📌 Transition, Rafael Hits Cuba, More

Following the presidential election, the focus shifts to a transition to a second Trump administration.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with President-elect Trump Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory.

Biden invited Trump to the White House. Trump “looks forward to the meeting, which will take place shortly,” said the Trump campaign’s communications director, Steven Cheung.

Harris and Trump agreed on “a desire to ensure a smooth and effective transitional power in the weeks and months ahead,” a Trump campaign advisor said.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Trump said, describing a plan as ‘promises made, promises kept’ in a second administration.

On the campaign trail, Trump has prioritized stricter border policies, including mass deportations, an effort to cut prices through energy production and less regulation, an economic policy that would cut taxes while raising tariffs and promises to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Cuba's national electrical grid collapsed on Wednesday as Hurricane Rafael slammed into the island's southwest shore.

Sustained winds of 115 mph are wreaking havoc on the already crisis-stricken country. The hurricane was churning about 45 miles southwest of Cuba's capital, Havana, late Wednesday afternoon, lashing the capital city of nearly two million people with driving rain and violent wind gusts.

Cuba's state-run grid operator UNE said the high winds had caused the country's electrical system to collapse. State-run television reported the entire population of 10 million people was without electricity — the second such incident in less than a month on the island.

Schools and public transportation in the city were suspended until further notice, and authorities grounded flights at both Havana's Jose Marti International Airport and the popular beach resort at Varadero through Thursday.

After winning her race, Julie Fedorchak (R) will be the first woman to represent North Dakota in the House of Representatives.

Before Tuesday, North Dakota was one of two states that had never elected a woman to the House. Mississippi is now the only state that hasn’t. Fedorchak secured nearly 73% of the votes, with 23% of the votes reported.

In Mississippi, Dianne Dodson Black ran and lost as a Democrat to represent the state's 1st Congressional District. According to Rutgers University's Center for American Women and Politics, women fill 29% of House seats. Of those, the Democrats hold 92 and the Republicans 34.

Women have represented North Dakota and Mississippi in the Senate. In 2018, Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) became the first woman to represent Mississippi in the Senate. Heidi Heitkamp (D) served as US senator for N.D. from 2013–2019, and Jocelyn Birch Burdick (D) served from Sept. to Dec. 1992, after her husband died.

Catch and display for liquid biopsy (CAD-LB) is a new test that holds promise for diagnosing cancer quickly and affordably.

The method employs ultrathin membranes to capture small packets of cellular material called extracellular vesicles. The EVs carry crucial information, such as proteins and genetic material, from their cell of origin, offering insights into the body’s state.

Once a blood sample is taken, it is quickly processed, injected with a pipette onto a membrane, and directly analyzed under a microscope. By counting the number of pores that glow with the biomarker for the disease being assessed, users can quickly estimate how prevalent the disease is within the body.

“CAD-LB is currently sensitive enough to detect some cancers at a curable stage of their development, suggesting the technology’s potential for cancer screening,” says the study's co-author.

Logistics companies say that clients from retail to manufacturing are moving quickly to get imports into the US ahead of schedule.

Retailers and manufacturing companies have been increasingly calling logistics partners about “front-loading” shipments ahead of any changes in tariff policy to be pursued by President-elect Donald Trump, who campaigned on an aggressive expansion of existing US tariffs on cross-border trade.

Trump has vowed 10%–20% tariffs on all imports into the US and a 60%–100% tariff on Chinese imports.

Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain for ITS Logistics, expects Trump’s election to result in increased container demand and vessel bookings, which will then fuel freight rates, trucking and warehouse rates.

According to spot ocean freight rate data tracked by ocean and air freight intelligence platform Xeneta, the frontloading of freight during the Trump trade war on Chinese imports in 2018 fueled a rise in ocean container shipping freight rates by more than 70%.

Australia's government says it will introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from social media.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposed laws, to be tabled in parliament next week, aimed to mitigate the “harm" social media was inflicting on Australian children.

“This one is for the mums and dads ... They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back," he said. “I get things popping up on my system that I don't want to see. Let alone a vulnerable 14-year-old.”

While many details are yet to be debated, the government said the ban will not apply to young people already on social media. There will be no exemptions on the age limit for children who have consent from their parents. The government says the onus will be on social media platforms to show they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access.

Albanese said there would be no user penalties and that it would be up to Australia's online regulator — the eSafety Commissioner — to enforce the laws.

An Australian Olympian, whose breakdancing routine at the Paris Olympic Games went viral, says she will no longer compete.

The 37-year-old Sydney university lecturer failed to get on the scoreboard in all three of her competition rounds in August. Her routines at the Olympics included unorthodox moves such as a "kangaroo" dance.

As videos of her performances went viral, so did conspiracy theories about her entry into the competition. One rumor suggested she was an “industry plant” who was entered to rig the Games.

In September, the sport's governing body explained that she had been ranked the world's number-one female breakdancer. Raygun had planned to keep competing but said the experience had been so "upsetting" that she changed her mind.

“Dancing is so much fun, and it makes you feel good, and I don't think people should feel crap about, you know, the way that they dance,” she said.

Breaking was introduced to the Olympics for the first time in Paris, but it is not scheduled for Los Angeles in 2028 or Brisbane in 2032.