Boats travel on the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED:

#FOUR MORE YEARS: The American people have spoken – and they say they want four more years of Barack Obama at the helm of the nation.

If you weren’t able to stay up late last night, you can catch-up with all the action as it happened on TheJournal.ie’s election and reaction liveblogs, watch the moment US TV networks called the election for Obama, or see his acceptance speech in full.

#PRIORY HALL: Dublin City Council’s legal action against Priory Hally developer Tom McFeely will have “no bearing on residents,” spokesperson for the residents Graham Usher has said.  The council is seeking damages for the apartments which had been leased by them, having been granted permission to pursue the developer at the High Court earlier this week.

#BUDGET 2013: Ireland is giving up at least €200 million in tax revenue every year on tax products to people who earn over €100,000 annually, former junior minister Roisín Shortall has claimed. Shortall says Retirement Annuity Contracts, a pension product usually used by the self-employed, are meaning major tax breaks for high earners – with 70 per cent of such contracts held by people earning six-figure salaries.

#EVACUATION: Resident of New York and New Jersey states are set to evacuate coastal areas for the second time in as many weeks, as a second major storm threatens to batter the north-east of the United States. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered police to use their loudspeakers on their patrol cars to broadcast evacuation messages, as the storm makes it close to landfall later tonight – but has said the storm won’t be “anywhere near as strong” as Sandy.

#MURDER: Gardaí investigating the murder of 30-year-old Aoife Phelan has confirmed the discovery of a body in a house in Portlaoise today. A 24-year-old man arrested in connection with the case has been released without charge.

Meanwhile, police in Wales have confirmed that a second set of remains discovered in Chester are those of missing Irish veterinarian Catherine Gowing. 46-year-old Clive Sharp has been charged with her murder.

THINGS WE LOVED:

• Granted, this video isn’t new – but how could this guy not be re-elected?

Uploaded by PalinGrifter2012

• With all this talk of the US elections, we’ve almost forgotten what’s going on in the rest of the world. How are you, London? … oh.

THINGS WE SHARED:

• So the results are in and Barack doesn’t have to pack his bags just yet – and you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all over. But what about those pundits who have been firing out predictions left, right, and centre for months? Were they right? Were they even close? Slate’s Pundit Scorecard takes a look at the good (Nate Silver) the bad (Ann Coulter) and the downright embarrassing (Dick Morris).
• Talking about Nate Siver – and bearing in mind that this sort of thing still happens – now’s a good time to listen his TED Talk about racism…
• Meanwhile, in Germany a government plan to pay a “stay-at-home-premium” to mothers who choose to raise their children full-time instead of working has been the centre of heated debate. The proposals would see parents who do not use state-subsidised childcare paid a monthly allowance of €150, the BBC reports.

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