Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The call: “Vice President Kamala Harris has called Donald Trump to congratulate him on winning the 2024 presidential race, according to a senior Harris aide. Jen O’Malley Dillon, who chaired Harris’ campaign, said in an email to campaign staff obtained by NBC News that Harris told Trump during the call that ‘she would work with President Biden to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, unlike what we saw in 2020. She also made clear that she hopes he will be a President for all Americans,’ she said.”
* In Ukraine: “Ukrainian troops have clashed with North Korean forces for the first time, according to senior Ukrainian officials — a development that would open a ‘new page of instability in the world,’ President Volodymyr Zelensky said.”
* Hurricane season isn’t over: “Tropical Storm Rafael became a Category 3 major hurricane Wednesday afternoon as it nears the coast of western Cuba, the National Hurricane Center said. In a 2 p.m. ET update, the NHC said Rafael was 70 miles south of Havana, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 115 mph and was moving northwest at 14 mph.”
* New political uncertainties in Germany: “Germany’s government collapsed on Wednesday, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister and announced a confidence vote that is widely expect to fail and to pave the way to early elections in March. The news from Europe’s largest economy added a huge jolt of uncertainty on a day when much of the world’s attention was focused on the outcome of the U.S. election.”
* It’s of interest that Bezos congratulated Trump in 2016 and 2024, but he did not extend the same courtesy to Joe Biden after 2020: “Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the owner of The Washington Post, on Wednesday congratulated President-elect Donald J. Trump on his victory, a sign of a potential thawing between Mr. Trump and the billionaire tech mogul.”
* Of course this didn’t work: “Donald Trump’s projected victory in the presidential race has already prompted one Jan. 6 defendant to ask a federal judge for a delay to his case because Trump has ‘made multiple clemency promises’ to nonviolent offenders. That request was swiftly denied by a federal judge on Wednesday.”
* It was a huge day on Wall Street, but: “Even as stock prices soared on Wednesday, U.S. government debt sold off following Trump’s stunning win over Kamala Harris, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest level since July. It’s an indication that investors in the world’s biggest bond market fear the incoming administration could trigger inflation and larger federal deficits. Higher yields suggest that bond buyers are demanding greater returns to protect their investments — making it more expensive for the government to finance its debt.”
See you tomorrow.