Trump says renewed strikes on Iran don’t seem necessary after meeting Qatar’s prime minister; no peace deal was announced.
Trump met Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, on Monday, Nov. 9. Fox News calls Qatar a mediator in the war. Afterward Trump said he was confident the war was moving toward an end, and that the United States was “locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason.”
The same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei repeated that talks require the U.S. to first lift its naval blockade and sanctions and to stop fighting on all fronts.
January, average a day: 58.5
Monday, Nov. 9: 3
January’s last hull is drawn half, for the 0.5.
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Thomas Massie files eight impeachment articles against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, forcing House action by Wednesday, Nov. 11.
He filed them as privileged, so the House must take them up within two legislative days. Republican leaders can move to table them, setting them aside without a vote on impeachment itself.
The articles allege misconduct tied to the Iran war and other uses of military power, harm to civilians, and free speech. ABC News counts three Republicans voting with every Democrat as enough to impeach.
Republicans who could sink the tabling vote
- French Hill, Arkansas
- Noncommittal. He wants “to hear the debate” first.
- Don Bacon, Nebraska
- Unsure, per the Washington Examiner. The Hill reported he indicated he is ready to back it.
- Warren Davidson, Ohio
- Opposed. He told NPR impeachment would be hypocritical.
Impeachment alone removes no one. Hegseth keeps his job unless two-thirds of the senators present convict him.
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Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s lawyer, Preet Bharara, asks Attorney General Todd Blanche to say the Justice Department will not investigate her speech.
On Nov. 7 Trump ordered the department on Truth Social to investigate Democrats who threaten officials with impeachment, calling it extortion, and named only Slotkin. She had said at the University of Chicago she hoped future investigations would deter people from taking administration jobs.
“… should not be hard to make clear that we do not live in an authoritarian regime where mere criticism of the powerful can land anyone in legal peril and possibly prison.”Bharara’s letter, released Monday, Nov. 9
The department did not comment on Trump’s demand and has not said whether it will open an inquiry.
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Trump tells Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to work with Democrats on immigration; Mullin rules out amnesty but leaves permanent DACA status to Congress.
Mullin said Monday that he and Trump had not discussed changing enforcement policy, and he gave no eligibility rules or timetable. The House Freedom Caucus answered the same day: “No amnesty. No amnesty-lite.”
A path to permanent residence has passed one chamber three times
- Senate, 2013
- S. 744, 68–32
- House, 2019
- American Dream and Promise Act, 237–187
- House, 2021
- Again, 228–197. None became law.
DACA, a 2012 program, gives people brought to the U.S. illegally as children two-year, renewable shields from deportation, not permanent status.
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Trump says the FBI is looking into a matter tied to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese spy; China denies espionage.
He did not say whether Huang himself is under investigation or what the FBI is examining, only that the bureau is looking into it “in terms of something else.” He said Huang told him he had not known the woman was a spy.
The Justice Department declined to comment to NBC News, and NBC’s report carried no FBI statement. Citing a source, NBC reports a Justice Department criminal investigation into Megaspeed, where Alice Huang was a top executive, over suspected smuggling of Nvidia AI chips into China. It also examines people tied to the company, including her.
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The Senate votes 73-25 to start debate on an energy permitting bill after Trump says he won’t approve wind turbines.
The vote ended a filibuster on whether to take up the bill at all, which takes 60 votes. It did not pass the bill. A second 60-vote cloture vote comes before final passage, and then the House must approve it.
- 51 other yes votes
- 22 Democrats voted yes; not all have committed to final passage
- 25 no
- 2 seats outside the 73-25 tally
73 yes is 13 more than the 60 needed. Without the 22 Democrats, the yes side had 51.
The bill would speed federal approval of energy projects, from solar and wind to oil and gas. Angus King, a Maine independent, said Trump’s wind remarks “undermine my confidence in the good faith of the administration.”
The CDC and State Department award nearly $40 million in Ebola work to XpresTest, months after a fund Trump’s two eldest sons invest in bought into its parent, ProPublica reports.
XpresTest, a unit of XWELL, won an $18.8 million CDC contract to screen travelers for Ebola at U.S. airports and a $20 million State Department grant for the outbreak in Congo. ProPublica says that is seven times its earlier direct government work. It has never worked with Ebola or done biosecurity work abroad.
The money, per XWELL’s SEC filings
- February 2026
- American Ventures, a fund the sons are passive minority investors in, put about $31.3 million into XWELL preferred shares.
- 8% fee
- About $2.51 million to Dominari Securities for arranging it. The sons took a stake of more than 10% in its parent, Dominari Holdings, as advisers.
XWELL’s CEO says both awards were competitively bid. Federal award data on USAspending lists the CDC deal as not competed, with one offer. A spokesperson for Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump denies they had any role.
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The Labor Department proposes requiring five work-search activities a week to collect unemployment benefits.
Many states now require two or three a week, and four already require five. The proposal is set for Federal Register publication on Tuesday, Nov. 10, followed by a 60-day comment period. It is not a rule in force.
What counts
- Not five applications
- Interviews, employer skills tests, job-center registration and union hiring-hall contacts all count.
- Or points
- States may award 1 to 3 points per activity, with five points required each week.
The department says the standard would “improve program integrity and strengthen labor market attachment.” Worker advocates warn it would put up barriers for claimants and force costly changes on state unemployment offices.
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The federal government awards $10 billion in second-year rural health grants to all 50 states; Texas gets the most, almost $282 million.
Half of each year’s money is split evenly, so every state starts with $100 million before rural population and facility counts are added. The fund pays $10 billion a year through 2030, $50 billion in all.
Federal caps on a state’s award
- Direct payments to providers
- 15%
- Buildings and equipment
- 20%
- State administration
- 10%
Congress created the fund in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the 2025 law that cut Medicaid. KFF estimates the law reduces federal Medicaid spending by $911 billion over 10 years, about $137 billion of it in rural areas. Rural health leaders say the grants will not offset the Medicaid money they expect to lose.