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House Republicans Elect Jim Jordan as Minority Leader
House Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as minority leader for the next Congress. Jordan, who currently chairs the House Judiciary Committee, defeated current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise 106-73. He will assume the role when the new Congress begins in January after Democrats take control of the House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson turned down the opportunity the day after the midterms. The selection signals an appetite among House Republicans for a more confrontational approach as they enter the minority. Jordan has a long record of challenging both Democrats and establishment Republicans.
Why It Matters
Selecting a proven fighter to lead the minority equips Republicans to push back against a Democrat majority bent on investigations and policy overreach. This choice prioritizes confrontation over accommodation after electoral losses.
Nationwide Gas Prices Continue Falling After Midterms
Gas prices took a major dip nationwide nearly a week after the midterm elections. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas fell 16 cents from last week to $4. This is more than $1 higher than this time last year. The average also fell in Western Pennsylvania, down 9 cents to $4.532. In Pittsburgh specifically, the average is $4.620.
AAA said gas prices have been going down for nearly two weeks, alongside crude oil, which is back in the high $80 to low $90 per barrel range. Even though prices are dropping, this is the highest gas prices have been during this time of year. Before 2026, the national average had never gone above $4 a gallon in November.
Why It Matters
The sudden plunge in pump prices right after the midterms smells of political theater. Markets do not snap to attention on cue without a push. This timing invites scrutiny of whether energy costs were held artificially high, then eased to blunt voter anger once ballots were cast.
Supreme Court Allows Big Bend Border Construction to Proceed
The Supreme Court is allowing border barrier construction to continue in and around Big Bend National Park in Texas. The justices on Monday halted a lower court’s decision last month to pause construction while the underlying case plays out. The high court said the lower court’s injunction “impedes the Government from advancing its ‘compelling interests’ in border security and integrity.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed and would have denied the government’s request. Earlier this year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived environmental laws to expedite construction of barriers and roads in the Big Bend area. The administration has said it will not build a large border wall inside the national park but is pursuing other construction activity there.
Why It Matters
Securing the southern border protects national sovereignty and limits uncontrolled crossings that strain resources and public safety. Court delays on infrastructure projects undermine efforts to enforce existing immigration laws.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Faces Ballot Challenge Over Petition Errors
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson faces a formal challenge to his nominating petitions for re-election. Johnson submitted more than 33,000 signatures to the Chicago Board of Elections. Challengers, including former State Sen. Rickey Hendon, who is working for Willie Wilson, allege photocopied signatures and pages from another candidate’s petitions. Chicago law requires original signatures. Candidates need 12,500 valid signatures to appear on the February ballot.
Johnson’s campaign maintains the filing contains more than enough valid signatures. Hearings on the challenges began this week. Johnson would become the first incumbent Chicago mayor in nearly two decades to face a petition objection if the challenge proceeds. His team called the process a distraction.
Why It Matters
Forcing an incumbent to defend basic ballot paperwork exposes weak administrative controls that have plagued Chicago governance. Proper signature rules protect the integrity of elections and prevent candidates from gaming the system with defective filings.
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DOJ Investigates Marc Elias in Alaska Peltola Scandal Case
The Department of Justice sent letters to Marc Elias and his firm warning them that they may be targets of investigation in the Alaska Senate race scandal. Just the News reported that 20 Democrats received such letters. “Marc Elias as well as at least one Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee official were notified,” the outlet said. A target letter signals that prosecutors view the recipient as a likely defendant.
Jacquelyn Lopez of the Elias Law Group received a records-preservation letter from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). The firm was paid roughly $117,000 in 2026 by Alaskans for Mary. George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said those involved “may be exposed through campaign filings and statements, which must be truthful.” Potential charges fall under 18 U.S.C. §241.
Why It Matters
Efforts to confuse voters with identically named candidates undermine the integrity of elections and the constitutional right to cast an informed ballot. Criminal scrutiny of campaign lawyers signals that such tactics face real legal consequences.
Raskin Laughably Claims Democrats Avoid Retribution After Midterms
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said on a Monday CNN interview that Democrats do not engage in retribution or revenge. He stated the line between oversight and retribution falls between events before and after Tuesday’s midterms. Raskin accused the Trump Justice Department of basing actions on revenge against the president’s enemies.
He named James Comey, Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and others as targets of failed grand jury efforts. Raskin said, “We don’t engage in retribution and revenge. We uphold and defend the rule of law.” He added that criminality or corruption will be exposed. Five days earlier he discussed pursuing corporations and law firms that worked with the Trump administration.
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2026/11/09/raskin-on-line-between-oversight-revenge-theres-no-line-line-is-essentially-between-before-and-after-tuesday/
https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnc/date/2026-11-09/segment/07
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2026/nov/09/columnist-the-democrats-revenge-tour-is-on/
Why It Matters
Denials of retribution from a lawmaker who has long pushed investigations against political opponents expose the selective application of power. Such double standards threaten equal justice under the Constitution and invite cycles of partisan payback that undermine Western norms of impartial law.
Gaza-Born DSA Activist Challenges Fetterman in 2028 Primary
Ahmed Moor, a Gaza-born Democratic Socialists of America member and anti-Israel activist, will challenge Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in 2028. Moor joined the DSA after October 7, 2023, and praised the group for its position on Gaza. He has described Hezbollah as a legitimate political party and defended Hamas’s claims to self-defense.
Moor’s platform includes free childcare, Medicare for All, and a billionaire tax. He sits on the advisory board for the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights and received a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship. “We need to do away with the idea that Israel is a place where Jews have superior rights relative to Palestinians,” Moor said.
Why It Matters
Primary challenges from activists with histories of defending designated terrorist groups import radical ideologies that threaten American security and alliance structures. Such candidates normalize views hostile to Western allies and constitutional governance.
New Jersey Township Loses 26 Million Dollars in Wire Fraud Before Election Disclosure
Cranbury Township lost approximately $26 million in a fraudulent wire transfer on September 28. The funds were designated for purchasing property to meet the township’s affordable housing obligations. Mayor Lisa Knierim disclosed the theft in a November 6 Facebook post, three days after the November 3 election. Democrat Thomas Szczur Jr. defeated Republican Carol Haring, preserving the all-Democratic Township Committee.
Investigators led by Cranbury police and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office have frozen $17.3 million. About $ 8.7 million remains unaccounted for. Knierim said, “Those concerns are legitimate, and we take them seriously.” The township is creating two new administrative positions and working with insurers on recovery.
Why It Matters
Withholding news of a multi-million-dollar theft until after Election Day lets officials shield voters from fiscal failure. Such timing erodes public trust in local government and invites further waste of taxpayer money meant for legitimate housing needs.
ON THIS DAY IN 1775:
The Continental Congress authorized the creation of two battalions of Continental Marines in Philadelphia to serve aboard naval ships during the American Revolutionary War. November 10 is officially celebrated every year as the USMC Birthday.
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United States Becomes First Nation to Fully Skip UN Human Rights Council Review
The United States on Tuesday became the first country to fully skip a regular review of its human rights record by the U.N. Human Rights Council. The Trump administration withdrew from the council last year, citing anti-American and anti-Israel bias. The universal periodic review examines all 193 U.N. member states roughly every four to five years. Washington already missed its scheduled review a year earlier.
A State Department spokesperson said, “We give no credibility to the agency.” The spokesperson added that the body “makes a mockery of human rights through consistent failures to uphold its own ‘values’ as it pushes anti-American rhetoric.” The council postponed the review until January 2027.
Why It Matters
Refusing to legitimize a body that shields the world’s worst human rights abusers while targeting the United States and Israel protects American sovereignty. Continued engagement would only grant undeserved credibility to an institution that routinely fails its own stated principles.
France Blames Iran for Cyberattacks on European Supermarket Refrigerators
French officials suspect state-backed Iranian hackers of the Revolutionary Guard Corps for cyberattacks that knocked out commercial refrigerators and freezers across France last month. “French services are able to attribute the attack carried out on the night of October 11-12 against several hundred supermarkets and their refrigeration systems to the cyber center of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps,” a source said.
The October 11 attacks were the first in a series. Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy and Estonia reported problems. A butcher shop in Athens saw temperatures rise to 150 degrees Celsius. Tons of food spoiled at a cost of millions.
Why It Matters
Targeting everyday infrastructure like supermarket refrigeration shows how hostile regimes can disrupt food supplies and inflict economic damage without conventional military action. Such sabotage erodes confidence in connected systems that Western societies depend on for basic commerce.
Houthis Launch Missile Assault on Riyadh and Saudi Pipeline
On Tuesday, the Houthis launched another major missile salvo deep inside Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities have yet to acknowledge the fresh attack or publicly assess possible damage, though there are reports of missile alerts in the kingdom. The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, announced the group targeted King Khalid International Airport, as well as multiple pumping stations along the kingdom’s East-West pipeline.
Saree further claimed fresh attacks on an Aramco facility in Abqaiq and Riyadh’s financial district. He added that the Houthis “targeted Saudi enemy troop concentrations overseen by the Saudi officer Badr al-Harbi in the al-Mudharabah and Ras al-Arah districts, resulting in a large number of dead and wounded.” Saudi-led forces said air defenses intercepted missiles toward Riyadh.
Why It Matters
Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and cities threaten global oil supplies and regional stability that Western economies depend on. Persistent missile campaigns expose the limits of deterrence against proxy forces and raise the risk of wider conflict in the Middle East.
Egypt Prosecutors Seek Maximum Penalty for Christian Convert
Egyptian prosecutors asked a terrorism court on November 3 to impose the maximum penalty on Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, a convert from Islam to Christianity. His lawyers said authorities seek 25 years in prison or death. The court adjourned the case to December 8 for defense arguments.
Abdelrazek faces charges of founding and leading a terrorist group, financing it, contempt for Islam, and related offenses under Egypt’s Anti-Terrorism Law. His legal team and fiancée Sophia stated the alleged group does not exist and that he is prosecuted for refusing to “renounce Jesus.” He was arrested in July 2025 after seeking to update identity papers to reflect his faith. Egypt receives roughly $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid.
Why It Matters
Punishing conversion with death or life imprisonment under terrorism statutes reveals theocratic intolerance that treats apostasy as a capital crime. Continued U.S. aid to such regimes subsidizes the suppression of religious liberty that Western culture and the Constitution protect as a fundamental right.
