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Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra wins California governor's race
For a decade, the political map has been largely stagnant, locked into the same half-dozen or so political battlegrounds, reflecting a polarized, evenly divided country. On Tuesday, voters took a wrecking ball to that map, electing Democrats in states that were long considered reliably Republican.Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Iowa — all states that President Donald Trump easily won two years ago — backed Democrats for the U.S. Senate and, in several of them, for governor, too.Though it’s unclear whether the results represent a durable tectonic shift, they at least open the conversation about whether the country may move beyond its geographic deadlock, and whether Democrats can compete in nominally red states in the next presidential campaign, most notably in Republicans’ electoral stronghold of Texas. "Even though Democrats haven’t won Texas in a presidential race since Jimmy Carter, last night’s historic results may entice them to make a real run at the state’s robust 40 electoral votes," said Texas Republican strategist David Polyansky. Only California has more electoral votes. "At a minimum, that would cost Republicans countless millions of dollars and untold manpower to defend against," he added. Such a shift would also signal a sea change in the way political parties function, said Joshua Huder, a Georgetown political scientist. For Democrats to hold onto their gains in the red center of the country, they would likely need to embrace causes like the farm bill that are vital to voters there but not on the mind of your typical liberal activist. "Are they willing to compete in places like Kansas, Iowa and Texas?" Huder asked of Democrats. "That fundamentally changes politics if they do." Elections 20 hours ago Analysis: Trump has defied political consequences for years. The midterms changed that health care 5 hours ago 5 healthcare fights Democrats could take on after midterms sweep The path to the presidency will not be redrawn overnight, Democratic strategists cautioned. Most of Tuesday’s results stemmed from Trump's deep unpopularity and voters' unhappiness with the cost of living. But Democrats’ widespread, statewide and down-ballot victories in conservative states and onetime swing-states like Iowa and Ohio allow the party to start building an organizational structure they’ve not had for more than 10 years.Democrats won their first Texas Senate race in 38 years, but they also knocked off three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and won control of the state House. It was part of an electoral shock wave that swept across the entire country, knocking out incumbents in long-safe conservative strongholds, flipping reliably right-leaning statehouses in places like Arizona and Wisconsin and delivering the biggest shift in political power since the post-Watergate election of 1974."It clearly was some type of a breakthrough; the level of discontent with Trump and his policies was so strong," said Alan Abramowitz, a political scientist at Emory University. He doesn’t expect it to last. "We remain very polarized, despite what happened in this election," Abramowitz added. "Supporters of each party perceive the other side as a threat to their way of life."But Abramowitz and others noted that the dynamic that fueled the historic election will still be around in 2028. Democrats have for months hoped to repeat the successes of the 2006 and 2008 elections, when they won back Congress and then, two years later, expanded their margins in Barack Obama’s first presidential run.Jim Messina, who worked on that 2008 campaign and managed Obama’s 2012 reelection team, said Democrats will now be able to build up their local apparatus in Texas while taking a careful look ahead of 2028."Texas is a hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars decision for a presidential campaign manager, and you’re going to wait as long as you can to decide," Messina said. That’s why the analysis begins now in states such as Ohio, Iowa and Texas, said Democratic pollster John Anzalone, President Joe Biden’s chief pollster and senior adviser in 2020 and pollster for Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns."What we’ll do is research it. We’ll go into these states, do polling and focus groups and see what the rate of return might be," said Anzalone, who polled for and advised former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s winning Senate campaign. "It’s all about the resources." Still, the Democratic wins were about more than resources. The party was outspent across much of the country, but still racked up wins, including gains among demographics that normally favor Republicans.Democrats nationwide fared better this year, relative to 2024, among white voters without college degrees, according to The AP Voter Poll and AP VoteCast, although Republicans still won them overall. This group was critical to Trump’s success in onetime battlegrounds like Iowa and Ohio after Obama carried them twice.The erosion of Republican support in rural areas was especially pronounced in Iowa, where Trump had dominated in his three presidential races. About 6 in 10 Iowa voters who say they live in a rural area or small town backed Republicans in 2022, but their vote was more closely split this year as tariffs and high fuel prices weighed on farmers' profits. Republican candidate Ashley Hinson won just over half of rural or small-town voters this year, The AP Voter Poll found, while Democratic candidate Josh Turek won about 4 in 10 voters in this group.Turek also triumphed in lightly populated, rural counties in eastern Iowa that no Democratic Senate candidate had carried since former five-term Sen. Tom Harkin won in 2008 before retiring. "We're in a very volatile political era," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is finishing his second term, during a news conference Wednesday. DeSantis will be replaced by Rep. Byron Donalds, a fellow Republican who was only narrowly elected as his successor despite the state's recent reputation as a conservative stronghold. "Things shift quickly, and leaders just got to recognize that," said DeSantis, "and don't act like whatever worked even two years ago in a campaign is necessarily going to work today or would work going forward."Republican strategist Kristin Davison said her party shouldn’t panic, urging members to dig into the results, learn what happened and chart a path forward."I think anyone immediately presuming 2028 implications as the dust settles today will need to make revisions," she said.___Josh Boak contributed to this report.
Cristiano Ronaldo calls time on Portugal career after 234 caps and 146 goals
Player says that he will 'hand back the No 7 shirt'Ronaldo ended up falling out with Jorge JesusCristiano Ronaldo has announced that he will not play for Portugal any more, ending an international career that spanned six World Cups and included a European title and the men's all-time scoring record.The announcement marked the end of a lauded career that began more than two decades ago before Euro 2004 and finished with him walking out on the national team after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus. Continue reading...
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in prison in national security case
Wong, 30, in prison since 2020, is only activist in Hong Kong prosecuted twice under national security lawExclusive: Joshua Wong laments city's fate from inside maximum security prisonThe Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty to "foreign collusion", his second conviction under a national security law critics say has been used to silence political opposition in the city.Wong, who rose to prominence as the teenage face of Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations, submitted his guilty plea in September. He had been accused of working with the exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law to urge foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China. Continue reading...
A Democratic-controlled Congress will likely try to constrain Trump's foreign adventures
But the president still has veto power, which he can wield to dictate policy over tariffs, the war in Iran or aid for UkraineIn a rare occurrence, a US election may have actually been decided by foreign policy. Donald Trump's war in Iran and international tariffs are seen as playing a key role in the inflationary pressures that drove so many Americans to vote against his party on Tuesday in what has been described as a "generational wipeout" for the Republicans.And in the coming months, the president is going to face severe headwinds on those policies as Democrats storm back into control of Congress, threatening investigations of some of his top envoys and Pentagon contractors, big fights over budgets linked to the Iran war, and greater scrutiny of US relationships with allies such as Israel. Continue reading...
'Yikes:' Uproar over report Hegseth's wife quietly cashed in with Trump-connected firm
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's wife is under fire from critics across the political spectrum after a report revealed who cut her checks last year.Jennifer Hegseth, a former longtime Fox News producer, was paid for consulting work last year by Watchtower Strategy, a Trump-connected Washington firm that also did work for Lockheed Martin that same year, Politico's Daniel Lippman reported via a post on X Wednesday. The payments showed up on her husband's annual financial disclosure, though the amount she earned was not listed.Watchtower launched in January 2025 and counts former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and several Republican operatives among its ranks, according to Politico. Jenniger Hegseth is also the daughter of a Lockheed Martin executive, and she joined her husband at meetings with GOP senators as he fought for confirmation.A Watchtower spokesperson told Politico she helped the firm navigate conservative TV media and "has not interfaced with any clients." A Lockheed spokesperson would not say directly whether the company still works with Watchtower."Secretary Hegseth and his wife are in full compliance with all ethics laws and regulations, and their sole focus is serving our warfighters, President Trump, and the American people," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to Politico. However, the line did not land with critics like Chris Meagher, who led Pentagon public affairs under former President Joe Biden."The quote about how Hegseth and wife's 'sole focus is serving our warfighters' in a story about her being paid by Kevin McCarthy's consulting firm was a nice touch," Meagher quipped on X.Luke Nicastro, a senior editor at The American Conservative and former national security adviser to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), reacted with a blunt "Yikes," adding that it's "astonishing the degree to which Hegseth embodies two of the dynamics—War & Corruption—most responsible for last night's bloodbath" for Republicans.Matt Getz, the former Florida Republican congressman, turned his fire on Hegseth directly."I'm a former member of the House Armed Services Committee. If Lloyd Austin's wife was working for a lobbying firm while he was leading the Pentagon, I would have exposed the wrongdoing," Gaetz fumed. "Wives of Cabinet members shouldn't be paid by lobbyists."Jennifer Hegseth did not respond to Politico's request for comment.
South Korea says it will expand naval operations closer to strait of Hormuz
Seoul to seek parliamentary approval to extend anti-piracy Cheonghae unit's area to about 650km from the vital strait after criticism from Donald Trump on Iran war supportSouth Korea plans to expand the operations ⁠of its anti-piracy unit to waters closer to the strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry has said, after pressure from Donald Trump to ⁠provide support for his war in Iran.The government is to submit a motion to parliament that would expand the Cheonghae unit's area of operation to waters near the port of Duqm in Oman, which ​is about 650km (403 miles) away from the strait. The motion also needs to be approved by ‌President Lee Jae Myung and the cabinet. Continue reading...
Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo announces retirement from international soccer
And now, Take 2: The new Met Gala exhibit will celebrate everyday garments and materials like jeans and puffer jackets, paper and plastic — and how fashion designers transform them.The new theme announced Thursday sounds about as far as can be imagined from the glittering, elaborate designs of John Galliano, the British designer originally slated to be the subject of the Met’s fashion exhibit next spring — before that idea was scuttled amid an outcry over past antisemitic statements.The replacement show at the Met's Costume Institute, "extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday," will be launched by the 2027 Met Gala, held traditionally on the first Monday in May. Using items in the museum's collection, as well as loans and acquisitions, the exhibit aims to explore "how designers rework familiar garments, everyday objects, and commonplace materials through craft, construction, material experimentation, and conceptual wit," the museum says.When the original exhibit was canceled, there was 'no Plan B'It is being assembled, as always, by the institute's head curator, Andrew Bolton. The idea had to come together quickly once the museum, along with Galliano himself, decided to cancel the scandal-plagued retrospective under pressure from donors, city officials and the Jewish community.In an interview this week, Bolton described the challenge of coming up with a new idea from scratch after the cancellation of the Galliano show. The institute had already been collecting Galliano designs for the original show, which had been announced with fanfare in late July. The museum had promised to confront the British designer's "derogatory conduct that fundamentally altered his career and public reception" — a reference to past antisemitic and racist statements. A month later, the show was scrapped entirely."I had no Plan B, to be honest," Bolton said. "There wasn't another exhibition already researched and ready to go." He said the new idea had occurred to him while he was working on last year's show, "Costume Art," but had remained merely "a twinkle in my eye."That previous show, he said, "sort of led me to think more about how we experience clothing in everyday life, obviously through wearing it but (also) through memory and movement.""Everyday clothes carry extraordinary amounts of meaning," Bolton said. "We have a favorite T-shirt, we have a favorite pair of jeans, and we wear them until they literally fall apart. And those meanings develop through wearing."The show looks at how designers make these garments into something different and unique. "I like the idea that designers turn these familiar things into these incredible sources of wonder," he said.The Met Gala’s hosts and dress code will be announced at a later date The spring exhibit is launched each year by the starry Met Gala, a fundraiser for the museum’s Costume Institute, where guests tour the show during cocktail hour. The most visible and photographed event on the fashion calendar is a much-coveted invite, drawing a mix of luminaries from the worlds of entertainment, business, sports and politics.The exhibit’s theme influences the evening’s dress code, which will be announced at a later date — as will the newest slate of celebrity hosts for the May 3 gala.One of the foremost critics of the Galliano exhibit was a past attendee, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who said she’d met many times with museum leaders to voice opposition. The gala would have, in 2027, fallen on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Menin said in August that the cancellation was "the correct decision, as the harm and pain this was causing was simply unacceptable."Galliano, long recognized as one of the fashion world's biggest talents, spent years as creative director of Christian Dior. He was fired when a series of racist and antisemitic comments from 2010 and 2011 went viral, leading to his conviction in an antisemitism trial in France. Galliano spent several years involved in public and private efforts to make amends. He made a comeback in 2014 when he was hired by Paris fashion house Maison Margiela, where he remained for a decade."I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it," Galliano said in a statement when his exhibit was canceled.The gala is overseen by Anna Wintour, Vogue's global editorial director, one of the most influential figures in fashion and a longtime supporter of Galliano."John's decision that the exhibition devoted to his work should not take place at this time is very courageous and a measure of the man he is," Wintour said in an August statement. "I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support."
Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Plea On Trinamool Rebel MLAs' Disqualification
Disqualification petitions have been filed against party MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim, Arup Roy, Sandipan Saha, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Shiuli Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Biplab Mitra, Javed Khan and Rathin Ghosh for their alleged defection after contesting assembly elections on a TMC ticket.
'People are terrified': Panicked calls as Trump's corporate allies fear pardons won't come
Some of America's biggest companies spent two years courting President Donald Trump. Now they are quietly bracing for a Democratic reckoning, and many doubt the president will protect them, MS NOW reported Thursday.On election night, as Democrats swept control of Congress, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, had a sharp warning: "Lawyer up" – and MS NOW reported that plenty of companies already have. Lawyers who handle congressional investigations at Washington's white-shoe firms say they have been fielding panicked calls from some companies that expect to be near the top of Democrats' target lists and have opened back channels to the party, according to lawyers and congressional investigators familiar with the matter."People are terrified of the reputational issues," said a lawyer whose clients have already been targeted by Democratic oversight. "At the end of the day, a lot of corporations don't believe there will be a blanket pardon — they believe there's going to be a pardon for people that Trump loves."More than a dozen lawyers and congressional staffers told MS NOW they expect most targets to cooperate with Democratic investigators to some degree. Executives are less worried about one bad headline, they said, than about a future Justice Department that could act on referrals Trump's DOJ is expected to ignore."The world is long, power shifts," said one lawyer. "If it's a company and it's a name that you've heard of before, it probably wants to be a company that you've heard of after the Trump administration is over."Clients also fear Democrats could use spending bills against them, for example by barring firms that took investment from a member of Trump's family from winning federal contracts.In Trump's first term, the White House stonewalled a string of House subpoenas. This time, much of the information Democrats want sits with publicly traded companies that answer to shareholders and are vulnerable to stock drops, and that makes them harder to keep quiet.The White House is preparing a defense. In August, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion extending executive privilege to some communications with private parties. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis waved off the coming probes as "sham investigations."A small group of Trump loyalists may simply refuse to cooperate. Elon Musk has warned Democrats he would come after them if they came after him, which one lawyer called "the middle finger strategy." Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he was prepared to issue preemptive pardons to Musk and others.But a pardon can't stop a civil suit to enforce a subpoena, and it can't prop up a share price. Tesla and SpaceX shares fell sharply on Wednesday."Companies that take a hard line and end up being held in contempt by the House will basically be gambling on the outcome of the 2028 election," a lawyer said.
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk begins second spacewalk
Kutryk and his SpaceX Crew-13 crew members took off for the International Space Station on Oct. 1 for a mission expected to last six months.
On TV

Black Doves — 2x1: "TBA" (Netflix)

Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent — 4x7: "Fireworks" (Citytv)

Law & Order — 26x5: "Rage Bait" (NBC)

When a college basketball star is shot dead after winning the championship game, Walker and Calvino uncover a trail of online vitriol that leads far beyond the internet; Price and Maroun face an uphill battle when the defendant claims self-defense.

Grey's Anatomy — 23x4: "Love on the Brain" (ABC)

Amelia sees a young patient with an extremely rare condition, and Bailey receives unfavorable feedback from a TA at school. Jo attends a birth trauma support group, and the Olympic floor is rocked by family drama.

Black Doves — 2x2: "TBA" (Netflix)

Black Doves — 2x3: "TBA" (Netflix)

Black Doves — 2x4: "TBA" (Netflix)

Black Doves — 2x5: "TBA" (Netflix)

Black Doves — 2x6: "TBA" (Netflix)

Ask This Old House — 25x6: "Smart Window Film; Walkway Garden" (PBS)

New Music

No new drops today. Go rediscover something in your old playlists.

In theaters
Drummer Boy (129 minutes)
As America’s fight for independence begins, a young drummer boy, an enslaved woman, and a divided family search for freedom. Through battle and loss, music carries hope in a deeply human story of faith and forgiveness.
Launching today

Nothing launching today. Every rocket is staying grounded and behaving.

Useless Fact

Prince Charles is an avid collecter of toilet seats.

The loonie
CAD → USD
0.7163
▲ 0.0017
CAD → EUR
0.6374
▼ 0.0011
Today In History
2024 — Donald Trump Wins 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, defeating Kamala Harris. He became the first convicted felon to be elected president and the second to win a nonconsecutive second term.
2013 — India's First Mars Orbiter Mission
India launched its first interplanetary spacecraft, the Mars Orbiter Mission, which was unmanned
1998 — DNA Testing Confirms Jefferson-Hemings Family Relationship
The journal Nature published a report that DNA testing had confirmed (still disputed by some) that a member of Thomas Jefferson's family had fathered a child with the slave Sally Hemings; the testing, however, was unable to definitively prove that Jefferson was the father. Read more about the Jefferson-Hemings paternity debate Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge IV in memory of his great-grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, his grandfather, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge II, and his father, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge III, 1986.71
1940 — Franklin D. Roosevelt's Unprecedented Third Term as US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented third term as president of the United States
1930 — Sinclair Lewis Wins Nobel Prize for Literature
Social critic Sinclair Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first American to receive the honour
1914 — France and Britain declare war on Turkey, 1914
France and Britain declared war on Turkey, widening the conflict of World War I
1913 — Vivien Leigh Born in India, 1913
British actress Vivien Leigh, known for her acclaimed performances as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche Du Bois in A Streetcar Named Desire, was born in India in 1913.
1911 — Birth of American Cowboy Actor and Singer Roy Rogers
Americancowboyactor and singer Roy Rogers—who starred in films and television shows, often alongside his wife, Dale Evans—was born
1872 — Susan B. Anthony Votes Illegally in 1872 Election
Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the American women's suffrage movement, cast a ballot in the presidential election, and she was later arrested for voting illegally and convicted in a trial she called "the greatest outrage history ever witnessed." How much do you know about famous suffragettes?
1838 — Honduras declares independence from Central America
Hondurasdeclared its absolute independence, seceding from the United Provinces of Central America
1605 — Gunpowder Plot
Celebrated with fireworks as Guy Fawkes Day, this English holiday marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, when Roman Catholics led by Robert Catesby tried to blow up Parliament, the king, and his family this day in 1605
1556 — Bayram Khan's Victory at the Second Battle of Panipat
Mughal power was restored in India following Bayram Khan's victory at the second Battle of Panipat in 1556.

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.