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House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their next conference leader — making him minority leader when the 120th Congress convenes January 3. Longtime leadership fixture Steve Scalise, who lost the race, has declined to commit to serving out a full term, leaving his future in the chamber an open question. The shake-up follows last week's midterm losses that handed Democrats the House majority.
The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in October, beating the 0.3 percent consensus, with shelter and food leading the climb. Three-month annualized headline inflation now sits at 5.7 percent and core at 3.7 percent — a genuine acceleration, not noise. Derivatives traders have sharply raised bets the Fed hikes rates at next month's meeting, with some pricing in a half-point move.
Scott Bessent has been moved out of his Washington, D.C., home and onto a military installation after Iranian threats against him escalated past what officials called an advanced stage. A U.S. official described the intelligence as credible and specific enough to force the relocation. The move comes as the broader U.S.-Iran conflict continues to generate threats against American officials.
Republican leadership blocked Rep. Thomas Massie's privileged resolution to impeach Secretary of War Pete Hegseth before it could reach a floor vote. President Trump celebrated on Truth Social, calling Massie a "major LOSER" and touting Hegseth's record on Venezuela, Iran, and military recruitment. Separately, other lawmakers are signaling a fresh impeachment push tied to questions over Ukraine aid.
U.S.-brokered negotiations in Abu Dhabi produced an in-principle deal on what negotiators call the largest humanitarian prisoner release of the war, with final numbers due November 12. Envoy Jared Kushner described the sessions as "pretty tough" but "very substantive," with real compromise on some issues and none on others — territory chief among them. Kushner and Steve Witkoff fly to Moscow Thursday to meet Putin, then on to Dublin for talks with Zelenskyy.
The State Department issued a renewed alert Tuesday night urging Americans in the Middle East — Saudi Arabia specifically — to prepare for hostilities as the U.S. conflict with Iran grinds on. Officials cited the threat of armed attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis and active Iranian efforts to target U.S. government personnel in the region. Travelers and expats are being told to exercise heightened vigilance.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a New York audience the U.S. must produce more of what it consumes while China consumes more of what it produces — framing the goal as de-risking rather than decoupling. The new bilateral Board of Trade forum has already yielded an agreement easing tariffs on roughly thirty billion dollars of nonsensitive goods in each direction. Trump heads to Shenzhen next week for his third sit-down with Xi Jinping this year.
NASA unveiled PROMISE, a rover built largely from spare Curiosity and Perseverance components, set to launch aboard a Blue Origin lander and reach the moon's south pole by late 2028. Its mission is hunting water ice and characterizing surface conditions for a sustained human presence. It's part of a broader push that includes three newly announced Moon missions and a nuclear-powered Mars spacecraft targeted for 2028.
A large new study found a weight-loss drug substantially reduced chronic knee pain in patients, with researchers describing the effect as going well beyond what weight reduction alone would predict. The findings point toward anti-inflammatory mechanisms, not just mechanical offloading of the joint. If it holds up, it could reshape treatment for osteoarthritis patients facing surgery.
The legendary ocean liner — which carried presidents, movie stars, and a transatlantic speed record that still stands — is being deliberately scuttled off the Florida coast. At roughly a thousand feet long, she'll become the largest artificial reef on the planet, a dive site and marine habitat rolled into one. It's an ignominious and oddly beautiful end for a ship that was once the pride of the American merchant fleet.
