November 04, 2026

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Hey hey. As that dry winter air sets in, a friendly reminder to set up your ChapStick infrastructure before it’s too late: one at your desk, one by your bed, one in your backpack, one in your car, and one you tuck into your puffer coat pocket for the day you inevitably lose all the others.

—Adam Epstein, Holly Van Leuven, Abby Rubenstein, Sam Klebanov, Dave Lozo, Matty Merritt, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

The US midterm results
Google turning off search for schools that reject AI
Your 2026 word of the year: “mogging”

Markets

Nasdaq

25,372.01

+0.82%

S&P

7,568.92

+0.36%

Dow

51,786.72

-0.38%

10-Year

4.952%

+6.0 bps

Bitcoin

$77,819.31

+1.46%

Shopify

$142.57

-8.74%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:30pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks ticked up yesterday as chip stocks rebounded and investors awaited the results of the US midterms (much more on that below). Meanwhile, Shopify tanked after the e-commerce platform missed its revenue targets for the first time in four years.

Blue tsunami

Democrats win control of House, Senate

Democrats taking control of the House projected onto a screen at James Talarico's victory party

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Last night, election analysts on cable news repeatedly zoomed in and out on their touch screens as midterm results trickled in. Their conclusion? It was a very good night for Democrats. Before midnight on the East Coast, news outlets called them flipping control of both houses of Congress and several surprising governorships from the Republicans. As of 5am ET, Dems were on track to have 228 House seats and 54 Senate seats.

Pundits viewed the election as a referendum on the Trump administration:

Voters cited the economy as the most important issue, with a majority disapproving of the president’s handling of it as inflation persists.
Gas prices were above $4 on average on Election Day for the first time ever, driven in part by rising energy prices tied to the war in Iran.

Who won?

Major winners include…

Jon Ossoff cruised to victory in the Georgia Senate race, likely fueling buzz about a potential presidential run in 2028.
James Talarico, a 37-year-old former teacher and seminarian, defeated Ken Paxton in Texas to give Democrats their first senator in the state in over 30 years.
Chris Pappas won in New Hampshire. He’ll be the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate.
Annie Andrews flipped the late Republican Lindsey Graham’s former Senate seat in South Carolina, defeating his sister, Darline Graham.
Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat to be elected to the Senate by Kansas voters since 1939.
Troy Jackson unseated longtime Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who was the only Republican senator representing a state Trump didn’t win in 2024.
Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in a contentious race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters in Michigan. El-Sayed will be the country’s first Muslim senator.

A few key contests, such as the Alaska US Senate race and the billionaire tax ballot initiative in California, Proposition 40, were not called as of 5am ET. Check here for the full list of results.

What’s next?

With Democrats in control of both houses, they’re likely to try to roll back the Trump administration’s most controversial policies. Trump has pledged to be “Mr. Veto,” though last night he told the New York Times, “We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” referring to Democrats.

Other items expected on the Dems’ agenda:

The blue team could investigate the Trump family’s business dealings, especially its growing crypto empire.
More scrutiny of the AI industry and prediction markets.
Attempts to rein in healthcare costs and reverse Trump’s tariffs.
They may probe companies that have aligned themselves with the Trump admin in the last two years, including several tech giants.

And what about the stonks? Markets typically jump following a midterm, and investors tend to like partisan gridlock. Stock futures turned positive early this morning, reversing losses from last night, although investors are concerned that data center buildouts are endangered by the blue wave, especially after the surprise wins of some Dem governors who are likely to oppose them.—AE, AR

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World

Tour de headlines

Disney Park full of people in front of Magic Kingdom.

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

🐭 Disney will reportedly lay off thousands of employees. According to Bloomberg, Disney department heads are asking some managers to reduce costs by 20%, part of another sweeping round of layoffs. The cuts could reportedly boot several thousand workers from the entertainment giant as new CEO Josh D’Amaro continues a cost-cutting spree since taking over the top spot from Bob Iger earlier this year. The company had already announced plans to cut 1,300+ employees across its marketing, tech, and HR departments.

🇺🇸🇮🇱 Trump claims he’s ending military aid to Israel two years early. President Trump said in a phone interview with Fox & Friends yesterday that the US would stop sending $4 billion annually to Israel at the end of this year, in part because the aid is an “easy” political target from progressives. Details weren’t immediately clear, but Trump is likely referring to the US’ agreement to give Israel $3.8 billion annually for defense and missile spending that is set to expire in 2028. Trump said the plan was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s idea, but the prime minister’s office declined to comment.

💰 More details on the $6 billion Binance hack. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said that the hackers who stole a record $6.34 billion from the crypto exchange last month set up fake job interviews with an engineer, in which the employee downloaded a coding exercise with hidden malware. The hackers also set up a fake developer tool back in June and got a separate Binance engineer to download it. Teng did not directly blame North Korea, but acknowledged that the FBI has linked the hack to a North Korean group. Binance says it has already replenished 98% of the stolen assets.—MM

GOOGLING THE SOLUTION

Google says schools can’t use Search without AI

Google search screen with AI Mode button

Matteo Della Torre/Getty Images

Google might stop being a verb used in schools striving to be AI-free. The tech giant won’t let schools use its search engine without AI features like AI Overviews, telling the New York Times yesterday that AI is “deeply integrated” into Google Search.

What else is new? Google is also turning off AI tools in student accounts until educators turn them on, reversing a recent change that made them available by default.

The Search clarification puts school districts that are determined to minimize AI use in the classroom—including the nation’s two largest, New York and Los Angeles—in a pickle they can’t Google their way out of. Critics like former FTC Chair Lina Khan accused Google of abusing its market power to force AI into classrooms. But Google said it’s giving schools “more choice, not less” by letting them choose which AI tools students can use.

Google pitches school-friendly AI

The company said it’s rolling out Guided Learning, a tutor-like mode for its AI features that prompts students to think through problems rather than spitting out final answers. It plans to allow schools to limit students’ AI access only to Guided Learning versions of tools like Gemini and Google Search.

Big picture: The adjustments come as parents, educators, and lawmakers worry AI degrades learning and threatens youth mental health.—SK

No longer as bougie

Rivian, one of Tesla’s biggest EV challengers in the US, surprised Wall Street with strong sales powered by the launch of its less pricey, but still sleek, R2 SUV, which has become its best-selling vehicle:

Rivian reported that Q3 revenue rose 38% from the same period last year to $2.2 billion.
It shipped 19,248 vehicles last quarter, up 45% from the year before.

But its EVs are still losing money. Rivian said shipping more cars is helping margins, but the only profitable parts of its business are software sales and licensing tech to Volkswagen.

Looking ahead: Analysts think Rivian’s performance hinges on its ability to quickly ramp up R2 production and release cheaper trims (priced $45k+) to compete with Tesla’s Model Y.—SK

News

What else is brewing

Only five of the 119 S&P 500 companies that the Wall Street Journal analyzed are using the term “superintelligence” in accordance with President Trump’s demands.
European flights were disrupted yesterday following a series of bomb threats, which turned out to be hoaxes.
Ferrari hiked its full-year outlook thanks to better-than-expected gains in its customization business.
3M announced a $7.4 billion settlement agreement in a lawsuit over injuries from “forever chemicals.”
The UK is reportedly planning to issue a formal apology for its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but said it would not pay reparations.
Jesús de Miguel, a forward for the Spanish soccer club Tenerife, died after a collision with the opposing team’s goalkeeper.

recs

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The best cruises globally for stargazing.
Why smiling may actually be good for your health.
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Play

Word Search: This week’s theme is “Desserts served cold.” It’s not an oblique commentary on revenge. It’s just pies and stuff. Play the Word Search here.

History trivia

Which of these is the oldest?

A) Tenochtitlan (the Aztec capital)

B) Oxford University

C) Machu Picchu

D) Gutenberg’s printing press

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Answer

Oxford University. Teaching existed there in some form in 1096. Tenochtitlan was founded around 1325, Gutenberg’s printing press debuted around 1440, and Machu Picchu was built around 1450.

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: oblique, meaning “indirect or not straightforward.” Thanks to Walt from Ann Arbor, MI, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

Written by Adam Epstein, Holly Van Leuven, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Dave Lozo, Abigail Rubenstein, and Neal Freyman

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☕ Blue tsunami