In the middle of President Joe Biden's term in office, the momentous midterm elections are taking place in the USA. The "midterms" will determine the majorities in both chambers of Congress - the Senate and the House of Representatives - as well as numerous governorships and other important offices.

Biden's Democrats are at risk of losing their majority in Congress, which would severely limit the president's political leeway over the next two years. After the election process so far, the Republicans have a good chance of taking over the majority in the House of Representatives. The race for the Senate, which is currently controlled by the Democrats, is still too close to predict.

You can hear a first summary of election day in a special episode of "Today important" from our US correspondent Raphael Geiger:

The most important reports and developments on the US midterm elections in the stern live blog: