Democrats prepare to wield power after their midterm sweep. Hakeem Jeffries, positioned to become House speaker, backed impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while Democrats outlined priorities including healthcare and reversing Trump’s tariffs. Trump called for DOJ scrutiny of Democratic lawmakers and signaled cabinet changes. UFC chief Dana White says he will meet Trump Monday about an offer to become White House press secretary.
Israel’s president gave Gadi Eisenkot—not Benjamin Netanyahu—the first chance to form a government. The opposition leader is approaching Netanyahu allies as he seeks a governing coalition and has indicated openness to Netanyahu joining it. The mandate begins negotiations; it does not yet make Eisenkot prime minister.
The Iran conflict brought fresh attacks and supply-route restrictions. The U.S. military fired on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman and announced a task force targeting Iran’s land-based weapons supply routes. Saudi Arabia reported intercepting Houthi missiles targeting Riyadh and its Eastern Province, with reports of damage to an Aramco building. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed three additional tankers were burning in the Strait of Hormuz.
Russian strikes left hundreds of thousands in Ukraine without electricity. Zaporizhzhia also faced approaching Russian drones. Diplomatically, European representatives are set to join U.S.-brokered Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi despite Kremlin objections.
France’s cost-of-living protests continued for a fourth weekend. Roughly 146,000 people demonstrated, with clashes between police and protesters. Separately, hundreds of thousands joined Amsterdam’s “Red Line” demonstration against Israel.
Deadly attacks and transport disasters dominated international breaking news. Polish authorities opened a terrorism investigation after a Kraków market-square shooting killed six and injured 15, saying the attack was motivated by far-right views; three additional bodies were reported at the suspect’s home. Later reports put an Egyptian train collision’s toll at seven dead and more than 100 injured. A magnitude-5.7 earthquake in central Japan injured more than 20.
AI expansion raised fresh security and energy concerns. Reports identified passwords and keys in 1,122 public GitHub copies of Claude Code permission files. Separately, Anthropic reportedly committed $3.4 billion to 1.7 gigawatts of gas-fired generators, highlighting the scale of AI’s electricity demand. OpenAI announced an \(11 billion raise at a \)1.25 trillion valuation.
College football’s playoff picture shifted sharply. Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami 31–24, helping Georgia take the top spot in the new AP poll. Utah remained unbeaten by defeating BYU 28–20, while UCLA reached 9–0 with a 34–20 win at Minnesota. Oregon beat Ohio State 41–28; Alabama defeated LSU 31–13; Texas rallied past Missouri 34–20.
Lando Norris won in São Paulo as Mercedes secured the F1 constructors’ championship. Norris converted pole into victory in a race featuring costly errors by Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. In NASCAR, Justin Allgaier won his second O’Reilly Series championship, while Brandon Jones won the Homestead finale.
Manchester United escaped with a draw but remained in the relegation zone. United recovered twice against Aston Villa, scoring twice in stoppage time to finish 4–4 amid renewed ownership protests. Brighton moved second with a 2–0 win over Brentford; Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3–1; Sunderland defeated Chelsea 1–0. In MLS, Lionel Messi became the first back-to-back Golden Boot winner, finishing with 26 goals.