Democratic White House hopeful Al Gore was expected to concede defeat to Republican George W. Bush in a late Wednesday national address after calling off vote recount efforts in Florida.
"He will address the nation this evening," the vice president's campaign chairman, William Daley, said in a terse statement that also indicated Gore had ordered aides in the decisive state to "suspend" what had been his best chance at wresting the White House from the Texas governor.
Daley's comments came after the US Supreme Court dealt what appeared to be a lethal blow to Gore's hopes by ruling against hand tallies of thousands of disputed ballots he said would wipe out Bush's narrow lead.
A senior Gore aide told AFP on condition of anonymity that "people in Florida are packing up to leave. We were told our work is done," but stopped just shy of saying outright that he would concede, saying dejectedly "it means what it means." -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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