Democrats flip 40 House seats as Senate races hang in the balance, Wall Street plunges

Democrats keep adding to their midterm wins, but two Senate races are still too close. We could be waiting weeks for the final results. And the impact of Tuesday's election is already reaching well beyond Washington. Democrats have now flipped at least 40 Republican-held House seats, giving them a commanding majority when the new Congress takes office in January. In the Senate, they're guaranteed at least 54 seats. That number could grow to 56. But first, there's Alaska and Mississippi. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola is leading Republican Senator Dan Sullivan by just 637 votes, with about three-quarters of the expected vote counted. And remember, Alaska uses ranked choice voting. Neither candidate has a majority, so voters' second and later choices could ultimately decide this race. That count isn't scheduled to begin until November 18th. In Mississippi, it's another nail-biter. Democrat Scott Colome is leading Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by roughly 1,800 votes out of nearly a million cast. With thousands of ballots still to be reviewed, both parties are lawyering up. Attorneys and election observers are descending on the state to watch the count and prepare for possible legal challenges. Republicans want certain provisional ballots preserved separately. Democrats are pushing back, arguing that could violate voters' rights. And voters who need to resolve identification issues have until November 10th to do it. And Wall Street is already reacting to the Democratic sweep. Stocks took a beating Thursday, with investors worried that new Democratic majorities could bring tougher restrictions on artificial intelligence and the data centers powering it. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 5.5%, wiping out roughly $2.5 trillion in market value. That puts the index in correction territory, down more than 10% from its recent high. The Dow lost more than 1,800 points. The S&P 500 fell nearly 4.5%. It was the worst day for all three indexes since the market turmoil following Trump's tariff announcement in April of last year and the selloff spread overseas, with Asian markets also plunging. President Trump blamed Democrats for the losses, warning Americans about the hit to their 401ks. Then, in another post, he told voters, quote, you only have yourselves to blame. Back in Washington, Democrats are already spelling out how they plan to use their new power. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer tells the Associated Press his party won't allow Trump to put another Another conservative justice on the Supreme Court.