Scott Colom at his victory rally. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenScott Colom at his victory rally. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesFirst Thing: Mississippi turns blue as Scott Colom unseats Republican Senate incumbentDefeating Cindy Hyde-Smith makes the 43-year-old district attorney the first Black Mississippi senator elected since Reconstruction. Plus, the South Korean scarf vendor who has gone viral for telling people not to buy
Good morning. In a stunning upset after more than a week of vote counting in one of the country’s most reliably red states, the Democrat Scott Colom has defeated Cindy Hyde-Smith, the incumbent Republican senator, in Mississippi. He becomes the first Black senator elected in the state since Reconstruction.
Colom’s election capped a national wave of anger at Donald Trump’s administration, sweeping away Republicans in places where Democrats had not been competitive in decades. With the addition of Colom, Democrats will hold at least 55 seats in the Senate, the party’s largest midterm gain since 1986.
What did Colom say about his victory? Colom, a 43-year-old district attorney, said there had been times when his long-shot campaign felt defeated but “I had to have faith”. He told supporters: “My commitment to you, each and every one of you, is that first I’m going to treat your children like I want my children to be treated. I’m going to treat your parents the way I want my parents to be treated. I’m gonna treat your future the way I want my future to be.”
How have Democrats responded to a White House threat? Robert Garcia, the ranking member of the oversight committee in the House of Representatives said it appeared Donald Trump had “something to hide” after the White House threatened criminal investigations over the party’s planned scrutiny of the administration. Garcia said in a statement that Congress’s authority came from article I of the constitution, “not from the permission of the White House”.
View image in fullscreenJensen Huang. Photograph: Manami Yamada/ReutersNvidia’s board of directors has met to decide whether to oust Jensen Huang as CEO of the world’s most valuable chip company, according to reports, after a tumultuous week in which the executive and co-founder of the company admitted to having a romantic relationship with a woman who is alleged to be a Chinese spy. Huang’s position became more tenuous late on Wednesday after it was reported by the New York Times that Huang had a separate extramarital affair with a company employee. Our global technology editor, Dan Milmo, explains what is happening in our Today in Focus podcast.
View image in fullscreenFrom left: Nancy Pelosi, Steven Horsford and Haley Stevens, who all failed to vote. Composite: Getty Images, BloombergDemocratic lawmakers expressed outrage at nearly a dozen of their colleagues for missing a vote Tuesday evening to impeach the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, allowing Republicans to defeat the effort. Eleven Democrats missed the key procedural vote on the impeachment effort, which failed by just seven votes. “You should show up and do your job,” Abdul El-Sayed, the senator-elect of Michigan, said on CNN, while Richard Ojeda, the representative-elect of North Carolina, said: “Shame on them for not showing up … they had an opportunity to finally get rid of this buffoonery.”
Why has a video clip of Hegseth gone viral? A US army sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier loudly reprimanded the defense secretary and his top staffers on Wednesday after some in the group were heard laughing and talking near the memorial following a Veterans Day ceremony. You can watch the video here.
View image in fullscreenEmergency personnel work at the scene of the building collapse. Photograph: Angelina Katsanis/ReutersFirefighters dug through the rubble of a three-story building in Brooklyn on Wednesday after it collapsed at the edge of a construction site, killing at least eight people and trapping others beneath the wreckage. Firefighters were called to the scene in the borough’s Flatbush section at about 4pm.
View image in fullscreenAlexander Darchiev. Photograph: Russian foreign ministry/EPA Russia’s ambassador to the United States has died aged 66. Alexander Darchiev took up the role last year.
The US could lose its measles elimination status under RFK Jr’s leadership, with the country in the middle of worst measles outbreak since 1991.
Average US heating bills are set to rise 7% this winter, according a report by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.
Starbucks baristas, students, elected officials and allies are holding rallies at more than 40 college campuses across the US to support the Starbucks Workers United boycott campaign as the union nears five years of deadlock with the company over contract negotiations.
Two skulls that likely belonged to enslaved people are being returned to Brazil after Harvard used them in eugenics studies. The remains had been outside Brazil since the 19th century.
A coyote that officials thought they had killed after it attacked a child has been seen alive in an LA neighborhood.
View image in fullscreenMarco Rubio looks on during warmups prior to a game in Atlanta. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty ImagesEthics watchdogs have questioned the necessity of the country’s top diplomat shuttling so often between Washington DC and Gainesville, where his son Anthony has a walk-on role as a running back.
View image in fullscreenCanned sardines. Photograph: Karl Tapales/Getty ImagesLauren Gould has been one of the protein-nibbling guinea pigs for this research task, and with the rise of GLP-1s making protein the crown jewel of the health and wellness world, here is the verdict on what tastes best. And if you want to round out your protein snack with a coffee, here is a guide to six ways baristas make great coffee at home – and one they all hate.
View image in fullscreenJane Wiedlin. Photograph: Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty ImagesThe incomparable Jane Wiedlin has written a memoir that even she herself suggests contains a bit too much information. Jim Farber speaks to the former Go-Go about industry sexism, living with bipolar disorder and the freedom of sex dungeons.
View image in fullscreenCharlotte Kirk at the Ocean’s 8 premiere. Photograph: AFF/AlamyThe British actor took up writing and producing to have control over what she stars in after a scandal involving some of the most powerful men in the film business. Emine Saner interviews her.
View image in fullscreenA man watches as oil washes up on a beach in the UAE. Photograph: APLorenzo Tondo reports on how, since the US war on Iran began in February, there have been hundreds of oil spills, posing a “generational” threat to wildlife.
Follow the latest from Cop31, where Greta Thunberg and John Kerry have been speaking today, with our live blog.
View image in fullscreenPeople ask private security personnel about the store’s operating hours. Photograph: SuhJeen Moon/SuhJeen Moon for The GuardianSeoul’s “scarf uncle” has become a South Korean sensation for a sales technique that consists of talking customers out of purchases. The combination of his affectionate bluntness and amusing selling style – coupled with praise for his looks – has led to him becoming a huge star on social media.
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