Good morning.

Donald Trump has accepted the results of the US midterm elections as the system held up against attempts at election interference. His administration had waged an aggressive effort to sow doubt about the results in advance, but the worst fears have not been realized. “It was essentially too big to rig,” an unnamed Trump adviser told CNN, after Democrats swept into power across the nation on a “blue wave”. Trump made a public appearance the day after the seismic results – chiefly to talk about his new White House ballroom plans.

We have comprehensive coverage of the fallout from the vote. Dozens of Republican candidates directly endorsed by Trump lost their races, according to analysis by the Guardian, raising questions over the power of the president’s support. Pete Hegseth is increasingly looking as if he may take the fall for Republicans’ losses – with the war in Iran named as a key reason for the poor showing. JD Vance has already distanced himself from the decision to strike at Iran alongside Israel, while a Democratic-controlled Congress will probably try to constrain Trump’s future foreign adventure plans.

Robert Tait reports from Portland, Maine, on what the downfall of the near three-decade senator Susan Collins says about Republican unpopularity, while polling experts hailed a “great night” after correctly calling most key US midterm election races. Democrats gained hundreds of seats in state legislatures across the country, under-the-radar victories that may have major implications for life in America.

Voters not only deserted Republican candidates, but they also approved nearly every datacenter moratorium that was on the ballot. Colorado rejected a conservative effort to require police to cooperate with immigration officers, while voters in Nevada, Virginia, Missouri and Idaho passed or strengthened protections for women’s reproductive freedom.

It was a bruising night for Fox News, which suffered a ratings slump, and as Nick Robins-Early notes in this analysis piece, Elon Musk’s nearly half a billion dollars in midterms spending was a flop. The Democrats’ success was helped by popular anger over tech, AI and the super rich – life for billionaires could become much more difficult in newly blue America.

• Follow our continued live coverage of the election results and find our full midterms coverage here.

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, has tapped a former prosecutor involved in the Sean “Diddy” Combs case to head a criminal investigation into 2024 sexual assault allegations at Cornell University. James appointed the Cornell alum Jacqueline Kelly to serve as outside counsel and lead a “fair and comprehensive criminal investigation”.

Protesters to join nationwide march as France braces for day of strike action

Hundreds of thousands are expected to march in demonstrations across France as trade unions call for a nationwide strike expected to extend to hospitals, air traffic control, the post office, teachers and rail staff.

Emmanuel Macron’s final months in the presidency continue to be marred by domestic crises, as high school students protesting over poor teaching conditions have been joined by workers in weekly protests over the cost of living.

UK and Caribbean to begin ‘dialogue’ within next year after slavery reparations call

The UK has agreed to “structured dialogue” in the next year with Caribbean nations affected by the slave trade and its legacy. Gaston Browne, Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister, said there was a “consensus” in discussions between governments about a way forward on slavery reparations at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

A 10-point plan drawn up by the Caribbean Community’s reparations commission, which outlines the region’s vision for reparations, specifically asks for “debt cancellation” – not debt restructuring – and “monetary compensation”, arguing that former colonies’ “existing debts are intergenerational and are ultimately and intimately tied to centuries of colonial extraction”.

In other news …

• There is a second day of disruption to flights across Europe caused by bomb threats. This developing story is being covered in our Europe live blog.

• A helicopter crash in Miami has left one person dead and two others injured.

• South Korea plans to expand the operations ⁠of its anti-piracy unit to waters closer to the strait of Hormuz, its defence ministry has said

• A mother and a daughter have been killed in a grizzly bear attack, Canadian authorities have confirmed.

• An Italian chef in Australia, sacked for not putting pineapple on pizza, has lost his battle to get his job back.

Stat of the day: Donald Trump $2.7bn wealthier than when he won 2024 election

The midterm results may have dented his ego, and stock in Trump Media and Technology Group may have plummeted on the Nasdaq to its lowest ever level, but Forbes estimated in a September analysis that he is $2.7bn wealthier than when he won the White House in 2024.

The Filter recommends: The best blenders in the US – for smoothies, frozen drinks and more

Marian Bull tested more than a dozen blenders for budget, size, mulch factor, speed and whether they had plastic or glass jars. Here are the results.

Don’t miss this: Lab-grown meat was supposed to save the world. What happened?

We were promised a panacea for the climate crisis and a way to save our food system. So why is nobody firing up the chicken vats? Erin Somers went to find out.

… or this: Was one of the great novels of the Enlightenment written by a man who thought he was a werewolf?

Tobias Grey explores the curious tale of Jan Potocki’s The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, a book whose global humanism makes it relevant now.

Climate check: Warming UK seas could ‘fundamentally reshape marine ecosystems’

The seas around Britain and Ireland, particularly the southern North Sea, have been identified as “marine climate hotspots”, one of 20 globally to have warmed the fastest over 50 years. Their increasing heat could destabilise marine food webs, weaken ocean health and jeopardise food security by 2050, according to a four-year study.

Last Thing: Alligator strolls into North Carolina bagel shop

The 3ft-long reptile appeared to be looking for a meal before animal protective services safely removed it from the establishment.

Sign up

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected]