Where midterms stand; Hurricane Nicole makes landfall; Thanksgiving inflation woes

Plus, scientists discover a material that's out of this world. [View this email online]( [NPR]( by Suzanne Nuyen Good morning. We might not know who will control the Senate until December, after a [runoff election in Georgia](. See [where midterms results stand so far]( then take a look at what we're following today: 🥇 First up [People brave rain and heavy winds to visit the waterfront along the Jensen Beach Causeway, as conditions deteriorate with the approach of Hurricane Nicole, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, in Jensen Beach, Fla.]( Rebecca Blackwell/AP Nicole made landfall in Florida this morning, battering a state that's still recovering from Hurricane Ian. It was a Category 1 storm at landfall but was [quickly downgraded to a tropical storm](. President Biden commended Democrats during a Wednesday address for a better-than-expected performance at the midterms. With Republicans still poised to win a narrow majority in the House, Biden also said he was [ready to work across the aisle]( and find compromises. ➡️ Biden now leaves for a week-long trip to Asia, where he’s likely to have a more receptive audience after his [party’s midterms successes](. ➡️ One highly watched race where Dems could see another success is in Colorado, where Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert's reelection bid is [under serious threat]( from Democratic challenger Adam Frisch. ➡️ Follow along today for live updates on the [balance of power in Congress](. As families gather in a few weeks for Thanksgiving, some might find it hard to feel thankful in the face of inflation. [Wholesale turkey prices have jumped 23%]( from a year ago, and airline fares in September were up nearly 43% from a year ago. 🎧 Listen to [how it's affecting celebrations](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- We take our roles of truth-teller, bridge builder and accountability holder seriously. So seriously that we launched a [Disinformation Reporting team]( this year to make sure you know what's really happening with this election, COVID and more. Every one of us plays a vital role in strengthening our communities. Here's something you can do today: help ensure that trustworthy information and programming continue to be available to everyone. How? [Donate today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's listen [A group of people with backpacks walk across melted areas on an ice sheet]( Ryan Kellman/NPR Leaders at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt are meeting to discuss ways to prevent the planet from heating beyond 1.5 degrees — a threshold that, if passed, would trigger devastating changes on Earth. 🎧 Hear about [three of these changes]( also called climate tipping points, or [read the story](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Food for thought Pixbay Two teams of scientists recently announced that they managed to manufacture a material that does not exist naturally on Earth. Until now, it was only seen in meteorites. It's called [tetrataenite]( and it could forever change the industrial balance between the U.S. and China. Here's how: ☄️ Tetrataenite's properties make it ideal for use in high-end permanent magnets that are an essential component of a vast range of advanced machines. ☄️ These high-end magnets usually require the use of rare-earth elements. The U.S. used to be the leader in rare earths until China found a huge deposit of these elements in the 1980s. ☄️ Today, China controls more than 71% of the world's rare-earth extraction and 87% of the world's processing capacity of the elements. ☄️ China's control of the market wasn't a problem a decade ago when it was a cooperative trade partner. But now relations are fraught. ☄️ It will be a long time before tetrataenite can disrupt any markets, but its discovery has the potential to help the U.S. fill a huge part of the magnet market and reduce its need for certain rare earths. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🛑 Before you go [The Mastodon app homepage is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen.]( Photo Illustration by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images - With Elon Musk at Twitter's helm, some users are looking for alternatives, and many are eying an app called [Mastodon](. - Twitter's not the only tech giant in chaos right now. Facebook's parent company Meta announced it [shed 11,000 jobs]( or about 13% of its staff, yesterday. 🎧 Listen to the [details of the layoffs](. - Nikita Dragun, a transgender beauty influencer and content creator, was [held in a men's jail]( after her arrest in Miami earlier this week. - One very lucky person is now flush with cash after winning the $2.04 billion Powerball prize. But winning the lottery can be dangerous. If you should get so lucky, here's [how to protect yourself](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Daily News emails. 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