The three raise their joined hands in salute to supporters
Hakeem Jeffries (C) celebrates with Katherine Clark (L) and Suzan DelBene (R) after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA
Hakeem Jeffries (C) celebrates with Katherine Clark (L) and Suzan DelBene (R) after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

First Thing: Democrats sweep into control of Congress after historic midterm victories

Good morning. Democrats have won control of Congress in a historic and dramatic “blue wave” in the midterm elections. The results have huge implications for the remaining two years of Donald Trump’s term in office, as Democrats flipped critical Republican seats across the country and also scored a string of victories in gubernatorial races and in districts that Republicans had tried to redraw to their advantage. Democrats have so far clinched 54 seats in the Senate and 225 House seats to take control of both chambers. The full results can be found here.

Rachel Leingang wrote in her analysis piece this morning: “Democrats of all stripes declared victory on Tuesday night: moderates, progressives, populists, Democratic socialists. And they won up and down the ballot. These victories will provide avenues for Democrats to hold Trump accountable and act as a functioning branch of government, something voters have said they’ve been missing in Trump 2.0.”

Here are the key headlines:

In other news …

A police officer and a sniffer dog inspect an airplane
A police officer and a sniffer dog inspect an airplane. Photograph: Forta/Reuters

Stat of the day: Design giant Canva to cut or relocate more than 1,200 jobs in major restructure

Doors the Canva headquarters featuring images of smiling people.
Canva headquarters in Melbourne. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Canva is cutting or relocating more than 1,200 jobs, representing 22% of its global workforce, as part of a restructure that includes laying off staff who helped build the Australian-founded design platform.

Illustration of sad nipple syndrome.
Illustration: The Guardian/Getty Images

In the absence of a formal clinical diagnosis, most people’s understanding of sad nipple syndrome has come from word of mouth or chatter online, but people everywhere are searching for the reason behind their sudden bursts of anguish or homesickness that can be triggered by something as commonplace as putting on a shirt.

Don’t miss this: Why tradwives are fleeing the movement – ‘I can’t undo my past, but I can warn other women’

Illustration of a tradwife throwing a Maga hat into a garbage can.
Illustration: Peter Quinnell/The Guardian

In recent years, some of the most vocal tradwives have left their husbands, renounced their religious faith and promoted financial independence. Lucy Knight seeks to find out what is behind this sudden and seismic shift.

… or this: They fell in love on The Simpsons and married in real life – meet the French Homer and Marge

Homer and Marge near the Eiffel Tower in The Simpsons.
Photograph: Fox

They have brought TV’s most famous cartoon couple to life in France for the last 38 years. Philippe Peythieu and Véronique Augereau tell Hannah J Davies all about their own personal love story.

Climate check: How penguin poo is making Antarctic snow melt faster

Two gentoo penguins in snow.
Gentoo penguins. Photograph: Eric Marsh

Researchers have found that the birds’ guano feeds algal blooms that absorb significantly more solar energy. Projections of Antarctic melting do not yet take this phenomenon into account, but it could be significant, particularly as penguins move south.

Last Thing: You can even vote from space!

Anil Menon points to an ‘I voted’ sticker on his chest onboard the ISS.
Anil Menon onboard the ISS. Photograph: Anil Menon/Nasa/Reuters

Anil Menon voted in the midterm elections by casting an electronic ballot from the International Space Station. He said he filled out the ballot on his station computer and sent it to election officials in Harris county, Texas. Here’s the video.

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