Midday Roundup: GOP picks up another Senate seat

Winner declared. A week after most other Senate contests were settled, Republican Dan Sullivan has declared victory in Alaska. Sullivan’s battle with Democrat incumbent Sen. Mark Begich was too close to call on Election Night. After the day’s ballots had been counted, Sullivan had an 8,100-vote lead, but with 20,000 absentee votes still outstanding, neither candidate was willing to call the race over. Although media outlets have called the race for Sullivan, Begich has yet to concede. “There are tens of thousands of outstanding votes and Sen. Begich has heard from rural Alaskans that their votes deserve to be counted and their voices deserve to be heard,” campaign manager Susanne Fleek-Green said in an email to The Associated Press. “He will honor those requests.” Sullivan’s win gives the GOP 53 seats in the Senate, with Louisiana’s race still up for grabs in a Dec. 6 runoff.

Tricky landing. The European Space Agency announced this morning it has navigated its space probe Philae to a successful landing on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. Agency officials were not sure the probe, part of a decade-long mission, would be able to land after discovering the comet’s surface was covered with craggy rocks and deep fissures. The probe will collect samples of rock and ice to bring back to earth for analysis. Scientists believe the comet is a fragment of the birth of Earth’s solar system.

Military might. Russia has announced plans to extend its long-range bomber patrols over the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to show Moscow is not cowed by Western criticism of its actions in Ukraine. NATO allies have already reported an increased Russian military presence in the Black, Baltic and North seas as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Last month, Swedish officials spent almost two weeks looking for a Russian submarine they believe ran into trouble waters off the coast of Stockholm. Russia’s announcement comes as NATO officials accuse Moscow of sending more troops and tanks into Ukraine, something a Kremlin spokesman denied.

Ebola update. Two more people in Mali’s capital, Bamako, have died of Ebola, raising fears the country may not be able to escape the pandemic ravaging its neighbor, Guinea. A man who traveled from Guinea to Mali became the country’s second casualty. A nurse who treated him also died. Health officials did not confirm either had the virus until after they had died. A 2-year-old girl became the country’s first Ebola victim after she returned home with her family from a visit to Guinea. Family members who interacted with her while she was sick have been released from a 21-day quarantine. Meanwhile, family members of the only man to die of Ebola in the United States have reached a settlement with Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. The hospital misdiagnosed Thomas Eric Duncan, sending him home without treatment for four days. That delay, family members contend, cost him his life. Duncan’s four children and parents will each get an undisclosed amount of money in compensation for his death. The hospital also will provide funds to build a medical facility in Liberia.

Climate deal. The United States and China have reached a deal to cut greenhouse gases in an attempt to halt climate change. It marks the first time China has agreed to cap its carbon emissions. Under the agreement, the United States will cut its 2005 level carbon emissions by at last 26 percent by 2025. China has pledged to get 20 percent of its energy from zero-carbon sources by then and peak its carbon emissions by 2030.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.