In his final speech before Election Day, the president spent most of his time on the Reflecting Pool renovation — then renewed his pledge of $5,000 per voter if Republicans keep Congress.
ELECTIONS & CONGRESS
FORECASTERS NOW FAVOR DEMOCRATS TO FLIP THE SENATE 52-48 — Decision Desk HQ gives Democrats a 64% chance of Senate control, with Texas, Alaska and Maine as the projected pickups.
SILVER: FINAL POLLS POINT TO A ‘BLUE TSUNAMI,’ SENATE ODDS PAST 80% — The final NYT/Siena round put Democrats ahead in Michigan by 11, Texas by 7 and Kansas by 5 — with Silver’s own warning that polls “might be wrong again.”
RECORD EARLY VOTE TOPS 54 MILLION BEFORE ELECTION DAY — About 8 million more early ballots than in 2022, with Texas alone past 7 million; researchers caution early totals do not predict the winner.
VANCE STUMPS IN NEW YORK AS DEMOCRATS CLOSE IN MICHIGAN AND TEXAS — The vice president backed House candidates in Rome, N.Y., while El-Sayed campaigned across Michigan and Talarico rallied in Austin.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
DOW RISES AS NASDAQ SLIDES INTO THE CLOSE — The Dow gained 0.41% to 51,989.19 while the S&P 500 fell 0.51% to 7,541.40 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.07%.
APPLE BEATS WITH $114.5 BILLION QUARTER, UP 12% — Revenue of $114.48 billion and EPS of $2.10 topped forecasts in John Ternus’s first quarter as CEO, with iPhone at a September-quarter record.
QUICK HITS
TRUMP’S SUNDAY STOPS: DUBUQUE AND SALINA IN FINAL WEEKEND PUSH
DDHQ: DEMOCRATS 64% TO WIN SENATE; GOP 75% TO HOLD FLORIDA SEAT
SILVER: HOUSE ODDS FOR DEMOCRATS IN THE MID-90S FOR WEEKS
EARLY VOTE: DEMOCRATS 10.7M, REPUBLICANS 7.8M IN REPORTING STATES
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATION TAKES CALIFORNIA BALLOT FIGHT TO SUPREME COURT — On election eve, DOJ asked the justices to set aside mail ballots from 20,000-plus voters it alleges may not be citizens; lower courts refused.
FACTORY GAUGE RISES TO 55.5, BUT INPUT PRICES STAY HIGH — ISM manufacturing grew for a 10th straight month, with production at its best since 2021 — while prices paid stayed elevated at 75.2.
FED HELD AT 3.75%-4.00%, WITH TWO DISSENTS FOR A HIKE — The October pause came with Cook and Hammack voting for another quarter-point increase; December now hinges on jobs and inflation data.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
PALANTIR REVENUE NEARLY DOUBLES TO $2.31 BILLION — Up 96% year over year, with U.S. commercial revenue passing government revenue for the first time; new deal signings grew just 6%.
PALANTIR LIFTS FULL-YEAR GUIDANCE TO $8.53 BILLION — The Q4 forecast of $2.65 billion also topped Wall Street estimates on AI software demand.
QUICK HITS
AP: CALIFORNIA CALLS FEDERAL VOTER LIST ‘HIGHLY UNRELIABLE’
REUTERS: PCE INFLATION SHOT UP 3.6% IN SEPTEMBER
FED’S SEPTEMBER PROJECTIONS: 12 OFFICIALS SAW ANOTHER HIKE BY YEAR-END
GEOPOLITICS
OIL PLUNGES 7% AS U.S. AND IRAN SIGNAL ROOM FOR TALKS — WTI settled at $96.46 and Brent at $104.77 after Iran’s supreme leader approved pursuing negotiations and Trump said he would let talks play out.
UKRAINE: RUSSIA USED OLESHKY CEASEFIRE TO REINFORCE — Kyiv says Moscow rotated units and fortified positions during the six-day humanitarian pause that evacuated nearly 800 people.
U.S. PUSHES RUSSIAN GAS RETURN VIA UKRAINE FOR ENERGY CEASEFIRE — The reported plan would use an American intermediary and escrow account; Europe resists renewed dependence on Moscow.
GAZA STRIKES KILL AT LEAST THREE AS CEASEFIRE FRAYS — Medics reported deaths in Khan Younis and Al-Mussadar; 1,580 Palestinians have been killed since the October 2025 ceasefire, health officials say.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
OIL BELOW $100: WHAT IT MEANS AT THE PUMP BEFORE ELECTION DAY — The drop came too late to ease pump prices before Tuesday’s vote, Rigzone/Bloomberg reports — but it strips war premium from fuel markets.
QUICK HITS
NPR: KHERSON BREATHED DURING THE TRUCE — THEN BRACED AGAIN
KREMLIN: RESTARTING GAS VIA UKRAINE ‘UNLIKELY’ FOR NOW
ISRAEL SAYS STRIKES TARGETED MILITANTS; HAMAS DENIES REARMING
SPORTS
UPSET OF THE WEEKEND: USC STUNS NO. 2 OHIO STATE 30-18 IN THE RAIN — Freshman Trent Mosley’s 69-yard touchdown on the second play set the tone on Halloween night, the Coliseum crowd stormed the field, and the Buckeyes took their second loss of the season.
LAST UNBEATEN FALLS: LIONS EDGE VIKINGS 19-15 — Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 153 yards and a score, and Jared Goff’s late touchdown pass to Jameson Williams ended Minnesota’s perfect start in a bruising NFC North showdown at Ford Field.
MINSHEW MAGIC: CARDINALS RALLY PAST COWBOYS 33-30 IN OVERTIME — Gardner Minshew came off the bench to throw three touchdowns, and Chad Ryland atoned for a missed extra point with the 42-yard winner in OT — Arizona’s fifth straight win at AT&T Stadium.
DAWGS RULE THE RIVALRY AGAIN: GEORGIA 27, FLORIDA 8 — Georgia’s defense forced four turnovers, Chris Cole returned a fumble 66 yards for a touchdown, and the Bulldogs made it six straight wins over the Gators in the rivalry’s first Atlanta edition.
BILLS ROUT RAVENS 36-10; LAMAR JACKSON HEADED TO INJURED RESERVE — Josh Allen broke Jim Kelly’s franchise touchdown-pass record while Baltimore lost Jackson (thumb surgery) and backup Tyler Huntley in the same first half — a nightmare afternoon in Orchard Park.
TONIGHT: BEARS AND SEAHAWKS COLLIDE ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL — Caleb Williams brings 5-2 Chicago into Lumen Field at 8:15 PM ET on ESPN, where league receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the defending champs await — and Zach Charbonnet returns for Seattle.
TRAVEL
DAY OF THE DEAD CROSSES THE ATLANTIC: 500 MARCH THROUGH MADRID — Mexico’s Querétaro brought a grand parade of more than 500 participants, 100 artists and two monumental floats from the Plaza de Oriente to the Plaza Mayor, capped off by a Fiesta Queretana of folk music and dance.
CATRINAS TAKE OVER MELBOURNE’S STREETS — Federation Square filled with color, music and Mexican food on Sunday as the fourth annual Catrina Walk wound through the city in costume, floral headpieces and striking face paint.
LOUISIANA TOWN GEARS UP FOR ITS 100TH FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS — Natchitoches — older than New Orleans, with a general store open since 1863 — lights up Cane River Lake with more than 300,000 bulbs and 100 set pieces starting November 21.
SMALL ILLINOIS TOWN NAMED HALLMARK’S MERRIEST CHRISTMAS TOWN — Carlinville (pop. 5,710) thought it was posing for a community photo; instead Hallmark stars rolled in to crown it the winner from nearly 1,500 entries — and a Hallmark movie filming there in 2027 is part of the prize.
A FESTIVAL JUST FOR BUTTERFLIES IN INDIA’S FAR NORTHEAST — The ninth Namdapha Butterfly Festival wrapped Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh, drawing nature lovers to one of India’s great wilderness parks for butterfly-watching trails and forest walks.
FOOD
DISNEY CHEFS GIVE A YOUNG ASPIRING CHEF THE DAY OF HIS LIFE — EPCOT’s culinary team spent 10 months planning a Make-A-Wish tasting tour for Connor, a Minnesota kid who hopes to cook for a living — and Chef Goofy himself presented the personalized chef coat.
ESTHER CHOI’S KIMCHI SEAFOOD POT IS HER MOM’S FAVORITE — From her new cookbook “Hand Taste,” the Korean cioppino-style pot of mussels, shrimp and scallops in a kimchi-tomato sauce is the dish her mom asks her to make again and again.
THE CATALAN SAUCE FISHERMEN BUILT FROM STALE BREAD — Romesco — roasted peppers, toasted almonds, garlic and olive oil — began as thrift on Tarragona’s boats and became the sauce Catalans dunk charred calçots into by the bowlful. Bibs mandatory.
AN IRISH TV CHEF’S CASE FOR THE CUPBOARD-CLEARING STEW — Erica Drum’s hearty chickpea and chorizo stew, from her debut cookbook “Dinner,” is the weeknight hero she calls one of the easiest recipes in the book — swaps welcome, crusty bread encouraged.
TEN YEARS OF BROOKLYN’S MOST FAMOUS PANCAKES — Sunday in Brooklyn marked a decade in Williamsburg by handing its signature hazelnut-maple praline pancake stack to neighboring chefs for a month of riffs — it even became an ice-cream pint.
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