Elections

The Senate rejected a Republican attempt Tuesday to overturn new regulations designed to give unions quicker representation elections in their effort to organize more workplaces. One GOP senator, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, joined the unanimous Democrats in backing the new NLRB rules.

Some of the best reads for investors from around the Web, including the top 50 inventions this year, the stocks that Warren Buffett, Carl Icahn and Daniel Loeb are buying and the answer to who has the coolest business cards.

Politicians exposed Americans to a record number of political advertisements last month as candidates spent big to court undecided voters in advance of the Nov. 2 midterm election.

Networks broadcasting midterm election results attracted 11% more viewers than they did during the 2006 elections, and about a third more than the 2002 midterms, indicating the heightened level political interest among Americans concerned about House and Senate races, Nielsen reported Friday.

Despite the recession and Tea Party cries of "Taxed Enough Already," a surprising number of communities across the country voted to keep their tax burdens at current levels.

President Barack Obama's joke about holding a "Slurpee Summit" between Democrats and Republicans has the makers of the sugary drink scrambling to take action. "We don't want to be opportunistic, but nothing has ever been this big for Slurpee" a 7-Eleven spokesperson said.

Now that midterm elections are over, President Barack Obama and Republicans have promised to work together. But how long will the spirit of cooperation last? One of the first big tests will be whether Congress can raise its debt ceiling early next year.

It looks like a ballot measure to legalize marijuana in California has failed. Proposition 19 would have made it legal for adults of drinking age to possess up to 1 ounce of pot, as well as to grow and smoke the drug in private, and would have authorized local governments to tax its sale.

Economic concerns topped Americans' priority lists Tuesday, pushing many to the Republicans, according to exit polls. Most voters say they're dissatisfied with the federal government and disapprove of Congress.

The six-week rally will be tested in the next few days by the much-anticipated midterm election and the Fed policy statement. And if that weren't enough to make things interesting on Tuesday and Wednesday, October's jobs report is slated for Friday.