Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s 10th chancellor fails first ballot by 6 votes

BERLIN (AP) — Friedrich Merz’s bid to become Germany’s 10th chancellor has failed in the first round of voting in parliament by six votes.
Merz, the conservative leader, was expected to win the vote on Tuesday. He needed a majority of 316 out of 630 votes in a secret ballot. He only received 310 votes.
The parties will regroup to discuss the next step.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers are set to vote Tu