Democrats Take Control of the U.S. Senate

What made these election results so significant?

Democrats won several unexpected races in states that normally support Republican candidates. They flipped Senate seats in several states and also kept seats they already held. In Michigan, the Democratic candidate defeated Republican Mike Rogers.

So the party has secured control even before every race has ended?

That is right. The remaining unresolved contests cannot change the overall result. Democrats have already gained enough seats to move from the minority into control of the Senate.

What could that mean for the party's approach to President Trump?

Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, said Democrats would investigate, take legal action and use legislation when they believed President Trump had acted against the law or the will of the American people.

One of the close races is in Mississippi. What is happening there?

The Mississippi race is between the Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who currently holds the seat, and Democrat Scott Colom. On Friday evening, Colom was ahead by around 2,500 votes.

That is a very small margin. What votes still need to be counted?

Mississippi's Secretary of State, Michael Watson, said there were about 3,600 mail ballots still outstanding. There is also an unknown number of affidavit ballots, also called provisional ballots. These are ballots from voters whose eligibility has to be confirmed.

When might the state have a final result?

Mail ballots must arrive within five business days. Counties have until November 13 to certify their results, and they must process the affidavit ballots during that period.

How are the campaigns responding as they wait?

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has sent lawyers and other resources to Mississippi to monitor the count. The Republican Senate campaign group and Hyde-Smith's campaign have asked all 82 counties to separate and preserve affidavit ballots. The Colom campaign called that request a desperate stunt, while its lawyer wrote to the counties asking them to follow election procedures.

So the Mississippi result remains uncertain, but Democrats are already projected to control the Senate. Thank you, Sophie.

Our second story is about planned talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States.

LinguaWire's correspondent for world affairs, Jack, has been covering the preparations.

Hello, Daniel. Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations will meet in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. They will be the first talks involving all three countries since February.

What will the three sides discuss?

Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said the talks would focus on security guarantees after the war for both Ukraine and Russia.

Does he believe the meeting could lead to direct talks between the two presidents?

Budanov expressed what he called restrained optimism. He said next week's discussions could bring progress towards an eventual meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

Why does he see a reason for hope now?

Budanov said the situation was different from earlier negotiations. In his view, the fact that all sides wanted to hold this meeting showed that there were conditions for it. He also said these negotiations would not be the last.

Who will represent the countries in Abu Dhabi?

Ukraine's delegation will be led by Rustem Umerov, the country's top negotiator, and Budanov will join it. The United States is expected to send its envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Russia's delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin who led Moscow's team in earlier negotiations.

The meeting follows a difficult period between Ukraine and the United States. How does Budanov describe that relationship now?

He said he remained optimistic despite recent problems. In October, President Trump allowed Russia to supply diesel to the United States for the first time since 2022. Ukraine also had problems with access to SpaceX's Starshield satellite networks and some air-defence systems, although access was restored weeks later.

And Budanov thinks that restoration matters?

Yes. He said the Starshield problems were bad and should not have happened. However, he said the situation had been resolved in one way or another, and that gave him optimism for the future.

Meanwhile, the war is still having a serious effect on daily life in Ukraine.

Ukraine's energy ministry said strikes this week hit energy facilities in 10 regions. Hundreds of thousands of households lost electricity, and much of Kyiv had no water for more than 16 hours. The Abu Dhabi meeting will show whether the three sides can make progress towards a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement.

Thank you, Jack.

Part one: election results.

Unresolved.

It means not decided yet; in the story, “The remaining unresolved contests cannot change the overall result.”

Two election results are still unresolved.

Margin.

It means the difference between two results; in the story, “That is a very small margin.”

She won the race by a small margin.

Eligibility.

It means the right to take part; in the story, “These are ballots from voters whose eligibility has to be confirmed.”

Your age can affect your eligibility to vote.

Part two: the grammar.

Even though for contrast: “They have won enough races to control at least 54 seats, even though two Senate contests were still unresolved on Thursday.”

Use “even though” to introduce a fact that contrasts with the main idea.

In the story, “They have won enough races to control at least 54 seats, even though two Senate contests were still unresolved on Thursday.”

We went for a walk even though it was raining.

Repeat after me: They have won enough races to control at least 54 seats, even though two Senate contests were still unresolved on Thursday.