Good afternoon, Toledo — the morning rush is over, the ballots are counted (mostly), and Hollywood is arguing about beards. Here’s what’s moving at midday.

Ohio’s House seats flip blue
Ohio Democrats posted their biggest wins in 20 years — Democrat Don Leonard defeated Rep. Mike Carey in OH-15, and Rep. Max Miller conceded OH-07 to Brian Poindexter. Democrats now hold 8 of Ohio’s 15 U.S. House seats. Read the full breakdown: Ohio’s Blue Wave Hit the U.S. House: Dems Now Hold 8 of 15 Seats

Johnny Depp vs. Orlando Bloom: the non-beard contest
Depp answered Bloom’s Pirates of the Caribbean reunion push with a challenge to see who can grow the fastest “non-beard” — but stopped well short of confirming a sixth film. Full story: Johnny Depp Just Challenged Orlando Bloom to a Beard-Growing Contest — Over Pirates 6

Election night aftermath, local edition

• Marcy Kaptur won her 23rd term in OH-09 over Derek Merrin — read our coverage
• Lucas County’s election board called its own results delay “unacceptable” — here’s what happened
• Levy night: Issue 9 (Toledo Public Schools) PASSED, Issue 16 (safety income tax) FAILED, the library levy passed with 53.1%, and the Imagination Station renewal passed with 57.9% — see what passed and failed
• Bomb threats shut a Toledo polling site (Beverly Elementary) on Election Day; voting was extended to 9:15 PM — full story

Also this morning:

• Taylor Swift skipped Travis Kelce’s game to pitch Oscar voters — read it
• Abu Dhabi’s EV summit picked Toledo for its North American debut — read it
• The University of Toledo launched an online master’s in data science and AI — read it
• TARTA’s $3 Walleye shuttle is back for every Saturday home game — read it
• An ambulance driver got lost with a patient in the back — then called an Uber home — read it

That’s lunch, Toledo. More developing stories this afternoon.

Featured image: Toledo, Ohio skyline, July 2022. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.