Trump, GOP Close In On Electoral Sweep

Good Thursday morning. If you voted blue, you probably like Prince Harry. Voted red? You likely believe in UFOs. Here are some other offbeat polling notes as the dust settles. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

• Hurricane Rafael: Promising forecast

• Somalia: Loans canceled

• Bernie: Rips Democrats

• Interest rates: Cut expected

• Stranger Things: Final season

... and more

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Top Tips

1) The trifecta

President-elect Donald Trump's Republican Party will likely control both chambers of Congress when he returns to Washington.

• In the House: The GOP has a net gain of four seats and is currently pegged at 209 seats by NBC. That means Republicans only need to win 10 of the 39 districts uncalled as of last night to hold the majority while Democrats (at 187) would need to get 32 of them. Democrats believe they have a path via flipping a slew of seats in California, but it is a longshot. The GOP may not expand its current 220-212 majority much, but it should maintain it.

• In the Senate: Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin prevailed in their races despite Trump victories in their states, dragging down the GOP's Senate ceiling. Republicans have clinched 52 seats in the upper chamber with further gains possible in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona in that order of likelihood.

• The day after: Vice President Kamala Harris conceded in a phone call to Trump, then addressed her supporters. President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation today after also speaking to Trump. Trump's campaign said he has accepted Biden's invitation to meet at the White House in the coming days.

• Shut it down: Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Department of Justice are reportedly in talks about how to wind down the federal criminal cases against Trump. It is longstanding DOJ policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted; Trump has also said he would fire Smith and direct the next Attorney General to end cases against him. Trump’s legal team is also trying to get his Nov. 26 hush money case sentencing date canceled.

2) Berlin brouhaha

Germany's governing coalition is kaput.

• The news: Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired Finance Minister Christian Lindner, saying he had "betrayed my confidence."The move sent Europe's largest economy into political upheaval; Lindner accused Scholz of "leading Germany into a phase of uncertainty."

• Key context: Scholz's center-left Social Democrats have ruled in a pact with Lindner's Free Democratic Party and The Greens since 2021. But Lindner's sacking ends the so-called "traffic light" coalition, which had been roiled by tensions for months. Scholz's government no longer has a parliamentary majority following the move.

• Big picture: Scholz said he will call for a vote of confidence in his government early next year, a step that could trigger snap elections by March, several months before scheduled elections in September. Germany is headed toward its second consecutive year without economic growth and, like in other European nations, far-right politicians have made recent gains.

3) Only in New York

A strange story in the Big Apple has gotten even stranger.

• Catch up: Mickey Barreto exploited a legal loophole to live rent-free at the New Yorker Hotel for years. He paid for one night's stay at the Manhattan landmark, then demanded a six-month lease under a housing law governing single-room occupants in buildings constructed before 1969. When hotel management kicked him out, he sued and eventually won an appeal at the state Supreme Court. The hotel then refused to negotiate but could not evict him -- an impasse that meant he never paid anything.

• The case turns: Barreto was indicted on fraud and criminal contempt charges in February. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges he uploaded a fake deed to a city website claiming he had taken ownership of the entire building,then tried to collect rent payments from other tenants and seize the hotel's bank accounts, among other actions. Barreto claims the court ruling that gave him possession of his room technically made him an owner because the building was never subdivided.

• The latest: Prosecutors announced Barreto has been found mentally unfit to stand trial by doctors. A judge gave him until Nov. 13 to find suitable inpatient psychiatric treatment. Barreto claims the DA wants him hospitalized because the case against him is weak, but doctors say he does not fully understand the charges against him and the legal proceedings.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• Hurricane Rafael is unlikely to pose a significant threat to the Gulf Coast. The system reached Category 3 strength before hitting Cuba yesterday, causing another national blackout, but is expected to weaken considerably and could turn toward Mexico (More)

• A military judge reportedly revived plea deals for alleged Sept. 11 attacks mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and two other co-defendants. The ruling says Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not have the authority to void the deals, which spare the men the death penalty in return for guilty pleas (More)

• Five people died after a small jet crashed through an Arizona airport's fence and collided with a car on a nearby road. The flight was en route from Mesa to Provo, Utah, when it aborted its takeoff; the cause of the incident is under investigation (More)

World News

• The U.S. will cancel $1.1B in outstanding loans to Somalia. The agreement wipes out about 25% of the African nation's remaining debt and is the latest forgiveness deal granted by foreign lenders (More)

• Mount Fuji finally has a snowcap. The iconic Japanese mountain got a dusting yesterday, the latest date for its first snowfall of the year in history; the previous record was Oct. 26 (More)

• Australia’s High Court ruled migrants cannot be legally required to wear electronic monitoring devices and adhere to curfews. Government lawyers had argued the emergency laws were justified for community safety; the measures were in response to another court ruling prohibiting indefinite detention as an alternative to deportation (More)

Campaign News

• Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders blasted Democratic Party leadership. The independent, who caucuses with Democrats, said the party has "abandoned working class people" and took aim at Vice President Harris' "disastrous" campaign (More)

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will not seek to ban vaccinations if he gets a healthcare role in President-elect Trump's administration. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has reportedly signaled he will not accept a cabinet position; he had been a speculated candidate for national security-related positions (More | More)

• Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride will be the first openly transgender member of Congress. The Democrat won the state's only House seat; she is a former White House intern and worked for President Joe Biden's late son Beau (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes soared yesterday, closing at all-time highs following the election. The Dow Jones was up over 1.5K points (Dow +3.57%, Nasdaq +2.95%, S&P 500 +2.53%).

• The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates today. A quarter-point reduction is expected; Chairman Jerome Powell will make his first comments since President-elect Trump's victory (More)

• Canada's government has ordered TikTok to cease business operations in the country, citing national security. The social media platform, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, will still be available to Canadian users (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• Stranger Things' fifth and final season will debut next year. The Netflix science fiction series will have a plot time hop; it will be the first new episodes released since 2022 (More)

• Pro golfer Rory McElroy expressed optimism President-elect Trump can help finalize a PGA Tour-LIV Golf deal.He also said he believes Tesla CEO Elon Musk could play a role in negotiation; Trump recently said he could broker peace between the rival circuits (More)

• Bruce Arena is the San Jose Earthquakes' new manager and sporting director. The former U.S. Men's National Team coach has won five MLS Cup titles in his career; he also won five national titles at Virginia (More)

Quick Hitters

• Feel Good: A Canadian man suffered a heart attack that would be usually fatal ... but his loyal dog, Bear, sensed something was wrong and woke up his wife, ultimately saving his owner's life.

• Take Note: Having fewer friends may be good for your health. A new study found aging rhesus macaques are less likely to contract diseases when they limit social interaction, and researchers believe the same may be true for humans.

• Go Deep: College costs a lot of money these days. But higher education is getting cheaper.

• Incredible Find: A man lost his class ring while vacationing in Barbados. A freediver who attended the same university found it 47 years later and got it back to him.

• Life Hack: We hope you never need this one. But here are some tips for surviving a night in the woods without a shelter.

Watch This

The Wall Street Journal examines how Trump beat Harris.

Links

• How newspapers played Trump's victory 📰

• Raygun has called it a career 🦘

• Plastic pollution may have hit a tipping point ♳

• Moo Deng has a new rival 🦛

• Some incredible old Jeopardy! footage 📺

• Even the Roman Empire failed to conquer some places 🏛️

• Using crime novels to teach critical thinking 🕵️‍♂️

• Stir up some instant childhood nostalgia 🪀

• Bizarre animal smuggling stories 🐍

• Election Night television ratings took a dive 📉

Looking Ahead …

Ireland is expected to have a snap election on Nov. 29. Prime Minister Simon Harris' ruling Fine Gael party has a stable governing coalition with Fianna Fail and the Green Party; polls suggest he solidify that hold on power with opposition rival Sinn Fein struggling with internal disarray.

Question of the Day — Thursday Trivia

Yesterday’s results:

How late did you stay up for election results?

• I was out around midnight (31%)

• I went to bed early (30%)

• I never tuned in (29%)

• I never went to bed (10%)