GOP rival concedes, rips McConnell

• Mitch McConnell easily defeated tea party-backed challenger


• CNN projects that Alison Lundergan Grimes will win the Democratic primary


• Six states are holding primaries on Tuesday


• Michelle Nunn wins Georgia Democratic Senate primary; unclear who she'll face in November

(CNN) -- It was billed as the day's marquee primary battle, but in the end it was an easy night for Mitch McConnell.

The five-term senator from Kentucky -- who's the top Republican in the chamber -- defeated tea party-backed challenger Matt Bevin in Tuesday's primary.

According to numbers compiled by The Associated Press, McConnell led Bevin 60%-37% with 48% of precincts reporting.

But Bevin conceded, telling supporters that he had spoken with McConnell. That conversation was confirmed by aides to the incumbent.

In his concession speech, Bevin didn't back McConnell, but he said he has no intention "of supporting the Democratic platform over the Republican platform."

But Bevin appeared critical of McConnell and the groups that supported him, saying "the attacks that we have been on the receiving end of have made our opposition smaller people. It has cheapened their accomplishments and it has weakened the foundation of their platform."

McConnell, in his victory speech, congratulated Bevin and criticized his November opponent, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

How McConnell crushed the tea party

Kentucky is one of six states holding primaries on Tuesday and again, anti-establishment candidates face long odds in high-profile Republican showdowns.

In Georgia, CNN projects Michelle Nunn will win the Democratic Senate primary, taking another step toward following in her father's footsteps. Nunn had token opposition and it's not yet clear who she'll face in November.

McConnell seeks re-election in Kentucky

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Senate race heats up in Kentucky

GOP Candidates Balk at Sen. McConnell

5 key primaries to watch Tuesday

While his primary battle ended up easier than originally expected, McConnell now faces a much tougher test against Grimes.

CNN projected that Grimes would win her primary. A rising Democratic star, she faced no real opposition in her primary and already has had big names -- such as former President Bill Clinton -- team up with her on the campaign trail.

Grimes connected to big donors, big hitters

Bevin, a businessman from Louisville, announced his primary challenge last summer, and quickly gained the support of tea party activists and some influential DC-based anti-establishment groups.

The race between the two men quickly turned ugly, and expensive, as both campaigns and outside groups spent big bucks.

Anti-establishment Republicans felt that McConnell represented everything wrong in Washington and thought he could be knocked off.

The Senate Conservatives fund dished out $1 million in support of Bevin and against McConnell. But the group recently became very quiet, with McConnell's formidable lead in the public opinion polls.

Large campaign war chest

But McConnell had a large campaign war chest, as well as the backing from two Kentucky-based super PACs, and such powerful national groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association.

And McConnell ended his primary campaign by once again touting his endorsement from Kentucky's other Republican senator, Rand Paul, the one-time upstart who beat McConnell's pick in the 2010 GOP Senate primary in Kentucky.

But the two quickly mended fences, and Paul, who is very influential among tea party activists and libertarians, backed McConnell last year before Bevin got into the race. Paul congratulated McConnell in a tweet.

The narrator in one of McConnell's two closing statewide TV commercials says, "On Tuesday, join with Rand Paul and vote for Mitch McConnell." And the spot includes a clip of Paul saying last year that Kentucky "ought to be proud of having Senator McConnell."

Earlier this year McConnell predicted big wins for incumbents facing primary challenges from the right, saying, "I think we are going to crush them everywhere."

McConnell told the New York Times that when it came to tea party challenges, "I don't think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country."

His prediction might come true, as McConnell's defeat of Bevin was the latest in a string of victories for incumbent and more moderate Republicans over candidates backed by tea party activists and other grassroots and anti-establishment groups.

Soon after the race in Kentucky was called for McConnell, two of the groups backing Bevin closed ranks behind the Senate minority leader.

"Now it's time for Republicans to unite for victory in November," said a statement from the Senate Conservatives Fund.

And the Madison Project released a statement saying, "We congratulate McConnell on winning the primary. We ask all Republicans to come together to defeat extremist Hollywood liberal Allison Lundergan Grimes this fall."

Now it's on to November's midterm elections, where Democrats -- who hold a 55-45 majority in the chamber (including two independents who caucus with the party -- are defending 21 of the 36 seats in play, with half of those Democratic-held seats in red or purple states.

Key races to watch

The only states where the Democrats currently hope to play offense are Kentucky and Georgia.

If the GOP flips six Democratic held seats, they'll will win control of the chamber, and McConnell will get a promotion from minority leader to majority leader.

A big question right now is if Bevin and his supporters will rally around McConnell, or if they sit it out come November.

In 2010, after Paul topped McConnell-backed candidate Trey Grayson, the minority leader was quick to bring all sides together at a unity rally.

The battle ahead

The faceoff in Kentucky should continue to be heated, and expensive. When all's said and done, the race could become the most expensive Senate campaign in history, breaking the $82 million record set in the 2012 Senate battle in Massachusetts.

Grimes, 35, is using classic campaign strategy against the 72-year-old longtime incumbent: it's time for change.

"We've had 30 years of failed leadership under Mitch McConnell; we cannot afford six more," Grimes declared emphatically to a packed house at her campaign headquarters here in Louisville on Monday.

To counter that, McConnell is using a standard strategy for a longtime incumbent. He is trying to paint his seniority as a plus and warn Kentuckians about the perils of a junior senator with little clout in Washington representing them instead of a potential Senate majority leader.

"My opponent, I certainly agree, is a new face, but a new face for what? New face for the status quo. Same majority leader, same agenda, no change at all. A new face for no change at all," McConnell argues on the stump.

But Grimes' full-throated assault on McConnell goes beyond a call for change. She is using McConnell's GOP leader status and his frequent moves to block legislation to make him the symbol of gridlock in Washington.

Like Republicans all over the country, McConnell is trying hard to make this election a referendum on President Barack Obama, who lost Kentucky big in 2012 and is highly unpopular now.

"Do we want to go in a different direction, or do we want Harry Reid to continue to be the majority leader? Do we want a vote for Barack Obama in a state that he carried four out of 120 countries? That's what's really at stake in the fall election," McConnell told CNN Monday.

And the pro-McConnell outside group Kentuckians for Strong Leadership said they would spend nearly $600,000 starting Wednesday to run a television commercial that ties Grimes to the President.

The problem for McConnell is that he too has a high unfavorable ratings back home, and Democrats here are hoping that will be his ultimate downfall. The most recent polling indicates the two candidates are all tied up in the November showdown.

Should we be afraid of MERS?

• A third case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the U.S. has been reported


• W. Ian Lipkin: The recent rise of MERS cases should not cause panic


• He says if we see clusters of infections that would be cause for concern


• Lipkin: New MERS cases are not surprising given how globally connected we are

Editor's note: W. Ian Lipkin is John Snow professor of epidemiology and director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- A third case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the United States has been reported. An unidentified Illinois man was infected after having "extended face-to-face contact" with an Indiana man who was diagnosed with the MERS virus. Fortunately, he is no longer ill.

The rise in the reported number of MERS cases in the United States, Asia and Europe has fueled concern that this may be the big one: the 21st century equivalent of the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed 3% to 5% of the world population.

Concern is appropriate, because the coronavirus responsible for MERS can evolve to become more potent public health threats. However, I don't yet see evidence that will happen.

For one thing, an increase in the number of reported cases is not equivalent to an increase in the number of actual cases. As MERS testing is expanded from people with severe disease to include those with mild disease or only a history of potential exposure, we will detect more cases of infection. The mortality rate associated with infection will decrease from the current estimate of 30%. In short, we don't yet know the extent to which an increase in the reported number of cases only reflects better case ascertainment.

MERS, like 70% of all emerging infectious diseases, including influenza, SARS, HIV/AIDS and ebola, originates in wildlife. With MERS, both bats and camels may be implicated. Studies of camels in Saudi Arabia indicate that the majority have a history of MERS coronavirus infection. Infection appears to occur in early life and then clears. Up to a third of young camels carry this infectious virus. Because camels are born in the spring, there may be an increased amount of virus circulating in camels in spring and summer months. This may contribute to a seasonal spike in the reported number of MERS cases.

Humans may become infected through contact with infected animals, meat or other animal products such as milk. However, pandemic spread cannot occur without efficient human-to-human transmission. The MERS coronavirus grows deep in the human respiratory tract, so it is less likely to be transmitted than viruses that grow in teh nose, mouth or upper airways where a sneeze or a cough is sufficient to create an infectious aerosol.

MERS virus contracted in the U.S.

Hospitalized patients with pneumonia-like MERS receive vigorous respiratory interventions such as intubation, assisted ventilation, drugs that dilate airways and chest percussion. These interventions may bring virus into the environment in aerosols and on the surfaces of medical equipment, resulting in infection of hospital personnel and other patients. Since the MERS coronavirus has been shown to be stable for up to 48 hours, it may be difficult to determine the source of infection as people and equipment circulate in the health care environment.

To date, cases of human-to-human transmission have only been reported in hospitals and in families where there is intimate contact with an infected person. If we notice a change in this pattern such that clusters of infections begin to appear in communities with more casual contact, that would be a strong sign that the virus is evolving to become a pandemic threat.

The MERS cases in new countries are disturbing but not surprising given how globally connected we are. International travel and foot traffic make it easier to spread a virus.

The first two cases reported in the United States, in Indiana and Florida, were health care workers returning from Saudi Arabia. Although a third case has been linked to contact with the Indiana case, I am cautiously optimistic that a cluster of cases will not be triggered.

Nonetheless, vigilance is essential. Saudi Arabia has more than 7 million foreign workers and hosts more than 3 million religious pilgrims annually. If new cases arise they will almost certainly be imported.

The key to an effective pandemic response is to acknowledge that infectious disease challenges are global rather than national. Information and biological samples must be shared freely to facilitate surveillance and the development of diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.

In this spirit, the government of Saudi Arabia has recently invited teams of international experts to join forces in addressing the global challenge of MERS. Although we are focusing on MERS now, the reality is that viruses and antibiotic resistant bacteria with pandemic potential are continuously emerging and re-emerging worldwide.

The recent MERS cases should not trigger an alarm. But if a pandemic happens, it is important we are prepared to combat it.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion .

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion .

'Bachelorette' honors dead contestant

Eric Hill, who was a contestant in the upcoming 2014 season of "The Bachelorette," died in April 2014 from injuries suffered in a paragliding accident. Hill is seen here in a photo taken from his Facebook page. He was 31.

"MasterChef" runner-up Joshua Marks was in "the battle of his life fighting mental illness" when he killed himself on October 11, his family said.

Gia Allemand appeared on Season 14 of ABC's "The Bachelor." In a statement, her family said the 29-year-old's death apparently was suicide.

Shain Gandee of MTV's "Buckwild" was found dead in April in Kanawha County, West Virginia, authorities said. The body of Gandee, 21, was discovered in a vehicle along with the bodies of his uncle, David Dwight Gandee, 48, and Donald Robert Myers, 27.

Jennifer Lyon, who appeared on "Survivor: Palau" in 2005, died at her home in Oregon in January 2010. The 37-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer after her stint on the reality show.

"The Real World: Hollywood" cast member Joey Kovar died of a suspected drug overdose in August 2012 at 29. Kovar also appeared on the third season of "Celebrity Rehab."

"Swamp People" star Mitchell Guist, right, died in Louisiana in May 2012. He was working to build a houseboat when he appeared to have a seizure and fell backward in his boat, said Assumption Parish Sheriff Mike Waguespack. Another person, who did not want to be identified, performed CPR and called 911.

In 1994's "The Real World: San Francisco," cast member Pedro Zamora shared his struggle with HIV/AIDS. After Zamora died in November 1994, President Bill Clinton said the Cuban-born reality star "changed the face of HIV and AIDS in America forever."

"Deadliest Catch's" Capt. Phil Harris died in February 2010 at 53. The reality star was hospitalized after he suffered a stroke on January 29.

Rachel Brown, a 2006 contestant on "Hell's Kitchen," which is hosted by Gordon Ramsay, was found dead of a gunshot wound in her Dallas home in 2007. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office said Brown's death was ruled a suicide.

"Jackass" star Ryan Dunn was drunk and speeding up to 140 mph when his 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 crashed and caught fire on a Pennsylvania highway in June 2011, police said. The 34-year-old died from "blunt and thermal trauma" in the fiery crash, according to the autopsy report.

Frankie Abernathy was a cast member on "The Real World: San Diego," which aired on MTV in 2004. Abernathy, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and digestive track, was 25 when she died in June 2007.

New Jersey restaurant owner Joseph Cerniglia, who appeared on the first season of "Kitchen Nightmares," jumped from a bridge into New York's Hudson River in September 2010. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.

Russell Armstrong, left, hanged himself in 2011 while appearing on Bravo's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." The series featured his estranged wife, Taylor, grappling with the aftermath of his suicide.

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• Eric Hill died after finishing filming "The Bachelorette"


• He was one of 25 bachelors vying for the heart of Andi Dorfman


• The show's host praised his "passion and and courageous spirit"

(CNN) -- "The Bachelorette" premiered Monday night with a tribute to a contestant.

Eric Hill, 31, died in April from injuries suffered in a paragliding accident after filming the show. He was one of 25 men vying for the heart of "Bachelorette" Andi Dorfman, 26.

Andi Dorfman with Eric Hill on the season premiere of "The Bachelorette."

At the beginning of Monday's show, host Chris Harrison offered some kind words about Hill, who was an adventurer who documented his goal of visiting every country in 1,200 days on his website, The Global Odyssey.

"Eric passed away shortly after concluding his filming on this show," Harrison said. "In the coming weeks, you'll see that Eric was a vibrant man. Every day, he impressed us with his passion and courageous spirit. He will be greatly missed. And we dedicate this season to him."

The premiere kicked off Season 10 of the series. During the show, Hill gifted Dorfman with dolls from Peru -- the first country he had visited outside of the North American continent. Dorfman thanked him and later selected him as one of the bachelors to whom she granted one-on-one time.

Harrison, who in addition to hosting the show also serves as one of the producers, talked to Salon about the difficulty in dealing with Hill's death on the reality show.

"One of the contestants who left the show died in a tragic accident," Harrison said. "And he was a wonderful man, and very much beloved on the show, a central figure early on before he left, and our decision was quickly made: We have to show what he went through. And also because it affected our cast and our crew, what we went through. So to just cut that out of the show wouldn't have done justice to anybody, even him."

World's best new skyscraper is ...

Tying for 10th place in the Emporis Skyscraper Awards, Tour Carpe Diem in Courbevoie, France, uses geothermal wells as an energy source and has a sustainable design strategy that includes solar water heating and a heat recovery system. The bar on the building's rooftop garden offers views over Paris and the Seine. Greenery can also be found inside: The main lobby is augmented by a 17-meter-high winter garden. Architects: Robert A.M. Stern Architects, SRA Architectes

Both buildings in this hospitality and exhibition complex in Guangzhou, China, offer exhibition space on lower floors. One of the buildings is topped by offices, the other by a five-star hotel containing, among other facilities, the city's largest ballroom with an area of nearly 5,000 square meters. Architects: Andrew Bromberg of Aedas

Thirty-meter deep power piles cool this Brno, Czech Republic building in summer and heat it in winter with the help of a heat pump. This is the only building in the Czech Republic using this energy-efficient way of regulating temperature.Architect: Architektonická kancelář Burian-Křivinka

From a distance, the Ardmore Residence appears to feature divergent contours. But closer up, openings in the concrete panels of the facade provide a sense of organic mutation and transition, the jury panel said.Architects: UNStudio, Architects 61

The tower collects melt water for use inside and provides 75% of its work spaces with daylight. About 10% of the construction materials came from within a 300-kilometer radius of the construction site. The tallest building in Europe (339 meters) features two high-speed elevators traveling at a maximum speed of seven meters per second. Architects: Frank Williams & Partners, G.L. Sirota, M.M. Posokhin

These towers in Baku, Azerbaijan, are completely covered with LED screens that mimic fiery flames and giant torches. The design was inspired by Azerbaijan's history as a land of fire, due to its rich deposits of natural gas. Concrete is the predominant material, while the tops of the three buildings contain a lighter steel structure to create the impression of a flickering flame. Architect: HOK

Thanks to the vertical gardens on each floor, this Sydney building gives residents the impression of living in a tree house. The whole Central Park Sydney complex is built around a spacious park. At night, the building serves as a canvas for Yann Kersale's LED art installation. Architects: Ateliers Jean Nouvel, PTW Architects

This Dubai building is the world's tallest tower featuring a 90-degree twist. The building's shape reduces wind forces on the tower and channels wind in such a way that its forces are unable to organize themselves. Each floor is rotated by 1.2 degrees to achieve the full 90-degree spiral, creating the shape of a helix. Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Khatib & Alami Dubai

About 19,000 LED lights illuminate the facade at night, allowing animated images to be cast on the waters of Lake Tai, near Shanghai. The hotel's ring shape allows all rooms to have balconies and views and receive daylight from all directions. Architects: MAD, Shanghai Xian Dai Architecture Design

Since much of this Vienna building's facade is made of glass, daylight is easily used instead of artificial light. The building offers water-saving showers and restrooms, and a variety of local plants, rather than exotic plants, reduce the consumption of water in the green areas of the building. Local materials have been used for the interior design. Architects: Dominique Perrault Architecture, Hoffmann-Janz Architekten

The Shard's design features angled-glass facade panels that result in changing reflected light patterns. Its facade is double-skinned and ventilated, reducing solar gain while maximizing light intake. The winter gardens, which the skyscraper provides instead of expensive corner offices, benefit from the building's natural ventilation system. Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Adamson Associates International

• Emporis Skyscraper Award given to buildings completed in the last 12 months that are higher than 100 meters


• This year no North American buildings are acclaimed, despite winning in previous two years


• Panel of architecture experts award rankings according to aesthetic and functional design criteria

(CNN) -- London's The Shard has taken top honors in the annual Skyscraper Award from Hamburg-based building and construction data company Emporis.

The awards, announced annually since 2000, are chosen by an "international jury of architecture experts" who select nominated buildings completed in the last year and are at least 100 meters tall, according to "aesthetic and functional design criteria," an Emporis spokesperson said in a statement.

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Daredevils climb Shanghai skyscraper

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"Construction of The Shard was complicated by the particularly tight site and therefore needed innovative planning," said Emporis.

"This makes the result all the more impressive: a skyscraper that is recognized immediately and which is already considered London's new emblem."

MORE: World's blobbiest buildings

DC Tower 1 in Vienna, Austria, designed by Dominique Perrault Architecture, took second place.

It was lauded for "the contrasting way in which its facade is treated: three mirror-smooth sides are broken by a craggy, jagged fourth that gives the building a strength of expression and sense of solidity, despite its slim stature."

MORE: World's most spectacular university buildings

Third place went to the Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort, on Lake Tai near Shanghai, China.

"Its daring design is further accentuated by its illumination at night, which creates imposing reflections of the building in the lake," said Emporis.

That hotel became known as "The Donut" after being featured in several media reports at the time of its completion.

No North American buildings made the top 10 this year, while five European buildings were celebrated, the most since 2008.

MORE: Gallery: China's crop of outrageous new hotel designs

MORE: The oddest-looking hotel you'll see this year