The Washington Post

Wall Street applauded Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election on Wednesday, powering the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its biggest single-day gain in two years as investors bet that stocks would benefit from his return to the White House.

A Trump victory would likely result in the reversal of numerous policies enacted over the past four years aimed at making it easier for workers to join unions, labor experts say. If elected, Trump is also expected to try to loosen workplace safety rules, limit access to benefits and rights for workers in the gig economy and other low-wage sectors, and drop a ban on noncompete agreements that prevented workers who left their jobs from jumping to competitors.

As stress levels across the country mount on Election Day, the characters from Sesame Street are ready for group therapy. “Hi friend! Elmo loves you. And Elmo will remind you every day if you need him to,” Elmo posted from his own X and Instagram accounts on Monday. “Yes Elmo please I’m struggling,” responded one of his followers. “I’m hanging on BY A THREAD ELMO,” wrote another. “Can I check in with you tomorrow?” added someone else. The characters on America’s beloved children’s show have stepped into the void, offering comfort rather than commentary on social media. The power of nostalgia was at work.

Generative AI and the rise of conversational formats are opportunities for us to draw upon our long legacy of fact-based, thoroughly reported journalism to delight and inform readers in new ways. Our new AI product allows readers to ask questions about all our published reporting since 2016. In future releases, we plan to incorporate reporting from our video and audio desks, as well as commentary and opinions.

“How accurate is political polling given that in today’s world landlines are the exception rather than a rule, the younger generation does not answer their cellphones, and it seems the only people that do answer voice calls are old fogies like myself?” During the 2024 election season, 172 national polls were conducted using methods that The Washington Post deems high-quality. Those surveys wrangled opinions from about 260,000 Americans (or fewer, since some will be duplicates or panels that repeatedly survey the same people). There are 262 million American adults.

Interest rates are going down — but aspiring homeowners waiting for lower mortgage rates aren’t feeling relief. For years, wannabe buyers have waited for the Federal Reserve to lower rates after the central bank pushed them to the highest level in decades. People who bought houses at high rates are also eager for borrowing costs to simmer down so they can refinance and get lower payments. Yet the Fed’s move to start cutting rates has not sent mortgage costs down. Instead, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has ticked up for the last five weeks, clocking in at 6.72 percent at the end of October, according to the mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac. 

Social Security recipients, people who earn tips and many businesses could see lower IRS bills if all of Donald Trump’s tax policy ideas come to fruition. But they could punch a big hole in the federal budget. Overall, Trump’s total agenda has been forecast to increase the national debt by $7.75 trillion through 2035. Here’s how his plans would affect specific groups of taxpayers, and — according to estimates from the Yale Budget Lab, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Tax Foundation — what they would cost.

Breaking news: The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates on Thursday by a quarter of a percentage point, its second consecutive rate cut this year, as inflation continues to cool.

This week's episode of The Byline Season 4: Making An Impact features Timmy, an IT senior technician at The Post. Timmy was originally referred for a different role, but found his place on the Help Desk team. Now, Timmy helps Post employees with their tech problems, even our executive team while 30,000 feet in the air! We are hiring. Apply today: https://wapo.st/4cNNmN2 #washpostlife

Finding out who won the presidency may take days. The swing states that took the longest in 2020 and could be slow again are Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. If the race is close, other states may join the list. Here’s a quick guide to vote counting: https://wapo.st/3NXCoKS