DemocracyNow!: Top U.S. & World Headlines — November 12, 2026

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Nvidia shares tumble as Jensen Huang steps down as CEO

By Doloresz Katanich
Published on 12 November 2026 - 8:51 GMT+1•Updated 16:02
US stocks fell at the open, led by tech shares, as investors weighed what Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO could mean for Nvidia and the wider AI industry.

Robert Reich: Thank you, Bernie!

By Robert Reich
You’re last week’s single biggest winner
18 hours ago
Substack

Friends, if there’s one person most responsible for last week’s blue tidal wave it’s Bernie Sanders. Thank you, Bernie. Let me just come right out and say it: I love Bernie. For years now, he has been leading us into the future. I love his authenticity. Some people have liked Donald Trump because he says whatever he wants, but he’s an asshole. Bernie’s authenticity comes from saying what he wants and speaking the truth. Although Bernie is blunt, when he growls “this grotesque level of income and wealth inequality is immoral,” he means it. And he’s right.

Reversal of Fortune at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

by Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11, 2026

There is something almost Shakespearean about Hegseth's twist of fate. Pete fought hard to save his skin today and survived, with considerable help from both friends and enemies who, for their own reasons, helped keep him in place. Yet, on the very day he could have considered another battle won, amongst the many that he's lost, he found himself publicly reprimanded at Arlington National Cemetery, in a place where military discipline, dignity and respect are not optional courtesies but sacred obligations.

Now, Pete, as the country's top civilian defence official, responsible for overseeing the military establishment, should have known better. It does not look good for a man who gives lessons to his subordinates to experience such reversal of fortunes: after fighting so hard to remain standing, to be reminded, in front of an audience, that sometimes the fall begins not with a defeat, but with a moment of hubris. What goes up, after all, can come down.

At least 2 people dead, several more injured after Brooklyn building collapse

Wednesday, November 11, 2026 5:19PM

FLATBUSH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A partial building collapse in Flatbush, Brooklyn has left at least two people dead, and at least 10 others injured as firefighters continue efforts to rescue any additional victims who may still be trapped in the rubble, according to officials.

The FDNY says it happened just after 4 p.m. after a three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. collapsed into an open construction site at 2625 Bedford Ave.

Mississippi Blue: Scott Colom's Upset Victory Is One for the Ages

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11 2026

JACKSON, Miss. — Democrat Scott Colom will win a U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi, unseating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 midterm elections, according to projections by CNN on Wednesday.

The victory makes the 43-year-old Colom the first Black person elected to statewide office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era, CNN reported. He will also be the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since John Stennis retired in 1989.

An Agent Provocateur Is Threatening European Civilian Infrastructure—and Doing a Good Job Disguising Himself

Hoax bomb alerts sent to schools in Italy, UK 

and Ireland in latest disruptions

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11 2026

From bomb threats against thousands of schools to disrupted flights, hacked supermarkets, targeted blood banks and threatened broadcasters, Europe is facing a growing series of attacks on the institutions and services of everyday life. Whether they are all connected remains an open question, but the cumulative effect is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Behind the Trump-Xi Bonhomie, a Fierce Spy War Rages

That the United States suspected Nvidia’s 

leader was a Chinese spy target underscores 

the deep distrust between the two powers, 

even as their leaders try to stabilize ties

By David Pierson

Reporting from Hong Kong

Nov. 11, 2026, 9:57 a.m. ET

As President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet next week to extend a fragile trade truce, a fresh espionage scandal has shown that behind their diplomacy is a fierce intelligence rivalry.

Stephen Miller Is a Problem

Press Pass

But only a few GOP senators will admit it

Joe Perticone

November 10

(Photo illustration by Bill Kuchman/The Bulwark)

(Photos: Getty, Shutterstock)

Run this town

As I was finishing this newsletter, word came from House Republicans that they settled on Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to be their new leader as they move into the minority in January. With Speaker Mike Johnson saying he didn’t want the job, the choice came down to Jordan, the in-your-face chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Freedom Caucus cofounder, and the widely liked and relatively milder-mannered Steve Scalise, who has spent nearly four years as majority leader after about a decade as the Republican whip. Jordan and Scalise previously faced off in 2023, clashing over who would succeed Speaker Kevin McCarthy; ultimately, neither had enough support, and the job went instead to Johnson.

White House threatens Democrats over new Epstein investigation plans

Legal letter accuses opposition party of ‘abusing the legislative process to intimidate and to interfere’

Natasha Leake

US Reporter

Published 11 November 2026

The White House has threatened Democrats with legal action over their plans to launch investigations into the Epstein scandal and members of the Trump administration.

Iran War Updates: Iran vows not to part with "single particle of enriched nuclear material" as standoff continues

By Duarte Dias

Updated on: November 11, 2026 / 12:37 PM EST / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council vowed Wednesday that Tehran would not allow the removal of "even a single particle of enriched nuclear material" from the country, casting doubt on diplomatic efforts as the U.S. has long sought a peace deal that would see Iran give up its enriched uranium.
• President Trump has argued that he needed to launch the war with Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which the regime has always denied any intention of doing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday that "crazy Islamists in Tehran will never ever have a nuclear weapon."
• The war with Iran will cost Persian Gulf nations, most of which are close U.S. allies, more than $200 billion in damages, insurer Allianz Trade said Wednesday. Economic losses could reach nearly four times that amount by 2030, the insurer added.

A Different Spain Needs a Stronger Labour Movement

By Yiannis Damellos

November 11, 2026

Source: Jacobin

Spain has made significant social and economic progress under Pedro Sánchez, but the housing crisis, wage pressures and insecurity show how much remains unfinished. The challenge for the labour movement is to defend what has been achieved while organising for what ordinary people still need.

Spain's streets are once again sending a message that politicians cannot afford to ignore. The housing crisis, rising rents and the growing difficulty of making a decent living have brought workers, tenants and young people into the streets, culminating in the November 11 general strike. The immediate trigger was the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman known as Maricarmen, from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades. Her case became a symbol of a much wider conflict: the right to a secure home against a housing market increasingly shaped by speculation and investment.

Politicians Are a Lot Like Diapers: They Should Be Changed Frequently, and for the Same Reason

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

Inspired by Jacobin

November 11, 2026

Robin Williams delivered the line in the 2006 film Man of the Year. Nearly two decades later, it offers an unexpectedly useful way to examine Xi Jinping’s China, where political continuity has increasingly come to mean the continuity of one leader.

There is a joke, delivered by Robin Williams in the film Man of the Year, that politicians are a lot like diapers: they should be changed frequently, and for the same reason. It is a crude observation, but one with a surprisingly serious political message. No political system can remain healthy if leadership becomes permanent, renewal is discouraged and the future of an entire country is tied too closely to the person occupying its highest office.

I Guess We’re Going Have to Deal with Pete Hegseth for Another Two Months

The House vote to impeach the Secretary of Talking About War failed yesterday, partially because Democratic members were stuck in traffic and missed it. Great work by all.

By Charles P. Pierce

Published: Nov 11, 2026 10:33 AM EST

Well, as of Tuesday evening, we learned that we will continue to be blessed with Secretary of Talking About War Pete Hegseth and his raging, bubbling hormones for at least two more months. The Republicans in the House of Representatives, undoubtedly exhausted from leaking anonymously what a shtunk Hegseth is, ran and hid when it was time to vote on Rep. Thomas Massie's resolution to impeach Hegseth and get his hands off the American military. From Politico:

As War Delivers Its Own Message, Abu Dhabi Talks End Without a Breakthrough — But With a Prisoner Swap

By Yiannis Damellos

Sources: Politico, ABC News, AP News, Euronews

November 11, 2026

Abu Dhabi was a first step back towards diplomacy, but it was not the beginning of peace just yet. Russia and Ukraine concluded their negotiations without a political breakthrough, but with an agreement in principle on a major humanitarian exchange. As fundamental disagreements remain unresolved and the war continues, Europe is still waiting for a seat at the negotiating table, where its own security is being discussed.

The first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in nine months have ended in Abu Dhabi with one tangible achievement: an agreement in principle on a major prisoner exchange. Beyond that, however, the two days of American-mediated discussions produced no breakthrough on a ceasefire, territorial disputes or the security arrangements that would determine Europe's future. The second day's session lasted less than two hours. The war continues, and the distance between Moscow's demands and Kyiv's conditions for a lasting peace remains considerable.

A New Generation at the Helm: The Democratic Party Faces Its Own Leadership Test

By The Greek Courier Editorial Team

November 11, 2026

The Democrats have won Congress, but winning an election is only the beginning. The battle over who leads the party, whose interests it represents and what it intends to deliver is now moving to Capitol Hill.

The American electorate has handed Democrats an extraordinary political opportunity. After a sweeping victory in the November midterms, the party is preparing to take control of both chambers of Congress. Yet, even before the new representatives and senators take their seats, another contest is unfolding inside the Democratic Party: whether Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries should continue leading it, or whether the election has opened the door to a new generation of political leadership.

NATO Security Alarm: US Army Officer Arrested in Britain on Suspicion of Spying for Russia

By Mars Strangelove Jr.

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Sources: The Washington Post 

U.S. Army, Official statement, November 10 

Associated Press

CBC News

A 41-year-old U.S. Army officer stationed at a NATO military headquarters in Britain has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to obtain classified information and deliver it to Russia. The arrest, carried out by British counterterrorism police in coordination with MI5, the FBI and American military counterintelligence, has raised serious questions about the security of one of NATO's key operational command structures at a particularly sensitive moment in the confrontation between Moscow and the West.

From Hendrix to Bowie: the trippiest music concert posters – in pictures

Günther Kieser is behind some of the most singular music poster designs of the 20th century. Inspired by sculpture, the free-form nature of jazz and psychedelic art, the German artist created works for David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and Diana Ross and the Supremes, as well as mind-expanding designs for leading brands and art institutions. 

The exhibition Sculpting Sound: Günther Kieser’s Music Posters at New York’s Poster House gallery showcases his decades-spanning work and runs from 12 November to 11 April 2027. The show is accompanied by the first-ever English-language book on Kieser

Briana Ellis-Gibbs
Tue 10 Nov 2026 12.00 GMT