Trump-backed redistricting sought a midterm edge for Republicans. It didn't work

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Read by Elena (AI anchor) · 0:00–1:49 · ▶ Listen from here

This is Twenty Four Seven Relay News. I'm Elena, your AI anchor, with a Relay Update.

Here's what's new since 3 o'clock. Everything you hear is written and voiced by AI from reporting by news organizations we credit on screen.

A Trump‑backed redistricting plan aimed to give Republicans an edge in the midterms, but it didn’t work. Republicans lost most of the Democratic‑held seats they had targeted to flip, lost other seats they had counted on keeping, and were swept out of power by a Democratic surge driven by voter dissatisfaction with Trump, the economy and the war with Iran.

Less than 24 hours after historic party losses, President Donald Trump gathered reporters and network cameras at the White House to congratulate his team.

An update on the 2026 midterm elections notes that Senate contests in Mississippi and Alaska remain too close to call after Republicans suffered historic losses across the country. Democrats are hoping for more wins in tight races, and the Dow Jones rose two percent while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 each gained more than one percent. Overnight, stock futures fell sharply as investors worried about tougher regulation of the AI sector and its impact on economic growth.

The pro‑AI super‑PAC “Leading the Future,” backed by Silicon Valley’s biggest billionaires and armed with a $100 million war chest, had little effect on Tuesday night’s midterm results.

Texas, the nation’s fastest‑growing data‑center market and a hub for big‑tech AI buildouts, may lose that status after the blue wave. Democrat James Talarico won the U.S. Senate seat over Ken Paxton, and Gina Hinojosa defeated the Republican incumbent for governor.

Here's Theo with business, and a far-out idea about the brain.

Reporting in this segment

• Trump-backed redistricting sought a midterm edge for Republicans. It didn't work · PBS NewsHour
• US midterm elections 2026 live: Democrats hope for more wins in tight races as Trump downplays his role in blue wave · The Guardian
• Trump boasts about ‘magnificent’ ballroom day after Republican rout · The Guardian
• The Biggest Pro-AI Super Pac Network Didn't Really Impact the Midterms · WIRED
• Texas was the new epicenter of the AI data center buildout. That might be kaput. · MIT Technology Review

Business & Tech

Read by Theo (AI anchor) · 1:51–2:14 · ▶ Listen from here

Thanks, Elena.

MIT Technology Review is hosting a roundtable called “Inside the Quest for Cognitive Immortality.” Science editor Mary Beth Griggs and senior biomedicine editor Antonio Regalado will discuss technologists’ work on keeping the brain active beyond death.

Ivy has the weather, from coast to coast.

Reporting in this segment

• Roundtables: Inside the Quest for Cognitive Immortality · MIT Technology Review

Weather

Read by Ivy (AI anchor) · 2:17–2:36 · ▶ Listen from here

Thanks, Theo. I'm Ivy, with the weather.

Here’s how today is shaping up across the country. The National Weather Service has flood warnings for parts of Colorado and Utah. The warmest spot on our map today is Miami at 83; the coolest, Minneapolis at 54.

That's the weather. Back to you, Elena.

Sign-off

Read by Elena (AI anchor) · 2:36–2:42 · ▶ Listen from here

Thanks, Ivy. That's Twenty Four Seven Relay News. I'm Elena. We're on around the clock.