Midday Roundup: Pundits predict a GOP Senate win

Down to the wire. With Election Day now just hours away, the odds favor a GOP Senate takeover. But it won’t be a slam dunk, says political analyst Nate Silver. He told ABC’s This Week the nation’s moderately pro-Republican mood, combined with an anti-incumbent feeling, make the elections tough to predict. Silver now places Republican odds of winning control of the Senate at 72 percent. The New York Times says the GOP has a 70 percent chance, and The Washington Post says there is a 94 percent chance of a Republican takeover in the upper chamber.

Sunny days. Big Bird and friends celebrate 45 years of delighting and educating children and parents today. Studies show Sesame Street is the most “co-viewed” children’s show on TV, meaning more parents watch it with their kids than any other show. It broke ground in the 1970s by including characters of all races and ability levels, and it has remained a TV powerhouse despite the explosion of children’s programming since then. Children can still watch Sesame Street on PBS, but more than half of viewers watch it digitally on Netflix, PBSkids.org, SesameStreet.org, YouTube, Amazon, and other services. There are also more than 50 Street-related apps.

Warning signs. The Virgin Galactic spaceship that crashed Friday broke up in the air after performing a rudder maneuver too early, according the National Transportation Safety Board. The feathering system that rotates the rudders to stabilize the spaceship deployed earlier than it should have during the test flight. The error did not necessarily cause the crash, but it shows that something did go wrong just seconds before the craft appeared to explode in the air. The crash of SpaceShipTwo, designed to carry tourists to space, killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and injured pilot Peter Siebold.

Moving day. America’s newest iconic skyscraper, One World Trade Center, opened for business today on the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The 104-story, $3.9-billion office tower is already 60 percent leased. About 170 Condé Nast employees will move in today and be joined by 3,000 more in 2015. New York leaders tout the publishing giant’s move to Lower Manhattan as a sign that the area is finally becoming cool. “Condé Nast’s arrival puts a stiletto in the heart of the outdated notion that Lower Manhattan is stuffy and gray,” Jessica Lappin, president of the Downtown Alliance business organization, told The New York Times. One World Trade Center overlooks the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and an observation deck is scheduled to open soon.

Death-defying. Tightrope artist Nik Wallenda walked blindfolded across a wire between two Chicago skyscrapers without a harness or a net Sunday evening. The event included two walks: one up an inclined rope between buildings on either side of the Chicago River, and the shorter, blindfolded walk between two adjacent buildings. Both of them set new world records. Underscoring the risks taken by Wallenda, heir to the famous Flying Wallenda daredevil act, the Discovery Channel aired the walks after a 10-second delay in case anything went wrong. Journalists covering the event had to sign wavers saying they would not sue for emotional distress if they witnessed a tragedy.

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington and The Associated Press contributed to this report.