Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden's term and helping cap an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the year.
With Warnock's second runoff victory in as many years, Democrats will have a 51-49 Senate majority, gaining a seat from the current 50-50 split with John Fetterman's victory in Pennsylvania. There will be divided government, however, with Republicans having narrowly flipped House control.
MARRIAGE BILL: The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of those unions. The bipartisan legislation, which passed 258-169 with almost 40 Republican votes, would also protect interracial unions.
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MICROSOFT: The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday it is suing to block Microsoft's planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying the deal could suppress competitors to its Xbox game consoles and its growing games subscription business.
JUUL LAWSUIT: Embattled vaping company Juul Labs reached settlements this past week covering more than 8,000 lawsuits over its e-cigarettes, which in recent years became a scourge in schools and communities nationwide. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured an equity investment to fund it.
