Santiago Peña arrived at the Attorney General’s Office in Asunción on Saturday morning, a day after the Senate removed him 44–0 over the Ueno Bank collapse; prosecutors say charges — breach of trust, influence peddling — are still being determined. New President Pedro Alliana, sworn in Friday to serve to August 2028, directed regulators to speed payouts to the bank’s nearly 3 million frozen depositors, starting with the smallest savers. Ueno grew to the country’s fifth-largest bank 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.
Alliana pledges full compensation for depositors | How the Ueno resolution and payouts work
ELECTIONS & CONGRESS
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’S BEST WEEK SINCE AUGUST AS OIL PLUNGES OVER 12% — Gold surged nearly 4.5% on the week as money fled equities after the AI rout, while WTI fell to around $90 and Brent to the $97–$98 range on hopes of a U.S.–Iran policy shift after the midterms; the hot jobs report pushed December Fed hike odds to around 81%.
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
BOEBERT RACE HEADED FOR RECOUNT, LAWYER SAYS
TEXAS: HINOJOSA OUSTS ABBOTT, FIRST LATINA GOVERNOR
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
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
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.
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”
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. Next today: the Casavalle community at 5 p.m., the Catholic University at 6 p.m., and a stadium vigil expected to draw 60,000 young people at 7 p.m. — three weeks after his lung-cancer surgery. The Vatican’s full programme: Florida Mass Sunday, then Argentina Nov. 8–11 and Peru to Nov. 16.
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. Analysts split: some see a bottom forming, others warn the AI-optimism cushion is gone.
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.
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.
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.
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”
ALLIANA SURVIVED AN IMPEACHMENT BID OF HIS OWN
SPORTS
HOLY WAR KICKS OFF AT NOON; NO. 1 MIAMI AT NO. 4 NOTRE DAME TONIGHT — No. 7 BYU visits undefeated No. 3 Utah at noon on ABC with Big 12 title and playoff stakes; at 7:30 p.m. on NBC, undefeated Miami visits Notre Dame, a 7.5-point favorite with Canes star receiver Malachi Toney out. Also tonight: No. 2 Georgia at No. 12 Ole Miss, and No. 9 Alabama at No. 15 LSU at 3:30.
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
LAST CALL FOR THE PUMPKIN BLAZE, FREE SKATING AT BRYANT PARK — The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze — 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins at Van Cortlandt Manor — ends its run Sunday, while Bryant Park’s Winter Village rink is free to skate (bring your own skates) and two New Jersey craft shows open the holiday shopping season.
OFF-SEASON ESCAPES: RHODE ISLAND TO CHIANG MAI — Eight quieter, cheaper shoulder-season picks: Newport’s Gilded Age mansions and fall foliage, Aspen before its 80th-anniversary ski season opens Thanksgiving Day, and Chiang Mai’s lantern festivals under November’s full moon.
MADEIRA LEADS SIX NOVEMBER ISLAND ESCAPES — With Spain facing a general strike Nov. 11, six alternatives to the Canaries get the spotlight: Madeira’s levada walks, Cyprus’s beaches and ruins, Malta’s Valletta and Gozo, the Algarve, Crete and Sicily.
ASHEVILLE’S LATE-FALL WEEKEND: PARKWAY COLOR, LIVE MUSIC, BREWERIES — Late color still hangs on in the lower elevations around Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, with live music at the Orange Peel and Grey Eagle tonight and a sunny Sunday near 63°F — the weekend’s standout day.
FOOD
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.
MAWMAW’S SOUTHERN TURKEY & DRESSING — Influencer Maddie Rickman shares her grandmother’s recipe: bacon-grease cornbread crumbled with turkey breast, drippings and broth, baked golden — always served with Ocean Spray cranberry sauce.
MAPLE SQUASH PIE FROM AN INDIGENOUS CHEF — Chef Crystal Wahpepah — the first Indigenous chef on Chopped and a James Beard finalist — shares her holiday pie: roasted squash, maple syrup, duck eggs and homemade pumpkin seed milk in place of cream.
LEMON-HERB MASH, VEGAN — A lighter Thanksgiving side in 20 minutes: potato and yam mashed with lemon juice, fresh cilantro, thyme and olive oil — no butter, no cream, and it can be made hours ahead.
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