Wednesday, November 4, 2026
14 stories
Democrats swept the midterm elections, winning control of Congress in a broad rebuke of President Trump's second-term priorities. Trump himself suggested that his handling of the Iran war was partly to blame for the Republican losses. The result reshapes Washington's balance of power and sets up a sharply different legislative agenda.
Oil prices slid further on Wednesday as investors weighed two big forces at once: the Democrats' congressional sweep and the risks around Iran. Traders are trying to parse how a Democratic Congress might change Trump's approach to Iran and, by extension, global oil supply. The move extended a run of losses for crude.
Tehran is turning to guerrilla-style tactics to try to reassert its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global oil exports. The campaign is reportedly deploying everything from rocket-propelled grenades to limpet mines. The aim appears to be disrupting the restored flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf.
A little-known Chinese bank has emerged as a key conduit for illicit money flows tied to Iran and Russia, with China becoming a central hub for such transactions. U.S. officials are reportedly reluctant to crack down on it. The story highlights the tension between cutting off sanctioned cash and avoiding wider fallout in the financial system.
AMD beat Wall Street's expectations as it leans hard into a data-center-first strategy, and its shares soared on the results. The chip maker is positioning itself as the alternative engine of the AI infrastructure boom. The quarter underscored how much of the AI trade now runs through data centers.
A scramble for corporate AI results has created a bidding war for forward-deployed engineers, the specialists who take AI systems into real-world use. Demand is so intense that some are commanding paychecks of up to $1.5 million. Enterprises, AI labs, and consulting firms are all chasing the same small pool of talent.
Tech companies could risk breaching EU copyright law when their AI chatbots reuse news articles to generate answers, according to a top advisor to the EU's highest court. The opinion is not binding, but it signals how regulators are thinking about training data and output. It is the latest front in the fight between publishers and AI firms.
3M announced a $7.4 billion settlement covering up to 120,000 plaintiffs who say they were injured by PFAS, the long-lasting "forever chemicals" used in its products. The deal is among the largest injury settlements in U.S. corporate history. It marks a major milestone in the years-long legal battle over PFAS exposure.
CVS Health raised its full-year guidance after gains in its health-care benefits and pharmacy segments, while cautioning that costs remain high and the economy uncertain. The announcement comes as the company moves to split in two. CVS is one of the bellwethers investors watch for the state of U.S. health care.
The AI build-out is driving a wave of battles across the U.S. between homeowners and utilities over planned transmission lines on residential properties. Homeowners are pushing back as grid upgrades land in their backyards. The fights are becoming a visible friction point in America's race to power the data-center era.
Conservative justices signaled sympathy for Catholic schools in a case over whether Colorado Catholic preschools must comply with an LGBTQ nondiscrimination rule to receive taxpayer funds. The court appears inclined to make the schools eligible without the condition. The case is a significant test of the line between religious freedom and civil-rights protections.
The FBI is investigating an autism therapy provider that reportedly billed as much as $30,000 a day, following a Journal article examining the company's billing and collection practices. The case spotlights the soaring costs and patchy oversight in autism care. Federal scrutiny of therapy billing has been tightening.
More people are feeding one side of a family fight into chatbots for divorce advice, and their lawyers are not amused. The AI may return the legal answer you want to hear, but it will not necessarily hold up before a judge. The trend is adding a new layer of friction to already fraught proceedings.
Shares in Elon Musk's companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, fell sharply before the market opened after Democrats swept the midterms. The selloff was read as a defeat for the Republicans Musk had backed with hundreds of millions of dollars. It shows how tightly Musk's business fortunes are now tied to his political bets.