Monday morning news: November 2, 2026

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Trump on midterms » Candidates across the country are making one final campaign push on election eve. Vice President JD Vance is in his home state of Ohio today, hoping to give Republican candidates a late boost.

On Sunday, President Trump campaigned in Iowa for Republican Ashley Hinson.

TRUMP: Just two days from now, the people of Iowa are going to elect Ashley Hinson -she’s phenomenal, by the way- to the United States Senate.

Hinson leads Democrat Josh Turek in the most recent polls, but it’s tight. Her lead is only about two points.

And hours later, the president stumped for Republican Senator Roger Marshall in Kansas, where the latest polls give Marshall’s challenger, Democrat Adam Hamilton, a two-point lead.

Democrat endorses Rogers in Michigan Senate race » Those are a couple of just a handful of races expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate. Another is in Michigan, where Republican Mike Rogers just picked up a big last-minute endorsement.

Haley Stevens, the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated in the Senate primary race, announced Sunday:

STEVENS:  90% of the votes I'm gonna cast are gonna be for Democrats. My vote for Senate, I am just one vote, as is every Michigander. My vote for Senate is gonna be with Mike Rogers.

Stevens’s comments came on the same day she attended a Sunday morning church service with Rogers.

There’s been tension between El-Sayed and Stevens ever since their primary ended. Stevens is a strong supporter of Israel, while El-Sayed has been a frequent critic of the Israeli government.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens’ endorsement of Rogers “a despicable betrayal.” President Trump called the move “very brave” and said he'd like to see Stevens switch parties. El-Sayed insists the endorsement won’t matter.

Other Senate races latest: Texas, Arkansas » Democrats in Texas are hoping this year’s elections will yield that state’s first Democratic senator in more than 30 years. Polls show Democrat Sam Talarico with less than a two-point edge over Republican Ken Paxton.

Both men were on the campaign trail this weekend, with Talarico proclaiming…

TALARICO: We are going to shock the nation, shock the world when we beat the billionaires and take back Texas.

Meantime, Paxton warned:

PAXTON: [If] we lose Texas, we lose America.

And in Alaska’s closely-watched Senate race, polls show Democratic challenger Mary Peltola with a two-point lead over Republican Senator Dan Sullivan.

Sunday, a federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification if Sullivan loses. The DOJ cited the presence of another candidate on the ballot who shares Sullivan’s name, a candidate the New York Times says Peltola’s campaign helped recruit to serve as a decoy, something Peltola denies.

GOP Senator Tim Scott on NBC’s Meet the Press:

SCOTT: You can’t trust Mary Peltola’s campaign and the collusion between her campaign and the DSCC.

DSCC is short for Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Democrats say there are plenty of races across America featuring candidates of the same name. The Justice Department is appealing the judge’s ruling.

Right now, Republicans hold a 53-to-49 edge in the Senate, and have the vice president in their corner to break any ties. That means Democrats need a net gain of four seats in Tuesday’s elections to take control.

Florida plane crash » Nine people are dead after a jet nosedived into a neighborhood in Palm Beach County, Florida Sunday afternoon, erupting into a giant fireball.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:

DESANTIS: Obviously this was a cataclysmic plane crash. It looked like missile going down. It left a big crater on the side of the road.

The Learjet had taken off from Austin, Texas and was on its way to the Bahamas. Everyone on board died. There were no reports of injuries to anyone on the ground, though hundreds of people had to scramble to find shelter, because the crash scene blocked the entrance to their mobile home park.

The National Transportation Safety Board says this is the U.S.’s second-deadliest plane crash this year. Minutes before the crash, the pilot reported ice accumulation on the plane and moderate turbulence. Soon after, the jet descended 27,000 feet over the course of one minute.

Iran attacks could resume soon » Fighting in the U.S. war with Iran could ramp back up after Tuesday’s midterms. The Guardian reports countries in the Middle East are braced for the worst.

Negotiators in Qatar spent the weekend trying to mediate a deal in which Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks... in exchange for the release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.

Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, has warned the U.S. against resuming attacks. But last week, President Trump hinted escalation could be coming.

TRUMP: It’s a question [of] when do I want to end it? Simply a question of when do I want to end it?

The U.S. has reportedly warned allies in the Middle East of a possible short but intense renewal of attacks on Iran.

However, the White House is also signaling openness to another path. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend -quote- “If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it.”

Congo Ebola deaths top 5,000 » More than 5,000 people have now died in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, the second-deadliest on record. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports:

BENJAMIN EICHER: The country’s health ministry has reported more than 10,000 cases since declaring the outbreak in May. About half have died.

And health workers are struggling to reach people in time. The World Health Organization says about a third of the deaths happened outside treatment centers.

Fighting and attacks on health workers are slowing efforts to contain the virus. Some workers have also walked off the job after months without pay.

The outbreak has spread beyond Congo, with cases reported in Kenya and Nigeria.

There is not yet any approved vaccine for the strain of Ebola driving outbreak. But early medical care can help patients survive.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

And I’m Mark Mellinger.

Coming up, the Supreme Court weighs how an old law that could affect privacy in the internet age. Plus, the discovery of King Tut’s tomb.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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