Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Voting is underway in the midterm elections, with control of both chambers of Congress at stake. This morning’s edition reports the contest before results are available.

• The choices: All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot, alongside 36 governorships and numerous state and local contests.
• The stakes: A Democratic majority in either chamber could block legislation and expand oversight of the administration. Republican control would give President Trump a clearer path to pursuing his agenda.
• The outlook: Polls and analysts favor Democrats in the House, while the Senate remains uncertain. Those expectations are not votes counted or seats won.
• The pressures: Living costs are a major concern for voters. The Justice Department is deploying election monitors nationwide as disputes over election administration continue.

The Supreme Court rejected the administration’s emergency request to separate thousands of California ballots while voters’ eligibility was checked. The November 2 order denies an injunction pending appeal; it does not end the underlying litigation.

• The request: Federal officials wanted ballots associated with suspected noncitizens preserved separately. California challenged the reliability of the government’s list and warned that eligible citizens could be affected.
• The timing: The application reached the justices the day before the election, after lower-court setbacks. The court rejected it without explaining its reasoning.
• The dispute: The government described separation as a way to preserve evidence while checking eligibility. California said the proposed intervention threatened lawful votes and state election administration.
• The procedure: The official order says Justice Elena Kagan referred the application to the Court, which denied it. It records no dissent.

The United States struck Iran’s Qeshm Island late Monday. U.S. officials described the action as limited and defensive, rather than the start of another large military campaign.

• The stated target: Officials said Iranian surface-to-air missiles had threatened U.S. assets. That is the U.S. explanation for the strikes, not an independently established account of every target.
• The location: Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm, an island in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
• The uncertainty: The initial report did not establish a full damage assessment or casualty count. A limited attack does not itself settle whether further fighting will follow.
• The diplomatic track: Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism about negotiations despite the strikes; no completed settlement was announced.

Russia attacked Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight, causing widespread outages. Ukraine also struck a Russian refinery, according to Russian officials, as both countries continue attacking energy facilities.

• The damage: Ukrainian energy company DTEK said three of its five thermal power plants were offline. Kyiv and several other regions experienced cuts.
• The scale: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. Railway equipment and facilities were also hit. These figures describe Ukraine’s account of the attack.
• The human toll: Separately, the reported death toll from Monday’s strike on an aid site reached 31, with dozens still missing.
• The competing positions: Russia says its targets supplied military facilities. Ukraine wants an energy ceasefire ahead of further U.S.-mediated talks; there is no confirmed agreement ending these attacks.

President Trump says the United States will stop its annual aid payments to Israel at the end of 2026. He described an understanding with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not a cutoff already in effect.

• The proposal: Trump put the annual amount at about $4 billion and said Israel no longer needs the money. He said the United States would still help if necessary.
• The existing arrangement: A 2018 agreement provides $3.8 billion annually through 2028. Ending it this year would shorten that timetable.
• Weapons sales: Trump said Israel could continue buying U.S. military equipment. Ending grants would therefore be different from halting weapons sales.
• The unanswered questions: The terms and implementation remain unsettled. Netanyahu has previously advocated greater self-reliance, but that does not establish how the current funding agreement will be changed.

Current and former officials say intelligence sharing across the federal government and with Congress has slowed or sometimes stopped. Agencies dispute parts of that account, leaving the extent of the disruption contested.

• The reporting: Eight officials or people briefed on the matter described problems involving assessments and congressional briefings. Their account is not a public audit of all intelligence work.
• The internal dispute: Sources said the CIA stopped co-authoring National Intelligence Council assessments, although other intelligence sharing continued. The council normally brings together views across agencies.
• The responses: A CIA spokesperson said the agency fully participates in the presidential daily briefing and the council’s work. An intelligence director’s office official said assessment output remained near historical levels.
• The significance: Joint assessments and congressional briefings help decision-makers understand threats. Disagreement over their operation matters even when some information continues to circulate.

A Yakima County resident with underlying health conditions died Sunday after contracting H5N1 bird flu. Health officials say the risk to the general public remains low.

• The exposure: The person had contact with an infected dairy herd. Officials have identified three human infections in the county since October.
• The other patients: The two other cases were mild and did not require hospitalization. Contacts are being monitored for symptoms.
• The wider risk: Officials report no evidence of person-to-person spread. People working around infected animals face a different exposure risk from the general public.
• The response: Health teams are monitoring dairy workers and using antiviral treatment where appropriate. The death is the first reported in the United States this year and the third since 2024.

Flooding has forced polling-location changes in multiple Florida counties.

• A confirmed move: Broward County has moved precinct T018 from Paradise Village Clubhouse to Tree Tops Park, at 3900 SW 100th Avenue in Davie, because of severe flooding.
• Where to go: Broward’s election office directs Election Day voters to their assigned precinct and provides an online precinct lookup. The change is local, not a statewide relocation of every polling place.
• The deadline: Broward polls operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; voters in line by closing time can vote.
• Mail ballots: The county says returned ballots must reach the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Its site also provides ballot-status checks and return-location information.

A child in Lewis County has died in connection with measles, state and local health officials announced Monday. It is New York’s first known measles-associated death in more than three decades.

• The outbreak: The state’s November 2 statement cited 178 cases as of October 24, including 170 outside New York City. That is a dated count, not a new total for today.
• The response: Health teams are tracing contacts, expanding outreach and helping families obtain vaccinations. The child’s vaccination status was not established in the announcement.
• Protection: State health officials say two MMR doses are about 97% effective against measles. People unsure of their vaccination history can discuss it with their healthcare provider.
• The context: An October disaster declaration expanded who could administer vaccines. The death adds urgency to efforts already underway to limit transmission.

Anthropic’s updated filing shows rapid growth alongside enormous costs as the Claude developer prepares to go public.

• Quarterly figures: Revenue reached $17 billion; the reported loss was $23.3 billion.
• Accounting context: Its nine-month loss of $104 billion included a $94 billion financing-related adjustment, not simply cash spent operating the business.
• Commitments: Computing and infrastructure obligations totaled $895.4 billion, including $70 billion over the next year.
• The listing: The planned Nasdaq debut remains ahead; a final offering price has not been announced.