By any measure, Tuesday was a big night for Democrats, especially in Virginia, where they swept the top offices, including governor, and made strong gains in the General Assembly.
Here are some key takeaways from the biggest election night since President Trump’s victory a year ago.
It was largely a suburban rebellion, where more moderate voters rejected Mr. Trump and embraced Democrats.
Be it New Jersey, Virginia or Charlotte, N.C., Democrats rode a miniwave of victories that will give them energy for candidate recruitment and fund-raising heading into the midterm elections next year.
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Ralph S. Northam, a Democrat, celebrating his election as Virginia’s next governor with his family members at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., on Tuesday night.CreditGabriella Demczuk for The New York Times
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Tax law is complex, dense, boring—and one of the most important issues facing everyday Americans.
In an attempt to take some of the mystery and labor out of the major tax proposal from House Republicans, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is tweeting out all the issues he sees as problematic, based on an assessment of the legislation by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT). Casey is focusing entirely on how some Americans will lose out if—or, perhaps more likely, when—the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” becomes law.
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Photo via Senate Democrats/Flickr (CC-BY) Screenshots via Bob Casey/Twitter (Fair Use)
When the world looks at the United States, it sees a land of exceptions: a time-tested if noisy democracy, a crusader in foreign policy, an exporter of beloved music and film.
But there is one quirk that consistently puzzles America’s fans and critics alike. Why, they ask, does it experience so many mass shootings?
Perhaps, some speculate, it is because American society is unusually violent. Or its racial divisions have frayed the bonds of society. Or its citizens lack proper mental care under a health care system that draws frequent derision abroad.
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The New York Times|Source: Adam Lankford, The University of Alabama (shooters); Small Arms Survey (guns). Note: Includes countries with more than 10 million people and at least one mass public shooting with four or more victims.
Gliding to his second landslide victory, Bill de Blasio was re-elected on Tuesday as the mayor of New York City, overwhelming his Republican challenger, Nicole Malliotakis, and a handful of independent candidates in what he declared a persuasive affirmation of his progressive agenda.
Mr. de Blasio, the first Democratic mayor to be re-elected in a generation, since Edward I. Koch captured his third term in 1985, now has four years to further his goal of reshaping the city in his progressive mold.
“It’s a good night for progressives,” Mr. de Blasio said at a victory party at the Brooklyn Museum, with his wife, Chirlane McCray, and his son, Dante, at his side. “For the first time in 32 years, a Democratic mayor was re-elected in New York City. But let’s promise each other: This is the beginning of a new era of progressive Democratic leadership in New York City for years and years to come.”
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Mayor Bill de Blasio greeting a crowd at the Brooklyn Museum after his win on Tuesday. “It’s a good
We now have new governors-elect of New Jersey and Virginia — along with a whole bunch of new data on where the Democratic and Republican parties currently stand in American politics.
Election Day 2017 is just about in the books, with Democrats Phil Murphy and Ralph Northam winning the governor’s mansions in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively. The latter won the biggest and most closely watched race of the night, giving Democrats a shot in the arm after a tough electoral year. And plenty of signs Tuesday pointed to a very good night for Democrats.
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Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Ralph Northam, at a campaign stop in Burke. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)
Here’s what losing weight does to your body and brain.
During the first week, you may find it easy to lose weight by simply switching to a healthier diet. But as your metabolism adjusts, you won’t burn as many calories as you used to.
So losing additional weight will become harder.
Making matters worse, as the fat melts away, you’ll start to experience an increase in appetite. After a meal, fat cells release a hormone called leptin into the bloodstream.
This surge in leptin levels signals to your brain you’re full and should stop eating. But with less overall fat, people who lose weight show a measurable dip in leptin.
Johnnie Langendorff stumbled into the crossfire — a total accident.
Sunday morning was all routine until then. Langendorff — a lanky Texan with a fuzzy chin beard and the long horns of a bull’s skull tattooed across his neck — had breakfast. Then he was driving his truck on the dusty back streets to his girlfriend’s house nearby. When he approached the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, he noticed something odd.
As he passed the churchgoers’ cars parked around the white wood front of the building, he saw that one vehicle’s engine was running. It was a pearl-colored SUV, a Ford Explorer, he said. The driver’s door was open. A man clad all in black was walking toward the vehicle with a pistol. He was trading shots with another man holding a rifle.
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Johnnie Langendorff told The Washington Post how he helped race after the shooter who killed dozens of people on Nov. 5 in Sutherland Springs, Tex. (Dina Parkinson/The Washington Post)
About half of the victims killed in the worst mass shooting inside a house of worship in American history were children, including one who was only a year old, Texas officials said Monday.
Twenty-six people were shot dead during the Sunday massacre at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, a small, tight-knit town about 30 miles outside of San Antonio. Of them, 12 to 14 were kids, according to Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt.
Some of those children were members of a family who saw three generations — eight members of their extended family, plus an unborn child — all killed within minutes.
“We’re having a hard time,” Joe Holcombe, who lost children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, told NBC News.
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Crystal and John Holcombe were attending the church in Sutherland, Springs, Texas, with their children when a gunman opened fire. Crystal was killed but John survived. Their son Phillip, left, survived but Greg was killed. via Facebook
An armor-clad gunman opened fire inside a rural Texas church on Sunday, killing more than two dozen people in the largest mass shooting in the state’s history, officials said.
Twenty-six people were killed during the shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference Sunday evening.
“We don’t know if that number will rise or not, but we know is that’s too many and this will be a long, suffering mourning for those in pain,” he said.
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Emergency personnel respond to a fatal shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017. KSAT / via AP
Last summer, a blueberry farm in Oregon was desperate to solve its bird problem. The year before, the farm had lost more blueberries to hungry birds than in any previous growing season, with robins and starlings devouring 25 percent of its crop.
At the start of this year’s growing season, the 168-acre farm installed six Agrilaser Autonomics—which are automated laser guns mounted on a pedestal—and aimed them at its blueberry bushes. The devices shoot a steady green laser beam that sweeps across the bushes from side to side. Birds seem to mistake the sweep of the laser for a predator’s approach, and take flight whenever it comes near.
Bird Control Group, the company that manufactures the lasers, says the devices have reduced the number of birds on the blueberry farm by 99 percent, from an average of 1,500 birds to just a handful. The farm estimates it has saved about 262,500 kilograms (578,713 pounds) of blueberries, worth US $99,733, as a result.
Film and Writing Festival for Comedy. Showcasing best of comedy short films at the FEEDBACK Film Festival. Plus, showcasing best of comedy novels, short stories, poems, screenplays (TV, short, feature) at the festival performed by professional actors.
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James' World 2 