Duffy says a router an L3Harris contractor installed flooded the FAA's telecom network and caused the Nov. 13 nationwide ground stop

An airport control tower rises above a parking structure, with cars on the roadway and tall branching streetlights in the foreground. — TIME

1usUpdate

Duffy says a router an L3Harris contractor installed flooded the FAA's telecom network and caused the Nov. 13 nationwide ground stop

FlightAware counted more than 9,100 cancellations on Friday, Nov. 13, and more than 6,400 on Saturday, Nov. 14, above the FAA's forecast of 4,000 to 5,000 for Nov. 14.

On Friday, Nov. 13, the FAA halted every U.S. departure for more than four hours after a telecom failure disrupted the centers that handle high-altitude traffic. Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed.

ContextAviation consultant Andrew Charlton told the AP the stop affected about a quarter of the roughly 45,000 flights the U.S. runs each day. It was only the second nationwide ground stop (an order keeping every departure on the ground) since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, per the AP. The other came in January 2023, when the FAA's pilot-notice system failed. L3Harris has run the FAA's telecom network since 2002, under a contract its predecessor, Harris Corp., won that year. "We have one federal telephony infrastructure," Bedford said. "We don't have two, but one." Duffy blamed the age of the system: "It was the old legacy equipment. It failed. And listen, it's going to continue to fail."

TIME12 sources

2usUpdateMeasles outbreak

PAHO finds measles spreading nonstop in the U.S., ending its elimination status after 26 years, researchers tell KFF Health News

The CDC counts 5,412 cases in 2026. That is the most since 1991, when there were 9,643.

- Aug. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. feuded with Josh Shapiro (Gov-D Pennsylvania) as the state's outbreak grew. - Oct. 16 — CDC sent its first in-person outbreak investigator to Pennsylvania since the feud. State cases stood at 1,222. - Oct. 23 — CDC counted 4,588 U.S. cases, 43 outbreaks and three deaths. Pennsylvania alone reported five deaths. - Nov. 7 — Cases hit 5,182 in 45 states and D.C. as PAHO prepared its review. CDC confirmed four deaths; states reported eight. - Nov. 13 — The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that PAHO had revoked U.S. elimination status.

ContextElimination means measles has not spread in one unbroken chain for 12 months or more. Keeping it out takes a vaccination rate above 95%, the level that gives herd immunity (enough people protected that the virus cannot keep spreading), Axios reports. The U.S. had 2,242 cases in all of 2025, per CBS News; Axios reports 2,289. Johns Hopkins estimates that the past two years of outbreaks have cost about $125 million, KFF Health News reports. Anne Schuchat, a former CDC deputy director, told KFF Health News it is "a very sad moment."

NPR8 sources

3usUpdatecontestedRussia-Ukraine war

Zelensky says US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would leave Donbas in exchange for NATO membership

He says Kyiv still won't give up the land, but if Washington and other NATO allies confirm a package of guarantees, a strong army and rebuilding money, he would put it to a referendum.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and its forces still hold large parts of the east. By Nov. 13 the Kremlin had revived its 2021 demand that Ukraine and Georgia be barred from NATO as the price of a deal, and a Putin aide said Moscow would add "new considerations" to those old terms.

ContextAfter 4½ years of war, Russia occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukraine. Of the 16 countries that have joined NATO since 1991, none joined while a war was being fought on its own territory; North Macedonia hosted NATO peacekeepers in 2001–2003 and joined in 2020. In a KIIS poll taken Oct. 8–16, 61% of Ukrainians called handing Russia the rest of Donbas for U.S. and European security guarantees categorically unacceptable, while 35% would accept it.

PBS NEWSHOUR12 sources

4usUpdate

Experts tell The Atlantic China's spy service likely recruited Alice Huang after her affair with Jensen Huang began; U.S. has released no evidence

Officials took the concern seriously enough that Trump was briefed on it twice, late last year and again this spring, the New York Times reports.

- Oct. 29 — The New York Times reported Trump did not act on intelligence that an executive close to Huang was gathering information for Beijing. - Nov. 5 — The Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, China and Intelligence committees released a letter asking Huang to brief them on Nov. 18. - Nov. 8 — Huang admitted an affair. Nvidia's board opened an independent probe and said it saw no sign secrets were compromised. - Nov. 10 — Trump said the FBI is looking into a related matter; China denied spying. Nvidia stock fell. - Nov. 11–12 — A second affair surfaced and the board met on ousting Huang. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on not blacklisting Megaspeed. - Nov. 12 — Huang resigned as CEO and from the board; CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO. - Nov. 13 — Bessent said four agencies had wanted Megaspeed blacklisted for months. Bloomberg traced banned Nvidia chips to a Shanghai company Alice Huang founded.

ContextThe Information estimates that about 240,000 Nvidia chips worth at least $7.5 billion reached Chinese firms since 2023 through companies tied to Alice Huang, including Megaspeed and its Malaysian unit Speedmatrix, Fortune and Mint report. Megaspeed denies wrongdoing. Of the Chinese spying cases in the U.S. that the Center for Strategic and International Studies tallied from 2000 to 2023, 41% involved private citizens rather than Chinese officials or soldiers, The Atlantic reports. Former CIA analyst Connor Forman told the magazine she "may have just been the right person in the right place at the right time."

THE ATLANTIC10 sources

5usUpdatecontestedIran war

US intelligence puts Iran's missile arsenal at 1,500 to 2,500, days after Trump called the war 'effectively over'

Officials told the Wall Street Journal it is a low-confidence estimate. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Nov. 12, that he "would not hesitate" if things don't work out, and that the US is watching Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program.

- Oct. 14 — Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister, Israel) pressed Trump on several calls for a new joint strike on Iran, Axios reported; the White House denied it. - Oct. 19–20 — Trump endorsed Netanyahu before Israel's Oct. 27 election, vowing to hit Iran himself otherwise; Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse. - Oct. 22–23 — U.S. and Israel drew up post-midterm strike plans; Israeli sources named petrochemical plants and Pickaxe Mountain, a site tied to Iran's nuclear program, as targets. - Oct. 27 — Israel's military chief resisted Netanyahu's push to strike before the vote, officials said. - Nov. 3 — Trump said the US would end its nearly $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel by year's end. - Nov. 4–5 — Vance said the war cost Republicans the midterms and urged ending it; Trump called that "largely true." - Nov. 12 — Trump said the US doesn't need a deal with Iran and moved Vance off the talks to a corruption assignment.

ContextThe war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, 2026. Both Israeli counts come from Israeli security officials, as compiled by the Alma research center. A Western official told Bloomberg on Nov. 10 that Iran can build about 50 ballistic missiles a month, roughly half its prewar pace. Satellite images reviewed for BBC Verify by the analysis firm MAIAR show repairs at 12 or more Iranian military sites, including missile bases. Repairs show work under way, not how many launchers Iran has.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL4 sources

6not newslongform

Judge bars the government from searching its copy of an immigration lawyer's phone, finding the seizure was likely retaliation for his speech

A colleague who handled the firm's hiring paperwork flew home from the same trip a day earlier and was not searched.

Why the judge tied the phone search to his speech: Timing: agents took the phone three days after his firm got a federal notice about suspect hiring documents. The seizure fell inside the 10-business-day window the firm had to respond. Comparison: colleague Audai Cote ran the firm's hiring-paperwork compliance and had equal or greater access to the records. He made no public statements and was not searched. Method: the government offered no evidence that phone searches are normal in this kind of hiring probe. Lattarulo's evidence suggests criminal charges against employers for hiring unauthorized workers are "exceedingly rare," the judge wrote.

ContextBorder agents usually need no warrant to search a phone. As Burroughs summarized Alasaad v. Mayorkas (2021), the federal appeals court covering Massachusetts allows a routine phone search at the border with no suspicion at all, and a more intrusive search without a warrant if agents have reasonable suspicion. Burroughs did not rule on Lattarulo's Fourth Amendment claim. She did doubt that the border exception covers a domestic hiring probe with no link to the trip. The government, she wrote, appeared to have "seized on a fortuitous border crossing following a weekend vacation" to look for evidence of a domestic crime it was already investigating. Her ruling rests instead on a separate limit: the government cannot use a border stop to punish someone for protected speech.

REASON1 source

News news5 stories

Ongoing1 earlier update

This story has run 2 times, starting Nov 14.

Nov 14FAA halted every U.S. departure for more than four hours after a telecom failure hit all 22 high-altitude control centers
Nov 15UpdateDuffy says a router an L3Harris contractor installed flooded the FAA's telecom network and caused the Nov. 13 nationwide ground stop — this issue

TIMEUpdate

Duffy says a router an L3Harris contractor installed flooded the FAA's telecom network and caused the Nov. 13 nationwide ground stop

FlightAware counted more than 9,100 cancellations on Friday, Nov. 13, and more than 6,400 on Saturday, Nov. 14, above the FAA's forecast of 4,000 to 5,000 for Nov. 14.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Saturday, Nov. 14, that an L3Harris contractor was replacing old copper line with fiber at a remote FAA facility. A newly installed router there then flooded the agency's telecom network with over 1,000 connection attempts every 4–5 seconds. Radio and radar gaps spread from site to site. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 17 of the 22 centers that handle high-altitude traffic had unstable voice and ground links, per the BBC. Officials found no evidence of a cyberattack.

Still open. Investigators have not settled whether the router was installed wrong or was defective. Duffy: "What we're working to determine is whether we had incompetence or did they install a faulty router." Bedford said schedules should be back to normal by the end of Sunday, Nov. 15.

Catch upwhat happened before · 1 earlier issue

Nov 14FAA halted every U.S. departure for more than four hours after a telecom failure hit all 22 high-altitude control centers

Ongoing3 earlier updates30 days

This story has run 4 times over 30 days, starting Oct 16.

Oct 16UpdateCDC sends an outbreak investigator to Pennsylvania as state measles cases reach 1,222
Oct 25CDC counts 4,588 U.S. measles cases and three deaths in 2026; Pennsylvania alone reports five deaths
Nov 7U.S. measles cases reach 5,182 in 45 states and D.C. as PAHO prepares to review U.S. elimination status
Nov 15UpdatePAHO finds measles spreading nonstop in the U.S., ending its elimination status after 26 years, researchers tell KFF Health News — this issue

NPRUpdateMeasles outbreak

PAHO finds measles spreading nonstop in the U.S., ending its elimination status after 26 years, researchers tell KFF Health News

The CDC counts 5,412 cases in 2026. That is the most since 1991, when there were 9,643.

Researchers with direct knowledge of the deliberations told KFF Health News, in a story NPR also ran, that the Pan American Health Organization reached its finding this week. PAHO is the World Health Organization's office for the Americas. It found that measles is spreading inside the U.S. again without a break, ending the "eliminated" label the country has held since 2000. PAHO has not announced the ruling. An expert panel it convened decided after a three-day meeting in Washington, Axios reports. KFF says the panel weighed two analyses, one by the CDC and one by independent measles experts.

Cases have turned up in 45 states and D.C. this year, and more than 590 people have been hospitalized, CBS News reports. Pennsylvania alone has more than 1,500 cases, state health officials say. CBS and The Atlantic count seven deaths there; Axios counts six.

What next. PAHO is set to announce the finding Tuesday, Nov. 17.

Catch upwhat happened before · 3 earlier issues

Aug. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. feuded with Josh Shapiro (Gov-D Pennsylvania) as the state's outbreak grew.
Oct. 16 — CDC sent its first in-person outbreak investigator to Pennsylvania since the feud. State cases stood at 1,222.
Oct. 23 — CDC counted 4,588 U.S. cases, 43 outbreaks and three deaths. Pennsylvania alone reported five deaths.
Nov. 7 — Cases hit 5,182 in 45 states and D.C. as PAHO prepared its review. CDC confirmed four deaths; states reported eight.
Nov. 13 — The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that PAHO had revoked U.S. elimination status.

Nov 7U.S. measles cases reach 5,182 in 45 states and D.C. as PAHO prepares to review U.S. elimination status

2 earlier issues

Ongoing1 earlier update

This story has run 2 times, starting Nov 14.

Nov 14UpdateKremlin revives its 2021 demand to bar Ukraine and Georgia from NATO as the price of a deal
Nov 15UpdateZelensky says US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would leave Donbas in exchange for NATO membership — this issue

PBS NEWSHOURUpdateRussia-Ukraine war

Zelensky says US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would leave Donbas in exchange for NATO membership

He says Kyiv still won't give up the land, but if Washington and other NATO allies confirm a package of guarantees, a strong army and rebuilding money, he would put it to a referendum.

Volodymyr Zelensky (President, Ukraine) said in remarks released on Saturday, Nov. 14, that US negotiators had asked, for the first time, whether Ukraine would pull out of the parts of Donbas (the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions) it still holds if it were admitted to NATO. He said this puts NATO "back on the agenda" and called it "an extremely difficult conversation."

Kyiv's terms. Zelensky says Ukraine will not recognize occupied land as Russian. If the US and other NATO allies confirm a full package of security guarantees, a strong, well-funded army and rebuilding money, he would put it to a national referendum. He warned that a new European security framework the US raised could benefit Putin. He also rejected Putin's offer of a ceasefire around Kostiantynivka alone, a city on the Donetsk front: "Putin simply wants us to leave Kostiantynivka so that they can move in and occupy the entire city that way." He said Ukraine had instead listed seven or eight other frontline settlements, where civilians are trapped, for a humanitarian truce, per NBC.

Moscow and Washington. At this week's talks, Russia returned to its prewar demand that NATO roll its troop deployments back to where they stood in 1997, before the alliance expanded east of Germany, the Washington Post reports. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a lead US negotiator, said the US is now arranging direct talks between Moscow and Europe: "Several new ideas emerged from these discussions … Some may lead to breakthroughs directly."

What next. Kushner says the US is setting the agenda for the next three-way round of talks between Washington, Kyiv and Moscow.

Catch upwhat happened before · 1 earlier issue

Nov 14UpdateKremlin revives its 2021 demand to bar Ukraine and Georgia from NATO as the price of a deal

BackgroundWhat a Donbas-for-NATO trade would have to clear first3 facts

Every NATO ally must agree to invite Ukraine, then each ratifies on its own; in the US that takes two-thirds of the Senate.
Ukrainian law bars calling or holding any referendum under martial law, so parliament would first have to amend two separate statutes.
A legal border change needs its own nationwide referendum under Ukraine's constitution, which cannot be amended while martial law lasts.

Red take

Kushner's team was right to ask, for the first time, whether Kyiv would trade the Donbas it holds for NATO membership, because an alliance guarantee protects more Ukrainians than any trench line. Zelensky already offers his people a referendum on security guarantees and rebuilding money, and this trade belongs on that ballot. Rule it out, and soldiers keep dying for ground with no alliance behind them.

Blue take

Handing Putin Donbas towns Ukraine still holds, for a NATO seat every ally must still approve, pays for conquest up front. Zelensky, Ukraine's president, refused even a lone Kostiantynivka ceasefire and proposed a truce across seven or eight frontline settlements instead, because Moscow uses pauses to advance. Pay once, and the eastern NATO members Moscow now wants stripped of allied forces become the next thing traded.

Ongoing5 earlier updates16 days

This story has run 6 times over 16 days, starting Oct 30.

Oct 30Trump did not act on U.S. intelligence that an executive close to Jensen Huang was gathering information for Beijing
Nov 8UpdateHouse Republican chairs ask Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to brief them Nov. 18 on his ties to an alleged Chinese spy
Nov 9UpdateNvidia board opens independent probe after CEO Jensen Huang admits an affair, reportedly with a suspected Chinese spy; Trump says he's done nothing wrong
Nov 10UpdateTrump says the FBI is looking into a matter tied to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with an alleged Chinese spy; China denies espionage
Nov 13UpdateNvidia founder Jensen Huang resigns as CEO and from the board after two reported affairs; CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO
Nov 15UpdateExperts tell The Atlantic China's spy service likely recruited Alice Huang after her affair with Jensen Huang began; U.S. has released no evidence — this issue

THE ATLANTICUpdate

Experts tell The Atlantic China's spy service likely recruited Alice Huang after her affair with Jensen Huang began; U.S. has released no evidence

Officials took the concern seriously enough that Trump was briefed on it twice, late last year and again this spring, the New York Times reports.

Jensen Huang, Nvidia's founder, resigned as CEO on Thursday, Nov. 12, days after admitting an affair. His letter did not name her, but it described a relationship with a suspected Chinese spy (Axios), after The New York Times reported on Oct. 29 that Jensen Huang had a close relationship with Alice Huang. Reporting now centers on whether China's Ministry of State Security (its main civilian spy agency, known as the MSS) used Alice Huang, a former executive at Nvidia chip buyer Megaspeed, to reach him.

The theory. Experts told The Atlantic she was more likely recruited after the affair began than planted beforehand. China's National Intelligence Law requires citizens to cooperate with state intelligence work. Former officials told the magazine that MSS officers are known to coerce recruits by threatening their property or harassing their families.

The evidence. U.S. officials have not made it public. CNN reports that CIA officials are not convinced intercepted communications prove she knowingly passed information to Beijing. Singapore says its own probe covered possible false server-purchase declarations, not espionage. It found too little evidence to charge her but barred her from returning for misleading police about her role.

Beijing. China calls the allegations baseless.

What next. House Foreign Affairs Chair Brian Mast (Rep-R Florida) said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that Huang had agreed to brief lawmakers, NBC reported. The same day, Mast and the chairs of the China and Intelligence committees replaced their Nov. 18 request with a written one for a closed-door, transcribed interview on Tuesday, Dec. 1. They gave him until 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, to confirm or face a subpoena. Whether he confirmed has not been made public.

Catch upwhat happened before · 5 earlier issues

Oct. 29 — The New York Times reported Trump did not act on intelligence that an executive close to Huang was gathering information for Beijing.
Nov. 5 — The Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs, China and Intelligence committees released a letter asking Huang to brief them on Nov. 18.
Nov. 8 — Huang admitted an affair. Nvidia's board opened an independent probe and said it saw no sign secrets were compromised.
Nov. 10 — Trump said the FBI is looking into a related matter; China denied spying. Nvidia stock fell.
Nov. 11–12 — A second affair surfaced and the board met on ousting Huang. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on not blacklisting Megaspeed.
Nov. 12 — Huang resigned as CEO and from the board; CFO Colette Kress became interim CEO.
Nov. 13 — Bessent said four agencies had wanted Megaspeed blacklisted for months. Bloomberg traced banned Nvidia chips to a Shanghai company Alice Huang founded.

Nov 13UpdateNvidia founder Jensen Huang resigns as CEO and from the board after two reported affairs; CFO Colette Kress is interim CEO

4 earlier issues

THE WALL STREET JOURNALUpdateIran war

US intelligence puts Iran's missile arsenal at 1,500 to 2,500, days after Trump called the war 'effectively over'

Officials told the Wall Street Journal it is a low-confidence estimate. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Nov. 12, that he "would not hesitate" if things don't work out, and that the US is watching Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program.

The U.S. intelligence community puts Iran's arsenal at 1,500 to 2,500 missiles, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal. They called it a low-confidence estimate, because it is hard to track how many missiles Iran has ready to launch or in storage. Earlier this week, Trump said the war "militarily is effectively over." The Journal reports that the rebuilt stockpile has come up in administration talks about whether to resume strikes.

How it compares. Israel put Iran's prewar stock of missiles that can reach Israel at about 2,500. An Israeli security estimate published Nov. 3 put it at more than 1,700. The Journal does not say which missile types the U.S. range covers, so it may count shorter-range missiles that the Israeli figures leave out.

Still open. How fast Iran is rebuilding, and whether the administration's talks turn into new strikes. The Senate must vote by Friday, Nov. 20, on a House-passed Iran war powers resolution; see that story.

How we got herethe story so far

Oct. 14 — Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister, Israel) pressed Trump on several calls for a new joint strike on Iran, Axios reported; the White House denied it.
Oct. 19–20 — Trump endorsed Netanyahu before Israel's Oct. 27 election, vowing to hit Iran himself otherwise; Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse.
Oct. 22–23 — U.S. and Israel drew up post-midterm strike plans; Israeli sources named petrochemical plants and Pickaxe Mountain, a site tied to Iran's nuclear program, as targets.
Oct. 27 — Israel's military chief resisted Netanyahu's push to strike before the vote, officials said.
Nov. 3 — Trump said the US would end its nearly $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel by year's end.
Nov. 4–5 — Vance said the war cost Republicans the midterms and urged ending it; Trump called that "largely true."
Nov. 12 — Trump said the US doesn't need a deal with Iran and moved Vance off the talks to a corruption assignment.

Red take

U.S. intelligence still counts 1,500 to 2,500 Iranian missiles, so Trump is right to keep strikes on the table and keep watching Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program. Take force off the table, and the blockade squeezing Iran's economy loses its teeth while an arsenal that can still hit U.S. and allied targets keeps growing.

Blue take

Since Feb. 28, U.S. and Israeli strikes have not disarmed Iran: U.S. intelligence still counts 1,500 to 2,500 missiles, days after Trump called the war "effectively over." Trump now says the U.S. doesn't need a deal, so another round of strikes buys more cost and more risk with no way out.

Quick bites12

Oversight fights ahead2 bites

White House counsel Will Scharf says compliance with Democratic subpoenas 'depends' and adds about 15 lawyers for the probes
BLOOMBERGUpdate
Scharf told Bloomberg in an interview that whether the White House complies with subpoenas from the new Congress "depends." He said company executives who dealt with Trump may be covered by executive privilege, and that his office has added about 15 lawyers ahead of the expected probes. Separately, Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, wrote Richard Blumenthal (Sen-D Connecticut) on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that his inquiry into White House ballroom donors could violate criminal law. Reitz sent a similar letter to Elissa Slotkin (Sen-D Michigan) on Thursday, Nov. 12, per Politico.
How we got herethe story so far

Oct. 19 — Scharf demanded that Politico retract or correct three stories about then-chief of staff Susie Wiles. Politico corrected one and stood by two.

Nov. 3–6 — Republicans lost the House and Senate on Nov. 3. On Nov. 6, Trump named Stephen Miller to replace Wiles as chief of staff.

Nov. 7 — The Atlantic, citing three people, reported that Miller favored arresting journalists to make them reveal sources. The Justice Department called the report "absolutely false."

Nov. 11 — A Nov. 9 letter from Scharf became public. It warned Robert Garcia (Rep-D California), in line to chair House Oversight, that Democrats' planned probes "may cross the line into blatant criminality." Garcia replied that Congress's power to investigate is "inherent in the power to legislate."

What each side saysWhite House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Scharf letter was "not a threat" and that "the only people who have made threats are…3 details

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Scharf letter was "not a threat" and that "the only people who have made threats are Elissa Slotkin and radical Democrats" (Politico).

Manhattan Institute's Ilya Shapiro said criminal prosecutions are "a very different animal that face a higher bar" (Fox News).

The privilege claim rests on Scharf's interview with Bloomberg alone so far. Reitz posted both senator letters on X.
Incoming Democratic committee chairs say their first probes will target Trump's sons' business deals
NBC NEWS
At least seven firms publicly tied to Trump's sons have gotten contracts, loans, possible investments or favorable regulatory rulings from the federal government while their father has been in office, NBC News found from press releases, SEC filings and contracting records. Robert Garcia (Rep-D California), running to chair House Oversight, wrote in his Nov. 5 bid letter that he "will use every tool available to investigate the Trump Crime Family." A spokesperson for Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. told NBC they are passive, minority investors with no role in government contracts.
The plan and its limitsAlso on the list, per NBC: corporate corruption, immigration enforcement abuses and the Epstein case.3 details

Also on the list, per NBC: corporate corruption, immigration enforcement abuses and the Epstein case.

John Curtis (Sen-R Utah) urged colleagues in a Sept. 21 letter to investigate the Trump family's business dealings, comparing them to Hunter Biden's, per NBC.

Impeachment is not on the agenda for now. "That's not on my bingo card," Pete Aguilar (Rep-D California), expected to be House Democratic whip, told the Los Angeles Times.

Also tonight7 bites

Richard Blumenthal (Sen-D Connecticut) says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 'must go' over the stalled Megaspeed blacklisting; Trump advisers discuss an ouster, but Trump backs him for now
ABC NEWSUpdate
Lutnick has agreed to appear before Senate Banking, which asked for Dec. 10.

Blumenthal wrote "Lutnick must go" on X on Friday, Nov. 13, per The Hill. He said Lutnick made "powerful Nvidia chips available to China through an apparent spy." Commerce has still not put Megaspeed, the Singapore chip buyer that employed Alice Huang, on its Entity List. Some Trump advisers have discussed firing Lutnick, CNN reported Nov. 13. Axios reported on Saturday, Nov. 14, that Trump is standing by him for now; Commerce called Axios's reports "inaccurate and false."
Ongoing2
This story has run 3 times over 4 days, starting Nov 11.
Nov 11Commerce Secretary Lutnick got a classified memo on Jensen Huang's ties to a suspected Chinese agent
Nov 13UpdateLutnick agrees to testify before Senate Banking after chair Tim Scott asks him for Dec. 10 and Jensen Huang for Dec. 3
Nov 15UpdateRichard Blumenthal (Sen-D Connecticut) says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 'must go' over the stalled Megaspeed blacklisting; Trump advisers discuss an ouster, but Trump backs him for now — this issue
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asks Congress for $50 billion for air traffic control after the Nov. 13 ground stop
WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked for the money on Friday night, Nov. 13, hours after the nationwide ground stop he later blamed on an L3Harris router. The administration's earlier $30.1 billion request covered airports too and set aside $10.1 billion for air traffic control, per TIME, so the $50 billion is about five times that air traffic share. It would come on top of the $12.5 billion approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Washington Examiner reports.
Who said whatDuffy: "I want $50 billion. … Let's finish this job: new hardware, new software, new telecommunication." (The Hill)3 details

Duffy: "I want $50 billion. … Let's finish this job: new hardware, new software, new telecommunication." (The Hill)

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Saturday, Nov. 14, he would add FAA money to an "aggressive legislative package" in the lame-duck session (the weeks before the new Congress, with Democratic majorities, is seated in January) but named no figure: "we don't really need any investigation to understand we need further investment." (The New York Times)

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, called the briefing "literally like a shakedown for more money" on X. She also claimed, without evidence, that the outage was a cyberattack; officials say they found no sign of one.
Fed officials signal a December rate hike, and some float a larger one: a half point, double the usual step, from today's 3.75%–4%
BLOOMBERGUpdateInflation and rates
Boston Fed President Susan Collins said on Saturday, Nov. 14, that "a steady, gradual path seems appropriate to me at the moment. But I'm open-minded," per Reuters. She named no meeting, and she does not vote on rates this year. Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Friday, Nov. 13, that he sees "the trajectory of inflation as providing the more important signal" for rates. The Fed's benchmark rate sits at 3.75% to 4% after a quarter-point hike in September. Reuters reports that last week's price data and Governor Christopher Waller's comments suggest some officials may want a bigger move at the Dec. 8–9 meeting.
On Nov. 10, Waller said a half-point hike, double the usual quarter point, should be considered in December if inflation ran hot. Hours later, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, after 0.6% in September. The BLS published no yearly rate because it collected no October 2025 price data during that year's shutdown. A New York Times calculation puts annual inflation near 4%, up from the official 3.7% in September.
Senate must vote by Nov. 20 on the House-passed Iran war powers measure; a similar one failed 49-50 in September
FOX NEWS Iran war
Under a Nov. 9 agreement, the Senate must vote by Friday, Nov. 20, on H.Con.Res. 93, which directs Trump to pull U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran unless Congress authorizes them, per the Senate calendar. The House passed it 220-204 on Sept. 15. Thomas Massie (Rep-R Kentucky) says a fourth House vote could come "in the next few legislative days" or around Christmas (Fox News).
Who has broken ranks5 GOP senators backed at least one earlier resolution: Tillis, Murkowski, Collins, Cassidy and Paul (Washington Examiner).3 details

5 GOP senators backed at least one earlier resolution: Tillis, Murkowski, Collins, Cassidy and Paul (Washington Examiner). Four of them backed the measure that failed 49-50 on Sept. 24 (CBS).

7 House Republicans, Massie among them, voted for H.Con.Res. 93 in September (House Clerk).

Government funding runs out Dec. 11. Tim Kaine (Sen-D Virginia) says he won't back a stopgap unless it blocks money for the war (The Hill). Tillis opposes defunding it: "What we don't want to do is be irresponsible and walk away." (Washington Examiner)
A stacked bar of the House vote: 220 yes and 204 no, 424 votes cast, so 52 percent of those voting said yes.
Chart
The House voted 220–204
16-vote margin, out of 424 votes cast.
YesNo
The numbers
The House voted 220–204
Votes Yes No
House roll call 220 votes 204 votes
Source: House roll call, reported by FOX NewsPOLI
Carney says US-Canada tariff talks are 'making progress' after a call with Trump, three months after they collapsed
THE HILL Canada trade war
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in Manila on Saturday, Nov. 14, that he had a "long, substantive conversation" with Donald Trump, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller before his trip. "There is the possibility of a deal, a bilateral deal. But we're not yet there," he said, per the AP. Talks broke down in August. Greer said on Thursday, Nov. 12, that the two sides had talked in recent days but set no deadline, per The Hub. About 80% of Canadian goods exports to the U.S. still enter tariff-free, the Bank of Canada estimated in October.
Zelensky says SpaceX has capped Starshield at 100 mph over occupied Ukraine since Nov. 9; SpaceX denies it
THE NEW YORK TIMES Russia-Ukraine war
Ukraine uses Starshield, SpaceX's military satellite service, to guide interceptor drones against Russia's jet-powered Shaheds. Zelensky says drones over Russian-held land lose the link above 161 km/h (100 mph), and he told the Guardian the limit looks "political," not "technical." SpaceX told Axios: "This is false. There has been no change." Jeanne Shaheen (Sen-D New Hampshire) and Chris Coons (Sen-D Delaware) asked Musk to preserve all Starlink and Starshield records on Ukraine since Sept. 1.
Police lift a one-mile evacuation around BioUrja's Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant after a search finds no more devices
NBC NEWS
Peoria police lifted the order at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 14, after state, federal and local officers searched the plant and "found no other items of concern," per the AP. Mayor Rita Ali said the company had received an electronic threat saying there was more than one package, per CNN. Ali said, "We know it's a credible threat. We know it's a bomb." Police Chief Brad Dixon would not confirm it was a bomb and called it a "credible threat," WCBU reports. No arrests have been made.

The House voted 220–204
Votes	Yes	No
House roll call	220 votes	204 votes

Elections3 bites

Mary Peltola (D-AK) widens her lead over Dan Sullivan (Sen-R Alaska) to 11,213 votes; NBC rates her the likely winner
NBC NEWSUpdateAlaska Senate race
Peltola had 140,637 first-choice votes to Sullivan's 129,424 in the state's count on Saturday, Nov. 14, per the Alaska Division of Elections. Her lead was about 10,400 after Friday, Nov. 13, when the state counted some 22,500 ballots and she won 58% of the newly reported votes, per Alaska Public Media and NBC News.
After the Nov. 12 count, Peltola led Sullivan by 5,800 votes, but neither had cleared 50%, so ranked-choice tabulation was set to decide the last uncalled Senate race.
Where the count standsPeltola has 49.94% and Sullivan 45.96% in the state's summary report, which counts write-ins.3 details

Peltola has 49.94% and Sullivan 45.96% in the state's summary report, which counts write-ins. Leaving write-ins out, as the state's results map does, puts her at 50.1%, the figure the Anchorage Daily News reports.

The AP estimates 97% of the vote is counted and has not called the race, per Alaska Public Media. Overseas absentee ballots are due Wednesday, Nov. 18, and a ranked-choice tabulation follows that day if no one tops 50%.

NBC's Decision Desk rates her likely to win but has not projected the race. Its read of the state's ballot records finds only about 6,600 votes would likely pass to the top two in a tabulation, fewer than Sullivan's 11,213-vote deficit. A Peltola win would give the Democratic caucus 56 seats, per Alaska Public Media.
Schumer allies predict 40-plus of at least 55 caucus votes and discuss moving the leadership vote into November
THE HILLUpdate
Allies of Chuck Schumer predict he will win more than 40 votes against Chris Van Hollen (Sen-D Maryland), per The Hill. The caucus will have at least 55 members, 56 if Mary Peltola wins in Alaska. The allies are also discussing moving the leadership vote, now set for the first week of December, into November; that would take a caucus vote. Van Hollen called himself "the underdog" on Friday, Nov. 13, and has launched a campaign website, per The Washington Post.
Van Hollen announced his challenge on Thursday, Nov. 12. By Nov. 13 he had four public backers, per The Hill: Bernie Sanders (Sen-I Vermont), Jeff Merkley (Sen-D Oregon) and Sens.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) and Peggy Flanagan (D-MN). Axios counted 14 public backers for Schumer.
What each camp saysA Senate insider close to Schumer on Van Hollen's bid: "It's distracting" (The Hill).3 details

A Senate insider close to Schumer on Van Hollen's bid: "It's distracting" (The Hill).

Van Hollen's allies read the push to move the date as nerves. "What he's showing by trying to change caucus rules is panic," a former Senate Democratic chief of staff told The Hill.

Van Hollen has a good chance of adding Elizabeth Warren (Sen-D Massachusetts) and Sens.-elect Troy Jackson (D-ME) and Juliana Stratton (D-IL), The Hill reports.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-AK) wins Alaska governor's race, first Democrat elected since 1998
THE GUARDIAN
The former state representative took 50.9% of first-choice votes in the state's Nov. 14 count, a majority on the first ballot, so no ranked-choice tabulation is needed. The AP called the race Friday, Nov. 13.

At 37, he will be the youngest governor in Alaska history and, next year, the youngest sitting governor in the country, per NBC News.

Democrats will hold 30 governorships next year after flipping six, NBC News and The Guardian report.

Lisa Murkowski (Sen-R Alaska) endorsed him on Oct. 27, a week before Election Day, in an interview with Anchorage station KTUU.

Elections1 races

1 closest races

mAlaska SenateMary Peltola 99.82%▲2.3Sullivan 0.10%

POLYMARKET: Alaska Senate — general election

Mary Peltola (D) faces Dan Sullivan (R).

A sitting Republican senator is defending this seat, and Peltola holds a commanding lead.

Two markets, one question

Alaska Senate

Nov 14, 9:16 PM CT
widest venue gap 0.1pp

Polymarket, solid
Kalshi, dashed
shaded = the gap between them

Alaska Senate. Mary Peltola (D): Polymarket 99.85%, Kalshi 99.80%; Dan Sullivan (R): Polymarket 0.05%, Kalshi 0.15%. Widest disagreement between the two venues: 0.1pp. Full history is in the table below.

Day7 days ago

Market-implied chance of winning, out of 100 — prices, not polls. Source: Polymarket · Kalshi.

Prices are what each venue’s traders were paying, right-aligned to the snapshot: the last sample is today, the one before it yesterday. Every series here is 8 samples long.

Money-weighted: Mary Peltola 99.8% · Dan Sullivan 0.1%. Volume is each venue's own reported figure — Polymarket in USD, Kalshi in contracts. They are not a common unit, so read the weighting as a tilt, not a conversion.

Mary Peltola (D)7 days ago

Polymarket$5.9M98.6%

Kalshi1.7M contracts · 99.7%/99.9%96.4%

venue gap2.2pp

7-day move+1.3pp

Dan Sullivan (R)7 days ago

Polymarket$3.6M1.5%

Kalshi5.0M contracts · 0.1%/0.2%3.5%

venue gap2.0pp

7-day move-1.4pp

Every sample behind the chart. Alaska Senate, snapshot Nov 14, 9:16 PM CT.
Day	Mary Peltola · Polymarket	Mary Peltola · Kalshi	Dan Sullivan · Polymarket	Dan Sullivan · Kalshi
7 days ago	98.60%	96.4%	1.50%	3.50%
6 days ago	98.15%	97.0%	1.95%	3.20%
5 days ago	98.75%	97.4%	1.20%	2.50%
4 days ago	98.95%	98.2%	0.80%	1.50%
3 days ago	99.55%	99.1%	0.35%	1.00%
2 days ago	99.65%	99.2%	0.35%	0.80%
yesterday	99.85%	99.5%	0.05%	0.40%
today	99.85%	99.8%	0.05%	0.15%

“Still in doubt” means no leader above 80% on either book. Prices captured Nov 14, 9:16 PM CT. These are trader-implied estimates, not polls. Separate contracts trade independently, so opposing prices may not add to exactly 100%.

Not news news1 story

REASON

Judge bars the government from searching its copy of an immigration lawyer's phone, finding the seizure was likely retaliation for his speech

A colleague who handled the firm's hiring paperwork flew home from the same trip a day earlier and was not searched.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston ruled Friday, Nov. 13, that border agents likely violated the First Amendment (the free-speech guarantee) when they seized and copied the phone of Andrew Lattarulo. He is an immigration lawyer who runs a popular know-your-rights Instagram account. The government must keep its copy locked in an unreadable format until the case ends. Reason's Volokh Conspiracy and Newsweek reported the order on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The search. Four federal agents stopped Lattarulo as he got off a plane at Boston's Logan Airport on Sept. 28, 2025. Three were from Customs and Border Protection and one was from Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Homeland Security's criminal investigators. They took his phone without a warrant, downloaded a full copy and returned the device eight days later. The phone held privileged messages with his clients, which the law shields from outside eyes. The government said any search would use a separate taint team to screen out privileged material.

The ruling. The government wanted to convert the copy into a readable format and search it. Burroughs blocked that. She also declined, for now, to order the copy destroyed, so the government keeps it.

Where it stands. The freeze lasts until the case is resolved, and the order sets no end date. The government says it has more evidence supporting the search but withheld it to protect its investigation.

Why the judge tied the phone search to his speechTiming: agents took the phone three days after his firm got a federal notice about suspect hiring documents.3 details

Timing: agents took the phone three days after his firm got a federal notice about suspect hiring documents. The seizure fell inside the 10-business-day window the firm had to respond.
Comparison: colleague Audai Cote ran the firm's hiring-paperwork compliance and had equal or greater access to the records. He made no public statements and was not searched.
Method: the government offered no evidence that phone searches are normal in this kind of hiring probe. Lattarulo's evidence suggests criminal charges against employers for hiring unauthorized workers are "exceedingly rare," the judge wrote.

Nov 152026

Executive summary6 stories

News news5

Not news news1

News news5 stories

FlightAware counted more than 9,100 cancellations on Friday, Nov. 13, and more than 6,400 on Saturday, Nov. 14, above the FAA's forecast of 4,000 to 5,000 for Nov. 14.

The CDC counts 5,412 cases in 2026. That is the most since 1991, when there were 9,643.

He says Kyiv still won't give up the land, but if Washington and other NATO allies confirm a package of guarantees, a strong army and rebuilding money, he would put it to a referendum.

Officials took the concern seriously enough that Trump was briefed on it twice, late last year and again this spring, the New York Times reports.

Officials told the Wall Street Journal it is a low-confidence estimate. Trump told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, Nov. 12, that he "would not hesitate" if things don't work out, and that the US is watching Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to Iran's nuclear program.

Quick bites12

White House counsel Will Scharf says compliance with Democratic subpoenas 'depends' and adds about 15 lawyers for the probes

Incoming Democratic committee chairs say their first probes will target Trump's sons' business deals

Richard Blumenthal (Sen-D Connecticut) says Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 'must go' over the stalled Megaspeed blacklisting; Trump advisers discuss an ouster, but Trump backs him for now

Lutnick has agreed to appear before Senate Banking, which asked for Dec. 10.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asks Congress for $50 billion for air traffic control after the Nov. 13 ground stop

Fed officials signal a December rate hike, and some float a larger one: a half point, double the usual step, from today's 3.75%–4%

Senate must vote by Nov. 20 on the House-passed Iran war powers measure; a similar one failed 49-50 in September

The House voted 220–204

Carney says US-Canada tariff talks are 'making progress' after a call with Trump, three months after they collapsed

Zelensky says SpaceX has capped Starshield at 100 mph over occupied Ukraine since Nov. 9; SpaceX denies it

Police lift a one-mile evacuation around BioUrja's Peoria, Illinois ethanol plant after a search finds no more devices

Mary Peltola (D-AK) widens her lead over Dan Sullivan (Sen-R Alaska) to 11,213 votes; NBC rates her the likely winner

Schumer allies predict 40-plus of at least 55 caucus votes and discuss moving the leadership vote into November

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-AK) wins Alaska governor's race, first Democrat elected since 1998

Elections1 racesShowHide

Alaska Senate

Not news news1 story

A colleague who handled the firm's hiring paperwork flew home from the same trip a day earlier and was not searched.

News

Election related

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