U.S. CAPITOL, seat of Congress (Shutterstock).

Control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains undecided on Monday as 18 races remain “uncalled” nearly a week after Election Day. According to the Associated Press, Republicans remain closer to the key number of 218 seats needed for a majority. They have 214 seats and Democrats have won 204 seats.

The AP reports that Republicans lead in nine races and Democrats in nine. In Orange County contests for the 45th District, incumbent Republican Michelle Steel leads Democratic challenger Derek Tran by 2 percent with an estimated 81 percent of the votes counted, while in the 47th, Democrat Dave Min is ahead of Republican Scott Baugh by about 1 percent.

Control of the House is important because it’s the chamber which originates financial measures such as taxation and the federal budget. Additionally, its Speaker of the House is next in line of presidential succession after the vice president.

2024 may be the hottest ever

2024 MAY be the hottest ever (Shutterstock),

Is it getting hotter these days? According to USA Today, 2024 is “virtually certain” to be the warmest year on record.

Samantha Burgess of the Climate Change Service said Monday that this year will conclude with global average temperatures at least 2.7 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The current warmest year was 2023.

In the U.S. in October, the average daytime temperature – 59 degrees – was almost 5 degrees above the 20th Century average. That’s the second hottest in the 130 years since global temperatures began being recorded, topped only by 1963.

The warmest Octobers on record were last month in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. It was California’s second-warmest.

Rams, Clips, Ducks all defeated

The Los Angeles Rams got five field goals but no touchdowns and were defeated 23-15 by the Miami Dolphins in the Monday Night Football game at SoFi Stadium.

Josh Karty made five kicks – not including one negated by a penalty – and missed one.

It was the end of a three-game winning streak for the Rams, who are now 4-5 and in third place in the NFC West. Miami is 3-6.

The Los Angeles Clippers lost 134-128 in Oklahoma City to the Thunder in NBA action and the Los Angeles Kings lost 3-1 to the Flames on Calgary in NHL play.

Weather: Warmer, then cooler

The forecast for the next few days in our West Orange County area calls for temperatures rising and then dropping into the mid-60s, all under sunny skies. The daytime high for Tuesday is expected to be 72 with an overnight low of 47. Wednesday’s temps should be 78 (46), followed by a drop on Thursday to 71 (51) and again on Friday to 66 (47).