“Self-proclaimed socialist Katie Wilson — who is still financially supported by her New York parents at 43 years old — will be the next mayor of Seattle, overseeing a budget close to $9 billion. Wilson, whose campaign was likened to that of fellow Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City, secured the lead over incumbent Mayor Bruce Harrell on Wednesday. Unlike the New York City race, however, the Seattle election went down to the wire, with Wilson squeezing just enough votes to win and avoid an automatic recount. … While Harrell lost by enough votes not to trigger an automatic recount, it’s still close enough for his campaign to request and pay for one.” (11/13/25)
“Airlines are optimistic they can resume normal operations just a few days after the government lifts its order to cut some flights at 40 busy airports, but it’s not clear how soon that will happen even though the federal shutdown is over. The Federal Aviation Administration did announce Wednesday night that airlines won’t have to cut more than 6% of flights at those airports because air traffic controller staffing has improved significantly in the last few days. Originally the order that took effect last Friday called for those flight cuts to increase to 8% Thursday and top out at 10% on Friday. A number of air traffic controllers missed work while they were going without pay during the shutdown, and the spike in understaffing at airport towers and regional control centers prompted the flight cut order due to concerns about safety.” (11/13/25)
“Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has been hospitalized after a fall near his home, which caused minor injuries to his face, his spokesman said on X. Fetterman fell to the ground after feeling light-headed, which was due to a ventricular fibrillation flare-up, the statement said. Ventricular fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat. Fetterman is remaining at the hospital for observation so doctors can ‘fine-tune’ his medications.” (11/13/25)
“South Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir has in a shock move dismissed one of his vice-presidents, Benjamin Bol Mel, who had been tipped as his possible successor. Kiir stripped Bol Mel of his military rank of general and dismissed him from the national security service. He also sacked the central bank governor and the head of the revenue authority, both considered close allies of Bol Mel. No explanation was given for the dismissals, which were announced in a decree broadcast on state television. It comes when there are growing fears of political instability and a possible return to civil war, after the recent collapse of a fragile power-sharing agreement between Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar.” (11/13/25)
“The Trump Organization requested 184 foreign workers to work across various company properties, a record number that has increased over the years. The company sought to hire workers through H-2A and H-2B visas for temporary positions at Mar-a-Lago, two golf clubs and at Trump Vineyard Estates in Charlottesville, Va., according to data from the Department of Labor. Over the course of Trump’s first term and the first nine months of his second term, the Trump Organization’s visa requests increased from 121 in 2021 to 184 in 2025, according to Forbes. Overall, the company has filed to hire 566 foreign laborers, primarily to work as servers, farm workers, kitchen staff, clerks and housekeepers.” (11/13/25)
“Telegram chief Pavel Durov is once again free to travel as he pleases. The social media entrepreneur’s judicial supervision and prohibition on leaving France without authorization has been lifted by the courts, according to an official familiar with the proceedings, confirming reports from Bloomberg and AFP. The Telegram founder was arrested in France in August 2024 and charged with several organized crime offenses. Prosecutors accuse Durov and his Telegram messaging service of refusing to cooperate with authorities in proceedings to combat illegal content, including child pornography. Following his late-night arrest at Le Bourget airport, the courts placed Durov under strict judicial supervision, preventing him from leaving French territory.” (11/13/25)
“Lawyers for the Trump administration on Thursday withdrew an emergency Supreme Court appeal centered on whether it must fully fund the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the government shutdown — ending a roughly three-week court fight over a benefits program that impacted millions of Americans. The Justice Department said in withdrawing its emergency request that it considers the issue mooted after Congress passed a bill to reopen the government, ending a 43-day government shutdown that is now the longest in U.S. history.” (11/13/25)
“Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a man who was set to be executed to life in prison after a state panel recommended his life should be spared. Tremane Wood, 46, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on Thursday. The Pardon and Parole Board issued an uncommon clemency recommendation last week. … Stitt, who has served two terms and cannot run for reelection in 2026, had granted clemency only once during his nearly seven years as governor prior to Thursday. Wood was sentenced to die for his role in the stabbing death of Ronnie Wipf, a 19-year-old migrant farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery attempt at a north Oklahoma City hotel on New Year’s Day 2002. Wood’s attorneys have not denied that he participated in the robbery but maintain that his brother, Zjaiton Wood, was the one who stabbed Wipf.” (11/13/25)
“White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Thursday the government would release the closely watched employment report for October, but without the jobless rate after a weeks-long federal government shutdown. ‘The household survey wasn’t conducted in October, so we’re going to get half the employment report. We’ll get the jobs part, but we won’t get the unemployment rate. And that’ll just be for one month,’ Hassett told Fox News'[s] ‘America’s Newsroom’ program. ‘We probably … will never actually know for sure what the unemployment rate was in October.’ The 43-day government shutdown, the longest on record, caused the suspension of data collection, processing and publishing by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis.” (11/13/25)
“Syria’s foreign minister officially reopened the country’s embassy in London on Thursday after more than a decade-long closure, the latest step in Syria’s reintegration into the international community after the ouster of former President Bashar Assad. The visit by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to the United Kingdom came after a historic visit to Washington by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the first by a president from Syria since the country’s independence in 1946.” (11/13/25)
