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Here’s what you need to know
It’s not over yet. Votes are still being counted, but assuming Joe Biden wins Arizona—which the Associated Press has called but others haven’t—a victory in any of the currently undecided battleground states—with narrow Biden leads in Pennsylvania and Georgia and lawsuits flying around—will put him in the White House. Meanwhile, Donald Trump repeated baseless allegations of fraud, raising questions about potential scenarios were he not to concede.
Has your representation in Congress changed? This election saw a number of firsts. New Mexico became the first state to elect all women of color to the House of Representatives, and 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn will join as the youngest member of congress since 1797. See for yourself how congress’s representation will reflect the diverse country it serves.
Markets are still digesting the news. US stock indexes fell on Friday morning following a better than an expected jobs number that dropped the national unemployment rate to 6.9% Stocks in prison companies are way down, with the Democrat promising to change policies on immigration and asylum. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan is at its strongest versus the US dollar in more than 10 years.
Cable news dominated election night TV ratings, thanks to older viewers. While regular broadcast TV suffered a drop-off from 2016, cable offers popular anchors and expensive graphics that attract more concerned—and partisan—viewers, and also has advantages over the internet.
Social media companies are failing to stop election misinformation in Spanish. While they appear to have done a decent job moderating content in English, a language in which their policies and processes are more robust, Spanish-language Facebook and Twitter accounts with large followings continue to make false claims.
In other news…
- A mysterious Chinese ban that would impact billions of dollars in Australian goods, including coal, wine, and lobster, may be taking effect from today.
- The UK will experiment with mass testing citizens for Covid-19 from today, starting in Liverpool.
- TikTok invited British lawmakers to review its algorithm, while its parent company ByteDance hopes to raise $2 billion at a $180 billion valuation.
- Indian prime minister Narendra Modi talked up his country to global investors, and an Indian government-backed vaccine could be ready as soon as February.
Elections 2020
Here’s what we’re tracking three days after the US presidential election.
Charting global remittances
The dip in remittances won’t be as bad as initially feared. In April, the World Bank had predicted a 23.1% drop in remittances to sub-Saharan African countries this year, but updated estimates now foresee smaller declines of 9% in 2020 and 6% in 2021.
Much of the expected shrinkage is connected to slower rates of migration given international travel restrictions. But just as important are job losses and pay cuts among African migrants in wealthier countries.
What India stands to gain

Highly skilled, young workers from India—the biggest group of H-1B recipients—are abandoning the American dream and moving home. The technical jobs they held in the US may follow them.
With more restrictive policies in place, the jobs H-1B holders now have will travel to where the talent is. In the event of such a migratory reversal, India can only stand to gain. But the magnitude of these gains will depend on how well it can accommodate the influx of returning professionals.
Read more in our field guide on the status of the H-1B visa.
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✨ Become a Quartz member ✨Kelp, we need somebody

On days when it feels that the uncertainty is too much to bear, we’d be wise to take notes from a humble, giant algae: kelp.
Surprising discoveries
Anti-maskers accidentally joined a mask-wearing rally. Activists against lockdowns were confused when organizers of London’s Million Mask March invited anti-government protesters to wear Guy Fawkes masks.
Wolf robots ward off animal invaders in Japan. The country has at least 60 “monster” animatronics to scare away deer, wild boars, and now, bears.
Maybe use Google Translate before changing your company name. The Adani mining group’s new moniker Bravus is Latin for “crooked” or “mercenary,” not brave.
A Kentucky town only elects dog mayors. A French bulldog named Wilbur won the 2020 contest.
This planet rocks. More specifically, it’s made only of rocks, so it rains vaporized minerals into oceans of lava.
While you’re drumming your fingers impatiently on the table, check out our latest.
