Good morning.

One of the nation's largest cities, as we just reported, is having some mixed emotions today.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Yankees 8-6 last night to extend the World Series to a game six on Wednesday. The Yankees lead three-games-to-two in the best-of-seven championship.

But at 3 a.m. ET, transit workers in the city went on strike — bringing a system that averages nearly 930,000 trips a day to a halt.

There's much more than that going on today, of course.

NPR's Dave Mattingly and Isaac-Davy Aronson of NPR member station WNYC report on the voting today in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and elsewhere:

The contests are being closely watched to see what, if anything, they may reveal about voters' attitudes toward President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats.

Looking ahead to next year, by the way, Politico says that "in what could be a nightmare scenario for Republican Party officials, conservative activists are gearing up to challenge leading GOP candidates in more than a dozen key House and Senate races in 2010." They're looking at today's special election in New York's 23rd Congressional district, where Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman pressured the GOP nominee to drop out, as something of a template for 2010.

We'll be combining forces with Ken Rudin of the Political Junkie tonight to "live-blog" election results. So check both The Two-Way and Political Junkie for updates.

Other stories making headlines include:

— BBC News — "Karzai Vows To Battle Corruption": "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has vowed to remove the 'stigma' of corruption, a day after winning a new five-year term.
In his first remarks since being declared winner on Monday of August's fraud-marred poll, he also pledged to lead an inclusive government."

Related conversation on Morning Edition "Karzai's Team Needs To Establish Strong Government." Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad tells host Renee Montagne that he has no doubt Karzai will try to reach out to his critics, but that putting together an effective government will be difficult:

Related story by NPR.org — "Karzai 'Victory' Puts Spotlight On U.S. Troop Decision": "Afghan President Hamid Karzai's victory by default in the contested election may resolve the country's immediate political crisis, but it could complicate the outcome of the Obama administration's much-anticipated decision on sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan."

— The New York Times — "Gore's Dual Role In Spotlight: Advocate And Investor": "Critics, mostly on the political right and among global warming skeptics, say (former vice president Al) Gore is poised to become the world's first 'carbon billionaire,' profiteering from government policies he supports that would direct billions of dollars to the business ventures he has invested in. ... Mr. Gore says that he is simply putting his money where his mouth is. 'Do you think there is something wrong with being active in business in this country?' Mr. Gore said. 'I am proud of it. I am proud of it.' "

— Morning Edition — "Clinton Clarifies Statement On Jewish Settlements": NPR's Jackie Northam reports: