The national Democratic Party has added rural districts to its list of midterm targets in November, part of a broader strategy to compete in President Trump's conservative heartland despite long odds.

On its face, the strategy may look like Democratic overreach. But more than a dozen Democratic operatives, strategists and candidates told Reuters the goal in part is to force Republicans to spend money defending safe seats, draining resources from the swing districts that will decide control of the US House.

By expanding the map, the party is also signaling to donors that races are becoming more competitive, helping unlock money that might otherwise stay on the sidelines, they said.

However, Tim Reid tells the Reuters World News podcast that unreliable polling history, the Republicans' cash advantage, and a closing argument branding Democrats as extreme socialists could keep Democratic turnout from being as big as predicted. 

Indonesian authorities and conservation workers successfully moved eight orangutans to a safe location after the endangered primates' homes were destroyed by wildfires in the forests of Borneo.