Hour in Review — 2026-11-02 23:00 UTC 26 sources
The eve of the US midterms dominated the hour. Polymarket and Kalshi prices point to a clear Democratic edge 1, and Democrats are already laying groundwork for investigations of the administration 2. Trump's closing pitch centered on repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool 3,4, where he also pledged $5,000 to every adult if Republicans prevail 5. The more consequential thread is federal pressure on election administration. The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to force California to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizen voters, a move local officials warned could halt counting 6. The department also announced election-crime charges against 63 people 7, and a federal judge is weighing whether to block it from deploying federal law enforcement as poll monitors 8. In Michigan, Democrats are managing fallout after Rep. Haley Stevens's fiancé endorsed Republican Mike Rogers 9,10, even as a Times/Siena poll cited by Larry Kudlow shows Democrats leading that Senate race by 11 points 11. Signals on Iran conflict. Emerging-market currencies rose and oil fell after Iran's leader authorized peace talks 12, and Brent closed near $104, down from a $120 peak during the Iran war 13. Yet Iran's foreign minister reported no breakthroughs in Qatar-mediated talks 14, Gulf allies are preparing for fresh strikes 15, Trump said further strikes after the elections remain possible 13, and the Revolutionary Guard claimed it downed two US drones in the Strait of Hormuz 16. In markets, the Nasdaq 100 entered a correction as sentiment soured on Big Tech and AI 17. Apple beat estimates with $114.5 billion in revenue and record $57.58 billion iPhone revenue despite surging memory chip costs 18. Its shares still fell on disappointing guidance 19, and China sales missed estimates in John Ternus's first report as CEO 20. Palantir's revenue rose 96% to $2.3 billion and it lifted its forecast 21, and Marvell agreed to acquire Lumentum for $115 billion 22. In crypto, North Korea rejected FBI blame for the $6.3 billion Binance hack 23, and Elliptic found the stolen funds moved early through TRON 24. Two other items are worth noting. A Washington state resident died of bird flu contracted at a Yakima County dairy with infected cattle 25. Refrigeration systems failed at about 20 European supermarkets, and the Pentagon is investigating possible ties to cyberattacks in France 26.
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