More than 42 million people watched coverage of the 2024 elections across 18 live TV networks Tuesday night, marking a 25% drop from the 56.9 million who watched live in 2020, according to Nielsen ratings.
Why it matters: President-elect Trump's lead became clearer earlier on election night this cycle compared to last, which may have curtailed viewer suspense.
Why it matters: Investors, buoyed now by improved certainty in D.C., doubled down on many of their favorite Trump trades — areas and players of the economy they think will benefit from a second term.
The popularity of prediction markets (for gambling on politics) is a new phenomenon in the United States, and who pays out when is not at all consistent.
Why it matters: Prediction markets are suddenly at the center of political chatter, but how bettors actually collect is somewhat untested and has implications for the growth of these markets.
American voters have just decided — among many other things — that artificial intelligence will grow up in a permissive, anything-goes household, rather than under the guidance of stricter parents.
Between the lines: Trump's reputation may be that of a strongman, and his MAGA brand of conservatism embraces tough talk, but last night's Republican victory makes it a lot more likely that AI will run wild as it develops.
At no point before Election Day did the prediction markets give Donald Trump a greater than 43% chance of winning the popular vote. Indeed, in mid-August the chances of that happening were less than 20%.
In this case, although the race has yet to officially be called, the low-probability outcome (Trump becoming the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years) likely ended up happening.
Elon Musk and his pro-Trump super PAC were sued on Tuesday by two swing state voters who accused them of fraud in separate lawsuits.
The big picture: Both lawsuits cite the billionaire's attorney stating Monday in a Pennsylvania case that allowed a daily $1 million sweepstakes to proceed that the winners were earning paymentforacting as spokespeople and were not chosen at random.
