Prosecutors on Saturday charged former President Santiago Peña with breach of trust and administration for personal gain and asked a court to hold him in pretrial detention, a day after the Senate removed him 44–0 over the Ueno Bank collapse; ex-central bank chief Carlos Carvallo faces the same counts plus producing false public documents, with detention sought for both. The charges carry up to 10 years each; both men declined to speak during questioning, prosecutors asked for their assets to be frozen and six months to build the case, and the judge has not yet ruled. The central bank said Saturday the equivalent of $160 million has now been paid out to nearly 1.2 million savers under the deposit guarantee scheme. Peña denies wrongdoing and says the bank’s problems were regulatory; new President Pedro Alliana, sworn in Friday to serve to August 2028, has pledged depositors will be fully compensated.
Peña and Carvallo charged; judge to rule on detention | Alliana pledges full compensation for depositors
ELECTIONS & CONGRESS
JOHNSON BOWS OUT, SCALISE VS. JORDAN FOR TOP GOP POST — Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek the House minority leader post once Republicans lose the majority, leaving Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan competing to become the top House Republican, while incoming progressive Democrats are positioning challenges to Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. House Democrats hold leadership elections Nov. 18–19 and the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3, 2027; Jeffries remains the overwhelming favorite, with Democrats at 254 House seats called.
SENATE COUNT: COLOM LEAD WIDENS IN MISSISSIPPI, PELTOLA STILL AHEAD IN ALASKA — Democrat Scott Colom leads Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,493 votes with about 97% counted in Mississippi, while Mary Peltola leads Dan Sullivan by 637 in Alaska; the AP has called neither, and the Senate stands 54–44 with control already settled. In the House, the AP has called 254 seats for Democrats and 162 for Republicans, with 19 uncalled.
JEFFRIES LAUNCHES SPEAKER BID WITH 100-DAY PLAN TO UNDO TRUMP AGENDA — Announced Wednesday, he promises to reverse Medicaid cuts, restore SNAP, extend ACA tax credits and end tariffs in his first 100 days; the floor vote is Jan. 3, and he would be the 57th Speaker and the first Black Speaker.
WAVE RUNS DOWN-BALLOT: DEMS FLIP FIVE GOVERNORS, THREE AGS — As of Friday morning, Democrats flipped Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, plus five governor’s offices; Texas elected its first Democratic senator since 1988.
TRUMP VOWS TO VETO DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATION — In his first post-election remarks, the president said he would veto Democratic bills and warned of a “constitutional crisis” — while Democrats call the result a mandate to check him.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
GOLD AT $4,045 AS JOBS BEAT LIFTS DECEMBER HIKE ODDS TO ~80% — Spot gold ended Friday at $4,045 an ounce, down 1% on the day after October payrolls came in at 165,000 against ~65,000 expected — but still up about 4% on the week from $3,875 — as the dollar rose and CME FedWatch odds of a December rate hike climbed to roughly 77–80%. The next test is Tuesday’s October CPI at 8:30 a.m. ET; Goldman cut its end-2026 gold forecast to $4,150 from $4,650.
HOME PRICES FALL THIRD STRAIGHT WEEK AS PENDING SALES HIT RECORD LOW — The median home-sale price was $388,604 for the four weeks ending Nov. 1, down 0.4% year over year — the third straight week of declines after three years of increases — while pending home sales fell to the lowest level in records dating back to 2021 and new listings dropped to their lowest since January. The median monthly mortgage payment eased to $2,777, a five-week low, but buyers still have the upper hand: 21.2% of listings have had price drops.
QUICK HITS
BOEBERT RACE HEADED FOR RECOUNT, LAWYER SAYS
TEXAS: HINOJOSA OUSTS ABBOTT, FIRST LATINA GOVERNOR
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
TRUMP TEASES MORE FIRINGS IN 60 MINUTES: “MAYBE A FEW CHANGES” — President Trump told “60 Minutes” — taped Friday morning, airing in full Sunday at 7 p.m. ET — that Susie Wiles won’t be the only departure after the midterm rout: “I love my Cabinet. I think they’re good, but I’ll be doing maybe a few changes. I don’t want to mention who.” Hours later he named Stephen Miller chief of staff effective Monday. Asked if he has confidence in War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who may face an impeachment vote when the House reconvenes next week, Trump said “I do” — while claiming “we’ve won two wars… Venezuela… in less than one hour.” Hegseth has ruled out resigning: “We don’t back down.”
MILLER PLEDGES “ABSOLUTE LOYALTY” IN FIRST SPEECH AS CHIEF OF STAFF — Hours after Trump named him to replace Susie Wiles, Stephen Miller told a CPAC gala at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night: “my absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment, and my total devotion”; he takes over Monday, and Trump called him his “wartime consigliere” without rejecting the label. Incoming Oversight Chairman Robert Garcia warned Miller to “lawyer up.”
JOBS SHOCKER HOLDS: 165,000 HIRED, DEC. HIKE ODDS ~81% — October payrolls blew past the ~65,000 expected, unemployment ticked down to 4.1%, and traders now price a December hike at roughly 81%; the next Fed meeting is Dec. 8–9, with CPI due Tuesday.
JUDGE HALTS THE ARCH: 14-DAY FREEZE ON MEMORIAL CIRCLE PLAN — U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a temporary restraining order late Thursday barring construction on the proposed 250-foot arch at Memorial Circle, hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8–4 to approve it; the administration’s compliance report is due Monday.
FINCEN CUTS OFF CRYPTO EXCHANGE MEXC OVER $16.7B IN ILLICIT FUNDS — FinCEN ordered Friday that covered U.S. financial institutions stop transmitting funds to or from MEXC Global, tying $16.7 billion to Russian illicit finance from May 2021 to May 2026, including nearly $1.5 billion in sanctions evasion; the order takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
FBI BLAMES NORTH KOREA FOR $6.34B BINANCE HEIST — The FBI says Pyongyang’s hackers pulled off the largest crypto theft on record in an Oct. 30 attack that started with a tampered Homebrew installer in June; ~$2.85B has been frozen and Binance says it will cover the full amount.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
MICROSOFT WALKS AWAY FROM ORACLE AI RENTAL — Microsoft declined to renew a 2023 deal renting AI computing from Oracle and has been switching the capacity off in recent months, Bloomberg reported Friday — the Oracle servers run older-generation Nvidia chips that no longer meet Microsoft’s specs — as part of a broader reassessment of more than $80 billion in outside cloud deals with CoreWeave, Nscale and Nebius. Oracle shares touched a 52-week low before recovering to close up 0.8% Friday.
OIL: BRENT $98.32 AFTER 16% WEEKLY DROP, STEEPEST SINCE COVID — Brent settled at $98.32 Friday and WTI at $90.83, with Brent down more than 16% on the week — its steepest since the start of the pandemic — as markets bet the midterms open the way to a U.S.–Iran deal; Iran has reportedly sent a nuclear proposal through Qatar, but no deal exists and tanker attacks continue.
CONSUMER SENTIMENT RISES TO 51.0; INFLATION HOPES EASE — The University of Michigan index rose from 48.0 to 51.0, and one-year inflation expectations eased to 4.3% from 4.7% — small comfort after a rough week.
QUICK HITS
WILES: “HONOR OF A LIFETIME” AS SHE EXITS FRIDAY
HAMMACK: POLICY “WILL NEED TO MOVE TO A RESTRICTIVE STANCE”
SUPREME COURT BACK MONDAY: NIELSEN, PIPELINE CASES
3,084 GUARD MEMBERS ASSIGNED IN D.C., 60 PATROL CARS AUTHORIZED
GEOPOLITICS
POPE LEO DRAWS 40,000 TO FIRST MASS OF SOUTH AMERICA TRIP — More than 40,000 people — 30,000 registered plus 10,000 more who braved the rain — turned out in Paysandú, Uruguay, for Leo’s first Mass of the trip, dedicated to Blessed Jacinto Vera, Uruguay’s first bishop; his homily turned on three symbols: bridges, palm groves and mate. Tonight: the Casavalle community at 5 p.m., the Catholic University at 6 p.m., and a prayer vigil at Centenary Stadium at 7 p.m. Uruguay time (5 p.m. ET) expected to draw 60,000 young people — three weeks after his lung-cancer surgery. The road ahead: Sunday’s Mass at the Florida shrine, then Argentina Nov. 8–11 (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Luján) and Peru Nov. 11–17 (Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco, the Amazon) — the Peruvian homecoming after ~20 years as missionary and Bishop of Chiclayo, the first papal visit to Argentina in 39 years, in the region’s most secular country (~33% Catholic). The Vatican’s full programme.
KOREA’S BROKERS SPELL OUT THE MARGIN RELIEF — AND ITS LIMITS — Mirae Asset will cut the collateral ratio on domestic stocks from 140% to 130% from Monday to Jan. 31, while Korea Investment & Securities and Kiwoom will defer forced sales only for accounts that apply separately — so the three-month waiver is real but firm-by-firm, and it is not a ban on forced selling. The KOSPI fell 6.02% Friday to 5,059.69 after dipping below 5,000 and triggering a 20-minute halt, with margin loans still at 28.64 trillion won and the won at a five-week low. What to watch Monday: whether the waiver steadies a market where leveraged retail has been the forced seller, and whether the record September current-account surplus of $61.46 billion reasserts itself. Analysts split: some see a bottom forming, others warn the AI-optimism cushion is gone.
HORMUZ: 11 SHIPS HIT IN A WEEK, MEDIATORS RACE TO HEAD OFF WAR — Two projectiles hit Iran’s Qeshm Island Friday night — the latest strikes on its air defences — and Iran’s army said early Saturday it destroyed a U.S. MQ-9 drone, a claim that could not be independently confirmed. At least 11 ships were attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the week ending Nov. 6, three of them sunk, with transits running ~65% below pre-conflict levels, and a tanker caught fire Saturday after hitting a mine. Iran’s foreign minister said he spoke with 12 counterparts in 48 hours, while the IRGC announced its self-imposed 2,000 km missile-range limit “has been lifted” — even as mediators push to prevent a wider war.
UKRAINE: 187 BATTLES IN A DAY AS RUSSIA PRESSES THREE FRONTS — By Saturday there had been 187 combat engagements along the front, with Russian troops pressing assaults on three sectors — Konstantinovka, Pokrovsk and Southern Slobozhanshchyna — while Ukrainian airborne forces advanced on the Alexandrovsk direction and defenders repelled 14 attacks at the Konstantinovka bridgehead. Overnight, Russia launched a massive combined missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv and the surrounding region, hitting energy infrastructure; Ukraine struck two Iskander launchers and a Pantsir system in Russia’s Bryansk region. The fighting comes days before U.S.-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10–11.
TRUMP CONFIRMS “MINOR” U.S. STRIKES ON IRAN’S QESHM ISLAND — Trump said Friday the U.S. “knocked out” an Iranian air-defence system on Qeshm Island “in about 15 minutes, maybe five”; Iranian state media reported two explosions near Suza and claims a U.S. drone was downed, unverified; talks continue, and Qatar dismissed reports they had failed.
FRANCE: PROTEST TURNOUT KEEPS FALLING ON FOURTH SATURDAY — About 7,000 people had joined 68 actions outside Paris by 2 p.m., down from 15,000 last Saturday and 67,000 on Oct. 17, with 70,000 police deployed and the situation described as calm; the banned Yellow Vests rally at Place de la Concorde drew about a hundred people, and two organizers were detained. PM Lecornu convenes unions and employers Monday to talk wages.
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
TAIWAN CURBS SHORTS, READIES $15B FUND AS TAIEX SINKS — Taiwan’s FSC will cap intraday short selling at 3% of average volume and raise the minimum short margin to 130% from Monday, with a NT$500B (~$15B) stabilization fund ready; the Taiex closed down 4.5% in its worst week since 2001, with TSMC off 4.7%.
NIKKEI ENTERS BEAR MARKET, -6% ON FRIDAY — Japan’s Nikkei fell 5.96% to 57,434.77 Friday, joining the KOSPI in bear-market territory after the global AI rout; it was the index’s worst day since April 2025.
CHIPS BOUNCE: AMD +11%, LAM +8% ON BUYBACK — Semiconductors led Friday’s rebound, +3.62% on the day, as AMD jumped 11% on a new buyback; the chip rally still left the Nasdaq down 3.4% for the week.
QUICK HITS
ALLIANA SURVIVED AN IMPEACHMENT BID OF HIS OWN
SPORTS
UTAH STAYS PERFECT, ENDS BYU’S PLAYOFF HOPES IN HOLY WAR — No. 3 Utah beat No. 8 BYU 28–20 in the first-ever top-10 Holy War, rallying from a 20–14 halftime deficit by shutting BYU out in the second half; Devon Dampier accounted for all four Utah touchdowns and even caught a 29-yard pass on a trick play, while BYU’s Bear Bachmeier threw four interceptions. Utah improves to 9–0 with a 15-game win streak; BYU falls to 7–2 with its playoff path narrowing fast.
TEXAS RALLIES PAST MISSOURI TO KEEP PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE — No. 7 Texas beat No. 18 Missouri 34–20 in Columbia, erasing a 20–13 third-quarter deficit with a 21-point run as Arch Manning threw for 297 yards and three scores despite star receiver Cam Coleman sitting out. Texas, now with just two losses and wins over Ohio State, Tennessee and Ole Miss, stays firmly in the playoff conversation.
UCONN TOPS MICHIGAN 85-77 IN TITLE-GAME REMATCH — Braylon Mullins scored 23 and Silas Demary Jr. 21 as No. 4 UConn beat No. 16 Michigan in Boston, nearly wire-to-wire; Michigan’s Trey McKenney scored all 22 of his points after halftime.
UCLA’S 35-0 RUN BURIES NORTH FLORIDA 114-63 — Trailing 18-17 midway through the first half, the No. 22 Bruins erupted for 35 straight points behind Nikola Kusturica’s 29; No. 20 Alabama got a triple-double from Amari Allen (16 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists) in a 101-86 win.
NFL HEADS TO MADRID: FALCONS VS. BENGALS AT THE BERNABÉU — Sunday’s early game is at Real Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium, where the Falcons look to bounce back after last week’s scoreless showing in Tampa; the Panthers host the in-form Broncos and the Chiefs host the Jets at Arrowhead.
TRAVEL
CREMONA’S NOUGAT FAIR OPENS TODAY — Cremona’s Festa del Torrone opens today and runs to Nov. 22, with stands open daily 9 a.m.–8 p.m. across the historic center, giant torrone sculptures, and a re-enactment of the 1441 wedding of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza that local legend credits with inventing the honey-and-nut nougat. An easy day trip from Milan by regional train — and a fine excuse to visit the home of Stradivari and its violin workshops.
WURSTFEST: TEN DAYS OF SAUSAGE AND POLKA ON THE COMAL — Wurstfest opened Friday in New Braunfels, Texas, and runs through Nov. 15 along the Comal River — ten days of German food, live music, dancing and carnival rides in a town founded by German settlers in 1845, a fall tradition going since the 1960s.
A WINE CHRISTENING IN AN AUSTRIAN CASTLE CELLAR — TONIGHT — In Langenlois, Austria’s largest wine town, a new Grüner Veltliner is christened tonight at Schloss Gobelsburg — a 6 p.m. sparkling reception in the castle courtyard, then a blessing in a monastery-like wine cellar by the abbot of Zwettl Abbey, with tastings of the new vintage and local rarities. The town’s 42nd Langenloiser Herbst festival runs Nov. 3–28 with concerts, cabaret and cinema, an hour from Vienna.
ARMAGH TURNS BACK THE CLOCK TO THE 1700s — Armagh’s Georgian Festival returns Nov. 26–29, turning one of Ireland’s most historic cities into an 18th-century scene — costumed characters, a Georgian light show, a Christmas carol service in St Patrick’s Cathedral, and a festive artisan market with more than 100 stalls along The Mall, a fine excuse for an early festive getaway.
FOOD
THE STUFFING THAT NEEDS NOTHING ELSE — Isa Chandra’s “super traditional” vegan stuffing makes the case that stuffing alone could carry Thanksgiving — soft bread cubes with browned crispy tops, celery, onion and big handfuls of fresh sage, thyme, rosemary and parsley, made with olive oil and vegetable broth, baked covered then uncovered for the crunchy corners everybody fights over.
A FORT WORTH CHEF’S THANKSGIVING, COOKED WITHOUT TASTE — Fort Worth chef Jon Bonnell, in complete remission after four months of surgeries and radiation for stage 3 head and neck cancer, is cooking Thanksgiving again — even though his sense of taste has not returned. His answer to a small table: roasted Cornish hens, one bird per guest, brined overnight and stuffed with lemon, thyme, rosemary and sage, so “everybody feels special” and nobody has to carve.
A THANKSGIVING MENU FOR SIX, VINTAGE RECIPES INCLUDED — Bianca’s Thanksgiving menu for six gathers treasured vintage recipes — wild turkey roasted with apples and a maple orchard glaze, bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with pecans, a beet-and-pear salad with goat cheese, pumpkin and sage wheat rolls, and a chocolate silk pecan pie from 1991.
RUTH’S CHRIS SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE, AT HOME — The steakhouse favorite as a copycat: creamy sweet potatoes under a buttery brown-sugar pecan crumble — “practically dessert in disguise” — and it can be assembled three days ahead.
AI: MICROSOFT STARTS AUDITING THE BILL — Microsoft declined to renew its 2023 deal renting AI computing from Oracle and has been switching the capacity off in recent months, Bloomberg reported Friday, because the Oracle servers run older-generation Nvidia chips that no longer meet its specs. It is part of a broader reassessment of more than $80 billion in outside cloud deals with CoreWeave, Nscale and Nebius — and Oracle’s shares have lost more than half their value since a June high. The thread’s read: the growth engine’s biggest customer is now auditing the bill. Capex discipline, not just capex growth, is the 2026 story — and a market that priced AI spending as a one-way ratchet now has to price the second direction. (Full entry: Backlash Against AI.)
HOUSING: THE FREEZE IS NOW A STANDOFF — Home prices fell for a third straight week — the median sale price $388,604, down 0.4% year over year — while pending home sales hit the lowest level in records back to 2021 and new listings fell to their lowest since January. Sellers are pulling back rather than cutting prices; buyers are waiting out 7%+ mortgages. Set that next to this week’s J.P. Morgan note arguing the shortage may be demand, not supply, and the thread’s question flips again: if both sides are waiting, what breaks the standoff — rates, or prices? (Full entry: Affordable Housing.)
IMMIGRATION: MILLER TAKES THE WEST WING MONDAY — Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policy — including the 3,000-a-day ICE arrest quotas — takes over as White House chief of staff on Monday, replacing Susie Wiles. The midterm AP Voter Poll found about six in ten voters said immigration enforcement had gone too far; incoming Oversight Chairman Robert Garcia answered the appointment with two words: “Stephen Miller should lawyer up.” The thread’s running point, restated by the appointment itself: the immigration fight will now be run from the West Wing’s top office — and investigated from the House’s top committee. (Full entry: Immigration.)
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