U.S. voters to decide midterm elections

Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:

U.S. voters will decide today who controls Congress for the next two years, with all 435 House of Representatives and 34 of 100 Senate seats at stake in midterm elections. In 36 states, voters will also be electing governors and other state officials.

The issues shaping the election include inflation, which is at a 40-year high, crime rates, the U.S.-Mexico border and undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, more than 300 election deniers – people who support Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen – are running for various offices.

Results should start rolling in at 7 p.m. ET. The Globe and Mail’s Adrian Morrow, Matt Lundy and Nathan VanderKlippe are providing updates, context and flagging races to watch in our liveblog.

Read more of The Globe’s midterms coverage:

• Outlandish conspiracies at front and centre of U.S. midterm elections
• Spending on U.S. midterm elections is breaking records
• Analysis: Five ways the midterms will shed light on the state of America’s political transformations

This is the daily Evening Update newsletter. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was sent to you as a forward, you can sign up for Evening Update and more than 20 more Globe newsletters here. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends.

Open this photo in gallery:

As Iran supplies military aid to Russia, it’s not time for Western allies to waver, Ukraine’s Defence Secretary says

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told The Globe that Iran is supplying Russia with “massive” amounts of military aid while military support from Ukraine’s allies “is perhaps not corresponding to the scale of the challenges we might face in the future.”

He urged the West to increase its support to Ukraine in order to match the assistance that Moscow has been getting. He declined to name specific countries whose support he felt was wavering and did not list specific weapons the Ukrainian army lacked.

Trudeau told Ford he ‘shouldn’t need more tools’ to clear Ambassador Bridge blockade in Windsor, Ont.: document

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Ontario Premier Doug Ford last winter that police shouldn’t need more legal tools to clear protesters from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., just days before invoking the Emergencies Act.

A readout of their conversation on Feb. 9 was submitted to the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is investigating the government’s decision to bring in emergency powers in an effort to clear protest blockades. It said Ford told Trudeau reopening the Ambassador Bridge was the priority, and that Ontario’s attorney-general was looking at legal ways to give the police more tools to deal with it.

• Also read: New Tory communications director supportive of trucker protest

Ontario brings CUPE education workers ‘improved offer,’ Ford says

Ford says his government is bringing forward an “improved offer” for education support workers. Contract negotiations resumed Tuesday as the union returned to work after a two-day walkout that prompted many schools to shut their doors.

The talks resumed a day after the government pledged to repeal legislation, known as Bill 28, that used the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract on the workers and overrule their right to strike. Ford said the new four-year contract offer for the 55,000 Canadian Union of Public Employees workers will focus on supporting lower-income employees and those who work part-time.

Read more:

• The notwithstanding clause had the unintended effect of bringing Canada’s largest unions together
• The Editorial Board: Ford wanted to go to war with the unions. Instead, he shot himself in the foot
• Opinion: It’s time to stand up for the Charter

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

More Canadians than ever living with cancer: More people in Canada are living with cancer than ever before, suggesting the country’s already strained health care system will need to accommodate larger numbers of patients with long-term illnesses.

Ryan Reynolds wants to buy the Ottawa Senators: The actor confirmed his interest in purchasing the NHL club during an interview with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.

Today at the COP27 summit: Leaders from poor countries criticized wealthy governments and oil companies for driving global warming, demanding they pay up for damages being inflicted on their economies.

How Canada became a hotbed for low-wage foreign labour: The Temporary Foreign Worker program has seen explosive and controversial growth over the past two decades. What changes are to be made, and who do they affect? Read our explainer.

Competition Bureau got thousands of comments on the Rogers-Shaw deal: The bureau received more than 7,000 public comments regarding the proposed $26-billion merger, many expressing opposition, the Competition Tribunal heard Today.

MARKET WATCH

Stocks ended higher during voting in midterm elections, with investors betting on a political stalemate that could prevent major policy changes.

It was the third straight day of gains on both the U.S. and Canadian stock markets, leaving the Dow Jones Industrial Average down less than 10% year-to-date and the S&P/TSX Composite Index down about 7%. Materials led advancers on Canada’s benchmark stock index, thanks to a rally in gold and other metal prices. The TSX rose 114.40 points to 19,660.31, powered by a more than 4% jump in the sector.

Got a news tip that you’d like us to look into? E-mail us at tips@globeandmail.com. Need to share documents securely? Reach out via SecureDrop.

TALKING POINTS

Tips to curb your spending, courtesy of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland

“Indeed, if you thought Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was good at galvanizing a crowd, just wait until you see prospective-Trudeau-successor Freeland rally the masses with canned lines about the growth economy, and tips about installing energy-efficient heated floors in your guest bathroom!” – Robyn Urback

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond owes an explanation about her Indigeneity claims

“I got to know Ms. Turpel-Lafond during her celebrated 10-year stint as B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth from 2006 and 2016, and I can tell you that I’m baffled.” – Gary Mason

LIVING BETTER

At risk for diabetes? A low-carb diet may help, study suggests

There’s good evidence a low-carbohydrate diet helps people with diabetes improve blood sugar control and reduce the need for diabetes medication. There isn’t as much evidence, however, about whether a low-carbohydrate diet benefits glucose control in those with prediabetes or diabetes who are not being treated by medications. Adding to the evidence base is a new study from Tulane University in Louisiana. Its findings: a low-carbohydrate diet, if maintained, may be a useful tool for preventing Type 2 diabetes.

TODAY’S LONG READ

At a rehab centre in Ukraine, soldiers who have lost limbs learn how to restart their lives

Open this photo in gallery:

Volodymyr Hlovatskyi is the medical director of the Halychyna “centre of complex rehabilitation,” the largest facility in Ukraine dedicated to treating soldiers who have lost limbs. Before the war this complex outside Lviv served civilians and Dr. Hlovatskyi, 30, had never seen a battlefield injury. Now he has 160 war amputees in his care, and his staff of five doctors, eight nurses and a couple of physiotherapists can’t keep up with the demand.

Dr. Hlovatskyi says the official estimate for the number of soldiers who have lost arms, hands or legs in battle is about 17,000, but he acknowledges that the real total is likely far higher.

The facility’s rooms are filled with exercise equipment and places where physiotherapists help soldiers learn how to use prosthetic legs and arms. But there’s also a constant shortage of medicine, prosthetics and the kind of specialized rehab equipment that’s common in Europe and Canada. Meanwhile, one of the biggest challenges here is addressing the psychological side of rehabilitation. The Globe’s Paul Waldie reports.

Evening Update is written by Prajakta Dhopade. If you’d like to receive this newsletter by e-mail every weekday evening, go here to sign up. If you have any feedback, send us a note.