Good Morning. Democrats won the House and Senate overnight, flipping Senate seats in seven states, including Kansas for the first time since 1932. Plus, Heat 2’s January start, a paper bag of moths, and a mobility plan for stiff dudes (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists).
Yesterday’s top link: Karl Bushby’s 28-year walk home
TOP STORY TODAY
Congress Flips
Democrats won control of both the House and Senate Tuesday, setting up two years of divided government. They’re projected to take at least 245 House seats, to the 218 needed, with about 75 races uncalled early today.
Senate flips came in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, which elected its first Democratic senator since 1988. Kansas hadn’t done so since 1932 (see how America voted in maps).
The new Congress arrives in January. Hakeem Jeffries is poised to be the first Black speaker, and Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans won’t be deterred. The big question: what can clear a presidential veto. Here’s what’s next.
The Tax Votes
Florida voters approved a sweeping property tax cut with about 62%, above the 60% required. The homestead exemption on non-school taxes rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, from $50,000.
A home assessed at $500,000 would eventually pay those local taxes as if it were worth $250,000. School taxes don’t change. Local governments could lose $12 billion a year by 2031, state estimates show.
In California, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires had 56% opposed at last count. In Florida, anyone not a resident by Dec. 31 waits until their fifth qualifying year. See how the exemption works.
Farley’s Elf
Before Will Ferrell, Buddy the Elf was meant for Chris Farley. A new oral history by Andy Richter, who had a small part in the 2003 hit, traces its years in Hollywood’s “development hell.”
It began in the mid-1990s with David Berenbaum, a lonely Philadelphia transplant sweating through an 85-degree L.A. Christmas. He’d been working in a lingerie store. Buddy came from Rudolph’s misfits plus Tom Hanks in Big.
He made it a son’s search for his dad after losing his own father young. Farley verbally agreed, but they never met. Elf Unwrapped has the rest, and here are 22 more secrets.
TOGETHER WITH LMNT
Why LMNT’s Co-Founder Started Mixing His Own Salt Drinks
Robb Wolf had eaten a low-carb, whole-food diet for years, but something was still off. His coaches pointed to the answer: he needed more salt.
The drinks on store shelves didn’t help: too much sugar, not enough electrolytes. So he mixed his own at home, which was messy and slow. Getting that homemade formula right became LMNT: 1,000 mg sodium and zero sugar per stick.
Try it risk-free: LMNT has a no-questions-asked refund policy. Orders through our link also come with a free Sample Pack of Citrus, Raspberry, Watermelon and Orange Salt.
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GET 1% BETTER
Why Mister Rogers Stayed at 143 Pounds
After a long, loud election season, here’s a quieter number. Fred Rogers got up at 5:30 a.m. and swam every morning, then stepped on a scale in his swimsuit, cap and goggles. For 30 years, it read 143. He took that as a gift: “I” has one letter, “love” has four and “you” has three. Lifelong fitness doesn’t get much simpler: one swim, one number, every morning.
The CIA’s Guide to Wrecking a Meeting
In 1944, the OSS, the CIA’s forerunner, wrote a field manual teaching ordinary people in occupied Europe to fight back by doing their jobs badly. Its advice for meetings may sound familiar:
Insist on “channels.” Never permit a shortcut.
Make “speeches.” Talk often and at length, with long anecdotes.
Refer it all to committees. Make them as large as possible, “never less than five.”
Haggle over precise wordings.
Re-open whatever you decided last meeting.
Its plan for movie theaters involves a paper bag of moths.
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THE MARKET
Business & Markets
▲ Mortgage rates start November at 7.07% APR nationally, with 15-year loans averaging 6.41% | The clean way to compare lenders
▲ 3M agreed to pay $7.35 billion over nine years to settle up to 120,000 forever chemical claims | The firefighting foam behind most cases
▲ AMD stock rose 6% premarket on an earnings beat as other chipmakers fell after the sweep | Its $13.4 billion quarter, per the filing
TOGETHER WITH ISSA
One Gym Chain Wants 4,000 More Trainers
Snap Fitness is looking to hire 4,000 additional trainers globally. Anytime Fitness has identified a deficit of about 1,300 coaches. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects about 68,000 trainer openings a year across the US.
Gyms say too many candidates arrive certified but unprepared. The revised ISSA Certified Personal Trainer course uses simulated client case studies, and its Career Connect platform links graduates with more than 23,000 hiring gyms. Most students finish in about 12 weeks, and every CPT offer has a job guarantee (get hired after certification or your money back, for U.S.-based students who meet basic requirements).
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THE OTHER 99%
5 Stories
▲ President Trump said nearly $4 billion in annual US military aid to Israel ends after 2026 | What changes, and what stays
▲ Georgia voters elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first Black woman governor of any US state | 9 candidates for governor who just made history
▲ Michael Mann, 83, still plans to direct Heat 2 in January after a superficial gun range injury | How the accident happened
▲ Cinemark, Regal won’t give Imax screens to the Tarantino-Fincher Cliff Booth movie over Netflix’s two-week window | Watch the latest Cliff Booth trailer
▲ OpenAI said GPT-6 Astra designed a working device, circuit board and software, without direct human edits | Where the humans still had to step in
Fun Links
Average salary in every state, mapped [Map]
Easy mobility plan for stiff middle-aged dudes [Guide]
Why 40-somethings won’t admit they can’t see [Article]
CT scan cracks 1583 shipwreck padlock code [Article]
Coconut yogurt for apple-cinnamon breakfast bowls [Partner*]
How a KGB spy learned 100 words daily [Podcast]
Brothy beef bowls with 35g protein [Video]
How Alan Ritchson wrecked his Thor audition [Video]
Why 1% Better? Most self-improvement swings between burning out and rusting out. 1% Better is the antidote. In five minutes each morning, we help you get smarter about the news, your health and your money, with small tips you can use to get a little better every day.
