Wednesday morning news: November 4, 2026

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Senate races » Democrats take control of Congress as a blue wave turned into a blue tsunami in midterm elections.

Votes are still being tallied in some places, but it appears they will hold a comfortable majority in the House.

They will also take control of the Senate. Of the 100 seats in the chamber, Democrats will control at least 53, possibly as many as 56.

SOUND: [Applause]

In Texas, James Talarico has become the first Democrat that state has elected to the U.S. Senate in nearly 40 years.

TALARICO: We … We just took back Texas!

Polls had suggested a tight race against Republican Ken Paxton, but in the end, Talarico won quite comfortably.

Democrats could pull off a clean sweep of every battleground race in the nation… and then some.

In one of the big surprises of the night, Annie Andrews becomes the first South Carolina Democrat elected to the Senate in nearly three decades.

ANDREWS: I … I think we just made some history!

And as of early this morning, the senate race in Mississippi was too close to call. That state hasn’t sent a Democrat to the US Senate in roughly four decades.

Votes were also still being tallied in a big Alaska senate election.

Governors races » Democrats also made history in governor’s races across the country.

HINOJOSA: We did it!

In Texas, Gina Hinojosa will be the first Democrat elected governor there in 36 years, defeating Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.

HINOJOSA: Everything is bigger in Texas, including the shock of this win.

In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes the first Democrat elected governor there in 28 years. She’ll be the state's first black governor and the first woman to hold the office. And she told supporters, she’s ready to get to work.

BOTTOMS: I will be a governor for everyone in this state!

Voters in Iowa and Ohio also elected Democratic governors for the first time in two decades.

Ballot initiatives » Further down the ballot, Missouri voters shot down an effort to add protections for the unborn to the state constitution, while Virginia enshrined abortion in its constitution.

In several other states, ballot measures requiring school sports teams to be separated by biological sex appeared to be on track to pass, but nothing was called as of early this morning.

And in Colorado, a measure protecting children from so-called transgender surgeries had about 52% support, with roughly 70% of the votes counted.

And voters approved measures requiring U.S. citizenship to vote in West Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas and South Dakota. A similar proposal was trailing in Arizona, while California voters rejected a separate measure that would tighten voter ID rules.

Israel latest » The United States is ending billions of dollars of longstanding aid to Israel. WORLD's Travis Kircher has the latest from Jerusalem.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: President Trump announced that he plans to end roughly $4 billion of annual aid to the Jewish state.

Trump said the change was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's idea.

TRUMP: They no longer need it. We've been doing it for years—I've been doing it. But Israel is a very thriving country. They don't need it. If they did need it, I would say keep it going, but Bibi Netanyahu—we reached an agreement on that.

KIRCHER: The U.S. agreed to the annual aid package in 2016, and it took effect in 2019. Trump said the U.S. would still step in to help Israel when needed.

Meanwhile, many in the Middle East are on edge over the possibility of renewed U.S. strikes against Iran, though there is also renewed optimism that the war could end through diplomacy.

AL-ANSARI: [Speaking Arabic]

KIRCHER: A spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry says both the United States and Iran were reviewing proposals set out by mediators.

That came one day after the United States carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island. President Trump said the strike targeted a newly built Iranian anti-aircraft facility.

Reporting for WORLD I'm Travis Kircher in Jerusalem.

Ukraine death toll from Russian strike » Ukraine says the death toll from Russian strikes on an aid center and shelter has risen to at least 33 with dozens still missing.

Officials say people were lining up for aid at a former school in southern Ukraine when Monday’s attack began. Rescue crews have been digging through the rubble.

Russia followed with another wave of missiles and drones overnight into Tuesday, damaging hospitals and power plants.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: We will have much more coverage for you of Tuesday’s election, and what it all means.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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