THE LEAD
ELECTION DAY: AMERICA VOTES, AND CONGRESS HANGS IN THE BALANCE
All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships are on the ballot today, with first polls closing at 6 p.m. ET and Democrats favored in the final polls — but the Senate still to be decided by a handful of close states.
Second source: Asia Today on voting underway and the stakes | Third source: poll opening and closing times state by state
ELECTIONS & CONGRESS
FINAL POLLS POINT ONE WAY, FORECASTS DIFFER ON THE MARGIN — RealClearPolling put Democrats 8.3 points ahead on the generic ballot, with prediction markets pricing Democratic House control higher than the models.
RECORD EARLY VOTE TOPS 57 MILLION BEFORE ELECTION DAY — Well above the roughly 46 million early votes in 2022, though early totals alone do not say who is winning.
SEVEN SENATE RACES COULD DECIDE CONTROL — Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Alaska and Iowa are the battlegrounds to watch, with Democrats needing a net gain of four Senate seats.
TRUMP’S CLOSING PITCH: $5,000 IF THE GOP HOLDS CONGRESS — At the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the president renewed his payout pledge and called this the most important midterm of his lifetime.
WHAT THE INSIDERS ARE WATCHING ON ELECTION NIGHT — Maine’s Senate race, early exits and the Ohio counties where Trump overperformed Romney by 10 points or more.
THE VOTER WHO COULD DECIDE IT: THE ONE WHO SKIPPED THE LAST MIDTERMS — Turnout, not another two-point poll move, is the number to watch, a veteran pollster argues.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
APPLE POSTS RECORD $114.5 BILLION QUARTER ON IPHONE SURGE — Revenue rose 12%, iPhone hit a September-quarter record at $57.6 billion, and Services reached an all-time high.
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.
APPLE’S BEST FISCAL YEAR EVER — AND A $479 BILLION YEAR — Full-year revenue hit a record, with net income up 18% to $132.2 billion.
PALANTIR SHARES SLIP ANYWAY AFTER THE BEAT — The stock fell about 5% in premarket despite the raised full-year outlook, a reminder that a beat is not always enough.
QUICK HITS
POLL AVERAGES: DEMOCRATS 50, TOSS-UPS 5, REPUBLICANS 45 IN SENATE MODEL
LIVE POLLING AVERAGES FOR EVERY SENATE AND GOVERNOR RACE
FIRST POLLS OPENED AT 5 A.M. IN VERMONT; ALASKA CLOSES LAST AT 1 A.M. ET
FOX POWER RANKINGS: SENATE A TOSS-UP, HOUSE LEANING DEMOCRAT
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
SUPREME COURT REJECTS BID TO SET ASIDE CALIFORNIA BALLOTS — The justices, with no public dissent, declined the Justice Department’s eve-of-election request covering about 20,000 voters.
FED HELD AT 3.75%-4.00%, WITH TWO DISSENTS FOR A HIKE — Cook and Hammack wanted another quarter-point increase; December now hinges on jobs and inflation data.
PCE INFLATION ROSE TO 3.6% IN SEPTEMBER — Core PCE held at 3.1%, real spending was flat, and the saving rate fell to 3.8%.
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.
THE ELECTION-DAY CALENDAR BEHIND THE IRAN PAUSE — A diesel deal, a promised decision after the vote, and talks penciled in for after November 10.
U.S. TO MEDIATE UKRAINE-RUSSIA TECHNICAL TALKS IN ABU DHABI — The November 10-11 sessions will focus on de-escalation, humanitarian steps and post-war security.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
ANTHROPIC DISCLOSES $895.4 BILLION IN COMPUTE COMMITMENTS — The Economist’s top business highlight: the amended IPO filing shows $17 billion in third-quarter revenue — and a compute bill that dwarfs it.
TODAY AT 10 A.M.: JOLTS JOB OPENINGS, FORECAST 7.16 MILLION — The last big labor read before Friday’s jobs report, alongside factory orders.
QUICK HITS
AP: COURT GAVE NO REASON, AS IS CUSTOMARY IN EMERGENCY APPEALS
FRIDAY’S JOBS REPORT, NOT THE ELECTION, DECIDES DECEMBER’S HIKE CALL
GEOPOLITICS
ZELENSKY WARNS OF MASSIVE RUSSIAN ATTACK TIMED TO THE MIDTERMS — Kyiv says Moscow is preparing a new strike on energy and logistics while the world watches U.S. voting.
OLESHKY CEASEFIRE EXPIRES AS STRIKES CUT POWER AGAIN — The six-day humanitarian pause evacuated nearly 800 people; Ukraine says Russia used it to reinforce positions.
GAZA’S CEASEFIRE LEAVES FAMILIES TRAPPED BEHIND A MOVING LINE — Strikes killed at least eight on Sunday and four more on Monday, medics say, as the year-old truce frays.
OIL SLIDES ON IRAN TALKS AS TANKER MINE CLAIMS SURFACE — Doha talks on reopening Hormuz pushed Brent down, even as Iran’s Guard said two tankers hit mines.
GAZA STRIKES KILL EIGHT, INCLUDING A FOUR-YEAR-OLD, HOSPITALS SAY — Five police officers died in Khan Younis; three more died near a Gaza City school.
TWO TANKERS CATCH FIRE IN HORMUZ, TEHRAN WARNS WAR WON’T END ON TRUMP’S TIMETABLE — Mediators are still working on a proposal to reopen the strait within two days.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
OPEC+ HOLDS OUTPUT TARGETS AS HORMUZ THREATS LINGER — December targets stay unchanged, with prices above $100 and shipping risks keeping supply tight.
S&P FUTURES EDGE HIGHER AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY — Futures rose in Asian trading as investors digested Apple’s results and awaited the midterms.
QUICK HITS
LONGEST TRUCE OF THE UKRAINE WAR ENDS IN KHERSON
13 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN GAZA OVER 48 HOURS, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS
IRAN SAYS 3 TANKERS STRUCK MINES; U.S. MILITARY DISPUTES THE CLAIMS
ASIAN CHIP STOCKS SLIDE AS AUSTRALIA HIKES TO 4.85%, AN 18-YEAR HIGH
SPORTS
BEARS ROUT SEAHAWKS 34-17 ON MONDAY NIGHT — Chicago, now 6-2, beat the defending champions in Seattle to close Week 8.
BILLS ROUT RAVENS 36-10 AS JACKSON HEADS TO IR — Josh Allen set Buffalo’s career touchdown-pass record while Baltimore lost both its quarterbacks.
USC STUNS NO. 2 OHIO STATE 30-18 — THE UPSET OF THE WEEK — Unranked USC won outright as a 6.5-point underdog; Week 9 produced 12 upsets in all.
SEVEN RANKED TEAMS FELL IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S WILD WEEK 9 — Iowa shut out Wisconsin 30-0, Iowa State walked off Oklahoma State 51-49, and Georgia dominated Florida.
SATURDAY’S SHOWDOWN: NO. 1 MIAMI AT NO. 6 NOTRE DAME — The unbeaten Hurricanes (8-0) visit South Bend after Notre Dame’s 35-13 second-half surge past Navy.
TRAVEL
10 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN NOVEMBER — Venice’s plague-vow festival, Bangkok’s river of candles, Tahiti’s returning rains and Oregon wine country.
VENICE, NOV. 21: CROSSING THE GRAND CANAL ON A BRIDGE OF BOATS — The Festa della Salute sends a candlelit stream across a temporary votive bridge to Santa Maria della Salute.
BANGKOK, NOV. 24: LOY KRATHONG, THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS — Thousands of candlelit baskets drift down the Chao Phraya to let go of the year’s misfortunes.
CALIFORNIA IN NOVEMBER: CRANES, MUSHROOMS AND TWINKLING LIGHTS — Summer crowds gone, holiday rush not yet here — film festivals, citrus harvests and a whole weekend for sandhill cranes.
FOOD
FOOD NETWORK’S TOP 50 THANKSGIVING RECIPES FOR 2026 — The fan-favorite turkey, gravy, sweet potato souffle and Parker House rolls, all in one list.
THE SOUTHERN THANKSGIVING TABLE, DONE RIGHT — Candied yams, cornbread dressing, green bean casserole from scratch and soul-food mac and cheese.
LET A LEGEND COOK: THE BEST THANKSGIVING DINNERS TO ORDER — Commander’s Palace Creole turkey, Feges BBQ’s whole shebang and a kosher deli dinner that ships nationwide.
25 CLASSIC THANKSGIVING SIDES EVERYONE ACTUALLY WANTS — The sides win as often as the turkey: mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce, with make-ahead notes.
LINKS: OFFICE HOLDERS — EVERY SENATOR, REPRESENTATIVE & GOVERNOR, BY STATE | ELECTION 2026 — EVERY SENATE & HOUSE RACE, BY STATE | NEWS SHOW NIELSEN RATINGS
ARCHIVE — PAST EDITIONS BY DATE | FEDERAL RAG — Updated three times daily: 5:30 AM, 12:00 PM & 4:30 PM ET
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