US to tap heating oil reserves before midterm elections

VotingWatch Eyewitness News and ABC13 originals around the clockThursday, October 22, 2026 1:54AMHOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Seeing social media posts breathlessly claiming one side is performing better than the other as early voting gets underway? Not so fast, experts tell ABC13. Nancy Sims, a political science expert at the University of Houston has studied election trends for years. Early voting has grown in popularity, Sims said. More people used to vote on Election Day, but now about two-thirds of people vote early, Sims tells ABC13. Sims said early voting turnout in urban areas in Texas is between 30-40% higher than it was in 2022 midterms, and 20% higher in rural areas. Historically, Democrats have voted early, and Republicans have voted on Election Day, but Sims said it is not just traditionally Democratic urban areas showing up at the polls in Harris County now. "Across the county, even in the very highly suburban, tend to be Republican areas, the turnout is very high at those locations as well, so I'm not sure you can extrapolate from that data," Sims said.

The pollster had been releasing surveys since June, shifting from one midterm battleground to another: Michigan. Maine. Kansas. On Tuesday night, after the polling website FiftyPlusOne contacted the pollster, Wedgewood Polls, with questions about the authenticity of its surveys, the team behind the supposed data firm acknowledged that almost all of its work was fake. The whole thing, Wedgewood claimed, was an “experimental project.”The fake polls were highlighted by well-known polling aggregators, including on the pages The New York Times uses to track surveys published by outside pollsters in key midterm races. The Times removed those polls Tuesday night and published an editors’ note that said it had included the Wedgewood polls -- 15 in all -- after the pollster answered a series of detailed questions from the Times about the pollsters’ identities, methods and funding. It was the second time this year that fake polls have become news in the political world, underscoring the risks of misleading or false polling in an era of little-known data firms, hard-to-reach voters and suddenly ubiquitous prediction markets.

Toronto·NewA new report from Food Banks Canada says the number of Canadians struggling with food insecurity continues to grow, as food bank visits hit a new record of more than 2.3 million in March. People 'running out of options' as they try to balance rent with groceries, Food Banks Canada saysSadeen Mohsen · The Canadian Press · Posted: Oct 21, 2026 9:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Food Bank Canada's latest HungerCount report, released Wednesday, says the cost-of-living crisis and economic pressures are weighing heavily on nearly 10 million Canadians experiencing food insecurity. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)A new report from Food Banks Canada says the number of Canadians struggling with food insecurity continues to grow, as food bank visits hit a new record of more than 2.3 million in March.

Langley-Abbotsford is a provincial riding located in the region. This riding is currently represented by MLA who first took office in . collected votes, winning per cent of the vote in the 2024 B. C. provincial election. Just two years after the previous election, B. C. residents have cast their vote in the 2026 provincial election. BC NDP leader David Eby called a snap election in September, making the provincial election day one week after the municipal elections. Voters will elect 93 Members of the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 44th B. C. Parliament. B. C. has 93 seats and 47 are needed for a majority.

Langford-Highlands is a provincial riding located in the region. This riding is currently represented by MLA who first took office in . collected votes, winning per cent of the vote in the 2024 B. C. provincial election. Just two years after the previous election, B. C. residents have cast their vote in the 2026 provincial election. BC NDP leader David Eby called a snap election in September, making the provincial election day one week after the municipal elections. Voters will elect 93 Members of the Legislative Assembly to serve in the 44th B. C. Parliament. B. C. has 93 seats and 47 are needed for a majority.

British Columbia·NewFire protection services in Dease Lake, B. C., have been suspended until further notice after the volunteer fire department dwindled to two trained members. The regional district is recruiting firefighters to restore service.15 volunteers needed to provide services, but just 2 trained members remain: regional districtCatherine Garrett · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2026 9:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Dease Lake Fire Hall, pictured here in a file photo, has been forced to suspend operations indefinitely due to a lack of volunteers. (Talhtan Central Government/Facebook)Firefighting services in a remote community in northwestern B. C. have been suspended until further notice, as the community department has dwindled down to only two trained members. The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine says that effective immediately, it can no longer safely provide exterior-level firefighting services in Dease Lake.