Today’s Big Story

Let’s Look at the Votes

Votes are still being counted, but those tabulated so far show a range of turnout across states

I’m sure we’ll be reading and hearing a lot about this election for a while. As the Intelligencer says, Donald Trump seemed to pull off the impossible and beat the system: “The twice-impeached, multiply indicted, and once-defeated former president of the United States, overcame 34 felony convictions, accusations of insurrection and civil-lawsuit judgments totaling more than a half-billion dollars to win back the White House.”

Trump ran a campaign “centered on hypermasculinity, actively courting young men in particular with interviews on popular male-centric podcasts.” He focused on the economy and immigration. But American voters didn’t just choose Trump, they rejected the current Biden administration, which Vice President Kamala Harris had to answer for. But what’s clear is that a lot of people were fired up from both political parties.

According to the Washington Post, voter turnout is expected to be close to the record high set in 2020. Multiple battleground states are on track to break records. Participation in Wisconsin was a percentage point higher than the high mark set in 2004, when three in four eligible voters cast their ballots. While turnout in this election won’t surpass the record reached in 2020, it will be the second-highest in the past century, above other modern high marks, including in 2008, when Barack Obama defeated John McCain and 1960, when J.F.K defeated Nixon.

Of the counties with nearly complete results, more than 90% shifted in favor of Trump. He not only improved on his 2020 margin, but early results showed that even a number of states where Harris was ahead had shifted right. Even city-dwellers moved more towards Trump. He gained the support in major urban areas (Miami, New York City, Philadelphia and Chicago), though those cities still overwhelmingly backed Harris. Democrats got more than 50,000 fewer votes in Philadelphia than in the last election, and the GOP gained about 8,000, in a 5 point margin shift for Trump that, with the help of historically right-leaning parts of the state, helped him flip Pennsylvania.

As for national exit polls, the Associated Press reports that the gender voting gap was unremarkable compared with recent history. Harris had the advantage among women, winning 53% to Trump’s 46%, but that margin was somewhat narrower than President Joe Biden’s in 2020. But “it’s nothing new: The majority of women have preferred the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1996.” NBC News, however, has a long breakdown of voter demographics, which shows that white voters (both men and women) went more for Trump. And the majority of voters under 40 chose Harris, while Trump gained the support of those without a college degree.

What Trump 2.0 Means for the Economy

The President-elect stands to reverse many Biden-era consumer-finance initiatives

The economy clearly played a big role in this election. And a second Trump administration has the potential to reshape the economy in fundamental ways. The President-elect has promised to slap tariffs on imports, order large-scale deportation of immigrants and cut taxes and government regulations during his second term. While it's not certain when or how those policies might be enacted, several media outlets spoke with experts on what such policies could mean for the American economy.

There’s a reason the stock market surged after Trump won. Bitcoin too. Investors expect a more business-friendly administration, including tax cuts. During a new term, the former president wants to extend portions of the 2017 tax cut that are set to expire next year, and he has called for additional cuts in the corporate tax rate. According to NPR, he’s also floated the idea of exempting tipped income and Social Security benefits from federal taxes. The ultimate size and shape of any tax cut may hinge on whether Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives. But the extension of most individual tax cuts, at a minimum, appears likely.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, President Biden’s push to curb credit-card late fees could be sidelined. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to take a more business-friendly stance, analysts say. They don’t expect his student-loan relief efforts to survive, either. Then there are the tariffs. While they would raise some additional revenue for the government, Trump’s overall economic platform—including the proposed tax cuts—are expected to widen the federal deficit, adding to the government’s borrowing costs.

Nintendo Switch 2 Is Still Unannounced, but …

This big official reveal about the handheld may excite fans

On Tuesday evening, Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa took to X to make a grand declaration about the still-unannounced Switch 2. He confirmed that “the successor to Nintendo Switch” will be fully backwards compatible with the original Switch software. Additionally, the Nintendo Switch Online service will carry over, likely allowing your account to stay consistent across both platforms and potentially preserving your purchase history.

However, Gizmodo points out that we still don’t know if your cartridges will be as usable as ever in 2025. Furukawa’s last point about “compatibility with Nintendo Switch” hints that Switch cartridges may not be fully compatible with the new console. “In all likelihood, players’ downloaded games will be portable, but Nintendo may have to do some extra magic trickery to facilitate physical media.”

The post reiterated that we will hear more about the Switch 2 "at a later date," which is beginning to feel like it may not happen in 2024 after all. Earlier rumors suggested a spring launch (similar to the original Switch), but since there’s been no reveal yet, the timeline might be shifting. According to Mashable, Nintendo seems content to focus on things like a music app for phones, a remaster of an obscure Wii U classic, and an alarm clock.

Samsonite Launched a Suitcase Into Space

And then let it crash down back to Earth …

There was a particularly memorable scene in Mad Men, when Peggy pitched Don on an idea of dropping a suitcase from the Empire State Building for new client Samsonite. They didn’t go with that idea but now, the brand took the concept and went even higher—much higher. What about a literal trip to space? Because that’s the durability test that Samsonite’s Proxis carry-on was recently put to.

With the help of Sent Into Space, a “marketing-focused space agency” that catapults products over 100,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, the travel brand took its reputation for durability to new heights by dropping the Proxis Global Carry-on Spinner, the brand’s lightest and toughest suitcase to date, 130,000 feet, letting it crash back down to Earth to see if it could withstand the fall. Spoiler alert: It did. And, of course, it was all caught on video.

After enduring temperatures as low as -85°F, the suitcase was able to descend from the stratosphere at controlled speeds thanks to a self-deploying parachute system, Travel + Leisure reports. And if you’re sold, then you’ll be happy to know that the suitcase comes in four sizes (carry-on, medium, large and extra large) and five colors. And while it is impossibly light weight and sturdy in a way that feels contradictory to that weight, it’s also got all the other features you could want in a suitcase in the year 2024: an expandable design, integrated keyless TSA-friendly lock, integrated USB charger, dual spinner wheels and an ergonomic push-button grip with dual-tube telescoping aluminum handle system among them.

Boost Your Testosterone

Healthy habits will only take your levels so far

There's no one thing that makes you a “real man”, but your testosterone levels do play a pretty significant role. You could say it's what separates the men from the boys—literally. But a mindful diet, regular exercise and healthy habits will only take your testosterone levels so far. If you want to unlock your peak performance, you’ll need innovative hormone optimization. Which is where Maximus comes in.

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Take a break, when needed.