Daily Briefing: Trump wins.

Donald Trump will return to the White House after defeating Kamala Harris in an extraordinary comeback. Republicans have taken control of the Senate. And the balance of power is still up for grabs in the House. 

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Feeling election stress? At Paste BN, we coped with puppies.

Donald Trump wins the election in stunning political comeback

Former President Donald Trump, considered a political outcast after losing the presidency in 2020 and an attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, was elected to another term on Wednesday in a decisive and astounding victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

What happened: But Trump picked up North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with the Badger State pushing him over the threshold of 270 electoral votes to win the race. Follow Paste BN's live election results tracker.

• What else to know: Trump quickly picked up Florida, Ohio and several Southern Republican strongholds, including Texas. Harris won a group of states in the Northeast, stretching from Vermont to Maryland, as well as New York and her home state of California.
• How did Harris lose? The Democratic presidential nominee struggled to explain what she would do differently than President Joe Biden, a fatal campaign flaw that doomed her election bid.
• The race was both improbable and historic. Trump's return to the White House comes after he was impeached twice, survived two assassination attempts and was convicted of 34 felony counts.

Hearing from the candidates: Harris will come home to Howard University on Wednesday to address the results of the election. Trump declared victory in a speech last night in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Republicans have seized the Senate, too

Republicans have won control of the U.S. Senate and remain locked in a tight battle for control of the House of Representatives. All 435 House seats are up for election this year, and a handful of close matchups could make or break which party winds up with the majority.

Two targets where Democrats fell short on Tuesday in their bid to flip Republican-held Senate seats: Florida and Texas, where GOP Sens. Rick Scott and Ted Cruz won new terms.

More historic moments on Election Day: Sarah McBride will be the first openly transgender member of Congress after winning Delaware’s sole congressional district. And for the first time, the Senate will have two Black women with Sen.-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester representing Delaware and Sen.-elect Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.

More election headlines

• Russia was blamed for bomb threats at polling sites across 5 swing states.
• The Israel-Hamas War may have been one of the reasons a man attempted to enter the Capitol on Tuesday smelling of gasoline and carrying a torch lighter.
• Republican Jim Justice will replace outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin in West Virginia.
• In a contentious and nationally watched race against Republican competitor Mark Robinson, Democrat Josh Stein will become North Carolina's next governor.
• Shomari Figures will become the first Black person to hold the seat in Alabama's redrawn 2nd Congressional District.

How did abortion fare on the ballot?

Ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota had abortion measures on their ballots on Tuesday, with Nebraska taking on the unusual distinction of having two dueling propositions for voters to decide between.

Read from the Paste BN Network where some of the ballot measures stand:

• Arizona voters enshrined abortion access in state constitution. Arizona voters have overwhelmingly approved a measure creating abortion rights in the state, guaranteeing access to abortion two years after federal protections were erased. 
• South Dakota failed to pass an abortion rights amendment. Amendment G, a ballot measure establishing the right to abortion and outlining a legal framework for regulating abortions, will not be enshrined into the South Dakota Constitution.
• Florida's abortion ballot measure failed. That means that the current state ban – called the "Heartbeat Protection Act," which bans most abortions after the six-week mark after conception – remains in effect.
• Abortion is once again legal in Missouri, making it the first state in the nation to end a total abortion ban by voting, experts say.

📰 Non-election news to know on Wednesday

Rafael upgraded to cat 4 hurricane

Tropical Storm Rafael gained hurricane status Tuesday evening as it churned in the warm Caribbean waters on the way to the Cayman Islands and Cuba before heading for the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said. Rafael’s wind speeds had increased to 85 mph by 1 a.m. ET, and further intensification is expected before the hurricane makes landfall in western Cuba on Wednesday, the center stated in an update. Later Wednesday, Rafael will pass by the Florida Keys, bringing 1 to 3 inches of rain to the islands. Read more

Is another Fed rate cut coming?

After slashing its key interest rate by a hefty half percentage point in September, the Federal Reserve is expected to lower rates by a more measured quarter point Thursday and several times next year as inflation continues to ease. But if the Fed veers from that steady pace, it likely would be to reduce rates less sharply to ensure inflation keeps falling, economists say. Do they have the data?

Today's talkers

• It's cozy gaming season.
• We're excited to see these movies this holiday season.
• Here's a recap of all the deals that went down before the NFL trade deadline.
• Maybe it's time to clean your couch.
• Snickers Trees are back for the holidays.

Photo of the day: Pets do their civic duty

Furry friends joined Americans across the country on Election Day to help cast their votes.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.