Democrats sweep into control of Congress after historic midterm victories | First Thing

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Martin Belam   Good morning. Democrats have won control of Congress in a historic and dramatic “blue wave” in the midterm elections. The results have huge implications for the remaining two years of Donald Trump’s term in office, as Democrats flipped critical Republican seats across the country and also scored a string of victories in gubernatorial races and in districts that Republicans had tried to redraw to their advantage. Democrats have so far clinched 54 seats in the Senate and 225 House seats to take control of both chambers. The full results can be found here. Rachel Leingang wrote in her analysis piece this morning: “Democrats of all stripes declared victory on Tuesday night: moderates, progressives, populists, Democratic socialists. And they won up and down the ballot. These victories will provide avenues for Democrats to hold Trump accountable and act as a functioning branch of government, something voters have said they’ve been missing in Trump 2.0.” Here are the key headlines: James Talarico won the US Senate race in Texas, breaking a 38-year drought for his party in the Republican stronghold. Troy Jackson won Maine’s Senate race, toppling the five-term Republican incumbent, Susan Collins, in one of the biggest upsets. Abdul El-Sayed, the doctor and progressive insurgent, made history in winning the closely watched US Senate race in Michigan to become the country’s first Muslim senator. Jon Ossoff, cited as a potential presidential contender in 2028, has been re-elected to the Senate in Georgia. Chris Pappas, the four-term Democratic congressman, won New Hampshire’s US Senate race, making him the first out gay man to serve in the upper chamber. Sherrod Brown will return to the US Senate, as Ohio’s voters rejected the incumbent, Jon Husted. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability, won the race for US Senate in South Carolina, making her the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate for more than a quarter century. The former governor Roy Cooper will be the first Democrat to represent North Carolina in the Senate in 10 years, after defeating Michael Whatley. Adam Hamilton won in Kansas to become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1932. Gina Hinojosa defeated the three-term governor Greg Abbott, shattering the Republican grip on the highest and most powerful executive office in Texas. The Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, will become the first Black female governor in the US after winning the gubernatorial race in Georgia. Deb Haaland, the interior secretary under Joe Biden, has been elected governor of New Mexico and will become the first Native American woman to govern a US state. Rob Sand has been elected governor of Iowa. Josh Turek won the US Senate race there. Amy Acton was elected governor of Ohio after an ugly contest in which her rival Vivek Ramaswamy spent millions of dollars on deeply personal attack ads featuring her estranged mother. Xavier Becerra, the Democratic former health and human services secretary, was elected governor of California. The Republican Ashley Moody fended off a challenge from Angie Nixon, a Democratic socialist, to win Florida’s special election and retain her seat in the US Senate. The Trump-endorsed Republican Byron Donalds will be the next governor of Florida, and its first Black leader, after defeating the Democrat David Jolly. Follow our live coverage of the election results and our full midterms coverage here.

In other news … A police officer and a sniffer dog inspect an airplane. Photograph: Forta/Reuters Seven planes across Europe were searched or diverted after a series of bomb threats were made to passenger flights, prompting questions as to whether there was any coordination behind the warnings. Donald Trump has said the US will end military aid to Israel at the end of this year, in a surprise election day announcement. Babies are more likely to have heart defects from Louisiana’s areas with industrial pollution, a study has found. A US man has been charged with mailing hundreds of letters containing powder to officials before the midterms. The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee is in the advanced stages of setting up an entity to sell a stake ⁠in the commercial rights for Team USA in return for capital, ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Nasa’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on Wednesday, burning up in the process.

Stat of the day: Design giant Canva to cut or relocate more than 1,200 jobs in major restructure Canva headquarters in Melbourne. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP Canva is cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs, representing 22% of its global workforce, as part of a restructure that includes laying off staff who helped build the Australian-founded design platform.

Well Actually: What is sad nipple syndrome and what causes it? Illustration: The Guardian/Getty Images In the absence of a formal clinical diagnosis, most people’s understanding of sad nipple syndrome has come from word of mouth or chatter online, but people everywhere are searching for the reason behind their sudden bursts of anguish or homesickness that can be triggered by something as commonplace as putting on a shirt.

Don’t miss this: Why tradwives are fleeing the movement – ‘I can’t undo my past, but I can warn other women’ Illustration: Peter Quinnell/The Guardian In recent years, some of the most vocal tradwives have left their husbands, renounced their religious faith and promoted financial independence. Lucy Knight seeks to find out what is behind this sudden and seismic shift.

… or this: They fell in love on The Simpsons and married in real life – meet the French Homer and Marge The Simpsons. Photograph: Fox They have brought TV’s most famous cartoon couple to life in France for the last 38 years. Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau tell Hannah J Davies all about their own personal love story.

Climate check: How penguin poo is making Antarctic snow melt faster Gentoo penguins. Photograph: Eric Marsh Researchers have found that the birds’ guano feeds algal blooms that absorb significantly more solar energy. Projections of Antarctic melting do not yet take this phenomenon into account, but it could be significant, particularly as penguins move south.

Last Thing: You can even vote from space! Anil Menon onboard the ISS. Photograph: Anil Menon/Nasa/Reuters Anil Menon voted in the midterm elections by casting an electronic ballot from the International Space Station. He said he filled out the ballot on his station computer and sent it to election officials in Harris county, Texas. Here’s the video.

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