Though it’s (generally) been a bad time for the United States, it’s also been a golden age for New Yorker covers.

The magazine’s November 19 cover, however, celebrates one recent, joyous victory: the more than 100 women who were elected to Congress on Tuesday. Instead of letting Trump dominate the cover yet again, women, specifically women of color, take center stage.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a cover this…happy.

The cover, illustrated by longtime New Yorker illustrator Barry Blitt, highlights the women who will join the Capitol Hill club once dominated by white men.

More women, including many women of color, were elected to Congress during Tuesday’s midterm elections than ever before. The U.S. elected its first Muslim-American congresswomen and its first Native-American congresswomen, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

This is one cover to genuinely feel good about.

Five-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan powered into the final of the Champion of Champions in Coventry with a 6-3 win over Shaun Murphy.

The 42-year-old world number three, a beaten finalist in the last two years at this event, made successive century breaks against the defending champion.

Murphy also had two tons but O’Sullivan moved in sight of a third title.

On Sunday he will face the winner of Saturday’s second semi-final between Mark Allen and Kyren Wilson.

Murphy, who beat O’Sullivan to win last year’s final 10-8, looked to have won the first frame with a 49 but O’Sullivan pinched it by clearing to the pink with a 43.

The 2005 world champion Murphy, having beaten European Masters winner Jimmy Robertson and Ding Junhui to reach the last four, levelled with a 123, missing the final black, but O’Sullivan built a two frame cushion with runs of 64 and 82.

A 51 put him in command of the next frame but when 21 points ahead he missed a red into the corner, thumping the table in annoyance, and Murphy took it on the black, reducing the deficit to 3-2 with a clearance of 34.

After Murphy missed an early blue, O’Sullivan put the frustration of the previous frame behind him with a clearance of 129 and quickly compiled the 965th century break of his illustrious career with a 127 in the next.

Murphy responded with a 102 but despite an outrageous mis-cue from O’Sullivan, when he inadvertently jumped the white over the black and into the pocket, he wrapped up a third successive victory against the world number 10 with two fifty breaks in frame nine.

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Watch highlights as Mitchell Pinnock’s deflected effort seals a late first-round victory for League One AFC Wimbledon over Haringey Borough of the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Match report: Haringey Borough 0-1 AFC Wimbledon

Available to UK users only.

Aberdeen leapfrogged Hibernian and are now within five points of the Scottish Premiership summit thanks to a thunderous Gary Mackay-Steven goal.

The winger celebrated his Scotland call-up by pouncing on a slack pass by Ryan Porteous just before the break.

It gave the Pittodrie side a fourth straight win – and fifth in a row at home. Hibs are now without one in four.

Neil Lennon’s side improved after the break, but Mark Milligan and Florian Kamberi missed chances to equalise.

Wind and winger the winners

Given that the previous three meetings had finished level after 90 minutes, two without a goal being scored, it was almost guaranteed to be a tight affair.

But both managers were determined to belie the prediction and named attacking line-ups – forward Stevie May being preferred to defensive midfielder Dominic Ball for Aberdeen and Hibs’ Florian Kamberi returning from suspension to partner Jamie Maclaren up front for the first time in the league this season.

Despite Aberdeen having four players named in Alex McLeish’s Scotland squad this week and Hibs having three called up by Australia, showing their international class was proving difficult in the strong wind swirling around Pittodrie.

Australian midfielder Milligan had an early header cleared from in front of the Aberdeen goal by Shay Logan, but it was one of the home side’s Scotland quartet who was making the difference at the other end.

Porteous was looking uncomfortable on the left of Hibs’ back three and, after he picked up a yellow card for a foul on Mackay-Steven, Aberdeen continually provided the winger with opportunities to further tease the 19-year-old.

When Mackay-Steven intercepted Porteous’ clearance, the Scotland Under-21 centre-back was easily deceived by a little drop of the shoulder and the ball was soon whistling between the near post and goalkeeper Adam Bogdan’s outstretched hand.

It was no surprise when Hibs head coach Lennon changed to a back four at half-time and it helped the visitors.

Milligan sent a header over from a good position and Kamberi failed to finish after rounding Joe Lewis. At the other end, May failed to make Bogdan pay for his equally unwise rush from his goalline.

Aberdeen had not lost from a winning position at Pittodrie since 2014 and that record was prolonged after Kamberi twice failed to find the target from close range.

Plenty to ponder for Lennon – analysis

BBC Scotland’s Tyrone Smith at Pittodrie

The wind was the winner, the dreadful conditions stifling what should have been a high-quality affair, but Aberdeen won’t give a jot about that, as their bandwagon continues to gather pace. That is now four wins on the spin for the Pittodrie side, the international break perhaps coming at the wrong time for them.

As for Hibernian, they are now four without a victory, leaving plenty for Lennon to ponder over the next fortnight. They created, and spurned, enough chances to win the game in the second half, but that will be scant consolation.

Image: screenshot / app store

When all else fails, it’s time to wholeheartedly embrace the mid-’90s roller-rink carpet aesthetic.

Facebook, seeing a steady decline in usage among teens, appears to have done just that with the release of a new “viral clips” app by the name of Lasso. Sporting a design that makes you feel like you need some tokens to play it, Lasso is a transparent rip-off of the popular TikTok app.

The app, available on the iOS App Store and Google Play, aims to be all the things that Facebook isn’t (namely, fun), and comes just a few weeks after word of it oozed out of Menlo Park. 

“Lasso makes it easy for anyone to create and share short videos with fun effects,” reads the App Store description. “Once you’ve found a type of video that’s trending, whether it’s #comedy or #fail, you can use the in-app camera to put your own spin on it with special effects, music and editing tools. Add hashtags to your video to share it with the world!”

So exciting, right! Hashtags! Oh, and don’t forget that you “can also add your videos directly to your Facebook story.”

Which, phew. We were worried there for a second. 

This reporter downloaded the app, and, upon seeing that you need to log in with either a Facebook or Instagram account, promptly deleted it. However, The Verge helpfully tells us that you “have to authorize the app to allow access to your profile page, photos, and videos.”  

Facebook has a long history of copying popular apps or features in an attempt to stave off its inevitable slide into irrelevance (think Houseparty or Snapchat Stories). Its uncanny ability to know what’s hot has in the past been driven at least in part by a creepy VPN-like app called Onavo, which it was forced to pull from the App Store after Apple told Facebook the app violated its policies governing data gathering.

But those downloading Lasso surely don’t need to worry about any of that. Definitely not with all the “ THE LATEST HASHTAGS AND CHALLENGES” the app offers to keep them busy, anyway. 

It is derby day in Manchester on Sunday and Darren Fletcher knows only too well how difficult a trip to Etihad Stadium can be.

The former Manchester United midfielder was thrashed 7-2 there while playing for Stoke last season and, having experienced “one of the most difficult games of my career” that day, is well aware of how not to play against the champions.

He is hardly the only one to have endured a difficult day at the Etihad though – City have only lost twice in 44 home Premier League games under Pep Guardiola, winning 33 of them and scoring 122 goals.

But United are one of the two teams to have won there against Guardiola in the league, thanks to their thrilling 3-2 comeback victory in April, and Fletcher believes there is a way his old side can line up to get another positive result this weekend.

What not to do v City: ‘The gaps became huge’

Fletcher on Man City 7-2 Stoke: “We got it wrong that day. We actually tried to press City high up the pitch and the problem was the game became too stretched.

“Not everyone in the team bought into it, and not everyone followed the instructions – and that is when it is dangerous.

“Some of our players pressed, but some didn’t and the gaps became huge. It ended up becoming a disaster. There were too many spaces, and also too many players.

“City had all of their players in the midfield area, dropping in between the lines, and we had too many people in areas that could not affect that.

“Stoke had got a point at City the previous season playing the same way but that day we got it wrong and we got punished for it. As a player, to be out there and be part of that, was not a nice place to be.

“It was horrible, actually. Looking back now, it was one of the most difficult games of my career.”

What will United do? ‘Inbetweeners in a circle press’

Fletcher: “I am not expecting United boss Jose Mourinho to use a high press like Mark Hughes did with Stoke last season and again with Southampton when City beat them 6-1 on Sunday.

“I think Mourinho will set them up to be very solid, but not to sit as deep as they usually do.

“Instead I think they will use what I call a circle press, or a half-way line press, where you are not too deep but not too far forward either.

“So a lot of your players are maybe 10 yards either side of the centre-circle, which means you are trying to be a little bit brave with your defensive line and you have also got your strikers within a good distance.

“That way, there are no big spaces in the middle of the pitch for City to exploit.

“If United’s defence is higher than normal, City can just play balls over the top – so the position of goalkeeper David de Gea is important too.

“His defenders will have to trust him to be in the right places to deal with certain balls so they are not worried about City’s forwards getting in behind.

“If it works, United’s outfield players will be in a sort of in-between position, where they can be a threat on the counter-attack but also put a bit of pressure on City when they are on the ball.

“That is what they did so well in the second half at the Etihad at the end of last season and fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.”

Long ball City? ‘They like to ping a pass forward’

Fletcher: “Whatever your strategy is against City, you have to be careful because they are a very clever team.

“People think they play total football out from the back but their gameplan is actually to get the ball into their front players as quickly as possible.

“And, whatever space there is to exploit out there, they exploit it.

“If you put too many players forward to press, they will play that hard, long and low ‘ping’ pass forward, which is different to a normal high long ball because it is harder for a defender to get there first. Ederson is a master of it.

“They want their three front players to go one-on-one if they can and, whoever is playing in their attack, they will back themselves to beat their man because they are so fast and skilful.

“Everywhere on the pitch, the balance of when to go hunting for the ball or when to drop deep is so hard to find. If you get it wrong, they will punish you.”

City’s key man? ‘Silva is their Scholesy’

Fletcher: “City have so many fantastic players, but there is one who is more influential than all the others in terms of making them tick – David Silva.

“When you play against them, you can see Silva has got the respect of all the City team.

“I would relate it to how my United team was with Paul Scholes. You would sometimes be in a good position yourself but if ‘Scholesy’ was there, you would just give him the ball.

“You might think that is crazy for a professional footballer to admit but, when it happens, that is the ultimate respect.

“Everyone did it with Scholesy, not just me. I have seen players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney do the same if Scholesy was free, and just give it to him.

“It happens naturally when you are out on the pitch, and I see it happen with Silva now.

“Yes, Raheem Sterling is arguably their form player and is so dangerous with his runs, and how he penetrates defences and gets behind them.

“And they have got Sergio Aguero too, who is always such a threat, but Silva is the one for me who is the heartbeat of that team.”

How to stop Silva? ‘Herrera can be United’s hero’

Fletcher: “I quite like man-for-man marking as a way of stopping a key man for the opposition, and it is something I have done myself in my career.

“But I did it against what I would call classic midfielders – players more like Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard.

“The problem with doing that against City is that, if you man mark David Silva, he is quite comfortable dragging you all over the pitch, knowing what you are trying to do.

“He will go and stand on the left wing, so you will be playing right back. And then, say, Leroy Sane will come inside and your right-back will be playing in the centre of midfield.

“United have to try to stop Silva somehow, though, and for them to do that, I think Ander Herrera has to play.

“Having been in the United dressing room with him, he is one of those players who remembers everything the manager says, and is constantly reiterating those points to the rest of the team.

“Not every player does that, because some of them are so tied up in the game themselves, but Herrera does not just remember his role, he remembers other people’s too.

“He is that influential to the whole team, plus he is aggressive and he can set a tempo for United when they get the ball back.

“I like him and I would have him in the team. He could go up against Silva and make it a difficult game for him, which does not happen very often.”

As the colorful confetti rained down around me, I put my hands up and wiggled in a small victory dance. No one around me knew why I was celebrating; all they could see was the white Vive Focus headset covering most of my head. But I knew: I had successfully passed through three training tasks at a car plant.

Except I was actually in a warehouse in San Francisco where virtual and augmented reality company HTC Vive had just announced its expanded Vive Focus system for companies to use in fields like health, entertainment, automotive, aerospace, and retail.

For months we’ve been hearing about “production hell” for Tesla as it struggles to make enough electric cars. The idea of applying an interactive digital experience to train workers how to build cars sounds like it could be like a silver bullet for car production.

I was at the Vive VR event to see how it all worked. Also at the VR event was German company Innoactive, which uses the Vive VR tech to build out software to create virtual training worlds. The company hasn’t worked with Tesla (yet), but it teamed up with the Volkswagen Group to set up virtual training sessions for its car manufacturers located around the world. With the Vive Focus system and now its new updates, workers can interact in a virtual car factory and practice and train together. 

Innoactive founder and CEO Daniel Seidl set me up for two demos with the headset and 6DoF controllers so I could click and point at various things that only I could see behind the screen. Before my confetti shower, I used my bluish, gloved virtual hands to pick up parts and put them on a shelf. I scanned codes and pushed a car frame together. A friendly robot named Ida explained what I needed to do, and guided me along with reminders about which buttons to push. I earned that celebration. 

Seidl’s company is working with Volkswagen to train 10,000 employees across 30 simulations within five Volkswagen brands. He knows the simulated training isn’t the same as the real thing, but it shows the process and factory layout and gets people familiar with what they’ll be doing. As he pointed out, you don’t go in cold. 

After having gone through the training, I did have a better sense of what equipment was on the factory floor. During the experience, I could view in up-close detail what each machine did and how it moved and behaved. If I had been paying better attention, I would have learned a lot more about the factory. The risk was low — even if the robotic arm hit me on the head, I wouldn’t need to visit the factory medical clinic. But even if I better understood the job, the virtual experience felt like it was diminishing the importance and skills of the role. This is a real job, not simply moving up a level in a RollerCoaster Tycoon-esque video game.

Innoactive builds the content management system and software that lets customers like Volkswagen run training sessions and workplace simulations. Training costs add up — Statista estimates 93.6 billion was spent in 2017 on in-person training throughout U.S. industries. But Seidl can boast that beginner mistakes in the VR trainings don’t ruin a workflow or destroy expensive inventory — it’s all digital and can be reset at the push of a button. Travel time and costs don’t really exist.

A VR training program isn’t free, however. The Vive Focus is priced at $599 for one standalone headset to be used for commercial purposes only.

Other similar companies Vive highlighted in press materials after the show that use the VR system for business were Raymond Corp for virtual forklift operations, and Airbus, which creates virtual mock-ups and 3D models of aircraft models to speed up inspection processes. Bell Flight developed a virtual model for a helicopter and looked at issues in VR before building out the real craft.

My vote: This isn’t going to solve production hell for car makers. But it was a fun, friendly way to get introduced to the overwhelming task of producing car parts on the assembly line. More confetti showers for everyone.

Captain Joe Root praised his “fantastic” squad and said that the selectors have a tough job to pick a team for the second Test after England thrashed Sri Lanka in Galle.

Opener Keaton Jennings and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes scored hundreds in the 211-run win, while Jonny Bairstow is expected to be fit to play next week.

“I’d rather be in this position than not know who to pick,” said Root.

“We can adapt to each pitch with a different XI. I have so many options.”

Bairstow had played every Test since replacing Gary Ballance midway through the 2015 Ashes before missing out in Galle because of an ankle injury picked up playing football.

But he now faces a battle to get back into the side for the second Test, which starts on Wednesday, 14 November, after Foakes’ man-of-the-match display.

If Bairstow does play as a batsman, England could have three wicketkeepers in their top seven, Jos Buttler being the third.

“I don’t think we can leave Ben Foakes out,” Root told the TMS podcast.

“He’s come into the side and performed extremely well, not just with the bat. His keeping performance throughout was fantastic.

“It’s so refreshing to see someone come into the side and soak up the opportunity they have to play for England and with a smile on their face.

“All options are open but Ben has done everything he can to retain his place. Jonny is a world-class player and we have a number of things to think about.”

Stuart Broad is another man hoping to return to the side after he was left out for the first time when fit for a decade in Galle.

‘Keep the same team for Kandy’ – analysis

Former England captain Michael Vaughan on The Cricket Social: “England have not won a Test overseas for so long, so they should keep it simple. Don’t change a winning side after a performance like that.

“Go with same again, win the series in Kandy and get Jonny Bairstow back into the side in the third Test in Colombo.

“Bairstow will get back into this team eventually.”