How Trump’s election bill faces backlash in Senate and 6 rescued after California avalanche: Morning Rundown

In today’s newsletter: Why some Republicans don’t support Trump’s election bill. Nine skiers are still missing after an avalanche in California. And comparative stories of three US figure skaters at the Olympics.

Here’s what you need to know today.

Trump’s election bill passes 50 votes in Senate, but Democrats still block it

The Trump-backed SAVE America Act, which requires proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote, has advanced by 50 votes in the Senate.

The bill passed the House last week, and now the Senate’s 60-vote requirement is the only barrier to becoming law.

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Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the main sponsor of the bill, is pushing Republicans to use existing laws to force Democrats to engage in “filibuster talk” on the Senate floor, hoping to tire out anyone who opposes it.

Republicans control 53 seats in the Senate, but others in the party have not signed the measure.

Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called it an example of “a one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington,” while Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said states should run their own elections without federal interference.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said the bill was designed to exclude Americans who cannot easily obtain a birth certificate or passport.

And Majority Leader John Thune warned that there is “not even close” to enough votes to end the filibuster. If it stays that way, the Democrats are sure to use every tool to block it.

Read the full story here.

9 skiers missing after avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California

Nine skiers are missing after a massacre Tuesday near the town of Truckee, California, authorities said. Six were rescued.

The avalanche came down near Castle Peak, a popular ski resort northwest of Lake Tahoe, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff’s office said the six survivors were rescued by a team that traveled through treacherous conditions for several hours to reach them.

“Two of the six swimmers were taken to the hospital for treatment. The search is still ongoing, pending the weather,” said the spokeswoman.

Russell Greene, a sheriff’s office captain, said mountain rangers reported the avalanche around 11:30 a.m. and that it was also reported, separately, by an emergency beacon.

Greene said the six survivors took shelter in a wooded area near the site.

The National Weather Service said 3 to 4 inches of snow fell per hour in some areas near the scene, creating dangerous conditions and limiting visibility for rescue teams.

Read the latest on rescue efforts here.

Olympics Recap: The legend of the United States’ three skates ‘Blade Angels’

Three American figure skaters – Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito – took part on Tuesday in one of the signature moments of all Winter Olympics, the women’s singles figure skating event.

Liu finished third after scoring 76.59 in the short program, putting her in a medal position for Thursday’s free skate.

Amber Glenn nailed her triple axel jump on Tuesday but stumbled later and fell to 13th place while Isabeau Levito marked her Olympic debut with a fine performance.

Team Mac Forehand Team USA won silver in the freestyling skiing big air final, going to Norway’s Tormod Frostad, who managed a nearly identical 195.5 in the top 200.

Ilia Malinin entered the 2026 Winter Olympics under the spotlight with hopes of winning gold in the men’s figure skating event. He said on “TODAY,” “I wasn’t ready to handle that fully.”

Track Team USA’s medal tally. Follow live updates on our bloglook today’s full schedule hereagain sign up for the Sports Desk newsletter receiving daily dispatches from Milan and Cortina.

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• After political pressure on safety, Miko also includes an on-off switch in its products.
• The wildfire had it issued an evacuation order for approximately 4,000 residents in a town about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

• Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested in New Orleans during Mardi Gras after causing a disturbance and allegedly assaulting two people, police said.

• “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert said CBS did not air his Monday interview with Texas Rep. James Talarico for fear of a backlash from the FCC.

Staff Pick: Three economists grab a beer. A multi-billion dollar industry was established.

I knew that prediction markets I’ve been kicking around for a while – but I didn’t know how long I’d been looking into their history and evolution. Before phone apps like Kalshi and Polymarket, betting on elections used to be a national pastime in the US, during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The first modern prediction market, created in 1988, was an academic project by three economists in Iowa who came up with the idea of ​​betting money on elections – to see if it could produce more accurate results than polling – while sharing a few beers over lunch.

I was lucky enough to track down Robert Forsythe, the last founder of Iowa Electronic Markets. He shared his story with me — and offered his thoughts on the multibillion-dollar startups that would emerge, decades later, from the seeds he and his colleagues had planted.

– Suzy Khimmnational reporter

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