Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, November 4, 2020:

PRESIDENT: WHERE IT STANDS

The presidential race could once again hinge on the outcome of three northern battleground states: Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. As of 7 am ET, neither President Trump nor Joe Biden has the 270 electoral votes needed to win. The president made an extraordinary announcement overnight, calling for the counting of outstanding ballots to be stopped and vowing to go to the Supreme Court. "Frankly, we did win," Trump said. That is not true as of this morning. In an earlier speech to supporters, Biden said: “We feel good about where we are.” One thing is certain: the “blue wave” that Democrats were hoping for did not materialize, as Trump was able to keep Florida, Texas, Ohio and Iowa in his column, according to AP calls. Biden did flip Arizona, and it’s still too close to call in Georgia and North Carolina, per the AP. CHEDDAR

CONGRESS: WHERE IT STANDS

The House of Representatives will remain in Democratic control. AOC and her fellow “Squad” members all won their races, Madison Cawthorn won in N.C. to become the first member of Congress born in the 1990s, and Marjorie Taylor Greene won her seat in Georgia to become the first QAnon promoter in Congress. Dems are losing the path to Senate control, as Republicans fended off several key challenges: Lindsey Graham won in S.C., Joni Ernst won in Iowa and Tommy Tuberville won in Alabama. But Dems picked up two seats of their own: John Hickenlooper won in Colorado and Mark Kelly defeated Martha McSally in Arizona. AP

RELATIVE CALM

Despite fears of unrest and hiccups at the polls, Election Day and Night went relatively smoothly across the country, with only isolated incidents reported. There have been fairly significant demonstrations in D.C. overnight, but no signs of widespread unrest or violence so far as states remain on high alert. AP

COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

U.S. coronavirus hospitalizations are now accelerating, particularly in the Midwest. Some 50,000 people are in the hospital with COVID-19 and the daily death toll is back above 1,000. That still remains below the summer peak for hospitalizations (about 60k) and the spring peak for deaths (around 2k per day). COVIDTRACKING

MARKETS GYRATE

U.S. stock futures have been all over the map, at first tanking on the prospects of a contested election, before rising sharply then settling back down. The Nasdaq popped 3 percent, a sign that, regardless of the outcome, investors are betting that tech will remain a good bet. CNBC

BALLOT INITIATIVES

In a major win for Uber and Lyft, California voters passed Prop 22, allowing gig-economy companies to continue to classify their workers as independent contractors in the state. Florida is the eighth state to adopt a $15 minimum wage, which it will gradually phase in over the next five years. Drug legalization supporters had a big night: Oregon will become the first state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin and will institute a tax on cannabis to help fund addiction treatment. (Oregon also legalized psilocybin -- aka magic mushrooms -- for mental health therapy). And recreational marijuana initiatives swept in the four states where it was on the ballot: New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota are all projected to legalize pot. ABC NEWS

WISCONSIN FOOTBALL ON THE BRINK

The University of Wisconsin has cancelled its upcoming game against Purdue on Saturday as the 10th-ranked football team continues to deal with a coronavirus outbreak. This is the second consecutive Wisconsin game to be cancelled, putting the Badgers on the brink of ineligibility for the Big Ten title. ESPN

SPOTTED...

...a humpback whale, breaching the water and nearly swallowing two kayakers off the coast of San Luis Obispo, Calif. The whale watchers were OK: SEE IT

NOLAN ON 'TENET'

Director Christopher Nolan has broken his silence on the box office results for his tentpole film, Tenet. While the movie opened to disastrous numbers in the U.S., it actually did rather well overseas, taking in nearly $300 million in the international box office. Nolan says that shows that the theater industry can survive COVID, but he worries that the studios will draw the wrong conclusion from the numbers. LA TIMES

LEFTOVERS: KANYE 2024?

Kanye West’s presidential campaign never really got off the ground, but the rapper has already hinted that he is setting his sights on 2024. West received about 60,000 votes across 12 states, far from enough to create the spoiler effect that some feared (or hoped). West posted a video of himself voting for the first time in his life in Wyoming: He wrote himself in for president but did not bother with any of the down-ballot races. SEE IT

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

Updated on November 4, 2020, at 3:18 pm with the CORRECTION: Your bleary-eyed N2K editors wrote in this morning's newsletter that Minnesota was one of the Northern battleground states that remained uncalled. It is Michigan that is still up in the air. The AP and others called Minnesota for Joe Biden. We regret the error.

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