Close Contests, Cruise Chaos, and Santa Claws

Good morning. It's Thursday, Nov. 5. Election results and retrospectives continue to filter in. First time reading? Join millions of insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.

Also in today's Digest: hundreds of cruise passengers are stranded in Cambodia (Need To Know), French fridge defrost foiled (Sci. & Tech.), stock markets rise following Election Day results (Bus. & Mkts.), meet Santa Claws (Etc.), and much more. 

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 Need To Know 

Tight Races in Red States 

Midterm election results continued to roll in yesterday, with Democrats winning 54 seats in the Senate and 240 seats in the House as of this writing. The party also holds a narrow lead in some races previously considered GOP strongholds. 

In Mississippi, Scott Colom (D) leads incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) by 1,138 votes with 96% of ballots tallied. The Colom campaign estimates roughly 15,000 affidavit ballots remain uncounted. To cure those provisional ballots, voters must present approved ID by Nov. 10 ahead of a Nov. 13 county certification deadline. 

In Alaska, Mary Peltola (D) holds a 637-vote advantage over incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R) with around 75% of ballots counted. The deadline to tally mail-in and provisional ballots is Nov. 18. If no candidate amasses 50% of votes, ranked-choice preferences will determine the winner. The Justice Department continues to investigate allegations of a decoy candidate. 

In the House, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R, CO-4) trails Eileen Laubacher (D) by 3,252 votes with around 88% of ballots tallied. Richard Ojeda (D) defeated incumbent Rep. Richard Hudson (R, NC-9). In the wake of Democratic victories, Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4) reportedly told staffers he will not run for minority leader next year. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance publicly attributed GOP losses to the Iran war. 

See all results here.

CVS Breaks Up

CVS Health, one of the nation’s largest healthcare conglomerates, announced plans yesterday to split into two publicly traded companies, separating its pharmacy and insurance arms. The move comes amid growing scrutiny from lawmakers over whether healthcare consolidation is raising patient costs. Shares closed down 12.6%.

The planned split follows decades of acquisitions, including a roughly $78B purchase of health insurer Aetna in 2018. The expansion put CVS at the center of a growing debate over potential conflicts of interest when companies control multiple parts of the healthcare system. Tennessee and Arkansas recently passed laws barring companies from both negotiating drug prices and owning pharmacies in the same state. CVS has sued to block the laws, warning they could create more pharmacy deserts (scroll for map). The lawsuits are ongoing, while at least 10 other states and federal lawmakers consider similar legislation. 

Other major insurers also own pharmacy businesses. UnitedHealth Group owns OptumRx, and Cigna owns Express Scripts. 

Odyssey Sets Sail

The MV Odyssey, a US cruise ship that suspended operations last week, has departed Cambodia with around 50 crew members aboard. All 203 passengers, mostly Americans, were left behind. See footage of the ship departing here (via YouTube); fast-forward to 2:09 for interviews with passengers.

Florida-based Villa Vie Residences cites higher fuel costs linked to the Iran war in its decision last week to pause operations. Fuel that historically cost $1.8K per cabin per month has ballooned to between $6K and $8K in parts of Asia, the company says. (One-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the vast majority to Asian markets. So why are US prices impacted?)

The announcement came roughly two years into a three-year global trip. Some passengers paid upward of $300K to reside on the cruise long term. Now, the ship has reportedly departed for Singapore after the lender took possession of the vessel.

 In The Know 

Science & Technology

> Roughly 35% of infants diagnosed with peanut allergies show no reaction during supervised oral food challenges, shedding light on the importance of confirming a diagnosis before long-term allergy treatment (More) 

> Cyberattack on several French blood banks is thwarted before it can raise temperatures to levels that would compromise blood samples; report follows news of cyberattack on European supermarket freezers earlier this week (More) 

> United Kingdom launches novel trial investigating whether simple blood tests can help primary care doctors detect cancer in early stages (More) | US health advisers endorsed separate cancer-detecting blood test in September (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.6%, Dow +3.0%, Nasdaq +1.4%) as Brent crude oil prices dip below $95 per barrel to hit their lowest point in two months (More) 

> Trade deficit decreases by 0.7% to $105B; imports and exports of capital goods like computers and civilian aircraft rise to all-time highs of $158B and $73.3B, respectively, per Commerce Department data (More) 

> Duolingo shares soar 26% after language-learning app reports 64.9 million daily active users in third quarter, a 29% year-over-year increase (More) | How Duolingo turned a free app into a nearly $8B business (More via YouTube)

Politics & World Affairs

> President Donald Trump reportedly floats possibility of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with advisers following Tuesday's electoral losses, anticipated congressional action over Iran war; Trump publicly denies considering the move (More) 

> Montenegro is on track to become the EU's next member by 2028, European Commission says, leading a pack of nine candidates including Albania, Moldova (More) | How do countries join the EU? (More)

> Russia and Ukraine confirm they will send delegations to Abu Dhabi early next week to engage in US-mediated peace talks (More) | See war updates (More)

 Explore 

Legendary singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell turns 83 this weekend, and we're exploring the legacy of the "Big Yellow Taxi" singer:

> Hear her 1969 debut performance at Carnegie Hall.

> Despite not attending, she wrote the definitive Woodstock song (listen).

> Watch a surprise performance, seven years after a brain aneurysm.

This is a preview of Saturday's 1440 weekly Society & Culture newsletter, which explores the context behind the cultural zeitgeist. Aren't in the know yet? Sign up here for free.

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Meet Nugget, the most introverted black bear.

The twisted true story of Guy Fawkes.

How Gen Z is reinventing Thanksgiving.

Should men pee sitting down or standing up? Science weighs in.

Clickbait: Santa Claws is coming to town.

Historybook: "Gone with the Wind" actress Vivien Leigh born (1913); Author and playwright Sinclair Lewis is first American to win Nobel Prize in literature (1930); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first and only US president elected to third term (1940); Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death (2006); Google unveils Android (2007).