Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including US Democrats projected to win both houses of Congress in midterm elections, US midterms delivering wave of historic firsts across states, and President Donald Trump’s pledging to end US financial aid to Israel by year’s end.
Democrats were projected to take control of both chambers of the US Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, delivering a major political setback to President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, according to US media projections.
The party made significant gains beyond its traditional strongholds, winning key races in states that overwhelmingly supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, including Texas, South Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas.
The scale of the Democratic wave was still becoming clear early Wednesday, but the results pointed to widespread voter dissatisfaction with the Trump administration, particularly over the economy, rising living costs, and the president's decision to launch a war against Iran in February.
Tuesday’s US midterm elections produced a series of historic firsts in races for governor, Senate and the House of Representatives.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor of any US state, as well as Georgia’s first woman and first Black governor.
Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland won in New Mexico to become the first Native American woman elected governor in US history, while Minnesota Democrat Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the US Senate.
In New Jersey, Democrat Adam Hamawy won the 12th Congressional District to become the state’s first Muslim member of Congress.
Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa became the state’s first Latina governor, while Republican Byron Donalds was elected Florida’s first Black governor.
In Ohio, Amy Acton became the state’s first woman and first Jewish governor, while David Crowley became Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Illinois Democrat Juliana Stratton’s Senate victory also means three Black women will serve simultaneously in the chamber for the first time.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Washington will stop providing financial aid to Israel by year's end under an agreement reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4 billion a year, and we made a deal months ago that we're stopping, and they're fine with it because, you know, they've become a very successful country that are not in need, and we won't be paying any more to Israel," Trump told Fox News.
He added that Washington would still provide assistance if needed, describing Israel as a regional partner with whom the US has maintained "a tremendous relationship," with Tel Aviv being the smaller partner.
Spanish footballer Jesus de Miguel died on Tuesday at the age of 30, a day after suffering an injury in an on-field collision during a second-division match, his club CD Tenerife announced.
“Heartbroken, with a lump in our throats and unable to believe this is true,” the club said in a statement.
The 30-year-old striker was chasing a long ball late in Monday’s home match against FC Andorra when visiting goalkeeper Jesus Owono came out to clear it.
Owono’s knee struck De Miguel in the chest, and the striker fell to the pitch. De Miguel’s teammates called for help. He went into cardiac arrest, and medics are said to have resuscitated him in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Tenerife said the footballer had been admitted to the intensive care unit at Nuestra Senora de Candelaria University Hospital in serious but stable condition. Hours later, the club said his neurological condition had worsened. He died at 8 am local time (0800GMT) Tuesday.
Paris Saint-Germain delivered the biggest result of Tuesday’s Champions League action, thrashing Villarreal 6-0 in Spain.
Fabian scored twice, while Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu, and David Boly were also on target for the defending champions.
Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 through goals from Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, who struck twice.
Manchester United staged a dramatic comeback at Old Trafford, recovering from 2-0 down inside 18 minutes to beat Roma 3-2 and end a nine-match winless run.
Türkiye’s Galatasaray also claimed a 2-0 home victory over Stuttgart, with Aleksey Batrakov scoring twice in the first half.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich beat Atletico Madrid 2-0, Inter defeated Feyenoord 3-0, Sporting edged Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0, LASK thrashed Slovan Bratislava 4-0, and Bodo/Glimt and Lille drew 0-0.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Tuesday postponed the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia by nearly a year amid security concerns and travel disruptions linked to regional tensions.
The 24-team tournament, originally scheduled for Jan. 7-Feb. 5, 2027, will now be held from Dec. 23, 2027 to Jan. 21, 2028, subject to FIFA approval.
The AFC in a statement said the decision was taken following consultations with Saudi organizers and in light of "current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region," as well as logistical and travel challenges affecting participating teams, officials, and supporters.
The move follows recent Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, which have raised concerns over the staging of major sporting events in the kingdom.
British adventurer Karl Bushby completed a 28-year journey around the world, returning to his family home in the northern English city of Hull on Monday.
The 57-year-old former British paratrooper began what became known as the Goliath Expedition in Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Chile, in 1998, setting himself the challenge of making his way back to England without using transportation to advance his journey.
Bushby covered more than 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles) across four continents and some 30 countries, traveling north through the Americas before crossing the frozen Bering Strait from Alaska into Russia and continuing through Asia and Europe.
He also trekked across Türkiye for three months, largely traveling along the Black Sea coast before hitting Istanbul on the way to European countries. The journey took far longer than initially planned as Bushby faced visa and border restrictions, extreme weather, financial difficulties, and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Britain’s Collins Dictionary on Tuesday named “mogging,” a slang term for outshining or outperforming someone or something, its Word of the Year for 2026.
The publisher said the term has increasingly entered mainstream language, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and is often used online in a playful or ironic way to describe someone being upstaged.
The word is believed to derive from “AMOG,” an acronym for “alpha male of the group,” and emerged around 2016 in bodybuilding culture to describe the most physically dominant man in a gym, according to Collins.
It later developed into a verb and spread through online communities before taking on a broader meaning.
Google will restrict access to its artificial intelligence tools and search engine for K-12 students by default early next year, allowing schools to decide which services to enable individually, the company announced Tuesday.
The company said school administrators will have to explicitly enable the services in Google's education software, responding to concerns from teachers and parents about how students interact with AI technology.
Google said the changes followed consultations with schools, teachers, researchers, and policymakers.
“We believe schools should have control over AI in their classrooms and in providing administrators with controls to help them manage their approach,” it said.
Apple on Tuesday warned that artificial intelligence agents could access computer systems or carry out transactions without authorization, exposing the company to lawsuits and reputational damage.
In its annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said AI agents could independently execute or modify software code, send messages, and complete transactions.
While performing such tasks, the agents could interact with systems inside or outside the company without the necessary permissions, according to the filing.
The agents "may behave in unintended or unpredictable ways, including by taking actions that were not directed, instructed or authorized," Apple said.
A Russian court fined Google and messaging platform Telegram a combined 18.4 million rubles (some $226,000) on Tuesday for failing to remove banned content.
The Tagansky District Court in Moscow ruled on the administrative cases brought against the two tech giants.
The court ordered Telegram to pay 14.6 million rubles ($179,000) across three violations for failing to take down prohibited materials, while Google was fined 3.8 million rubles ($47,000).
Telegram was penalized for not removing content related to recruitment for a terrorist organization banned in Russia and a book deemed extremist material by authorities.
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