November 4, 2026  | By Katrin Bennhold |
Good morning, world. It has been a very good night for Democrats in the U.S. midterm elections.
The party flipped several key seats in Republican strongholds, including Texas, to win the Senate. After elections that were all about President Trump for many voters, Democrats are on the verge of controlling both chambers in Congress.
Also:
| Gulf countries fear a return to war A deadly attack in Ukraine Do animals grieve? |
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| In Georgia. Nicole Craine for The New York Times |
Stunning wins for Democrats
Democrats notched a series of sweeping victories in the midterm elections, as voters expressed their extreme displeasure with President Trump by ousting the Republicans who have backed him.
Although all results are not yet in, Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate, according to New York Times projections, and have more than a 95 percent chance of winning the House of Representatives.
Democratic candidates won Senate races in a number of Republican strongholds, including Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa and (for the first time in more than 90 years) Kansas.
In perhaps the highest-profile race of the midterms, for a Texas Senate seat, James Talarico, a 37-year-old state legislator, toppled Ken Paxton, a scandal-ridden Republican state attorney general who got a crucial Trump endorsement. Democrats also won the governor’s race in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years, in a seismic upset.
Elon Musk, who contributed almost half a billion dollars to Republicans and their allies in the midterms, financed more than $150 million in anti-Talarico ads.
In the House, Democratic candidates made significant inroads into Republican territory, including a seat in Kentucky, and were on track to hold a healthy majority.
“In sweeping and decisive victories,” said Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, a Democrat who won re-election, “the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame duck President Donald J. Trump.”
Democratic candidates have blamed Trump, and the war he started in Iran, for economic hardships across the nation. Republicans have portrayed their Democratic opponents as extreme on social issues as they played defense in what had been reliably red states.
Trump, for his part, had repeatedly urged his supporters to act as if he were on the ballot in the midterms. On Tuesday night, as the Democratic victories began rolling in, he said on social media, “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Trump told The New York Times in an interview that he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and was prepared to work with Democrats.
For more:
| The waiting game: The last polling places will not close until 1 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, in Alaska. Full results may not be known for days or longer. But it’s clear that voters were eager to have their say: Turnout appeared strong across the country.Historic firsts: In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, became the first Black woman to be elected governor in U.S. history. In New Hampshire, Chris Pappas’s victory will make him the first openly gay male U.S. senator. And in New Mexico, Deb Haaland will become the nation’s first female Native American governor. |
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| The Strait of Hormuz in May. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images |
THE MIDDLE EAST
| As Trump weighs a renewed attack on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, Gulf Arab officials fear that the fighting will be worse this time around. On the cusp of renewed war, more Iranians are calling for nuclear weapons. Israel shared intelligence with the U.S. asserting that Iran was considering using chemical weapons. Some U.S. officials were alarmed, others skeptical. Trump said that the U.S. would cut aid to Israel at the end of the year. After Israel’s election, opponents of Benjamin Netanyahu are facing a dilemma over whether Arab lawmakers should be asked to join a new government. |
OTHER NEWS
| A Russian attack that killed at least 31 Ukrainians at a school distributing medicine and food could be among the deadliest of the entire war. The U.K. Supreme Court will today hear a challenge to the government’s decision to outlaw Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian direct-action group, as a terrorist organization. Bomb threats targeted at least seven planes in Europe. All of the flights landed safely, and officials said that no explosives had been found. Poland beefed up security at its border with Russia in response to what it called “disturbing movement” that could be preparations for “armed incursions.” On a Caribbean tour, King Charles expressed “profound personal sorrow” and “horror” over Britain’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Drones are the top killer of civilians in Sudan’s war this year, according to the U.N. An anthrax outbreak in Africa’s oldest national park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has killed 30 hippos since September. Spain’s transport minister resigned nearly a week after a deadly train crash killed almost 70 people. |
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
| Ian Berry, the only photographer who documented the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, a turning point in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, died at 92. |
TOP OF THE WORLD
The most clicked link in your newsletter yesterday was about the Canadian comedy show “This Hour Has 22 Minutes.”
| SPORTS |
Hockey: Norway, Sweden and other countries said they would refuse to play Russian teams, as opposition to Russia’s return to international hockey grew.
Football: The Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel died after colliding with an opponent during a match.
| MYSTERY OF THE DAY |
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| Loren Elliott for The New York Times |
Do animals grieve?
Jane Goodall once watched a chimp stop eating and socializing after the death of his mother. African elephants have been seen returning to the body of a fallen matriarch, periodically prodding her with their trunks. An orca spent at least 17 days swimming with the body of her dead calf. Researchers are now studying grief in the lab, including looking for neurological signals in the brains of widowed coyotes.
| MORNING READ |
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| Daniel Rodrigues for The New York Times |
The Spanish port town of Ferrol has long been synonymous with Spain’s military. The Spanish Navy built ships there in the 18th century, and more than a century later, the future dictator Francisco Franco, son of a naval officer, was born there.
Now Ferrol is becoming known for welcoming Chinese industry. SAIC Motor, a big electric vehicle manufacturer, is planning to open a plant nearby. The project is expected to bring jobs, but some fear it might bring costs, too. Read more about Spain’s gamble on Chinese investment.
| AROUND THE WORLD |
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| Luis Antonio Rojas for The New York Times |
Celebrating Day of the Dead
Deep in the rugged mountains of southern Mexico, the dead returned home last week to Metlatónoc, a remote Indigenous town where ancestral beliefs remain woven into daily life.
For the Indigenous people known as the Na Savi, or People of the Rain, death is not an ending but a passage to the place where the dead dwell. And during the 10-day celebration, the departed return to visit with the living. Read more about their homecoming for the dead.
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| Click to watch. The New York Times |
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Gasp: Forget pretty pastels. These designers make frightening floral arrangements.
Explore: A personal curator in your pocket? Museums are hoping A.I. can make it a reality.
Uplift: Here are four ways to feel more hopeful.
| RECIPE |
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| Rachel Vanni for The New York Times |
This simple yet nutritious Provençal soup is made with wild greens that you might forage in the French countryside on an afternoon’s walk. Nettles, watercress and dandelion greens are great. If you must choose just one green, make it Swiss chard.
