The Short List

Wed Nov 13 2024

Laura L. Davis | Audience Editor

@lauradavis

Republicans win the House, setting up two years of conservative control on Capitol Hill. Donald Trump visits President Joe Biden at the White House. And a rare November hurricane could be brewing in the tropics.

👋 Hello! Laura Davis here. It's time for Wednesday's news!

But first: Got your back. ⚽️ A soccer fan has a unique way of helping a friend who is blind follow along with the game. Watch the video here.

GOP now holds all the levers of power

It's Donald Trump's dream scenario: Republicans have won both the House and the Senate, giving the GOP total control over Congress for at least the next two years and creating a friendly path for the president-elect's priorities.

What it means: Their victory sets up a Republican trifecta in Washington for the next two years, laying the groundwork for Trump and the party to implement their priorities without major resistance. 👉 We break it down.

A new leader in the Senate: Sen. John Thune of South Dakota was elected to be the next Senate majority leader in a secret-ballot vote of 29-24, beating out John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida. Thune will succeed Mitch McConnell, who has led his chamber's Republicans since 2007 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history. 👉 More about the pick.

👉 Presidential transition updates: Trump picks Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Matt Gaetz as attorney general, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. See Wednesday's coverage.

Republican Sen. John Thune will be the new Senate majority leader.

Erin Woodiel, Argus Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A White House handshake

He's not moving in just yet, but President-elect Donald Trump returned briefly to the White House on Wednesday, meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Sort of awkward: Biden has spent months calling Trump a threat to democracy. Trump has repeatedly called Biden the worst president ever. But despite the personal animosity, the meeting was a post-election ritual signifying a peaceful transfer of power. 🤝 Everything we know from the meeting.

•	No tea: Melania Trump declines White House invite.
•	Trump wants to close the Education Department, but it's far easier said than done.

President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House on Wednesday.

Alex Wong, Getty Images

Real quick

•	How an 18th century sculpture could help a Scotland town in need.
•	Trump won over female voters. Are trad wives the reason why?
•	Sexiest Man Alive John Krasinski and the truth about what's sexy.
•	How will a Trump presidency reshape U.S. public health?
•	She's made hits for JLo, Becky G and more. Now, she's stepping into the spotlight.

📬 Wednesday is World Kindness Day! Sign up for our Humankind newsletter for a weekly dose of happiness.

Tropical trouble brewing

It's late in hurricane season – but not too late for another storm. A stormy area moving westward in the Caribbean is likely to become a tropical storm over the next couple of days and could become a major hurricane threatening the Florida coast next week. But whether it heads into the Gulf of Mexico remains to be seen, with several factors in play. It would be the season's 18th named storm and is in line for the name Sara. 🌀 See the full forecast.

•	More weather: Winter could bring blizzards, nor'easters, bomb cyclones.

The National Hurricane Center on Wednesday morning gave a broad area of disturbed weather in the western Caribbean a 90% chance of becoming a named tropical storm within 48 hours.

Provided by NOAA/NESDIS/STAR GOES East

Feds: School district failed to protect

A federal investigation found the Oklahoma school district that came under national scrutiny this year after the fatal overdose of an LGBTQ+ teen repeatedly failed to protect its students from discrimination and harassment.

What happened? In February, Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old student at Owasso High School who identified as gender expansive, died after an overdose that the medical examiner later ruled a suicide.

Protecting students: The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said it settled a complaint with Owasso Public Schools on Wednesday and will require the district to review and potentially revise its antidiscrimination policies to become compliant with the law and signed an agreement to ensure students would be better protected under the law in the future. 👉 What we know about the ruling.

A break from the news

•	🥘 A stress-free holiday: Order Thanksgiving dinner online.
•	🛍️ Here's when Amazon's Black Friday sale starts.
•	🛩️ The do's and don'ts of doing your business on the airplane.

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Say hi sometime! laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Takeaways from UFO congressional hearing: Here's what to know

Gubernatorial primary candidate Michael Shellenberger speaks during a candidate forum hosted by The Lincoln Club of the Coachella Valley in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on May 9, 2022.

On Wednesday, a new slate of witnesses provided fresh testimony to Congress on UFO sightings and what the government may (or may not) know about them.

READ MORE