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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the last 24 hours. Here’s today’s news:
IRAN WAR
President Trump on social media yesterday said he has pulled Vice President JD Vance from engaging in potential peace talks with Iran to focus instead on fraud investigations in Democrat-run jurisdictions in the United States. Trump said “We don’t need a deal with Iran,” and that “Those days have long since passed.” Luke Broadwater reports for the New York Times.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard today said they destroyed a U.S. early warning radar in Bahrain. The IRGC statement said the attack followed a U.S. strike on a telecommunications pole in the southern Iranian port of Sirik. AP News reports.
IRGC’s navy today said a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas struck a naval mine and suffered an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz while using what the IRGC considers an “unauthorized and dangerous route.” The navy yesterday reported that four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the strait over Wednesday and Thursday after ignoring warnings and entering what the IRGC considers restricted areas of the strait. The Navy said two supertankers on Wednesday were disabled by explosions after they ignored warnings against using an “unauthorized route,” while two other tankers yesterday hit mines while sailing through the eastern strait after ignoring warnings and disabling their radar systems. Yasmine Ghania and Eman Abouhassira report for Reuters; Jana Choukeir, Elwely Elwelly, and Eman Abouhassira report for Reuters.
IRAN WAR – OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Iran this month told the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency that discussions on nuclear monitoring cannot proceed while Iran is under threat from military attacks, according to a confidential report sent to member states today obtained by AP News. According to the report, Iran insisted discussions cannot resume amid “a series of persistent, explicit, and public threats by the President of the United States of America… to commit further acts of armed aggression.” Stephanie Liechtenstein reports.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian investigators today said a car bomb in the capital Moscow wounded Sergei Zavorotniy, a former top aide to pro-Russian former Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov. Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was investigating the incident and investigators said Zavorotniy was hospitalized after a car he was driving blew up. Reuters reports.
SpaceX yesterday told Axios that the report by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine is facing new restrictions on Starshield is “false.” SpaceX added that “there has been no change.” The Ukrainian government has asked the U.S. Defense Department and SpaceX to explain the new restrictions it says are disrupting the satellite system the Ukrainian military uses to intercept Russian drones. Barak Ravid and Thomas Novelly report.
Zelenskyy yesterday welcomed a pledge from U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to include delegates from the EU in the next round of peace talks with Russia. Zelenskyy said bringing an EU representative to talks would ensure the continent has a “voice” in negotiations. Witkoff and Kushner met with Zelenskyy in Ireland yesterday evening, and Kushner said he had stressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin how important it was to have European delegates “at the table,” and that Putin is “willing to give it a try.” Harry Sekulich reports for BBC News.
French President Emmanuel Macron on social media yesterday voiced frustrations that “there is no more U.S. support” for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Macron said “Without Europeans… there is no support for Ukraine,” and that “We are those to support Ukraine, we are those to help them in the resistance war.” Suryatapa Chakraborty reports for The Hill.
OTHER GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
A Russian court yesterday sentenced rights lawyer Maria Bontsler to 12 years in prison on treason charges which alleged Bontsler passed on sensitive information to Ukraine. Rights group Slovo Zashchite said Bontsler had worked with a number of defendants accused of political offenses in Kaliningrad, a Russian territory on the Baltic Sea bordering Lithuania and Poland, and added that Bontsler’s trial was conducted behind closed doors. Reuters reports.
Finland’s military yesterday said its forces detected “a strike” on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, but that the security situation in the area remained stable. A spokesperson for the military said Finland is not under any immediate military threat. Essi Lehto reports for Reuters.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot yesterday criticized Israel’s decision to bar French far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and Mathilde Panot, the parliamentary group chair of Melenchon’s party La France Insoumise, from entering Israel. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it would bar the pair over “the extreme anti-Israel stance of La France Insoumise party and the outrageous statements made by its leaders.” Barrot labelled Israel’s decision “demagogic” and said it “plays into the hands of those who, like La France Insoumise, thrive on exploiting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Dominique Vidalon reports for Reuters.
Pakistan’s military today said Pakistani security forces killed 74 militants in multiple raids on hideouts in the northwest and southwestern regions bordering Afghanistan over the past 10 days. The military identified the militants as Khawarij, a term the Pakistani government uses for fighters it says are backed by Afghanistan. AP News reports.
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un this week disclosed modifications to the North Korean flag. The original flag was designed by the Soviet Union in 1948, and the new flag shortens the original while placing the red star closer to the center. Dasl Yoon reports for the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. Lt. Col. Brandon Tyner, the U.S. army officer arrested in the United Kingdom on Tuesday on suspicion of trying to spy for Russia, will face charges at the end of this week or the beginning of next week in the United Kingdom, sources told the New York Times. The sources said that after charges are brought against Tyner, the U.S. army will seek to charge him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and transfer him to the United States. The sources added that Tyner is a decorated veteran of the Afghanistan war, and was caught in a sting operation. Michael Schwirtz and Eric Schmitt report.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on Wednesday said “the permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland has been greenlit by the Pentagon.” Kosiniak-Kamysz added that “the final decision will be made by the White House,” and that this would happen “at the beginning of December.” The announcement came a day after Kosiniak-Kamysz met with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Filip Timotija reports for The Hill.
Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro in Washington D.C. yesterday told Reuters that he rejects criticisms that label him a runaway for fleeing Brazil after his election loss last month. Bolsonaro called the criticisms a “pejorative way of trying to attack me,” and that he “couldn’t care less. I am convinced that I needed to be here.” Bolsonaro declined to disclose who he was meeting in Washington D.C., and said “if a new electoral race emerges, I am ready to return.” Luciana Novaes Magalhaes reports.
Trump yesterday said he wants to get “Cuba done before I leave.” Trump said his administration is watching Cuba “very closely,” and that the island is “doing very poorly… it’s essentially a failed, you know, place, nation, whatever you wanna call it.” Mallory Wilson reports for The Hill.
U.S. MIDTERM DEVELOPMENTS
Democrat Cindy Holscher has been elected Kansas’ next governor after defeating Republican Ty Masterson, as reported by AP News yesterday. Holscher had already declared victory on social media on Tuesday before the race was called, and will replace outgoing Gov. Laura Kelly (D) who was term-limited. John Hanna reports.
Alaskans have again rejected the Republican effort to repeal the Last Frontier’s ranked choice voting system and open primaries, Decision Desk HQ projects. Alaska adopted ranked choice voting and open primaries in a 2020 ballot measure and first introduced the measure in the 2022 election cycle. Only Alaska and Maine use ranked choice voting statewide. Julia Mueller reports for The Hill.
U.S. AI DEVELOPMENTS
Jensen Huang yesterday resigned as CEO of Nvidia after he admitted to an affair with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, and reports emerged of another affair with Nvidia Vice President of health care Kimberly Powell. Trump on social media said “NOW THAT Nvidia CEO JENSEN HUANG, who has done a fantastic job, has resigned, there is only one man to take his place- TIM COOK [the Executive Chairman] of Apple.” Prior to Jensen’s resignation, Trump called the former CEO on Tuesday and urged him to keep fighting for his job, sources told the New York Times. Later in the day, sources told Reuters that Jensen had another intimate relationship with an unnamed Nvidia employee. Madison Mills reports for Axios; Avery Lotz reports for Axios; Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan, Tripp Mickle, and Julian E. Barnes report; Max A. Cherney, Krystal Hu, Alexandra Alper, and Deepa Seetharaman report.
A White House official yesterday told Axios that Trump is standing by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick amid criticism that Lutnick delayed action to address concerns over chip smuggling to China. The official said “Secretary Lutnick is a champion of… Trump’s America First trade and tariff policies,” and that Trump “maintains complete confidence in the secretary and his ability to carry out the position.” Maria Curi reports.
Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) yesterday evening sent letters to Jensen and Lutnick to testify before the panel next month about Jensen’s affair with Alice. The pair would attend separate Banking hearings. Jasper Goodman reports for POLITICO.
A coalition of nonprofits yesterday filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, and SpaceXSI in an attempt to freeze the development of AI. The complaint argues that the catastrophic risks of AI pose a threat to public safety. The CEO of the Alliance for Secure AI, one of the groups that brought the suit, said “we hold every other industry accountable when its products threaten public safety, and AI companies should be no different.” Aaron Max reports for POLITICO.
U.S. TECH DEVELOPMENTS
The FBI yesterday said it seized more than $1.2 billion of the $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency stolen last month from crypto exchange Binance by a North Korean hacking group known as TraderTraitor. The federal government and private sector have so far combined to freeze more than $2.7 billion of the stolen funds, and the Justice Department said it has received court authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion of the $2.7 billion. The FBI also blamed North Korea for a separate social engineering scheme that officials said resulted in the theft of more than $400 million worth of cryptocurrency over the last 18 months. AP News reports.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is expected to unveil a plan for disbanding the New York Police Department’s Strategic Response Group as early as this week, sources told POLITICO. One of Mamdani’s key 2025 campaign pledges was to dissolve the NYPD’s counterterrorism and protest-response unit, and one of the sources said Mamdani’s plan involves potentially replacing the SRG with a new civilian unit that would take the lead on responding to protests. Chris Sommerfeldt and Joe Anuta report.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at the Federalist Society yesterday warned against any potential congressional action to defund the Supreme Court and defended the importance of an independent judiciary. Alito said “Congress can turn off the lights at the Supreme Court and stop everything from happening if they want to defund their activities. And there are many, many, other things that they can do, or at least try to do.” Zach Schonfeld reports for The Hill.
Bipartisan Senators told POLITICO that it is critical to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act soon, but have acknowledged that turning consensus into legislative action in the final days of the 119th Congress will be challenging. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said “it’s hard to say” whether or not legislative action can be completed in time, while Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) said “if everything is a priority, nothing’s a priority.” A source familiar with Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (SD) thinking said Thune and Sen. Jim Himes (D-CT) have spoken about reauthorizing FISA, but did not specifically say the bill will be brought to the floor before Jan. 2027. Gregory Svirnovskiy and Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing report.
Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) on Wednesday sent a letter to nonprofit anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense which said that the pair were starting an investigation into whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about his reason for a 2019 trip to Samoa, after AP News and The Guardian in Aug. 2026 published documents refuting Kennedy Jr.’s testimony. AP News and Guardian reporting shows that Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to (at the time) Samoan Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi that contradicts what Kennedy Jr. repeatedly told senators at his confirmation last year. Kennedy Jr. said that his visit to Samoa before a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines.” The lawmakers asked CHD for documents related to Kennedy Jr.’s Samoa travel as Kennedy Jr. was Chair of the organization at the time. Ali Swenson reports.
Prediction market Kalshi yesterday said Donald Trump Jr. will no longer serve as an adviser to the company. Kalshi officials said they agreed to part ways with Trump Jr. because his investment firm 1789 had heavily invested in Kalshi rival Polymarket. A spokesman for Trump Jr. confirmed the decision was mutual. Sharon LaFraniere reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTION
White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has barred White House staff from meeting with lobbyists without prior approval from the Office of White House Counsel, according to a memo from the chief of staff office obtained by POLITICO. The memo said “No President in history has fought more relentlessly, selflessly or courageously for the American People than… Trump. Following his example, White House staff are expected to dedicate their time unwaveringly to the working people of the nation.” Alex Gangitano, Daniel Barnes, and Jacob Wendler report.
Hegseth yesterday rewarded Spc. Thomas Iglesias with the “Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026.” Iglesias was the soldier who shouted at Hegseth’s group to “maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” when they were laughing and talking loudly at Arlington National Cemetery. Hegseth wrote “We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist.” Kate Bartlett reports for NPR.
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