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Investigators believe they know what made the Antares rocket explode just seconds after it lifted off from a Virginia launch pad. Orbital Sciences’ president and CEO David Thompson said one of two main engines used to launch the rocket failed.

Thompson also said Orbital Sciences plans on continuing with its nearly $2 billion contract with NASA to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. The failed AJ26 engine will no longer be used to launch the rocket.

San Francisco and Oakland voted Tuesday to increase their minimum wages, and so did four states that roundly backed Republicans. Rising standards of living and inflation may be what triggered this increase, but is paying workers more the one issue we can all agree on?

Watch #TheBrief to find out what’s driving the push to pay their workers more.

The big winners of Tuesday’s midterm elections were Republicans — specifically Mitch McConnell, who’s expected to assume the role of Senate Majority Leader.

And change also came for states that voted on recreational marijuana use. Those in Oregon and Alaska voted to legalize pot use, while others took smaller steps towards legalization.

Finally, need a sure-fire way to predict which governors won last night? The amount of money they spent on TV ads.

Watch above for the things you need to know right now about Tuesday’s midterm elections.

Dr. Phil McGraw stopped by Conan’s desk on Tuesday night and shared a “really good” piece of his dad’s advice: “Don’t ever miss a good chance to shut the f-ck up.”

The TV personality also said, when a woman says “What?” it’s not because she didn’t hear you, but because she’s giving you a chance to change your answer. That’s a little ironic, considering his show is all about talking through problems, but McGraw later admitted that he and his wife make a point to communicate issues before they become big problems.

Brittany Maynard’s decision last weekend to end her life at 29, rather than continue receiving care for terminal brain cancer, has revived the debate over assisted suicide.

Maynard’s supporters call their movement “Death With Dignity,” on the grounds that mentally fit, terminally ill patients should have the right to obtain lethal drugs from a doctor that allows them to end their life on their own terms.

Here’s your brief on how Maynard represents the revival of the aid in dying movement that faded after the jailing of Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

The momentum headed into the midterm elections on Tuesday appears to be in the GOP’s favor, with a Senate majority thought to be within reach. That means Democrats could lose seats, despite boosts from Super PACS, which overall will spend some $700 million on campaigns this election season.

Here’s all you need to know about the midterm elections.

Creepy clowns are freaking out the French. A rash of scary pranks carried out at night by the costumed characters have put police officers on alert. Teenagers dressed as clowns and carrying weapons have spooked many French citizens.

The frightening characters have even led one town to ban the costume altogether for anyone over the age of 13.

Southern California, New York City, and England have all experienced a creepy clown craze like the one in France in recent years.

This week, a nurse who recently returned from treating Ebola patients in West Africa defied quarantine restrictions in Maine when she went out for a bike ride.

One of the world’s top singers is expected to go platinum on her first week of record sales.

The World Series, which went to Game 7, ended in a close matchup — and with more than 23 million viewers.

And Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly came out, writing that “being gay is among the greatest gifts God has given me.”

Jim Carrey refused to take any chances Wednesday night on the Late Show With David Letterman.

He performed a faux screening test for Ebola on Letterman, complete with questions like, “Have you traveled abroad lately?”

Watch it above.