“Nancy Pelosi, the first and only female speaker of the US House of Representatives and one of the most powerful figures in Democratic politics for decades, has announced she will not seek reelection. … The announcement ends heightened speculation in recent days that the longtime Democrat would soon announce her intention to draw her congressional career to a close after 38 years. She was widely expected to leave Congress after this term, her first in decades as a rank-and-file member.” (11/06/25)
“The government of the Dominican Republic has announced that the X Summit of the Americas (SOA), scheduled to be held in Punta Cana on December 4-5, has been postponed. This is the first time an SOA has been postponed. There is no reason to think that the conditions for holding such a meeting will be better three or six months from now so it’s more likely the summit will be canceled. If so, this might very well ring the death knell of the SOAs, precisely at a time when they are more needed than ever, given the deep differences cutting across the hemisphere.” (11/06/25)
“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth concluded his visit to South Korea this week with praise for the nation’s planned 8.2 percent increase in military spending next year. ‘We face, as we both acknowledge, a dangerous security environment, but our alliance is stronger than ever,’ he intoned. Upping defense outlays is a sensible course for the Republic of Korea, which faces an increasingly hostile North Korea. However, why does Washington continue to provide Seoul with what amounts to military welfare?” (11/06/25)
“Donald Trump cost his party a lot of votes in Tuesday’s elections. He and his supporters are peddling excuses for the big Republican defeat—pleading that the losses were in blue states, faulting the poor quality of the candidates, or arguing that the GOP would have performed better if Trump were on the ballot this year. But the president and his policies were largely to blame. Here’s what the exit polls show, as of this writing.” (11/05/25)
“Democrats had a very good night. Tuesday’s odd-year elections were expected to see Democrats win most of the high-profile races. Traditionally, the party that won the White House a year prior tends to do poorly as thermostatic backlash kicks in. Heading into election day, there were few high-profile races where the outcome was not in much doubt. But the margins matter as an indication of where things are heading, namely, voters do not want Trumpism to reign unchecked.” (11/05/25)
“Singapore this week passed a law allowing for the caning of those involved in scamming, its latest attempt to combat a runaway surge in online fraud of all kinds. Under the measure, which was passed by Parliament on Tuesday, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, the Straits Times reported. Depending on the severity of the offense, the punishment that can be increased up to the legal limit of 24 strokes. Scam mules who enable scammers will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes, the Times added.” (11/06/25)
