Wednesday, November 11 | By Joshua Feldstein and Julia Boehning
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PRESENTED BY AMERICAN MEAT PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION
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It’s Wednesday, and more importantly Veterans Day. We thank those who have served or are currently serving! 🦅
👨⚖️ Are Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas staying put? The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Sophie Brams are set to discuss the future of the Supreme Court's conservative majority and Republicans' last-minute push to confirm judges. Insiders can click here to join "The Gavel" live at 3 p.m. EST.
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- Mississippi, Alaska latest ballot drop
- Trump speaks at Arlington National Cemetery
- Prediction market debate
- Veterans Day
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⏳ THE ELECTION WAITING GAME
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Colom, Hyde-Smith really getting down to the wire:
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AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt & Mariam Zuhaib
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The blue wave seems to slowly be washing over Mississippi, though its Senate race remains too close to call more than a week since Election Day.
Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom (D) extended his already slim lead by over 3,000 votes against incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
📺 WATCH: The senator told CBS News's Caitlin Huey-Burns she felt "optimistic" about her chances in a rare hallway interview on Capitol Hill yesterday.
Deadlines loom in the Magnolia State: Tuesday was the deadline for provisional ballots and for the state to receive mail-in absentee ballots. On Friday, the election results will have to be certified.
Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson (R) wrote on Monday afternoon that there were just over 2,800 absentee ballots remaining, and 75 of 82 counties in the state had uploaded their unofficial results.
Where it stands: According to DDHQ, 95 percent of the ballots have been counted. Colom has 470,366 votes to Hyde Smith's 467,225 (49.11 percent to 48.79 percent of the vote).
Colom's lead over Hyde-Smith has been one of the biggest surprises in this year's election cycle, and the Democrat called out election forecasters on Monday for not giving him a chance leading up to Nov. 3.
"At some point, we have to talk about @CookPolitical and other 'prognosticators' who had me and other southern candidates labeled as solid R for much of the campaign cycle," Colom wrote Monday afternoon on the social platform X.
🗳️ Read more on Colom's lead over Hyde-Smith here.
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➤ SULLIVAN^2 FALLS BELOW PELTOLA:
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After the Last Frontier's latest vote drop, Democratic candidate Mary Peltola leads Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) by 1.8 percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).
She also surpassed the combined votes Sullivan has with his challenger, Dan J. Sullivan, who has been dubbed "Decoy Dan." — and may have been recruited by Peltola's campaign as a spoiler.
As of Tuesday night, DDHQ projected that 84 percent of the vote has been counted. Peltola currently leads the combined Sullivans 118,926 votes to 118,703.
Ranked-choice: Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, which means if neither candidate holds 50 percent of the first-choice vote, the state will automatically hold a runoff election.
Trump's problem with "Decoy Dan": President Trump has had his questions over the validity of Alaska's Senate race over the first-choice voting system and Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot.
Ahead of midterms, Trump said Peltola should not be allowed to run for Senate following the report that her campaign allegedly recruited candidates, including "the fake Dan Sullivan."
💬 Follow today’s live blog
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Trump arch debate looms over Veterans Day:
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President Trump and Vice President, along with the first and second ladies, visited Arlington National Cemetery Wednesday morning in honor of Veterans Day.
During his speech, which started shortly before noon, Trump shouted out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who dodged an impeachment vote after Republicans banded together on Tuesday.
"I had a feeling that was going to happen," he said after the audience applauded Hegseth. "He's done a fantastic job, and he loves you and he protects you."
The sprawling military burial ground has recently been at the center of the debate surrounding the president’s proposed triumphal arch.
Some critics of the 250-foot structure argue it would cast a shadow over a portion of the historic cemetery — where over 400,000 people are buried, including former presidents and other prominent political figures.
🔎 Here's the latest on where the legal drama stands, by The Hill's Suryatapa Chakraborty.
Kennedy family raises alarm: On Tuesday night, nine members of the Kennedy family filed their own complaint against the Trump arch, also arguing it would cast a shadow over the cemetery. Former President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jackie Kennedy Onassis, among other members of the American political dynasty, are buried on the grounds.
🔎 Read a report from The Hill's Tara Suter about the Kennedy family's request here.
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House mulls college sports gambling:
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A House Education and Workforce subcommittee began its hearing on "the rise of sports gambling on college campuses" Wednesday morning, a discussion coming as both prediction markets' booming popularity and the state of collegiate athletics spark controversy on Capitol Hill.
Among witnesses appearing before the panel are a collection of administrators and faculty at college sports powerhouses.
The stats: According to 2023 NCAA survey, almost 60 percent of 18- to 22-year-olds reported having participated in sports betting. This figure jumped to 67 percent for young adults living on college campuses, who also reported making such bets at a higher frequency. But, with the rising popularity of platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, it's likely this number has grown.
The prediction market problem: Lawmakers are also grappling with the rising reports of insider trading on these prediction markets, including some involving government officials, along with eyebrow-raising bets on military actions.
California Rep. Ro Khanna (D) called for an outright sports prediction market ban earlier this week.
💻 The hearing began at 10:15 a.m. EST. Watch the rest live here.
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— ❌ Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) said on Tuesday that she would have voted to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if she were still in the House. “If I were in Congress today, I would vote to impeach,” she told The Hill’s broadcasting partner NewsNation.
— 🏃♀️Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean (D) said that she is “considering” challenging Sen. John Fetterman (D) in 2028 as progressives grow frustrated with the Keystone State’s senator. Dean briefly ran against Fetterman in the 2018 Democratic primary for the state’s lieutenant governor under Gov. Tom Wolf (D).
— ☹️Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) called out the 11 members of the Democratic Party who missed Tuesday evening’s House vote to advance Hegseth’s impeachment proceedings. “There’s no reason why we should have lost this vote because of attendance issues,” she told MeidasTouch on Tuesday.
— ⛓️Russia and Ukraine agreed to a “large scale” exchange of prisoners of war after U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi. Negotiators are traveling back to their countries today to finalize details.
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Associated Press: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to release book "Repair" on healing a divided nation
Reuters: U.S. faces loss of measles-free status as experts meet for review
The Washington Post: How Trump maneuvered to the brink of building his 250-foot triumphal arch
The Wall Street Journal: The $26 million cyber heist rocking a small New Jersey town
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Dig into the midterm data yourself
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Explore 2026 election results, voting trends and historical comparisons with Decision Desk HQ, available through The Hill Insider Premium.
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The House and Senate are both in session today. President Trump is set to attend a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, alongside Vice President Vance, first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance. (All times EST)
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10:15 a.m.: 'Rise of Sports Gambling on College Campuses' hearing
11 a.m.: The president and first lady participate in a Veterans Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
11:30 a.m.: Trump delivers remarks at the Veterans Day event
12 p.m.: Senate convenes
2:45 p.m.: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hold joint Veterans Day event
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🪖 Celebrate! Today is Veterans Day, so thank you to all those who served, or are currently serving!
☘️ It's also Nov. 11, also known as 11/11 — the only day of the year with four identical digits. Some believe the day brings good luck. Do you?
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