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Nov. 5, 2025, 6:33 AM ESTBy Owen Auston-BabcockDemocrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards advanced to a runoff in a special congressional election in Texas, NBC News projects, as a crowded field vied to fill the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s deep-blue seat.The race saw 16 candidates, including seven Democrats, five Republicans, three independents and one Green Party member, face off in a heavily Democratic district that includes downtown Houston and parts of surrounding Harris County.Follow the election live hereMenefee is the county attorney for Harris County, becoming the first Black person to hold that office after unseating three-term incumbent Vince Ryan. Edwards is an attorney and nonprofit founder who served on the Houston City Council for four years.There was no primary election to determine each party’s top picks: Instead, every candidate appeared on the same ballot, with the two candidates with the most votes advancing to a runoff if no one got a majority.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to set a date for the runoff election, which is expected to take place in January.The 18th District has had a Black representative for more than 50 years, starting with Barbara Jordan in 1973, largely as a result of the Voting Rights Act and 1972 redistricting that empowered Black voters.Turner, the former Houston mayor who died in March, two months after being elected to represent the district, won the seat in November by more than 20 points. The late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, also a Democrat, held the seat for almost ten years until her death in July 2024, after winning her party’s primary for reelection.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., threatened in April to sue Abbott for delaying Tuesday’s election. Five days later, Abbott set a date. The seat has been vacant for eight months, and the runoff winner will serve the remainder of Turner’s term, ending in January 2027.Owen Auston-BabcockOwen Auston-Babcock is an intern at NBC News.

- Latest News - November 5, 2025

Democrats Christian Menefee and Amanda Edwards advanced to a runoff in a special congressional election in Texas, NBC News projects, as a crowded field vied to fill the late Rep.

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Nov. 5, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Rob WileThe Supreme Court on Wednesday will start weighing the legality of tariffs that have raised costs on clothing and toys from China, cars and trucks from Canada and Mexico, liquor from Europe, and much more.Yet even if the justices rule against the duties, implemented by President Donald Trump on a country-by-country basis, analysts argue there’s no guarantee that things will return to normal for consumers and businesses. “The removal of [country-specific] tariffs would open the door for trade policy uncertainty to rise again,” analysts with Oxford Economics research group said in a note published Tuesday. That uncertainty, the note added, could end up delaying hiring and business investment — something that could further drag down an already-ailing labor market. The tariffs are being challenged by five small businesses that believe Trump illegally used emergency powers to bypass Congress and impose the duties. The businesses, which include a wine importer, a pipe and fittings company, and a bicycle importing firm, allege they are facing significant financial burdens as a result of the tariffs. “Genova Pipe is dependent on imports to continue its manufacturing operations,” attorneys for the businesses said in their suit, referring to the fittings firm. “The tariffs will directly increase the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, and resale goods imported from abroad by Genova Pipe.”Other businesses have also said tariffs are hurting them. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index held in contraction territory for the eighth-straight month — with many respondents to its survey saying tariffs are weighing on their outlooks.“Tariffs continue to be a large impact to our business,” an unidentified machinery firm said in the survey. “The products we import are not readily manufactured in the U.S., so attempts to reshore have been unsuccessful. Overall, prices on all products have gone up, some significantly.”Yet there remains debate about the direct impact of the tariffs so far, many of which were enacted in August. Analysts with Bank of America found that prices for 101 commonly purchased items on Walmart.com had increased an average of roughly 3.4% between April and October — with toys in particular, many of which are made in China, seeing the biggest hit. However, they said the effect on consumers has been less than what one would expect if the costs of tariffs were being fully passed through to consumers. Businesses, they said, seem to be absorbing significant levels of the costs. In a statement to NBC News, the Yale Budget Lab, a policy think tank, likewise said that the effects of the tariffs “have been somewhat muted so far.”Still, it added, tariffs are weighing on the economy in other ways.“There’s no clear evidence that increased tariffs are responsible for the slowdown in job growth seen in recent months, although broader policy uncertainty is undoubtedly playing a role,” the lab said. “In general, we would expect to see the effects of tariffs to phase in over time as businesses modify their decisions to hire and/or invest.”While large and small companies alike have been facing cost pressures from tariffs, smaller ones have likely taken an outsize hit. Bigger companies have more capital and resources to help them mitigate higher costs. Small businesses, though, were more likely to fall into a category of firms facing import tariff increases exceeding 25 percentage points, according to an August study by the Atlanta Federal Reserve.“Small importers may be relatively more constrained in their ability to weather higher trade costs or switch suppliers, and, as a result, might experience defaults and bankruptcies,” the analysis found.A ruling against the tariffs would likely lower the cost burden to businesses and consumers. But the economy could face turmoil if the court demands the administration refund tariff revenues. Country-specific duties totaled approximately $89 billion through August, according to government data. In addition to the logistical challenge of sending refund checks to whoever paid the duties to U.S. officials, some analysts believe refunds could heat up economic activity — albeit with risks. A ruling against Trump may end up boosting consumer inflation pressures, Bank of America analysts said in a note published last week. The Trump administration has already signaled it would attempt to use different legal authorities to reimpose the duties. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested Trump would tap another statute, established in 1930, that would allow him to impose tariffs of up to 50% on countries that discriminate against U.S. commerce. “You should assume that they’re here to stay,” Bessent said in an interview in September. The Oxford Economics analysts, meanwhile, have said they would be “unlikely to change our broader outlook for tariffs” even if the court decides against Trump. Bessent said he plans to attend Wednesday’s arguments at the high court.Rob WileRob Wile is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist covering breaking business stories for NBCNews.com.

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The Supreme Court weighs the legality of tariffs that have raised costs on clothing, toys, cars, liquor and much more.

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Nov. 5, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Lawrence HurleyWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s signature economic policy comes under Supreme Court scrutiny Wednesday as the justices weigh whether he has the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on imports under a law designed for use during a national emergency.The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority that has regularly backed Trump on various contentious cases since he took office in January, but many legal observers think the tariffs dispute is a close call.The consequences are huge for Trump and the economy at large, with Americans increasingly anxious amid signs that the tariffs are contributing to, rather than alleviating, higher costs.A new NBC News poll found that 63% of registered voters believe Trump is failing to live up to expectations on the economy, after he ran on lowering prices, in part, through tariffs. Other recent polls show a majority of Americans oppose the tariffs, which disproportionately burden small businesses.Trump reaches trade war truce with China01:49The legal question is whether a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which allows the president to regulate imports when there is an emergency, extends to the power to impose global tariffs of unspecified duration and breadth.The Constitution states that the power to set tariffs is assigned to Congress. IEEPA, which does not specifically mention tariffs, says the president can “regulate” imports and exports when he deems there to be an emergency, which occurs when there is an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the nation.Until Trump began his second term in January, no president had ever used the law to tariff imports. Lower courts ruled against the Trump administration, with both sides asking the Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling.Trump has made clear how important this case is to him and his economic plan, repeatedly warning of drastic consequences if the court strikes down his tariffs. He had even suggested he would go in person to Wednesday’s oral arguments, becoming the first president to do so. He later backed off that idea, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he plans to attend.“If a President was not able to quickly and nimbly use the power of Tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our Nation,” Trump said in a characteristic Truth Social post Sunday.But even if he were to lose at the Supreme Court, Trump has levied other tariffs under different laws that would survive. And his administration has been looking at other ways of imposing tariffs, although those methods are more limited.The court is hearing the case on an expedited basis, meaning a ruling could be issued in short order. It has consolidated two underlying challenges brought by small businesses and a coalition of states.V.O.S. Selections Inc., a wine and spirits importer, Plastic Services and Products, a pipe and fittings company, and two companies that sell educational toys are among the businesses that sued.The high-stakes case puts the spotlight on a court that was skeptical of President Joe Biden’s unilateral use of executive power, including his attempt to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt. The court blocked that proposal, citing what has been called the “major questions doctrine.”Under that theory, embraced by the conservative majority in recent years, a president cannot impose a broad policy with huge impacts on society and the economy unless Congress passes a law that specifically allows for it.The challengers said in court papers that the justices do not even need to reach the “major questions” question, noting that the text of IEEPA does not grant any power to impose tariffs.They pointed out that other laws, including the Trade Act, specifically grant the president the authority to levy tariffs in some form.Even if Trump could, in theory, use IEEPA for tariffs, there is no emergency that would warrant invoking it now, they added.Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the Trump administration, argued in his brief that the law is written in such a way to give broad powers to the president, including over tariffs.The tariffs are necessary because of “country-killing trade deficits,” he added, echoing Trump’s dire language.The cases concern two sets of tariffs. One is country-by-country or “reciprocal” tariffs, which range from 34% for China to a 10% baseline for the rest of the world. The other is a 25% tariff Trump imposed on some goods from Canada, China and Mexico for what the administration said was their failure to curb the flow of fentanyl.Other tariffs implemented using different legal authorities, such as 50% steel and aluminum tariffs on all other worldwide trading partners, are not at issue in the case before the court.As of the end of August, IEEPA tariffs had raised about $89 billion, according to the latest data available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If the Supreme Court overturns those tariffs, the government would then face demands from businesses that it pay back that revenue.Lawrence HurleyLawrence Hurley is a senior Supreme Court reporter for NBC News. Gary Grumbach , Steve Kopack and Rob Wile contributed.

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The Supreme Court will weigh whether President Donald Trump has the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on imports under a law designed for use during a national emergency.

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Nov. 5, 2025, 6:17 AM ESTBy Jay GanglaniHONG KONG — An American teacher and his teenage son have been stung to death while on holiday in Laos.Daniel Owen and his son, Cooper, who lived in neighboring Vietnam, were at an eco-adventure resort near the city of Luang Prabang when they were attacked on Oct. 15. NBC News was unable to confirm what they were stung by.The two Americans were briefly treated at the Phakan Arocavet Clinic in Luang Prabang, director Phanomsay Phakan said Wednesday. “The condition of the father and son was very serious, so they were quickly transferred to a nearby provincial hospital for further treatment,” Phakan said in an email.Phakan told The Times of London that they had been stung more than 100 times and that their bodies were “covered in red spots.”A State Department spokesperson confirmed the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Luang Prabang but declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones.”The U.S. embassies in Vietnam and Laos did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The eco-adventure resort, Green Jungle Park, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson told The Times that the incident was “unprecedented in our experience and, to our understanding, in Luang Prabang as well.” “It was an unforeseeable and extraordinary natural occurrence,” the spokesperson said, adding that the park was reviewing its procedures.Owen was director of QSI International School of Haiphong, one of Vietnam’s largest cities. “Dan dedicated 18 years to QSI, serving in five different schools and touching countless lives with his warmth, leadership, and unwavering commitment to education,” the school said in a Facebook post. “He was deeply loved across our community and will be profoundly missed.”Laos, a country of about 8 million people, is an increasingly popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia.In November 2024, an American citizen was among six tourists who died in Laos, where alcohol tainted with methanol was blamed for poisoning them. Jay GanglaniJay Ganglani is NBC News’s 2025-26 Asia Desk Fellow. Previously he was an NBC News Asia Desk intern and a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist who has contributed to news publications such as CNN, Fortune and the South China Morning Post.Abigail Williams contributed.

- Latest News - November 5, 2025

HONG KONG — An American teacher and his teenage son have been stung to death while on holiday in Laos

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Nov. 5, 2025, 5:00 AM ESTBy Bridget Bowman, Adam Edelman and Ben KamisarDemocratic wins in Tuesday’s elections gave the party a sorely needed burst of momentum ahead of next year’s midterm elections.The party came in favored in races for Virginia and New Jersey governor, New York City mayor and a California ballot measure to green-light a Democratic gerrymander of the state’s congressional map.But the huge margins in those governor’s races and other contests left many Democrats feeling a new emotion — excitement — for the first time in some time. The results affirmed the candidates’ decisions to run economic-centered campaigns, highlighted Republicans’ trouble replicating President Donald Trump’s coalition and included other signs of repudiation and warning for Trump.Breaking down Trump’s job approval percentage by state in first exit polls02:38Even as they caution there are limits to how much these Democratic victories in several blue-leaning areas can translate into 2026 midterm elections on far more competitive turf, some Republicans are sounding the alarm. “It was a bloodbath. It’s a disastrous night for Republicans in the state, and I think nationally folks should probably heed some warnings as well,” said Mike DuHaime, a longtime New Jersey GOP strategist and former Republican National Committee political director. “It shows there’s some discontent certainly with the current administration and it shows that candidates and campaigns matter as well”Here are six big takeaways from Tuesday’s campaigns — and what they mean for Trump, the midterms, and more.Trump remains the big factor in electionsDemocrats worked to make Trump an issue in their races, and it worked. New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger blamed Trump for voters’ economic woes, while proponents of California’s Proposition 50 framed their redistricting campaign as a way to push back on the president. Across all three states, exit polls show the president was a factor for a majority of voters, with most of those voters saying they saw their ballot as a way to oppose Trump.Spanberger and Sherrill won virtually all of the nearly 40% of voters in their states who saw their votes as a way to oppose Trump. In California, a majority of voters said the main reason for their proposition vote was to oppose Trump, and almost all of them supported the proposition. Abigail Spanberger, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Virginia; New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.Getty Images“This couldn’t be a louder rebuke of Trump and Republicans,” Democratic National Committee executive director Libby Schneider said in an interview. “So it’s sort of a new day for Democrats tomorrow, but we’re going to get right back to fighting.”Meanwhile, more than 60% of voters in New Jersey and Virginia also said they were “dissatisfied or angry” about the way things are going in the country. Out of that group, 77% said they voted for Spanberger and 75% backed Sherrill. A majority of Virginia voters (56%) said cuts to the federal government this year affected their family’s finances either a lot or a little, and two-thirds of those voters broke for Spanberger. And majorities across both Virginia and New Jersey said the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement has gone too far, with the Democratic nominees winning about 90% of those who feel that way. Democrats find success on the economySpanberger, Sherrill and Democrat Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York mayoral race, were all rewarded for making affordability and economic issues the center of the campaigns. Their victories came as voters have expressed deep dissatisfaction with Trump’s handling of the economy, as outlined in the new NBC News poll released Sunday. National Democrats had largely seen the races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia as a key test of their candidates’ focus on economic issues, after struggling on the issue in 2024, when Democrats controlled the White House and were seen as “owning” an unsteady economy. “Democrats win when we make it about what’s going on at the local mall, not on the national mall,” said Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist and veteran of Virginia campaigns.Tuesday’s results in Virginia and New Jersey showed that “people think Trump has made life harder and more expensive,” Ferguson continued, adding that, “Our candidates win — and can win big — when they show they’re not part of that problem but the solution.”The economy proved to be a top concern among Democratic voters, according to the NBC News Exit Poll. Nearly half of Virginia voters said it was the most important issue facing the state. Of those who said the economy was the most important issue, 59% supported Spanberger, while 39% backed GOP Lt. Gov Winsome Earle-Sears. While Republican Jack Ciattarelli won New Jersey voters who said taxes are the most important issue facing the state, Sherrill also won voters who said the top issue is the economy. Mamdani-style progressivism and the more centrist model of the Democratic Party embodied by Spanberger and Sherrill painted different pictures in these elections. But Democratic consultant Sam Cornale, a former top official at the Democratic National Committee, said it would be a mistake to read Tuesday’s results as a “fork in the road” that forces his party to choose between different directions. Instead, it’s what connects the winning Democratic campaigns that illuminates a single path for the party, he said, pointing to a tone of optimism that articulates a policy vision on issues like affordability — rather than simply attacking Trump — and the tactics of taking a message into politically hostile turf.“That’s how they’ve campaigned,” Cornale said. “That’s the model.”2026 starts nowTuesday’s elections also effectively kicked off next year’s battle for control of Congress. California voters green-lit a new congressional map that could help Democrats flip up to five U.S. House seats from the state, a major victory for Democrats that helps to counter Republican redistricting efforts in other states. Democratic victories in Virginia — both at the statewide level and in expanding their majority in the state House — keep the party’s hopes of redrawing the congressional maps there alive too. And the three victories in Pennsylvania to retain Democratic-backed state Supreme Court justices retain the party’s edge on the court, which has decided a handful of high-profile election-related cases in recent years. More broadly, the results also provide other clues of what the state of play will be in key states and districts ahead of next year’s major elections. Beyond the marquee races, for example, Democrats got more good news down the ballot in Georgia, where the party won two statewide elections for the state’s Public Service Commission in what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes were the first Democratic victories in statewide, non-federal elections in almost 20 years. Meanwhile, while Mamdani’s victory in New York marked a historic night for the Democrats, some Republicans are hopeful that they’ve found a new bogeyman to energize their voters — a strategy that could spread to key House districts in the New York area and beyond next year.GOP struggles with the Trump coalition continueRepublicans continue to have trouble getting Trump’s supporters to vote when he is not on the ballot. ”Trying to be Donald Trump in a state that he lost is not enough, even if you execute the strategy,” said DuHaime, the New Jersey Republican strategist. “It’s impossible to put together Trump’s coalition. It is unique to Trump.”Trump made big gains in the Garden State in 2024 compared to his 2020 loss, performing better in working-class communities and more diverse parts of the state, including heavily Latino counties.But Ciattarelli struggled to replicate that coalition, even with Trump’s endorsement.While Ciattarelli had a 7-point lead among voters without college degrees, Sherrill won voters making less than $100,000 and young men. Sherrill also appeared to easily win Latino voters, based on exit polling. She is heading for double-digit leads in heavily Latino counties including Passaic, which Trump flipped in 2024. Trump did not campaign with Ciattarelli in person, but he did hold a pair of telerallies. And Ciattarelli did not distance himself from the president.Candidates matterWhile Mamdani ran far to the left of Spanberger and Sherrill, all three fit their races. Spanberger and Sherrill provided lessons about “winning in this era,” Ferguson said, especially as it pertains to swing and independent voters, while Mamdani’s win should teach the party about “communicating in this moment.” According to the exit polls, the gubernatorial contenders’ personal favorability was better than the Democratic Party’s.New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during an election night event at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in New York on Tuesday.John Taggart for NBC NewsMeanwhile, despite all the headwinds favoring Spanberger in Virginia, outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin still received high marks in exit polls. But Earle-Sears, his lieutenant governor, couldn’t replicate his 2021 winning coalition.“Winsome wasn’t able to capitalize,” said Zack Roday, a Virginia-based Republican strategist. “Only strong candidates and relentless campaigns can even hope to seize the common sense mantle like Trump and Youngkin have done so effectively.”Though Mamdani ran a strong campaign in his own right, with his finger on the pulse of an electorate that was deeply concerned about cost of living, there was another important ingredient in his victory: His top opponents were hamstrung by serious personal baggage.Andrew Cuomo walks among the crowd at his watch-party on the night of the New York City mayoral elections following his defeat, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan on Tuesday.Paola Chapdelaine for NBC NewsFormer New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his main rival, resigned the governorship in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations. Mayor Eric Adams faced a corruption indictment and then had it dropped by the Trump administration, which soured his political standing in a deep-blue city.Partisanship persistsOne of the most telling data points from Tuesday’s elections was that Democrat Jay Jones won his race for Virginia attorney general — and it wasn’t close.Just weeks earlier, Jones’ campaign seemed doomed after reporting about violent texts from 2022 in which he suggested that Virginia’s then-Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.” Another text from Jones discussed violence against that lawmaker’s children.But partisanship trumped past transgressions. About 8 in 10 voters who called those texts disqualifying voted for Miyares, and almost the same share of voters who felt the texts were not a concern voted for Jones, the NBC News Exit Poll shows. Democratic voters told NBC News ahead of Election Day that while they strongly objected to those texts, they voted for him anyway to give Spanberger an ally to help achieve her policy goals. Then there’s California, and the curious case of voters tut-tutting about partisan redistricting — while approving partisan redistricting.Fully 92% of California voters said a nonpartisan commission should draw each state’s congressional district lines. Yet a majority of those people voted to approve the new maps that sidestepped the independent redistricting commission. Bridget BowmanBridget Bowman is a national political reporter for NBC News.Adam EdelmanAdam Edelman is a politics reporter for NBC News. Ben KamisarBen Kamisar is a national political reporter for NBC News

- Latest News - November 5, 2025

Democratic wins in Tuesday’s elections gave the party a sorely needed burst of momentum ahead of next year’s midterm elections

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