Garth Hudson, Bob Margolin, Cyril & Ivan Neville Join The Last Waltz 40th On Closing Night
Edit this setlist | More Warren Haynes setlists “Mannish Boy” ft. Bob Margolin, courtesy of rangersdcfan.“Genetic Method / Chest Fever” ft. Garth Hudson, courtesy of rangersdcfan.“The Weight” ft. Garth Hudson, courtesy of rangersdcfan.The setlist, as well as a full gallery courtesy of Mark Raker Photography, can be seen below. Over 40 years ago, The Band hosted a historic night of music to bid their fans a fond farewell. In those 40 years, The Last Waltz has achieved near-mythical status, as the band hosted an unbelieveable list of musicians for the occasion. Naturally, on such a milestone anniversary, an unbelieveable lineup of modern musicians, including Warren Haynes, Michael McDonald, Don Was, Terence Higgins, John Medeski and more, toured in honor of the famed Last Waltz performance.After spending weeks on the road, The Last Waltz 40 tour pulled into The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD for the grand finale. The show was made even more grand by a number of guest appearances throughout the night, including keyboardist Ivan Neville and singer Cyril Neville. Though no Nevilles were present at the original Last Waltz performance, the New Orleans connection certainly stems from Allen Toussaint, who composed the scores for the featured horn section.The guests didn’t stop there, as Bob Margolin joined in for a series of blues covers in the second set. Margolin lent his hand to “Mannish Boy,” “Kind Hearted Woman Blues,” and “Further On Up The Road,” a testament to his years playing with the blues legend Muddy Waters. The show concluded with an extended sit in from keyboardist Garth Hudson, who wholeheartedly performed in The Last Waltz as a member of The Band. Hudson made his first appearance on the tour just two nights prior, but he was right at home for the finale, joining in for a total of five songs – including the final two from the second set and the three song encore.Watch some videos from the show below!“The Shape I’m In,” courtesy of Tom Libera.“Life Is A Carnival,” courtesy of Tom Libera.“Ophelia,” courtesy of Tom Libera.“Who Do You Love?” ft. Cyril Neville, courtesy of rangersdcfan.
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Today, The Revivalists shared details about their plans to ring in 2018. Last year, the group announced their first-ever RevHeads Ball to celebrate New Year’s Eve, with The Revivalists posting up in their hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana, to celebrate the new year. This year, the beloved group will once again return to New Orleans’ Orpheum Theater, this time returning for a special three-night New Year’s Eve run spanning from December 29th to 31st. As noted by the band, the group’s New Year’s Eve RevHeads Ball promises “a very intimate evening with The Revivalists for their biggest fans.”The Revivalists Perform Two Songs On Jimmy Kimmel LiveTickets for The Revivalists’ upcoming New Year’s Eve run go on-sale Friday, October 13th, at 10 am (CDT), with both three-night passes and single night tickets available. Additionally, a pre-sale for three-night passes are available now, here.[Photo: Carol Spagnuola]
Last weekend, John McLaughlin concluded his final North American tour, saying goodbye to the land that has contributed audiences and performers to the soundtrack he has produced for nearly fifty years. The tour ended with two stops in the Sunshine State, both selling out weeks before their respective performance dates. Tickets were at a premium in secondary markets, due to both the announcement of McLaughlin’s stateside retirement and the message that had been spreading like the wildfires of California that this was the tour of the fall to catch.For many, being able to see both McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring share the same stage, let alone with the set of all-stars that the two had drafted, was a dream come true. From the start, fans throughout the country shared the enthusiasm of their experiences, egging friends and family to get out and witness the magic before it was gone. Outside The Warfield Theater on Friday night, hours before showtime, there was already a line of hopefuls, waiting for any last-minute tickets to be released. Others, more motivated, walked the street, fingers held high, audibly seeking out extras from anyone who seemed to be approaching the venue.Inside, it was clear that the show was at capacity and that everyone who had purchased tickets had done so with purpose, as few seats, from floor to balcony, were unoccupied with still an hour to go. The audience demographic swung the spectrum, from the college-aged hippie kids in tie-dye to the well-dressed San Francisco elite. Even a few celebrities from the music world were spotted in the crowd, looking to catch a glimpse: Duane Betts, who had a gig at The Fillmore later in the evening; Dave Schools out supporting his bandmate; Reed Mathis who was bubbling over with that excitement he exudes; and later, Phil Lesh, sitting in the walkway, trying to go unnoticed, a testament to how sold-out this show was.The lights finally dropped, and the crowd stood with applause, welcoming Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip to the stage. The band surveyed the venue with broad smiles, as if to connect with each patron before beginning the journey. As has been the standard on the tour, the band performed an eight-song set that was anything but run of the mill. The set opened with a one-two punch of “John McLaughlin”, penned by Miles Davis as an homage to its namesake, and The Allman Brothers Band’s “Les Brers in A Minor”, which received a short burst of recognition and appreciation from the audience, who were then quick to quiet, not wanting to miss a note.Defining The Invisible Whip experience is no simple feat. Transcendental doesn’t come close, otherworldly glimpses the definition, and intergalactic starts to reveal the picture. Put all three together and the auditory vision of The Whip becomes clearer: otherworldly, intergalactic transcendentalism. Six songs later and a set clocking in at a little more than an hour, many admirers remained seated, readjusting to their surroundings, before getting up as the house lights came back up.A quick intermission drove hurried patrons throughout the venue, making for beverages and facilities, eager to return to their seats for the main event, not wanting to miss a note. The lights dimmed for the second time of the evening and again the entering group was met with standing adoration. McLaughlin stepped to the mic center stage and dawned a wide, wiry grin as he looked out over the crowd, absorbing the tangible admiration. He complimented The Whip with genuine awe and warned the crowd that they would be back for the final set of Mahavishnu music, sending a frenetic response throughout the room.Before starting his set with the 4th Dimension, it appeared that McLaughlin was genuinely taking his time to acclimate to the moment, breathing it all in, as he gazed into the audience, thanking those in attendance for all the years of support. With a long pause, the maestro of fusion finally stepped back into the shadows and went to work. Much like the initial set, this second band of brothers eluded time itself. Each component was given its right and display, reflecting why each of these performers was selected for the jobs they were given. No hands fell short on talent and each member contributed without duress or misstep. The 4th Dimension truly filled the room and manipulated the auditory constructs, adding elements that kept the astute listeners laughing while in constant awe, as they transformed six songs into almost two hours of time.The final set of the evening saw the synthesis of The Invisible Whip and The 4th Dimension into mythical incarnate: Mahavishnu Orchestra. Comprised of two guitarists, two bassists, two drummers, two sets of keys, sometimes three, and a violin for good measure, this formation performed like a multi-armed Hindu god. To describe the prowess and capabilities of this group of men would result in an effort of futility to end all efforts of futility.Themes were started by single players and finished by others, and at no point was there an obtuse moment. The performed structures emanating from these players could be equated to alternating sheets of hue and texture, dancing on forces from unknown directions, conjuring the resulting images of symmetry and sync amidst a background of chaos. The term fusion certainly categorizes what took place in San Francisco on this evening, but only as much as the limited term ‘sunset’ describes the end-of-day event. The term Mahavishnu is defined as “the Absolute which is beyond human comprehension and is beyond all attributes” and on this night, this gathering of men, bound together in one mind, characterized this meaning in the form of music.Looking back, the show seemed over before anyone knew it, but it seemed to take an eternity to get to that end, reflecting the importance of the journey as much as the destination. As the crowd spilled out onto the downtown street, realizing tomorrow had become today, little was said between confidants. Instead, child-like grins and wide-eyed gazes dotted the sidewalk, as witnesses dissipated and made their way home for note-filled dreams, still bouncing with remnants from the ether of their altered consciousness.In closing, John McLaughlin, we as a nation, want to thank you for all that you have done. Our doors and shores will be eternally open to you. We hope that the healing you have spread through music will ripple without end and inspire others to carry the torch into the future. Should your mind and body be swayed to return to our graces, nary a sneer about “retirement” shall be made, but instead open arms and hearts will greet you from those of us who Live For Live Music, those of us who love for live music.Setlist: Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip | The Warfield Theater | San Francisco, CA | 12/8/2017Set: John McLaughlin, Les Brers in A Minor, Jungle Book Overture, Matt’s Funk, 1911, Black Satin, Scapegoat Blues, RainbowSetlist: John McLaughlin and The 4th Dimension | The Warfield Theater | San Francisco, CA | 12/8/2017Set: Here Come the Jiis, Lila’s Dance, New Blues Old Bruise, El Hombre Que Sabia, Light at the Edge of the World, Echoes From ThenSetlist: The Mahavishnu Orchestra | The Warfield Theater | San Francisco, CA | 12/8/2017Set: Meeting of the Spirits, Birds of Fire, A Lotus on Irish Streams, The Dance of Maya, Trilogy, Earth Ship, Eternity’s Breath (Parts 1 & 2)Encore: Be Happy Load remaining images
After the discussion participants concluded that relativism is prevalent in issues concerning church versus state. Haas said relativity appears on an institutional level, too, and is prevalent in politics.Relativity may take the form of the American Civil Liberties Union preaching tolerance through secularism, she said.Haas said relativity arises on an interpersonal level every time someone responds, “That’s what you think,” after another person has expressed his or her beliefs. The claim that everything is relative does not hold if the claim itself is considered relative as well, she said.“Relativism defeats itself as a philosophical position,” Haas said.Junior and club president Sofia Piecuch said she found this dimension of relativity to run rampant in YouTube comments, where everyone tears one another apart.Haas agreed and said YouTube is a forum in which truth is regularly deconstructed.The most intimate level of a person’s life in which relativity may appear is “in our own hearts,” Haas said.Haas said human beings have a tendency to put themselves in an “in-group” as they perceive morality. She said these personal, structural and internal appearances of relativity can be addressed through faith.“There is an objective standard of truth in revelation,” Haas said.Haas said theologians have identified relativism as technocratic utilitarianism, moralistic therapeutic deism and a commodification of culture.“Technocratic utilitarianism refers to greater pleasure, less pleasure, through technology,” Haas said.Haas said Christian Smith, professor of sociology and director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society and the Center for Social Research at Notre Dame, examined how American youth identify religiously and concluded that the common belief was in moralistic therapeutic deism — a vaguely moral entity.“Jesus is not reduced to reason but is accessible to reason,” Haas said. “Likewise, God is accessible to reason but cannot be fully comprehend with reason.”Haas said the commodification of culture occurs when people separate cultural objects from their complete story.“Cultural objects used for profit are divorced from our system of meaning till they become meaningless except with reference to our own desires,” she said. “We want them because we think they will satisfy something with in us not because they are truth.”Tags: Christ Light Club, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, relativism, saint mary’s, SMC “Relativism isn’t only a problem because it’s false — but it is.”Saint Mary’s Christ Lights Club invited Kristi Haas of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies to explore how people of faith may live in truth despite contemporary society’s relativistic tendencies.Haas said human beings understand simple truths as cause and effects, but that she was arguing for greater truths.“I’m talking about a different kind of truth,” Haas said. “Truth that governs our actions.”“How do we act as the leaven in a society that needs it?” she asked.Haas discussion, entitled “Relativism: Living in a Society where Truth is Obscured,” and the five students that participated, identified three different dimensions of people’s lives into which relativism pervades as well as examples of each.
Police dogs receive special training CURITIBA, Brazil – Quick, determined and with impeccable senses of smell and hearing, Dox and Lyon lost their lives during a recent police operation. The two dogs were fatally shot while pursuing suspects in a forest near the city of Ribeirão das Neves on behalf of the Minas Gerais Military Police on May 17. As soon as the trained German Shepherds located the hiding criminals, they started barking to alert officers they had located the suspects. “One of the fugitives fired nine rounds and five hit Dox and four hit Lyon,” says Capt. Paulo Roberto Alves, commander of the Minas Gerais Military Police (PMMG) Shock Brigade, where the dogs had trained and served. “They gave their lives to protect police officers.” But the PMMG took an extra step to honor their canine colleagues. The courage shown by Dox and Lyon, who had been on the force for six and two years, respectively, inspired the organization to create a Hall of Heroes. It’s expected to be built this year at the headquarters of the PMMG’s 1st Company for Special Missions, in Contagem. The hall will contain the ashes of dogs lost in service, as well as plaques and their photographs. Dox and Lyon will be the first enshrined. The dogs also were the first to be cremated by the PMMG, on May 20. Prior to their cremation, the officers spent a few minutes with the Dox and Lyon’s remains, paying respect to their fallen heroes. “It was one of the saddest moments of my life,” says Officer Luís Antônio de Castro Maciel, who was assigned to work with Dox five years ago. “It was like he was family to me.” Officer Welly Lucindo, who was assigned to work with Lyon more than two years ago, says he “lost a friend.” “What happened was a real tragedy,” he says. “I’m never going to forget him.” Alves says the 16 dogs assigned to the unit are considered police officers. “They train, they’re registered and they work just like any other officer,” he says. “In addition, they learn to give their lives if necessary.” Police dogs are an invaluable resource when conducting operations, Alves says. “In dense forests, 70% of the operation depends on the dogs, and only 30% on the human officers,” he adds. “They’re essential.” “The dogs are one step ahead of the human officers in terms of speed, because of their body types; in hearing, because they can detect infrasound and ultrasound; and in their sense of smell, because they possess somewhere around 200 million olfactory cells, while a human, on average, has around 5,000,” says Sgt. Marcelo Piovesan, who heads the technical training of the War Dogs at the Army Police’s 5th Company in Curitiba in the state of Paraná. The Federal Highway Police (PRF) in Paraná said the dogs’ performances played a major role in the department’s recent success in its fight against narcotics. The results of the PRF’s operations in Paraná enabled the state lead the nation in crack and marijuana seizures. “Three police officers would take between 15 to 30 minutes to inspect the baggage on a passenger bus,” says Leonel Weng, a police officer who works with the PRF police dogs. “In two minutes, a dog can let you know if there are drugs on the scene.” By Dialogo June 30, 2011
Police dogs are not trained in the same way as normal dogs, Piovesan says. “Families want their pet dogs to behave,” he says. “Police dogs need specialized training that is specific and ongoing.” Each dog goes through a socialization process when it’s a puppy, Piovesan adds. The dogs are then trained during simulations that mirror what they’ll face in the field, such as running through tunnels, entering automobiles and swimming. After 18 months, dogs are eligible to begin specific, more intense training, which lasts between three to six months. After this period, the dog continues to engage in physical exercise and maintenance training. Detection dogs are trained to associate the smell of narcotics or explosives with a toy. “If he finds the toy, the payoff is that he can play with his guide,” says PRF Officer Natalino Cebulski, who has been working with a Labrador named Popó for two years. Popó is so well trained he can find small quantities of narcotics. “A backpacker brought a marijuana cigarette to the beach and smoked it. On his way back, Popó was able to smell the drug in the backpack, even though there were only a few remnants,” Cebulski says. Breeds such as Labradors, German Shepherds and Belgian Shepherds make the best detection dogs, Piovesan adds. A dog signals the presence of narcotics by scratching, barking or biting the area. In the case of explosives, the animal is trained to sit or lay down, in order to avoid detonating the bomb by touching it. Larger, more intimidating dogs are used for guard duties and protection. “For operations at soccer matches or prison uprisings, the best breeds are Rottweilers, Dobermans, Brazilian Mastiffs or pit bulls,” Piovesan says. The dog always is accompanied by the same officer, so a relationship of trust can be built. The more comfortable the dog feels with its guide, the stronger the partnership. A police dog will work with the force for an average of eight years. When it’s time for the dog to retire, the officer has option of adopting the canine. Dogs are trained to give their lives for their guide, for their team or for a civilian in danger, Piovesan says. “They don’t hesitate, they don’t think twice and they’re always ready,” he adds. “A tribute to the dogs who gave their all, like Dox and Lyon, is the right thing to do.” It was very sad, but also really nice the tribute to the two fellows that have departed and given their lives for society. It seems to me that it was a really nice gesture and a big consideration for those animals that every day gives us happiness with their presence in our lives…..
By Andréa Barretto/Diálogo November 01, 2017 To close out its year of training, the 5th Armored Cavalry Brigade (5ª Bda C Bld, per its Portuguese designation) of the Brazilian Army (EB, per its Portuguese acronym) conducted Operation Steel September 18th–27th. The focus was ground training with armored vehicles in a simulated live combat situation. Five hundred twenty-one service members participated in the exercise, including commanders, soldiers, and general staff officers from the military units. The upper ranks planned the operation to the last details: issuing orders and leading troops to take target positions, all the way to allocating duties to armored vehicle commanders, drivers, snipers, and sniper assistants — who were able to practice their driving and traffic skills in the field that culminated with live-fire discharge. Compared to the previous edition, the annual Operation Steel exercise grew in size in 2017. The operation involved seven of the 12 military units under the 5ª Bda C Bld and 88 vehicles — among those, 16 M113 BR armored personnel transport vehicles and 16 armored Leopard 1A5 BR combat vehicles. The training traditionally held near the city of Ponta Grossa, in the state of Paraná — where the 5ª Bda C Bld is located — took place in the Barão de São Borja Training Camp. The camp, located almost 1,000 kilometers from the brigade’s headquarters, is among the EB’s largest and is fitted for armored forces training. “This change allowed us to do a strategic shift that counted as training for the military units of the brigade which, as a strategic force within the Army, needs to be ready to act in any part of the country and abroad,” explained EB Major General Jorge Roberto Fossi, commander of 5ª Bda C Bld. As real as it gets Operation Steel started with live-fire training from combat vehicles. The 3rd Combat Vehicle Regiment initiated the live-fire training during the first three days of the exercise. The 5th Combat Vehicle Regiment assumed that responsibility next. “We went through 450 cannon shots from the Leopard vehicles. There were also more than 1,000 rounds fired with the machine guns on the M113 BR vehicles,” Maj. Gen. Fossi said. After that phase came the activities planning, ground reconnaissance from participating troops, and finally, the execution of the operation on the battlefield. All of that took five days. The scenario: an opposing force occupied certain positions that Brazilian troops had to take. Service members also equipped with combat vehicles, represented the fictitious enemy. “The training was very intense. Troops got a feel for how exhausting real combat is. Food and sleep were limited because we had to monitor the battlefield at all times,” said EB Sergeant Jhonatan Fernando de Lima, of the 3rd Combat Vehicle Regiment. In Operation Steel, he acted as a squad assistant, responsible for leading a section of two combat vehicles. In addition to combatants, support teams with vehicle maintenance and health care facilities — including doctors, dentists, assistants, among which were four women — participated in the operation. “The support personnel simulated a brigade-level logistics base. As the operation developed, those support teams also advanced, accompanying the troops’ progression,” Maj. Gen. Fossi stated. Operation Steel culminated with an attack on a town — 12 hours of nonstop ground operations. “In spite of the fatigue, the experience was quite positive. I think the main takeaway was in the fire coordination, because troops used live fire and that makes all the difference compared to what we practiced in other trainings using simulated fire,” Sgt. Jhonatan said of his experience in the mission. “Also, it was an opportunity for participants to get closer to their units,” he added. For Maj. Gen. Fossi, the operation was a success. “Everything happened in the best way possible. I consider the objectives to have been fully met,” he said. Upgraded vehicles The EB’s M113 BR vehicles have been undergoing upgrades since 2011. The 16 units the 5ª Bda C Bld used in Operation Steel are among those that already completed that process. They have higher horsepower than earlier versions and can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour on roadways and nearly 45 kilometers per hour on dirt. “Those are speeds that allow the M113 BR to keep up with the Leopard combat vehicle, which also gets up to 62 kilometers per hour,” Maj. Gen. Fossi explained. He said the vehicles have an upgraded periscope that facilitates observation on the battlefield for the driver. In addition, the continuous tracks are made of rubber, a material that renders better operating conditions.
Board to make nominations in June Board to make nominations in June Florida Board of Bar Examiners Vacancy: Lawyer applicants are being sought to fill three vacancies on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. The Board of Governors will be selecting nine nominees for three lawyer vacancies at its June 3 meeting. The nominations will then be forwarded to the Supreme Court to fill the five-year terms commencing November 1 and expiring on October 31, 2010.Attorney members must have been a member of The Florida Bar for at least five years. They must be practicing lawyers with scholarly attainments and have an affirmative interest in legal education and requirements for admission to the Bar. Appointment or election to the bench at any level of the court system will disqualify any applicant. Law professors or trustees are ineligible.Board members of the Bar Examiners must be able to attend approximately 10 meetings a year in various Florida locations. Members volunteer 300 or more hours per year on Board business depending on committee assignments. Actual travel expenses connected with the meetings and examinations are reimbursed.Persons interested in applying for this vacancy may download the application from the Bar’s Web site, www.flabar.org, or should contact the Bar at (850) 561-5600, ext. 5757, to obtain the proper application form. Applications may also be obtained by writing the Executive Director, The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee 32399-2300. Completed applications must be received no later than the close of business April 8. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of the required application. The Board of Governors will review all applications and may request telephone or personal interviews. March 15, 2005 Regular News
The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) fully supports the proposed field-of-membership (FOM) modifications from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), but believes the agency can go even further under its legal authority to provide regulatory relief. CUNA filed its comment letter on the proposal Wednesday, ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline.“CUNA strongly supports this modernization effort and encourages the NCUA board to quickly adopt all of the proposed changes along with our additional suggestions, which will make NCUA’s proposal even more robust,” the letter reads. “We applaud NCUA for recognizing the stagnant nature of the agency’s FOM requirements when compared to some innovative state charters.”The changes are needed because credit unions and CUNA are concerned that the federal charter is falling behind many state charters, thus it has become a barrier to the flexibility needed to operate dynamic and efficient cooperative financial institutions. continue reading » 4SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr
In Shanghai on Wednesday. Chinese state media highlighted the potential for election-related violence.Credit…Alex Plavevski/EPA, via ShutterstockIn Australia and Indonesia, crowds gathered around televisions in restaurants and cafes, trying to get a glimpse of American states turning red or blue. In Iran, the hashtag #Elections_America was trending on Persian Twitter, while in Japan, Fuji Television spent a good portion of Wednesday morning covering the election with graphics that mixed old-school cardboard cutouts with video-game-like avatars.All over the world, as results trickled in across the American electoral map, it made for confounding, fascinating must-watch drama. The stakes are global, and so was the audience, glued to the sort of blanket news coverage most often reserved for elections closer to home.“It’s kind of like the World Cup finals,” said Moch Faisal Karim, an international relations professor at Binus University in Indonesia.The intense worldwide interest reflects the still-considerable power of America and the unpredictability that has shaped the last four years. President Trump has been a global disrupter in chief, seeking to redefine relations with American allies in Europe and Asia, working to blunt the rise of China and cozying up to autocrats in North Korea and Russia.After surprise upon surprise during his first term, much of the world is desperate to know if the Trump era will continue, or if the United States will shift back toward the more traditional course that Joseph R. Biden Jr. has promised.But while many viewers would have liked nothing more than a quick resolution, there instead was uncertainty and angst. First came the quadrennial refresher courses on the complicated American approach to electing a president, and then, as votes were counted, the hours of waiting, as news websites and television channels filled with the 50-state maps and sliding charts familiar to Americans.People around the world found themselves doing difficult Electoral College math, while trying to keep up with the patchwork of vote-counting procedures all over the United States. They tried to make sense of images of stores boarded up against the potential for violence, and, like Americans, they wondered what voters would decide and what each candidate would say to the world.“The biggest issue for me is just how deeply divided the United States continues to be,” said Geoff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to China, who admitted he had been watching television all day on Wednesday. “People just have not been able to shift their positions — it was this divided four years ago, and Trump fell over the line and not much has changed.” 
The Supreme Court decides actual disputes, not abstract propositions, and then only after lower courts have made their own rulings.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times As votes continued to be counted in an election with record-breaking turnout where most ballots were cast before Election Day but many could not be counted until afterward, the presidency continued to hang in the balance late Wednesday morning, with the hopes of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and President Trump resting in a handful of key states.- Advertisement – Even in Pennsylvania, where Mr. Trump had run up a daunting lead of roughly 10 percentage points as of Wednesday morning, Mr. Biden had a plausible shot of catching up. Pennsylvania’s secretary of state said there were more than 1.4 million mail-in ballots still to be counted, and those votes are expected to heavily favor Mr. Biden. But Mr. Trump was showing signs of strength with leads in states including North Carolina and Georgia, and his campaign expressed hopes that his early Pennsylvania lead could withstand an influx of mail-in ballots for Mr. Biden. Then, if Mr. Trump was able to retake the lead in Arizona or flip Nevada, which has gone Democratic in recent elections, he would have a path to a second term. And Mr. Trump has threatened to use the courts to try to invalidate ballots received after Nov. 3, which would upend the vote count. It is impossible to know until all the votes are counted if the arithmetic works for Mr. Biden. Mr. Biden’s position looked less secure in North Carolina, where Mr. Trump seemed on track to prevail.For Mr. Biden to be clinging to a cliff edge is, by itself, a reversal of fortune. On the eve of the election, pollsters predicted that he would easily recapture the “blue wall” of northern industrial states that Hillary Clinton lost to Mr. Trump in 2016 and pick off traditional Republican strongholds like Texas and Arizona. Only Arizona fell into his column, and his lead there is not bulletproof.After a long election night rife with dramatic twists, Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden battled to a near draw in electoral votes, each shy of the 270 needed to capture the presidency.Mr. Trump prematurely declared victory and said he would petition the Supreme Court to demand a halt to the counting. Mr. Biden urged his supporters — and by implication, Mr. Trump — to show patience and allow the process to play out.Their dueling, post-midnight appearances captured the raw struggle of a contest that many feared would leap from the campaign trail to the courts.The president’s statement, delivered in the White House, amounted to a reckless attack on the democratic process during a time of deep anxiety and division in the country. Mr. Biden, speaking from a flag-draped stage in Wilmington, Del., appealed for calm and tried to reassure supporters.“It’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare who has won this election,” Mr. Biden said, to a chorus of honking car horns at a drive-in rally. “That’s the decision of the American people.”Mr. Trump, however, derided the vote-counting as “a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner,” he said. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.” While there have been countless election cases filed around the nation, it is not clear which of them might reach the Supreme Court in the coming days.But one candidate is already on the docket. Last month, the court refused to put a case from Pennsylvania — where the state’s highest court extended the deadline for receiving ballots by three days — on a fast track, but three justices indicated that the court might return to it later if need be.Should the vote in Pennsylvania have the potential to determine the outcome in the Electoral College and should those late-arriving ballots have the potential to swing the state — two big ifs — the U.S. Supreme Court might well intercede.Late last month, the justices refused a plea from Republicans to fast-track a decision on whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had acted lawfully when it ordered a three-day extension for ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day, and for ballots with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day.” The justices’ refusal came a little more than a week after the court deadlocked, 4 to 4, on an emergency application in the case on Oct. 19.Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh said they would have granted a stay blocking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. On the other side were Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s three-member liberal wing: Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court on Oct. 27, did not take part in the decision not to fast-track the case.Justice Alito, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, criticized his court’s treatment of the matter, which he said had “needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious postelection problems.”“It would be highly desirable to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the State Supreme Court’s decision before the election,” Justice Alito wrote. “That question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the federal Constitution.”But there was not enough time, he wrote. Still, Justice Alito left little doubt about where he stood on the question in the case.Pennsylvania officials have instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. on Friday. That would as a practical matter allow a ruling from the Supreme Court to determine whether they were ultimately counted. By Wednesday morning, Mr. Biden’s prospects had brightened a bit amid signs that he held narrow leads in several states which, if they hold, could propel him past the critical threshold of 270 electoral votes. Mr. Trump’s path to winning a second term appeared narrower, and depended on his ability to carry more of the undecided states, including several battleground Great Lakes states that he won in 2016 where Mr. Biden was showing signs of strength.With over 3 million votes yet to be counted across seven key states — there is a reason that news organizations and other usually impatient actors were waiting to declare victors — Mr. Biden was clinging to narrow leads in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin late Wednesday morning and had a slender lead of less than 10,000 votes in Michigan. If he is able to hold all those states, the former vice president could win the election, even without Pennsylvania, which has long been viewed as a must-have battleground state.- Advertisement – The Postal Service said Wednesday morning that it had completed Election Day sweeps of 12 districts that were ordered by a federal judge who was concerned that some ballots might have slipped through the cracks.“We did complete the sweeps last night,” Dave Partenheimer, a spokesman for the Postal Service, said an email. He said the agency would provide more detail to the judge later today.Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia has scheduled a noon hearing to discuss the status of the search for ballots in districts where performance of on-time mail delivery had been lagging.Judge Sullivan had ordered an immediate sweep of certain districts Tuesday afternoon after the Postal Service said in court that some 300,000 ballots it had received had not been scanned for delivery. He said he was particularly concerned about ballot delivery in postal districts where there has been slow processing of ballots for days, including Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Detroit.The dramatic Election Day order came as record numbers of Americans voted by mail this year, with many voters were anxious to avoid crowds at the polls during the pandemic — and at the end of a campaign season marked by fears that Postal Service changes and cutbacks under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump appointee, had caused extensive mail delays that could imperil ballots.Roughly 300,000 ballots that the Postal Service says it processed showed no scan confirming their delivery to ballot-counting sites, according to data filed recently in federal court in Washington, D.C., leaving voter-rights advocates concerned.Postal officials said that just because a ballot never received a final scan before going out for delivery, it did not mean, necessarily, that it wasn’t delivered. A machine scanning ballots for final processing can sometimes miss ballots that are stuck together or whose bar codes are smudged. And hand-sorted ballots typically do not receive a final scan before delivery.The Postal Service has also authorized expedited delivery of ballots that forego the normal process, but voting-rights advocates worried that without a scan verifying that the ballots went out for delivery, some could be sitting uncounted at various postal facilities around the country.Mr. Partenheimer said the agency had been conducting daily searches at all of its facilities for ballots that might fall through the cracks. 
President Trump spoke to staffers at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday.Credit…Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times As a resounding victory for President Trump or former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. appeared less likely, voters steeled themselves for prolonged, state-by-state legal battles over which ballots will be counted.Both parties have already dispatched hundreds of lawyers, and the prospect of legal battles intensified on Wednesday as closely fought swing states counted mail ballots and President Trump warned that he would go to the Supreme Court to try to prematurely shut down the election.No state was as closely watched as Pennsylvania. Republicans there filed twin lawsuits in state and federal courts on Tuesday trying to block efforts by some counties to allow voters to correct mistakes in their mail ballots, like missing signatures.Also looming over the count was the prospect of the Supreme Court weighing in on a dispute over whether Pennsylvania can count mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive within three days of Nov. 3, as it plans to.The Supreme Court last week allowed Pennsylvania to keep its plan intact. But that decision could yet stoke further litigation: Some justices opened the door to reconsidering the issue, and state officials decided to segregate ballots arriving after Tuesday night.By early Wednesday, there were hundreds of thousands of votes still to be counted in Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, many of them mail ballots that both sides expect to favor Mr. Biden. The margin remained tight in those states, which could tip the balance of the Electoral College.It is still possible that a swing in the late count in those states could deliver such a clear-cut outcome that any legal action becomes moot.But since early voting began, Republicans have already launched the most aggressive moves in modern memory to nullify ballots before they were counted. President Trump hewed to that strategy in saying early Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene to halt the legitimate counting of the vote, remarks that drew bipartisan condemnation.But it was not clear how President Trump might appeal to the Supreme Court. There is no legal case compelling states to stop counting ballots that were properly filled out and submitted on time. And the high volume of mail ballots this year made protracted counting in some places, including battleground states, almost inevitable.In Pennsylvania, it was not clear how many mail ballots could be affected by the Republican lawsuits filed on Tuesday. In one suit, Republican lawyers took issue with guidance given to counties across the state allowing voters whose mail ballots were at risk of being disqualified — because of missing signatures or secrecy envelopes, for example — to fix the problems or cast emergency ballots.The main target of that lawsuit, the secretary of state, Kathy Boockvar, an appointee of Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, defended the guidance Tuesday night. “We don’t think we broke the law,” she said.The other lawsuit similarly revolved around rules allowing voters to correct their ballots, but only in Montgomery County, a suburb of Philadelphia. That case, which so far appears to affect only a small number of ballots, is to be argued on Wednesday. Democrats’ path to seizing the Senate continued to narrow Wednesday as Republicans held onto a cluster of seats in critical states and the two parties continued to fight to control the upper chamber of Congress in close contests across the country.Democrats won a crucial seat in Arizona early Wednesday, with Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, defeating Senator Martha McSally, after former Gov. John Hickenlooper defeated Senator Cory Gardner Tuesday night in the high-profile fight for Colorado’s Senate seat. Those victories were essential to Democrats’ push to take the Senate majority.In Georgia, the Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, a Democrat, advanced to a runoff election against Senator Kelly Loeffler, the Republican incumbent. The other race in the state, between Jon Ossoff, the Democratic challenger, and Senator David Perdue, a Republican, was too close to call.But Republicans across the country were successful in holding off well-funded challengers in a number of key races, casting a pall over the night for Democrats. In Montana, Senator Steve Daines defeated Gov. Steve Bullock and in Iowa, Senator Joni Ernst defeated Theresa Greenfield, a businesswoman who had styled herself as a “scrappy farm kid.” Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, hung onto his seat in South Carolina, fending off the toughest challenge of his political career from Jaime Harrison, a Black Democrat whose upstart campaign electrified progressives across the country and inspired a record-setting onslaught of campaign cash.Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, defeated a challenge from M.J. Hegar, a former Air Force pilot who Democrats hoped could have an outside chance of winning in the rapidly changing state. In Kentucky, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, easily won re-election, defeating Amy McGrath, a Democrat who struggled to gain ground despite an outpouring of financial support from her party’s supporters around the nation. And Republicans succeeded in ousting Senator Doug Jones, Democrat of Alabama, who came to power in a 2017 special election against Roy S. Moore, who was accused of sexually assaulting and pursuing teenage girls.And early returns showed Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, with a lead over his Democratic challenger, Cal Cunningham, in a seat that strategists in both parties identified as a possible tipping point.There were still several crucial Senate races that were not yet called that Democrats hope to win, including Maine, and Democrats remained bullish on their chances in Georgia. 
Workers with the Detroit Department of Elections counted absentee ballots last night.Credit…Brittany Greeson for The New York Times – Advertisement – Battle for the Senate 
A judge ordered the Postal Service to conduct sweeps of 12 districts to search for ballots that might have slipped through the cracks.Credit…John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register, via Associated Press 
An interactive mural near State Street allows voters to spin the wheel and claim their reason for voting in Madison, Wisconsin.Credit…Lauren Justice for The New York Times Here is the state of play in seven battleground state as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday.ARIZONAElectoral votes: 11Biden leads Trump, 51.0 percent to 47.6 percent, with 86 percent of the estimated vote in. To keep in mind: Counties with critical votes still to be counted include Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and where Biden is ahead by about six points. Officials have said they expect to finish counting ballots today.GEORGIAElectoral votes: 16Trump leads Biden, 50.5 percent to 48.3 percent, with 92 percent of the estimated vote in.Keep in mind: Most of the votes yet to be counted are in DeKalb County and other counties in the suburbs of Atlanta that have been breaking heavily for Biden. The Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said in a television interview that he expected the count to be done by the end of the day, and called a news conference for late Wednesday morningMICHIGANElectoral votes: 16Biden leads Trump, 49.3 percent to 49.1 percent, with 90 percent of the estimated vote in.Keep in mind: Nearly a quarter of the vote in Wayne County, a Democratic stronghold that includes Detroit, has yet to be counted, and Biden was closing the gap in Kent County, which includes Grand Rapids, with more than 15 percent of votes outstanding. The secretary of state said last night that she expected to have “a very clear picture, if not a final picture” of the results by tonight.NEVADA Electoral votes: 6Biden leads Trump, 49.3 percent to 48.7 percent, with 86 percent of the estimated vote in. Keep in mind: All of the Election Day vote has been counted, and now only Democratic-leaning late mail and provisional ballots remain. The secretary of state says the next update will come at around 12 p.m. Eastern time.NORTH CAROLINAElectoral votes: 15Trump leads Biden, 50.1 percent to 48.7 percent, with 95 percent of the estimated vote in. Keep in mind: With most votes now tabulated, Biden would need to win about two-thirds of the remainder to pull ahead.PENNSYLVANIAElectoral votes: 20Trump leads Biden, 54.1 percent to 44.6 percent, with 78 percent of the estimated vote in.Keep in mind: An analysis by The Times’s Upshot finds that the remaining vote appears to be overwhelmingly for Biden. Only 19 of 67 counties have their reported absentee votes. The populous counties where the largest portion of the votes have yet to be counted include Philadelphia, where Biden leads by 56 percentage points, and Allegheny, which Biden leads by nine percentage points and which includes Pittsburgh. Biden needs to win more than two-thirds of the remaining votes to win the state.WISCONSINElectoral votes: 10Biden leads Trump, 49.5 percent to 48.8 percent, with 97 percent of the estimated vote in.Keep in mind: Biden’s narrow lead is the mirror image of the Trump’s four years ago, and there are only a scattering of precincts remaining to be counted across the state. Full results are expected to be announced today. 
Voters in line to cast their ballots on election day in Texas, a state where Democrats hope to add house members to solidify their majority.Credit…Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times 
Senator Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia, is headed to a runoff against the Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, a Democrat, on Jan. 5.Credit…Nicole Craine for The New York Times The argument President Trump made early Wednesday — that he had won an election in which millions of validly cast ballots remained to be counted — was a blatant misrepresentation of the electoral process.No state ever reports final results on election night, no state is legally expected to, and if the Supreme Court were to force states to stop counting ballots simply because midnight on Tuesday has passed — as Mr. Trump said he would ask the justices to do — it would be an extraordinary subversion of the democratic process that would disenfranchise millions of voters who cast valid, on-time ballots.There is nothing new or unusual about prolonged vote counts. In 2008, it took two weeks for Missouri to be called for John McCain. In 2012, it took four days for Florida to be called for Barack Obama. There was no dispute about the legitimacy of these results; it simply took time to finish counting the votes.In fact, one of Mr. Trump’s own cherished victories, in Michigan in 2016, was confirmed only after two weeks of counting.Americans are accustomed to knowing who won the presidency on election night because news organizations project winners based on partial counts, not because the entire count is completed that quickly. Because so many people voted by mail this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, it is taking longer in some states to make accurate projections. But the final, official results will come exactly when they always do: by the certification deadlines each state has set, ranging from two days after the election in Delaware to more than a month after in California.Mr. Trump sought in his speech from the White House, just as he and his campaign sought in the weeks leading up to Election Day, to conflate two separate things: the casting of ballots after Election Day, and the counting of ballots after Election Day.“We want all voting to stop,” he said, but it already has; no votes are currently being cast. What Mr. Trump is suggesting is that states not count ballots that were already cast.The bald political nature of his speech was clear in the contradiction between his comments on Arizona, where Mr. Trump is trailing, and his comments on Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where he has the illusion of large leads because huge numbers of votes from Democratic-leaning areas, like Detroit, Philadelphia and Milwaukee, haven’t been counted yet.He complained that Fox News had called Arizona for Joseph R. Biden Jr. when many votes were still outstanding. Then, in the next breath, he suggested that he had definitively won Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin despite the far larger numbers of votes still outstanding. Control of the House 
Closing a polling site in Norcross, Ga., on Tuesday. The state was still to be called early Wednesday.Credit…Audra Melton for The New York Times “We feel good about where we are,” Mr. Biden told rattled supporters early Wednesday morning. “I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election. I’m optimistic about this outcome.”The source of Mr. Biden’s resilience lies in the nature of the votes still to be counted. Many are mail-in ballots, which favor him because the Democratic Party spent months promoting the message of submitting votes in advance, while Mr. Trump encouraged his voters to turn out on Election Day.In some states, like Michigan and Pennsylvania, many of the uncounted votes are from populous urban and suburban areas like Wayne County, home of Detroit, or Allegheny County, home of Pittsburgh. These areas also tend to vote heavily for Democrats.- Advertisement – 
Large numbers of ballots remain to be counted in Milwaukee.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times President Trump has been declared the winner in Florida after pulling off a remarkable turnaround from 2016 in the Miami area, wooing conservative Cuban-American voters and other Latino groups in numbers sufficient to overcome Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s middling gains with white Floridians.This is a big, though not huge, moment for his re-election hopes, mainly because it would have been all but impossible for him to win back the White House without capturing this state’s 29 Electoral College votes again.Four years ago, Mr. Trump lost the Miami-Dade area by nearly 30 percentage points to Hillary Clinton. As of late Tuesday, that margin had shrunk to about eight percentage points with Mr. Biden at the top of the ticket — with Mr. Trump’s vote totals in that critical area increasing from 334,000 in 2016 to around 500,000 this year.Mr. Biden spent far more time and resources courting Black voters, and he began to heavily invest in a major Latino outreach operation only late in the campaign. He had hoped he would come close to Mrs. Clinton’s benchmark, while siphoning off votes from Mr. Trump among disenchanted suburban whites and older voters.If Mr. Biden could take any consolation from the loss, it was the fact that he marginally outperformed Mrs. Clinton in the county that includes Jacksonville, defeating Mr. Trump there, while exceeded her performance in Tampa and its suburbs, again by a small amount.But while it was too early to draw any definitive conclusions about other states, one thing is clear: Mr. Biden had focused, since securing the nomination, on attracting white voters in the Midwest and elsewhere. He spent less time and resources on outreach to Latino voters.Florida has been a heartbreak state for Democrats since George W. Bush narrowly defeated Al Gore there in 2000 after a partial recount and an intervention on the part of the Supreme Court that effectively handed the election to Mr. Bush.Polls had shown the race very tight — with many showing Mr. Biden with a lead — but Democrats were hardly confident going into the night, given the closeness of the polls. House Democrats are poised to maintain their majority but faced a series of early blows Tuesday night as Democrats in rural districts faced headwinds and Republican incumbents in suburban districts held their own.House Democrats appeared to be running strong in most competitive districts they snatched up in 2018, and had begun the night confidently predicting that they would expand their majority, citing polling that showed a dismal national environment for Republicans and a revolt of affluent, suburban voters in traditional conservative strongholds thronging the country from the Midwest to Texas. In the final days of the race, Republican strategists had privately predicted losing anywhere from a handful of seats to 20 and focused their efforts on offsetting their losses in largely rural, white working-class districts.But early returns did not appear to reflect the scale of losses that strategists in both parties had anticipated in the closing days of the race, as a number of Republican incumbents in suburban districts — that Democrats had hoped to take — held onto their seats, and as some Democratic incumbents who won in 2018 in districts where President Trump is popular faced defeat.In the Midwest, Representatives Ann Wagner of Missouri, Don Bacon of Nebraska, and Rodney Davis of Illinois all retained their seats in districts where Democrats were confident they could win.In Iowa, Representative Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat representing the northeastern swathe of the state, lost to Ashley Hinson, a former state legislator and television reporter. Representative Joe Cunningham, Democrat of South Carolina, also lost in a race against Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from Citadel.With Mr. Trump making significant inroads with Cuban-Americans in the Miami area, Democrats were dealt twin surprise blows, with Representatives Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala, a former Health and Human Services secretary, both conceding their races early in the night in their adjoining districts. Here’s what you need to know: Joseph R. Biden Jr. urged supporters gathered in Wilmington, Del., early Wednesday to be patient with the vote-counting process.Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York TimeJoseph R. Biden Jr. started election night with many paths to 270 electoral votes, but by Wednesday morning President Trump had won Florida, Ohio and Texas and was within striking distance of winning North Carolina.That left a diminished but still significant number of ways by which Mr. Biden could prevail, mostly clustered around recapturing Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the once-reliable “blue wall” states that Mr. Trump toppled four years ago.One alternate path still available for Mr. Biden: winning both Arizona and Georgia, Sun Belt states where he appears in good shape with tens of thousands of votes left to be counted.Mr. Biden is on track to win Arizona, the first flip of a 2016 Trump state after a succession of near, and not-so-near, misses in other battlegrounds.If Mr. Biden prevails in Georgia, he can reach 270 electoral votes while losing Pennsylvania and Michigan or Wisconsin.Or he could become president simply by winning back Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.In Georgia, where Mr. Trump held a substantial lead with about 80 percent of the vote counted, a leak at a processing center in the central part of the state halted the tabulation of ballots for Atlanta and its suburban counties, which are seen as Democratic strongholds.Well over half the vote remains left to count in DeKalb County, a heavily Democratic suburb of Atlanta, making the race a tossup heading into Wednesday morning.Mr. Biden, appearing briefly before his supporters in Wilmington, Del., early Wednesday, said he was “feeling real good about Wisconsin and Michigan” and predicted a win in Pennsylvania, a central battleground that is notorious for its sluggish counting of ballots.“We believe we are on track to win this election,” he said.Mr. Trump’s victories in Florida, Ohio and Texas did not create a new path for him so much as close off new shortcuts by which Mr. Biden could have claimed victory on Election Day. In remarks made early Wednesday from the White House, the president was adamant that he would hold onto Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — all states with significant percentages of ballots left to count.“We don’t need all of them” to win, he said.His last chance for a flip is Nevada, which was expected to be a tight race, but one generally favoring Mr. Biden.Otherwise, Mr. Trump’s path to winning a second term depends on holding onto the battleground Great Lakes states he won in 2016 and on retaining Georgia.
Welcome to the world! Nikki Bella shared throwback photos from her son Matteo’s July birth on Thursday, November 12.“The most incredible moment of my life and [Artem Chigvtinsev’s] life,” the former professional wrestler, 36, captioned the Instagram slideshow.- Advertisement – In the social media upload, the Total Bellas star gazed down at her baby boy in the hospital with the Dancing With the Stars pro, 38, at her side. Bella wore a face mask in the pics and an Instagram user asked if she gave birth with it on.“When you push, they take it off and then it goes right back on!!” the California native replied. “It was wild.”The “Bellas Podcast” cohost’s twin sister, Brie Bella, also posted hospital photos on Thursday with her and husband Daniel Bryan’s now-3-month-old son, Buddy. “Can’t wait to relive all the special moments again [on Total Bellas],” she wrote.- Advertisement – Brie, also 36, gave birth to her son in August, less than 24 hours after Nikki welcomed Matteo.“How about that tag team!” the new mom tweeted later that same week. “I can’t believe Brie and I had boys less than 24 hours apart! Honestly only us! Lol. And that I beat her. As you can imagine everyone said it was my baby and mines competitive side that kicked in! I can’t wait for our Bellas Boys to grow up together!”- Advertisement – – Advertisement – The E! personalties’ sons already have a special bond. “They have, like, their own like little twin language,” Nikki exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, November 11. “They’re both going to probably talk at seven months would be my guess or maybe earlier. I don’t know that, but they sound like little whales. It’s so cute.”Nikki added that Matteo and Buddy are both “very strong” and “so athletic,” which Chigvintsev spoke to Us and other reporters about on Monday, November 9.“Right now, it’s hard to tell because today he literally had this playground with the animals hanging and today, he tore the monkey,” the Russia native said of the 3-month-old potentially following in his or Nikki’s footsteps. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I can’t believe he just did that. But at the same time, he moves his legs so fast. Maybe a runner? I don’t know.”Keep scrolling to see Nikki’s first photos with Matteo.