Australians voting in national election as Trump's influence looms
CBSN
Australians are voting in a national election this weekend, and President Trump appears to be playing an outsized role as nations continue to respond to the vision of U.S. foreign policy he's put in place in the first 100 days of his second term.
Polling stations on the eastern coast of the country, which includes Sydney and Melbourne, opened Saturday at 8 a.m. local time and close at 6 p.m. (4 a.m. ET on Saturday). In Western Australia, which includes Perth, the poll closing time comes two hours later.
Australia's vote comes just a week after Canada's elections, where Mr. Trump's influence was also felt. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — whose numbers spiked as he pushed back against tariff threats and Mr. Trump's jibes about annexing Canada into a "51st state" — crushed Pierre Poilievre's hopes to return the Conservative Party to power after a decade of Liberal Party rule.

Another winter storm may be headed toward the East Coast of the United States this weekend, on the heels of a powerful and deadly system that blanketed huge swaths of the country in snow and ice. The effects of that original storm have lingered for many areas in its path, and will likely remain as repeated bouts of Arctic air plunge downward from Canada and drive temperatures below freezing. Nikki Nolan contributed to this report. In:

Washington — The Senate is set to take a procedural vote Thursday morning on a package to fund the remaining government agencies and programs, with less than two days to avoid a partial government shutdown. But Democrats say they won't allow the package to move forward without reforms to immigration enforcement. Caitlin Huey-Burns contributed to this report.











