussed the “Arc de Triomphe” project, which is 76 meters high, and which he hopes to build near the cemetery, indicating that it will be inaugurated “soon.”
The family of John F. Kennedy asked the court on Tuesday to prevent the construction of this arch, claiming that the huge structure would block the view and cast shadows over the burials of the late president and other members of the Kennedy family buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The project also faces lawsuits from a veterans group, the city of Washington and the state of Virginia.
