Americans Vote in 2026 Midterms; CNN Poll Average Has Democrats Ahead 52%-43% on Generic Ballot
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot. Polls close from 6 p.m. ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky to 1 a.m. ET Wednesday in Alaska, and some races may take days to call.
U.S.
U.S. Strikes Iran's Qeshm Island After Officials Say IRGC Fired at a U.S. Jet; Trump Says an Iran Deal 'Could Happen'
U.S. officials call Monday's strikes limited and defensive. Iran says it downed one U.S. drone and seized two more. Qatar says its mediation is still going as Americans vote in the midterms.
Judges Block Federal Noncitizen-Voter Lists and California Ballot Demands, Supreme Court Denies DOJ Bid, as About 1,000 Federal Monitors Deploy on Election Day
On Monday, Nov. 2, Judge Tanya Chutkan barred DHS and DOJ from sending states lists of suspected noncitizen voters. Judge James Boasberg barred federal demands that California set aside ballots, and the Supreme Court denied without explanation DOJ's request to set aside ballots from about 20,000 flagged California voters. Some state and county officials say federal monitors may not enter polling places.
Magistrate Judge Dismisses Complaint Against Two Ex-FBI Officials in Hunter Biden Testimony Case, Finding No Probable Cause and Calling It 'Weaponization'
Judge Zia Faruqui ruled from the bench on Nov. 2 that prosecutors had not shown that Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides knowingly lied to Congress, and he suggested the charges were rushed ahead of the midterms. The Justice Department said it disagreed with the ruling and was evaluating options; prosecutors can still go to a grand jury.
Federal Judge Dismisses Justice Department Suit Over Alaska Senate Certification for Lack of Standing; DOJ Appeals to Ninth Circuit
Judge Sharon Gleason ruled on Nov. 1, two days before Election Day, that the government had shown no way to find out which voters meant to pick incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan without breaking ballot secrecy. A separate federal criminal probe into how a second Daniel Sullivan got on the ballot is still going.
Learjet 60 Crashes in Greenacres, Florida, Killing All 9 Aboard; About 600 Nearby Residents Moved to Shelters
The Bahamas-bound business jet fell from about 35,000 feet within minutes of the crew reporting icing and turbulence; the NTSB is leading the investigation, and no cause has been found.
Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens Endorses Republican Mike Rogers Over Party Nominee Abdul El-Sayed Two Days Before Michigan Senate Vote
Stevens lost the August Democratic primary to El-Sayed. After a week-long dispute over an outside group's ad about Israel, she appeared with Rogers at a Detroit church on Sunday, and Senate Democratic leaders said they stand with El-Sayed.
N.C.
N.C. Voters Choose Between Justice Anita Earls and Sarah Stevens; Result Sets Supreme Court's GOP Majority at 5-2 or 6-1
Democratic Justice Anita Earls, seeking a second eight-year term, faces Republican former state Rep. Sarah Stevens on Election Day, while three Democratic-held Court of Appeals seats are also on the ballot.
North Carolina Votes on Cooper-Whatley Senate Race, Three Constitutional Amendments and 14 U.S. House Seats; Polls Close at 7:30 p.m.
About 2.8 million North Carolinians, or 36% of registered voters, voted before Election Day; registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters cast about 73% of those ballots, a count of party registration, not of how anyone voted.
North Carolina Early Voting Ends With 2.6 Million Ballots in State Count, Up More Than 37% From 2022; Aggregator Puts Total Near 2.8 Million, With Registered Democrats at 38.4% and Registered Republicans at 26.2%
In-person early voting ended Saturday, Oct. 31. The State Board of Elections count reported by WLOS was 2,612,249 ballots (the source of the 37% figure). The OnPoint Politics aggregator, as of Nov. 1, shows 2,816,820. Election Day voting on Tuesday, Nov. 3, has not yet been counted.
Stein and Legislative Leaders File Final Briefs Before Nov. 10 N.C. Supreme Court Arguments on Judicial-Vacancy and Board Appointments
Gov. Josh Stein is challenging two kinds of laws: one limits whom he can pick to fill appellate court seats, and the others change his appointments to state boards. His separate appeal over the elections board, now appointed by Auditor Dave Boliek, is a different case.
North Carolina Among 20 States Joining FTC Suit Alleging Dollar General Charged More at Register Than on Shelf
The federal complaint was filed Oct. 26 in Tennessee and cites tens of thousands of customer complaints. Dollar General says it will fight the case and that the FTC sued instead of continuing to discuss the company's counteroffer.
Stein Asks N.C. Supreme Court to Review Ruling That Let Auditor Boliek Appoint Elections Boards
Gov. Josh Stein's Oct. 21 petition challenges a 2-1 Court of Appeals decision from Sept. 16 that upheld a 2024 law moving elections-board appointments from the governor to the state auditor. Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican, defends the ruling. No response to the petition or Supreme Court action has been reported.
Finance
Brent Falls 7.63% Monday on U.S.-Iran Talk Signals, Then Rises About 1% to 2% Tuesday After U.S. Strikes on Qeshm Island
Oil recovered only a small part of Monday's loss after U.S. officials confirmed 'defensive' strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said tankers hit mines.
Dow Rises 0.41%, Nasdaq Falls 1.07% Before Midterms; Apple and Palantir Shares Drop After Topping Estimates
A 7.63% drop in Brent crude lifted the Dow on Monday while tech stocks fell. Apple and Palantir both beat quarterly estimates, but their shares slid after hours and before Tuesday's open on worries about Apple's profit margin and Palantir's contract growth.
Binance Reports $4.7 Billion in Net Withdrawals After Reopening Following $6.3 Billion Hack the FBI Attributes to North Korea
Binance says it covered most of the stolen crypto with its own money. Reports differ on whether that share is 90% or 95%, and its proof-of-reserves report is due Tuesday, Nov. 3 (UTC), after a delay.
Week Ahead: Midterm Elections, Apple and Palantir Earnings, ISM Data and Friday's October Jobs Report Follow a Third Straight Weekly Drop for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq
Forecasts for October job growth run from 45,000 to 65,000, and 55,000 is one figure among several. The Nov. 6 report comes out three days after Tuesday's election, and CNBC counts 138 S&P 500 companies reporting earnings this week.
Nasdaq Falls 2.86% as Intel Drops 28.6% on Weak Outlook and Amazon Closes Down 1.41%; Index Ends October Down More Than 5%
On Friday, Oct. 30, the S&P 500 fell 1.82% and the Dow fell 1.09%. Investors weighed AI spending against cash flow after earnings from Intel and Amazon. Outlets disagree on whether the Nasdaq 100 closed in a 'correction.'
OpenAI Cuts Funding Target to About $20 Billion at $1.25 Trillion Valuation, FT Reports; Nasdaq Falls 2.86% Friday
The FT says OpenAI lowered its ask from the $30 billion at $1.4 trillion reported in late September, and that its first close will come in under $20 billion. The news came on the Nasdaq's worst day since June 5, while rival Anthropic prepares a November stock listing.
World
Witkoff Says U.S. Will Mediate Ukraine-Russia Talks in Abu Dhabi Nov. 10-11; Kremlin Confirms It Will Attend
The announcement sets a date and place for a new three-way round that Russia agreed to in principle after an Oct. 21 meeting between Putin and Witkoff, while the two warring sides remain far apart on territory.
Russia Fires 76 Missiles and 289 Drones at Ukraine Overnight, Kyiv Says; Strikes Hit Power Plants and a Kharkiv Hospital
Ukraine says most drones and cruise missiles were shot down but few ballistic missiles were. Russia says it hit energy sites that power arms plants. The strike came a week before U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi and days after Washington cleared a Patriot interceptor sale that may not deliver until the 2030s.
Iran Says It Could Reopen Hormuz Within Two Days if U.S. Meets Its Conditions; Spokesman Says Messages Still Passing Through Mediators
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman spoke on the eve of the U.S. midterms, after a weekend in which President Trump said strikes stay on the table and Axios reported that Israel's prime minister pressed for action after Tuesday's vote.
Polish President Nawrocki Enters Constitutional Tribunal After a Judge Elected by Parliament Suspends Its Chief; Police Detain Protesters Outside
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government says it is restoring an independent court, while President Karol Nawrocki and the opposition Law and Justice party call the suspension an illegal takeover. The fight centers on whether five judges who never took their oath before the president can lawfully sit on the court.
Houthis Claim Six Attacks on Saudi Oil Sites and Airports; Saudi-Led Coalition Reports Intercepting Missiles
None of the six claimed hits has been independently confirmed; the claims came three days after Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials met Iranian leaders in Tehran, and Brent crude traded at $115.74 early Friday.
Iran Says Four Tankers Hit Mines on Hormuz Routes It Calls Unauthorized; U.S. Says the Main Shipping Lanes Are Clear of Mines
Iran has not named the ships, and no independent source has confirmed the four mine strikes. A separate tanker, the Louise 1, was confirmed hit by explosives that a small boat attached to its hull off Oman.
Analysis
Unbiased, evergreen deep-dives on the bigger questions — not breaking news.
What Fauci's Released Diary Documents About the U.S. COVID-19 Response — and What It Leaves Unresolved
A 1,141-page personal diary released by Sen. Rand Paul's committee is roughly one-third routine administrative logging; a minority of entries bear directly on contested questions, and a few conflict with contemporaneous public statements.
Eight Months of Mamdani: What New York's Record Actually Shows, and What It Cannot Yet Show
A claim-by-claim audit of what Zohran Mamdani has delivered, how New Yorkers judge it, and what the evidence does and does not license anyone to conclude about the rest of the country.