The Stateside Beat — Afternoon Audio Brief · 2026-11-03

Afternoon audio brief for Tuesday, November 3, 2026 — tap play above to listen with slides and subtitles. Here's what happened:

2026 Midterm Elections Live Updates: Voters Head to the Polls to Decide Control of Congress

It's Election Day, and Americans are voting in midterm contests that will decide which party controls the House and Senate for the back half of President Trump's second term. All 435 House seats and roughly a third of the Senate are on the ballot, capping a contentious campaign season that offers the first nationwide verdict on the administration. A Reuters/Ipsos poll put the president's approval near a career low heading into the vote, and POLITICO's polling found about one in ten of his 2024 supporters planning to vote Democratic this time. Results — and control of Congress — may take days to settle in the closest races.

Trump Says US Will Stop Paying Israel After Year-End

President Trump announced that the United States will stop roughly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of this year, saying, "We've already agreed that by the end of this year we won't be paying Israel. Now we'll help Israel if they need it." The shift toward a new aid framework landed hard in Israeli politics, where former minister Gidi Eisenkot assailed Prime Minister Netanyahu and demanded answers after the announcement. Markets reacted too — Brent crude slid about 3 percent as traders weighed the geopolitical implications.

U.S. Launches New Attacks on Iranian Targets Days After Netanyahu Pressed Trump for More Strikes

U.S. forces carried out a new round of strikes on Iranian targets on the eve of the election, including hits on Qeshm Island, days after Israel's prime minister pressed President Trump for additional attacks. Officials framed the operations as defensive, and the president has talked down the risk of a wider war. Crude oil prices fell for a second day as markets bet on a diplomatic resolution, but energy-rich Gulf states are engaged in a flurry of mediation and bracing for a possible renewal of the Iran conflict.

Friend of Co-Pilot in Florida Plane Crash Says Audio of Last Moments "The Worst Thing I've Ever Heard"

Investigators are piecing together the final seconds of a Learjet that plunged into a Florida street during a flight from Texas toward the Bahamas, a descent that began with a "mayday, mayday" call. All aboard died: the pilot and co-pilot, along with Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp, a couple from Austin, and their two young children. A friend of the co-pilot described the cockpit audio from the last moments as "the worst thing I've ever heard." The NTSB's examination of what went wrong is just beginning.

Parts of Florida See Half a Year's Worth of Rain in 36 Hours

Florida's Space Coast and Palm Beach County are cleaning up after extraordinary rainfall — some areas received 20 to 50 percent of their annual average, prompting a state of emergency for seven counties. Deadly flash floods damaged roads, homes and cars across Brevard County, and neighborhoods in Palm Beach remain submerged. The same storm system brought flooding and tornado threats to other parts of the country on Election Day, forcing election officials in three regions to move polling places.

Job Openings Posted Big September Gain in Positive Sign for Labor Market Ahead of Payrolls Report

U.S. job openings jumped in September to their highest level since May, while layoffs fell — a fresh sign of resilience in a labor market that has settled into a "low hire, low fire" pattern. Quits hit an 18-month high, a signal of worker confidence. The data lands ahead of Friday's October payrolls report and gave markets one more variable ahead of tonight's election results; stocks wavered, with Apple shares lower after its earnings disappointed.

Sources

The Stateside Beat Audio · 2026-11-03 · afternoon · Narrated edition, compiled from The New York Times, Reuters, PBS NewsHour, CBS News, The Washington Post, and CNBC.