The Whole Readhttps://thewholeread.com/Every side. Every source. The whole story.en-usWhat is a lame-duck session of Congress?https://thewholeread.com/guides/what-is-a-lame-duck-session/https://thewholeread.com/guides/what-is-a-lame-duck-session/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 10:12:00 -0600The outgoing Congress keeps working after the election until Jan. 3. Where the term comes from, what the 20th Amendment says, and the deadline already on this year's calendar.Monsaur OthmanWhich 2026 Senate and governor races are still uncalled? Alaska, Mississippi and Kansas, and what happens nexthttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/uncalled-2026-senate-governor-races-alaska-mississippi-kansas/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/uncalled-2026-senate-governor-races-alaska-mississippi-kansas/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:39:00 -0600AP had not called the Alaska and Mississippi Senate races or the Alaska and Kansas governor races as of Nov. 4. Why, and official dates for what's next.Monsaur OthmanWhen does the new Congress start in 2027? The Jan. 3 date, what a House majority can do, and the Dec. 11 deadlinehttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/when-does-new-congress-start-2027-house-majority-funding-deadline/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/when-does-new-congress-start-2027-house-majority-funding-deadline/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:30:00 -0600The 20th Amendment starts the new Congress at noon Jan. 3, 2027. What a House majority can and can't do alone, and why Dec. 11 funding comes first.Monsaur OthmanDemocrats win a majority of governorships, flipping Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowahttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/democrats-win-majority-governorships-2026-texas-georgia/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/democrats-win-majority-governorships-2026-texas-georgia/Wed, 04 Nov 2026 08:02:35 -0600Democrats will hold at least 27 governor's offices in 2027. Here's who won, which desk called each race, what's still uncalled, and the history made Tuesday night. All results are unofficial.Monsaur OthmanDid an FBI raid in Houston uncover 20,000 fraudulent ballots? The FBI says no such operation happened.https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/houston-fbi-raid-20000-fraudulent-ballots-claim/https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/houston-fbi-raid-20000-fraudulent-ballots-claim/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 22:58:00 -0600Plumb Line checks a viral Election Day post claiming an FBI raid in Houston found 20,000 fraudulent ballots. The FBI and Harris County Clerk say it is false.Monsaur OthmanDid NBC say it would declare Democrats in control of Congress "before they even know the actual winners"? No.https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/nbc-declare-control-before-winners-known-claim/https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/nbc-declare-control-before-winners-known-claim/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 22:58:00 -0600Plumb Line checks a viral post saying NBC would declare Democrats in control of Congress before knowing the winners. NBC's own words say otherwise.Monsaur Othman2026 midterm results: who controls the House and Senate, and what's still too close to callhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/midterms-2026-live-results-house-senate-control/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/midterms-2026-live-results-house-senate-control/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 22:55:00 -0600AP has declared Democrats the winners of both the House and the Senate. Here is what has been called, by whom and when in Central time, and what is still being counted. All results are unofficial.Monsaur OthmanBulgaria elects Iliana Yotova president: the final count and what it meanshttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/bulgaria-yotova-wins-presidential-runoff-what-it-means/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/bulgaria-yotova-wins-presidential-runoff-what-it-means/Tue, 03 Nov 2026 08:15:00 -0600Acting president Iliana Yotova won Sunday's runoff with 57.6% to Andrey Gyurov's 39.5%, final election commission figures show. She becomes Bulgaria's first elected female head of state and takes office Jan. 22. Here's what the largely ceremonial job can do, and how outlets are reading the result.Monsaur OthmanWhat time do polls close on Election Day 2026? An hour-by-hour guidehttps://thewholeread.com/2026/11/what-time-do-polls-close-election-day-2026/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/what-time-do-polls-close-election-day-2026/Mon, 02 Nov 2026 08:15:32 -0600The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The last close at 1 a.m. Eastern Wednesday in Alaska. Here's every hour in between, and why closing time isn't results time.Monsaur OthmanMore than 54 million Americans have voted early. What does that tell us, and when will we know results?https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/midterms-early-voting-54-million-when-results/https://thewholeread.com/2026/11/midterms-early-voting-54-million-when-results/Sun, 01 Nov 2026 17:05:35 -0600Early voting for the Nov. 3 midterms is running well ahead of 2022. The data show who has voted, not how they voted, and results depend on each state's counting rules.Monsaur OthmanPoland's Constitutional Tribunal standoff: what the government and the opposition each say happenedhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/poland-constitutional-tribunal-standoff-what-each-side-says/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/poland-constitutional-tribunal-standoff-what-each-side-says/Sat, 31 Oct 2026 17:10:39 -0500Judges elected by the current parliament suspended the court's PiS-era president on Oct. 30. The government calls it restoring the rule of law. The president, PiS and the court's own leadership call it an unlawful takeover. Here is each side's account, and where the accounts conflict.Monsaur OthmanWhen are 2026 election results official? Counting, canvass and certification, explainedhttps://thewholeread.com/guides/when-are-election-results-certified/https://thewholeread.com/guides/when-are-election-results-certified/Sat, 31 Oct 2026 17:00:00 -0500Election-night numbers are unofficial. What happens next: counting the remaining ballots, the canvass and certification, with Illinois as a worked example.Monsaur OthmanBinance says a hack hit about $6.3 billion. Here's what is confirmed, what isn't, and why the numbers differhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/binance-hack-6-billion-north-korea-what-we-know/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/binance-hack-6-billion-north-korea-what-we-know/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:07:27 -0500The FBI said on Oct. 31 that North Korea was behind the theft. Binance has frozen about $3 billion, says it has covered about 95% of the losses and began restoring withdrawals in phases early Nov. 1.Monsaur OthmanIsrael's final count leaves Netanyahu's bloc at 53 seats, eight short of a majority. What happens next?https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/israel-election-final-results-netanyahu-bloc-53-seats/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/israel-election-final-results-netanyahu-bloc-53-seats/Fri, 30 Oct 2026 08:07:27 -0500Israel's election committee certified the results and presented them to President Isaac Herzog on Nov. 4. No bloc has the 61 seats needed to govern alone.Monsaur OthmanECB President Christine Lagarde will step down Feb. 7, nine months early. Here's how her successor gets pickedhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/ecb-president-lagarde-step-down-february-2027/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/ecb-president-lagarde-step-down-february-2027/Thu, 29 Oct 2026 08:11:06 -0500The European Central Bank says Lagarde leaves on Feb. 7, 2027. EU leaders now pick the next president, with two more top ECB seats also opening next year.Monsaur OthmanStarting Nov. 3, passengers and crew on U.S.-bound flights must attest they haven't been in Congo for 21 dayshttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/us-ebola-air-travel-attestation-congo-november-3/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/us-ebola-air-travel-attestation-congo-november-3/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:42:16 -0500A CDC order makes airlines check a signed statement from all U.S.-bound passengers, citizens included. Here's who it covers, how long it lasts and the penalties.Monsaur OthmanWere there "0 boats before Brexit"? Official data counts 214.https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/oliver-ryan-zero-boats-before-brexit/https://thewholeread.com/plumb-line/claims/oliver-ryan-zero-boats-before-brexit/Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:37:00 -0500Plumb Line checks the claim of zero small boat crossings before Brexit. Home Office data record 214 boats carrying 2,236 people from 2018 to January 2020.Monsaur OthmanThe 2026 midterms, explained: what's on the ballot Nov. 3 and how to find yourshttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/2026-midterms-explained-whats-on-the-ballot/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/2026-midterms-explained-whats-on-the-ballot/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Every House seat and about a third of the Senate are up, along with state ballot questions on maps and marijuana. Louisiana's House races follow a different calendar. Here's how to check your own ballot.Monsaur OthmanAlberta referendum results: Albertans vote to stay in Canada, pass five immigration questions and reject four constitutional oneshttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/alberta-referendum-voting-day/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/alberta-referendum-voting-day/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Official results are in. About three in four valid votes on Question 10 backed remaining a province of Canada, and turnout was 70.4 percent.Monsaur OthmanFour Canadian soldiers killed as a wind-driven grass fire overran live-fire training at CFB Wainwrighthttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/cfb-wainwright-training-fire/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/cfb-wainwright-training-fire/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500What the Canadian Armed Forces has confirmed, what officials have said about the wind, and what investigators still have to answer.Monsaur OthmanThe Dec. 11 funding deadline, explained: what the stopgap law covers and what happens if it runs outhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/december-11-funding-deadline-explained/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/december-11-funding-deadline-explained/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Federal agencies are running on a continuing resolution enacted Sept. 2. Here is what the law says, and what federal law requires when funding lapses.Monsaur OthmanFrance's prime minister asks for local curfews after a weekend of protests over living costs turned to looting and arsonhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/france-unrest-partial-curfews/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/france-unrest-partial-curfews/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Saturday's marches were mostly peaceful. Fringe violence followed, and the government, the left, the far right and the protesters are drawing different lessons.Monsaur OthmanTariff refunds after the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling: how CBP's claim process works, and what a new class action asks forhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/ieepa-tariff-refunds-explained/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/ieepa-tariff-refunds-explained/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500The Court ruled in February that the emergency-powers law doesn't authorize tariffs. Importers can file refund claims with Customs, and a trade court has certified a class of importers seeking the same relief. That ruling doesn't award anyone a refund.Monsaur OthmanStampede at a crowded Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata kills 19; nine people from the organising side arrestedhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/kolkata-durga-puja-stampede/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/kolkata-durga-puja-stampede/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Early reports point to a rain-driven crowd surge and a warning that the structure might collapse. West Bengal has promised a judge-led inquiry.Monsaur OthmanMid-decade redistricting, explained: which states will vote under new House maps on Nov. 3, and what the Callais ruling changedhttps://thewholeread.com/2026/10/mid-decade-redistricting-2026-maps-explained/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/mid-decade-redistricting-2026-maps-explained/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Ten states have changed their congressional maps since summer 2025. Nine of those maps are in use this fall. Here's the list, and what each side of the Supreme Court split said about the Voting Rights Act.Monsaur OthmanMasked settlers attack European diplomats in the West Bank village of Taybeh. Here's what each government has said.https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/settlers-attack-european-diplomats-taybeh/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/settlers-attack-european-diplomats-taybeh/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500Belgium, France and Poland demanded accountability, and Israeli police say they arrested 10 suspects Monday. Israel's military and foreign minister condemned the attack; the prime minister's office urged caution.Monsaur OthmanTrump puts the new Graham Act sanctions on Russia on hold. Here's what the order waives, and who is objecting.https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/trump-waives-graham-act-russia-sanctions/https://thewholeread.com/2026/10/trump-waives-graham-act-russia-sanctions/Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0500The law passed with broad support a month ago. A Friday-night executive order switched off its tariffs and most of its sanctions, citing the national interest.Monsaur Othman