Morning Brief: Trump names Stephen Miller chief of staff; Colom still ahead in Mississippi; U.S. hits Iranian air defenses
Alaska still Peltola by 637; Massie eyes Hegseth impeachment vote next week; Russia hits Kyiv energy links overnight; Court orders Monday, Nielsen argument ahead.
6 AM CT video brief · 1:47Presenter voice and image generated with AI tools.Read transcript
I'm Nora Vale with your 6 AM World Brief for Saturday, November 7. Trump names Stephen Miller chief of staff; Wiles to political operation. Mississippi: Colom +2,574. Alaska: Peltola +637; ranked choice Nov. 18. U.S. hits Iranian air defenses; Qatar presses Hormuz-for-inspections plan. Russia: 172 drones, 36 ballistic missiles; Kyiv energy hit; 2 dead. DOJ Dobbs leak probe continues. Monday: orders and Nielsen argument. In national weather, from the National Weather Service: Tropical Storm Pena, with top winds near 50 mph, may bring impacts to parts of Hawaii. Heavy rainfall threat emerging over southern New Mexico early this morning will shift into southern Texas Sunday into early Monday. Our opinion. Lawful counts. Real Iran limits. Ukraine endgame. Real leak probe. Full stories and sources at WorldBriefNow.com. I'm Nora Vale.
Fox News reported Saturday that President Trump declined to confirm U.S. responsibility for reported strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island while acknowledging American forces have conducted limited strikes against Iranian air defenses, saying Iran "built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five." Iranian state media, according to Reuters via Fox, reported two projectiles struck the Suza area of Qeshm Island. The Guardian reported Saturday that Qatar is seeking to persuade Tehran to allow IAEA inspectors into bombed nuclear sites, with a proposal under which the U.S. would lift the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and release a portion of frozen Iranian assets; Qatar's emir spoke with Trump on Friday about continuing diplomacy.
The Kyiv Independent reported Saturday that Russian attacks killed two people and injured 37 across Ukraine over the past day, and that overnight Russia hit a Kyiv Oblast substation connecting Rivne and Khmelnytskyi nuclear plants to Kyiv and central regions, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 172 long-range attack drones, including 137 jet-powered, plus an unknown number of ballistic and other missiles; air defenses intercepted 149 drones and four missiles. Zelensky said all 36 ballistic missiles were aimed at Kyiv and the surrounding region, damaging residential buildings and the Northern Bridge and leaving the capital with serious electricity, water, and heat problems.
The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller the 33rd White House chief of staff, succeeding Susie Wiles. CNBC, citing Trump's Truth Social post, reported Miller — previously White House deputy chief of staff — will take over starting Monday, and that Wiles "will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation." Trump told reporters Friday he "wanted to make a change," while praising Wiles' work; Wiles posted that Friday was her last day as chief of staff and that her commitment to the president and the mission remains.
ABC News results updated Saturday morning showed Democrat Scott Colom leading Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith 467,930 to 465,356 — a 2,574-vote margin — with about 97% of Mississippi's expected vote reporting; the race remained uncalled. Mississippi Today reported Friday that Colom led by nearly 2,500 with nearly 1 million votes cast, and that counties were still processing thousands of absentee and affidavit ballots ahead of a Nov. 13 certification deadline; the secretary of state's office told ABC Mississippi has no recount process. In Alaska, ABC still showed Democrat Mary Peltola ahead of Sen. Dan Sullivan 102,962 to 102,325 (637 votes) with about 74% reporting; neither has a majority, so ranked-choice tabulation remains scheduled for Nov. 18 if that holds.
Fox News reported Friday that Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., plans to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next week, and that under House rules the chamber must consider them within two days. Fox's Chad Pergram noted Massie's earlier September effort expired when the House adjourned early, and that post-midterm politics — including Republican grumbling over the Iran war — may change the House vote math even before Democrats take the gavel. NBC News reported Hegseth struck a defiant tone Thursday, calling the articles a "sham" driven by "the politics of personal destruction," while Massie said he would not reintroduce them only if Hegseth resigns.
SCOTUSblog reported Friday that the justices met in private conference, with orders expected Monday at 9:30 a.m. EST, and that oral argument is set Monday in Nielsen v. Watanabe on when federal officials can be sued for constitutional violations under Bivens. Fox News reported that U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro's D.C. office is leading a Justice Department criminal investigation into who leaked the May 2022 Dobbs draft opinion to Politico, with grand jury subpoenas issued after the Court's own 2023 marshal inquiry failed to identify a leaker by a preponderance of the evidence. Looking ahead, SCOTUSblog also noted Monday's second argument is Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission on just-compensation rules for pipeline takings.
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