Morning Brief: Alaska and Mississippi Senate races still on a knife's edge; Jeffries bids for speaker; Massie targets Hegseth
U.S. plan to cut Israel aid was months in the making; Russia and Ukraine trade strikes; a Marine dies in Okinawa training; Bivens case up Monday at the Supreme Court.
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I'm Nora Vale with your 6 AM World Brief for Thursday, November 5. Alaska: Peltola +626. Mississippi: Colom +65. Jeffries announces bid for speaker. Massie to Hegseth: resign or face impeachment. U.S. plan to end ~$4B/yr Israel aid months in making. Russian attacks kill 9; Brussels talks resume. Monday: Nielsen v. Watanabe, suing federal officials. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: Heavy rainfall shifts into the Eastern Seaboard. Our opinion. Count every lawful vote. Clear answers on Iran. Pressure Moscow. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale.
A U.S. official told the New York Post that talks with Israel to phase down direct aid under the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, about $3.8 billion a year, had been 'ongoing for months' and that the president 'accelerated those plans.' The official said direct aid could end as soon as Oct. 1, 2027, and the Post noted Congress would have to approve such a change. Trump told 'Fox & Friends' that Israel 'no longer need[s] it,' while Israeli opposition figures Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan criticized the move in statements to the AP.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged airstrikes overnight as talks on Ukraine's postwar reconstruction and security guarantees were set to resume in Brussels on Thursday, the AP reported. The Kyiv Independent, citing local authorities, said Russian attacks killed nine people and injured 19 over the past day, and Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched two guided missiles and 128 drones, 105 of which were intercepted. Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. are set to meet in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10-11, RTÉ reported.
Lance Cpl. Devin J. Hernandez, 25, of Maryland, died after being injured during fast-rope training at Camp Schwab in Okinawa, Japan, on Nov. 3, the 3rd Marine Division said, according to Fox News. He was taken to a hospital and later died, and the incident is under investigation. Fox News said roughly 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, most of them on Okinawa.
The New York Post, citing the AP, reported that Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan by 626 votes, about 0.3 points, with 74% of Alaska ballots counted Wednesday afternoon; Alaska's ranked-choice tabulation is set for Nov. 18 and certification is targeted for Nov. 25. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes with about 96% counted as of 3:15 p.m. EST, the Post said, citing the AP. The Post said Democrats hold 54 Senate seats after seven pickups and could reach 56, and that NBC projects as many as 258 House seats for Democrats to 177 for Republicans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) officially announced his candidacy for speaker on Wednesday afternoon, less than a day after Democrats won the House, the Washington Examiner reported. He is expected to become the first black speaker in congressional history. Jeffries told supporters Americans had 'had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption,' the New York Post reported.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday night told War Secretary Pete Hegseth he can resign or face impeachment in the current Congress's final stretch, the Washington Examiner reported. Massie had previously said he would force a vote on impeachment articles when the House returns after the midterms. The Examiner said the push carries new weight as Republicans blame the Iran war for Tuesday's losses.
The Supreme Court will hear argument Monday, Nov. 9, in Nielsen v. Watanabe, a Hawaii federal inmate's suit claiming a prison paramedic ignored his fractured coccyx, SCOTUSblog reported. The paramedic asks the justices to toss the claim and overrule Bivens, while Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues the claim should fail but says the Court should not reconsider Bivens in this case. SCOTUSblog said a decision is expected next year.
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