Paraguay’s Senate voted 44–0 Friday to remove Santiago Peña over the Ueno Bank collapse, hours after he resigned; VP Pedro Alliana was sworn in within the hour, and Peña is under house arrest and due before prosecutors’ economic-crimes unit Saturday morning. The bank grew to the country’s fifth-largest on more than $800 million in public money — including some $355 million in pension funds placed beyond legal limits — before the central bank seized it for solvency below half the required minimum; 27 officials have been charged and depositor payouts began Thursday.
Alliana pledges full compensation for depositors | Alliana himself under investigation as new president takes over
ELECTIONS & CONGRESS
DEMS HOLD 254 HOUSE SEATS, GOP 162, WITH 19 RACES STILL UNCALLED — The AP tally Friday afternoon has Democrats up at least 42 seats; Republicans clawed back three Friday — Jeff Hurd in Colorado, Mark Lamb in Arizona, Anthony Constantino in Stefanik’s old New York seat — while Lauren Boebert’s race looks headed for a recount.
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.
SENATE 54-44 WITH TWO RACES STILL TO COUNT — DDHQ has Ty Colom ahead of Cindy Hyde-Smith by 2,087 votes in Mississippi and Mary Peltola up 637 over Dan Sullivan in Alaska; neither changes control, and Alaska’s ranked-choice tabulation is Nov. 18.
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
OPENAI BANKS $11B AT $1.25T AS AI FUNDING COOLS — Bloomberg reports $11 billion wired so far at a $1.25 trillion valuation — the first close of a round that could total ~$20B, well short of the $30B at $1.4T floated in September; Anthropic IPO buyers are eyeing as low as $1.1T.
WALL STREET SPLIT: NASDAQ BOUNCES, DOW SLIPS — Nasdaq +1.09% to 24,579 and the S&P +0.31% on a chips rebound — AMD +11% — while the Dow fell 0.46%; for the week the S&P lost 2.7%, its worst since June.
QUICK HITS
EL-SAYED BECOMES FIRST MUSLIM U.S. SENATOR
BOEBERT RACE HEADED FOR RECOUNT, LAWYER SAYS
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
TRUMP TAPS MILLER AS CHIEF OF STAFF, WILES OUT MONDAY — Trump announced Friday on Truth Social that Stephen Miller takes over Monday; Susie Wiles resigned Thursday night, Friday was her last day, and she moves to the Trump Political Operation.
JOBS SHOCKER HOLDS: 165,000 HIRED, DEC. HIKE ODDS ~78% — October payrolls blew past the ~65,000 expected, unemployment ticked down to 4.1%, and CME FedWatch puts a December hike at roughly 78%; the next Fed meeting is Dec. 8–9, with CPI due Tuesday.
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.
DOJ EXODUS: DHILLON, EISENBERG OUT AS MILLER TAKES WEST WING — A wave of DOJ resignations followed the transition news, including civil-rights chief Harmeet Dhillon and national-security lawyer John Eisenberg; Trump said “I wanted to make a change.”
HEGSETH VOWS TO STAY AS DEMS PROMISE PENTAGON OVERSIGHT — The defense secretary posted a video saying he is not going anywhere as the incoming majority vows to grill him; Jeffries has already questioned whether he can “even do the job.”
BUSINESS & YOUR MONEY
OIL: BRENT NEARS $100, STILL DOWN 12% ON THE WEEK — Brent traded near $99.58 Friday morning and briefly crossed $100, but both benchmarks are headed for a ~12% weekly drop after Wednesday’s 8% plunge; Hormuz flows are running below 60% of capacity.
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.
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”
GEOPOLITICS
POPE LEO IN URUGUAY: PAYSANDÚ MASS TODAY, 3 WEEKS AFTER CANCER SURGERY — Leo arrived in Montevideo Friday saying he had “no doubt” the trip would go forward, 24 days after lung-cancer surgery; today he celebrates Mass in Paysandú at 10 a.m., then returns to the capital for a community visit, a university meeting and a stadium vigil. His 12-day homecoming runs through Argentina and Peru, ending Nov. 17.
SEOUL’S MARGIN LIFELINE: KOSPI -6%, WAIVER STARTS MONDAY — The KOSPI fell 6.02% Friday to 5,059.69, dipping below 5,000 and triggering a 20-minute halt as Samsung fell 6.35% and SK hynix 10.44%; margin loans still stand at 28.64 trillion won after peaking at 38.63T in June. The government’s three-month waiver of the 140% collateral rule starts Monday — but it is not a ban on forced selling, and relief depends on each brokerage. Seoul buys time — but the 2022 precedent warns the waiver did not stop the slide.
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.
SEAFARER KILLED AS TANKER HIT IN GULF; ANOTHER BLAST OFF KHASAB — One crew member died when the tanker Velos Sapphire was struck Nov. 4 north of Qatar; a second tanker suffered a waterline explosion Thursday off Oman’s Khasab while transiting Hormuz — seven vessels have been attacked since Nov. 1.
FRANCE BRACES FOR FOURTH WEEKEND OF PROTESTS — Demonstrators take to the streets again Saturday after Thursday’s strike drew 575,000 by official count — unions claim 1.6 million; 70,000 police are deployed, and PM Lecornu meets unions and employers Monday to talk wages.
HAITI: GANG LEADER ASKS U.N. TO MEDIATE AS OFFENSIVE ROLLS ON — El Salvador’s 2,000-troop ground offensive in Plaine du Cul-de-Sac, launched Monday, has killed at least 10–12 gang members; gang leader Wilson Joseph “Lanmò Sanjou” has written the U.N. asking it to mediate, while four Salvadoran aviation technicians remain missing.
BUKELE CROWDSOURCES AIRSTRIKE TARGET ON X — On Friday the Salvadoran president asked X users — in Creole — for the exact address of a gang leader’s house in Haiti: “give us the exact address, we will destroy it”; replies gave GPS coordinates, and no strike has been confirmed.
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.
QUICK HITS
HORMUZ: SEVEN VESSELS HIT IN NOVEMBER; THREAT “SEVERE”
SEOUL: MORE STABILISATION MEASURES READY IF VOLATILITY WORSENS
SPORTS
NO. 1 MIAMI AT NO. 11 NOTRE DAME TONIGHT — The undefeated Hurricanes visit South Bend at 7:30 p.m. on NBC, with College GameDay in town; Notre Dame is a 7-point favorite and Miami star receiver Malachi Toney is hurt.
SEVEN TOP-25 MATCHUPS ON TAP SATURDAY — BYU at Utah in the Holy War at noon, Alabama at LSU at 3:30, Georgia at Ole Miss and Miami at Notre Dame at 7:30 — a full Saturday of ranked-on-ranked football.
DONČIĆ DROPS 53 AS LAKERS WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT — Luka’s 53 led the Lakers past the Blazers 124-118, his 11th career 50-point game — and his sixth straight game with 35+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ threes, the longest such streak in NBA history.
CELTICS ROUT HORNETS 119-80; TATUM 34 — Boston hit 17 first-half threes, a franchise mark, as Jayson Tatum poured in 34 with 8 rebounds and 9 assists.
WEMBANYAMA 30 AS SPURS WIN SEVENTH STRAIGHT — Victor Wembanyama scored 30 — 20 of them in the first half — as San Antonio beat Sacramento 124-109 to stay perfect on the young season.
TRAVEL
EUROPE’S CHRISTMAS MARKETS OPEN FROM NOV. 13 — Vienna, Budapest and Copenhagen’s Tivoli first on Nov. 13; Edinburgh Nov. 14, Cologne Nov. 16, Strasbourg and Nuremberg Nov. 27 — the countdown to glühwein season is on.
BOLOGNA’S SANTA LUCIA FAIR OPENED FRIDAY — The Antica Fiera di Santa Lucia runs Nov. 6–Dec. 27 under the Servi portico on Strada Maggiore; Manchester’s markets also opened Friday.
VIENNA’S RATHAUSPLATZ: THE CLASSIC, NOV. 13–DEC. 26 — One of Europe’s biggest markets, with the illuminated city hall behind it and the Wiener Eistraum ice rink on the same square; Schönbrunn runs to Jan. 6.
PRAGUE’S MARKETS RUN TO JAN. 6 — THE HOLIDAY PICK — Prague’s Old Town and Wenceslas Square markets stay open past New Year, when most German markets are already closed — the pick if you are travelling during the Christmas holiday.
FOOD
THANKSGIVING NACHOS: THE VIRAL 25-MINUTE LEFTOVER TRICK — Turkey, stuffing, roasted veg and cranberry sauce piled on seasoned tortilla chips with hot gravy — born on National Nacho Day, Friday.
GRANDMA’S FROM-SCRATCH STUFFING, BAKED IN A CASSEROLE — Dried bread cubes, celery and onion, moistened with giblet broth from the turkey neck, baked for a crispy top.
SPRUCE-AND-HICKORY TURKEY BRINE — A PITTSBURGH CHEF’S SECRET — Chef Kristin Butterworth’s three-day spruce brine with torched hickory, plus a stuffing bread pudding that slices into squares.
TURKEY WELLINGTON: THANKSGIVING, REIMAGINED — Turkey breast rolled around cornbread stuffing and wrapped in cheddar puff pastry — with Boursin creamed spinach and a pecan-pie sticky toffee pudding.
A LATINO THANKSGIVING: ADOBO TURKEY, CHORIZO STUFFING, PUMPKIN FLAN — Citrus-garlic adobo turkey, cornbread-chorizo stuffing and pumpkin flan — the table that speaks two cultures, with Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.
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