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House Dem, 79, indicates he may not retire after judges strike down Texas congressional map

House Dem, 79, indicates he may not retire after judges strike down Texas congressional map

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, suggested that he no longer plans to retire after federal judges ruled against a Republican-backed plan to alter Texas’ congressional districts on Tuesday. Doggett had announced his qualified retirement earlier this year after Texas Republicans revealed a new redistricting map that would have pitted Doggett, 79, against fellow Texas Democratic Rep. Rep. Greg Casar, 36. Now, that map’s future is in jeopardy, however. “To borrow from Mark Twain, I can happily say that the reports of my death politically are greatly exaggerated,” Doggett said in a video posted to social media. “I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to represent the only town I’ve ever called home, at a time when democracy faces the greatest challenges that it has ever faced at any point in my lifetime,” Doggett’s statement continued. “Thank you.” ABBOTT CLEARS FINAL REDISTRICTING HURDLE AS TEXAS SENATE PASSES NEW TRUMP-APPROVED MAP Doggett’s newfound confidence comes after a federal panel of judges ruled 2-1 that the GOP redistricting map appeared to constitute an illegal, race-based gerrymander. “The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, said in the majority opinion, joined by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama appointee. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map,” the judges said. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.” ABBOTT SIGNS TEXAS REDISTRICTING MAP INTO LAW, SECURING MAJOR GOP VICTORY AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee, dissented without explanation. The ruling is a significant blow to the Trump administration. It comes as President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have raced to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections — including by imploring some states to launch rare, mid-decade redistricting efforts.  As part of that push, legislators in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have each redrawn their congressional maps. FEDERAL JUDGES BLOCK TEXAS FROM USING REDRAWN CONGRESSIONAL MAP Other states, including Florida and Kansas, are currently weighing similar efforts.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed on Tuesday to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court for review. He said Texas would also be seeking an emergency stay from the high court that would temporarily stay the lower court’s ruling. Gov. Greg Abbott sharply criticized the court’s ruling Tuesday, saying in a statement that Texas legislators “redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences — and for no other reason.” “Any claim that these maps are discriminatory is absurd and unsupported by the testimony offered during ten days of hearings,” he added.

FBI ‘stonewalled’ House Trump assassination attempt investigation, congressmen allege

FBI ‘stonewalled’ House Trump assassination attempt investigation, congressmen allege

The FBI “stonewalled” the House investigation into Thomas Crooks’ attempted assassination of President Donald Trump, two Republican lawmakers were quoted as telling the New York Post.  Earlier this week, the newspaper reported on social media posts believed to be linked to the 20-year-old shooter. The Post described the messages as including numerous endorsements of political violence and a sharp turn away from being an advocate for Trump.  Reps. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania and Pat Fallon of Texas said the FBI never shared those files with members of Congress who were investigating the attempted assassination in July 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the New York Post.  “We were stymied so much by the feds on what we could look at, what we couldn’t look at,” Kelly told the Post. “We knew we were going to get stonewalled on a lot of stuff.” AMERICA NEEDS A FRESH INVESTIGATION OF WOULD-BE ASSASSIN THOMAS CROOKS — AND THE FBI’S BUNGLED FIRST PROBE  “I think that there’s so many unanswered questions about it,” Kelly added. “They don’t want people to handle the truth.”  “We all know it wasn’t done, it wasn’t complete and the reason for that is they can’t handle the truth,” Kelly also reportedly said in reference to how the FBI treated the congressional probe.  Authorities told Congress they found no evidence that Crooks followed any particular ideology on his laptop, but according to the Post’s source, there was a clear timeline of Crooks’ changing ideology and violent rhetoric that remains to be addressed. “The danger Crooks posed was visible for years in public online spaces,” an unnamed source said to have uncovered more than a dozen of Crooks’ accounts told the paper. “His radicalization, violent rhetoric and obsession with political violence were all documented under his real name. The threat wasn’t hidden.”  While the FBI has not publicly identified a political motive, Crooks’ online comments over several years shifted from pro-Trump to anti-Trump, according to digital records described by the Post. Whatever caused that shift remains unclear, but before he focused his murderous intent on the president, his posts about rage and violence were reportedly directed at Democrats.  “I don’t think any of us came out of that feeling, ‘You know what we really got the answers we were looking for,’” Kelly told the Post about the House committee’s meetings with the FBI. Their report was released in December. TRUMP RALLY GUNMAN ACTED ALONE, FBI SAYS — BUT QUESTIONS ABOUT MOTIVE PERSIST  Fallon called for a new investigation in light of the Post’s reported findings, telling the newspaper that he doesn’t recall the FBI sharing those details when he was a part of the congressional investigation committee.  “I don’t think it would do any harm at all,” he added. “You can’t investigate these things enough.”  Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI and the offices of Kelly and Fallon for comment. “The FBI’s investigation into Thomas Crooks identified and examined over 20 online accounts, data extracted from over a dozen electronic devices, examination of numerous financial accounts, and over 1,000 interviews and 2000 public tips,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X last week. “The investigation, conducted by over 480 FBI employees, revealed Crooks had limited online and in person interactions, planned and conducted the attack alone, and did not leak or share his intent to engage in the attack with anyone,” he added.  Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,364

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,364

Here are the key events from day 1,364 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. By Al Jazeera and News Agencies Published On 19 Nov 202519 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Wednesday, November 19: Fighting Russian drones struck two central districts – Slobidskyi and Osnovyansk – in Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv, injuring five people in an apartment building and triggering a fire, authorities said. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said 22 residents had been evacuated from one section of the damaged apartment building while another drone struck an area outside a medical facility, injuring a doctor and damaging the building and nearby cars. The Kharkiv region’s governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said 11 drones were deployed in the attack and seven people were injured in total. Russia’s civil aviation authority said it was temporarily halting flights at Krasnodar International Airport in southern Russia on Wednesday morning, saying only that it was for flight safety. Russian air defences shot down four Ukrainian drones en route to Moscow on Tuesday, the city’s mayor said. Moscow’s two largest airports, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, stopped all air traffic for a time before later reopening, Russia’s aviation watchdog said. Ukrainian drone attacks have caused extensive damage to the power grid in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region. Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said about 65 percent of consumers were without power in the region. Ukraine attacked two thermal power stations in Russian-occupied Donetsk, according to a Telegram post by the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces. Major Robert Brovdi said the Starobeshivska and Zuivska power plants had been hit by his forces. Ukraine said it attacked military targets in Russia with United States-supplied ATACMS missiles, calling it a “significant development”. The military said in a statement that the “use of long-range strike capabilities, including systems such as ATACMS, will continue”. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov conducted a regular inspection of troops fighting in eastern Ukraine, his ministry’s outlet, Zvezda, reported. Video posted by Zvezda showed Belousov presenting awards to military servicemen. Military aid Advertisement The Trump administration has approved a $105m arms sale to Ukraine to help it maintain existing Patriot missile air defence systems. The sale includes upgrading from M901 to M903 launchers, which can fire more missiles at once. Spain will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth 615 million euros ($710m), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday. “Your fight is ours,” Sanchez said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “neoimperialism” seeks to “weaken the European project and everything it stands for”. Regional security The United Kingdom lacks a plan to defend itself from military attack, members of parliament warned while at least 13 sites across the UK have been identified for new factories to make munitions and military explosives, according to a report. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities have identified two Ukrainian nationals who had collaborated with Russia for “a long time” and were responsible for an explosion on a Polish railway route to Ukraine. “The most important information is that … we have identified the people responsible for the acts of sabotage,” Tusk told lawmakers. “In both cases, we are sure that the attempt to blow up the rails and the railway infrastructure violation were intentional and their aim was to cause a railway traffic catastrophe,” he said. The Kremlin accused Poland of succumbing to Russophobia after Warsaw blamed the explosion on a railway route to Ukraine on two Ukrainian citizens who it said were recruited by Russian intelligence. Soldiers from across the NATO alliance practised counterdrone skills in Poland on Tuesday with troops from the US, UK and Romania joining their Polish counterparts at the exercises in Nowa Deba in Poland’s southeast corner. The European Commission will propose a new initiative to help speed up the development and purchase of innovative defence technologies, according to a draft document seen by the Reuters news agency. US soldiers carry an AS3 interceptor, part of the US-made, AI-powered counterdrone system MEROPS, during a presentation in Nowa Deba, Poland [Kacper Pempel/Reuters] Ceasefire Zelenskyy said Ukraine will try to “reactivate” the diplomatic process to end the war with Russia. Zelenskyy later announced he planned to go to Turkiye on Wednesday to try to revive talks with Russia on how to end the war in Ukraine. No face-to-face talks have taken place between Kyiv and Moscow since they met in Istanbul in July. Steve Witkoff, a US special envoy, is expected to join the talks with Zelenskyy in Turkiye, another Ukrainian official involved in the meeting’s preparations told the AFP news agency. Ukraine plans to claim $43bn in climate compensation from Russia to help fund a planet-friendly rebuild after the war, Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Economy, Environment and Agriculture Pavlo Kartashov announced at the UN climate conference in Brazil. “We in Ukraine face brutality directly, but the climate shockwaves of this aggression will be felt well beyond our borders and into the future,” Kartashov said. Advertisement Politics and diplomacy One of Ukraine’s main opposition parties physically blocked lawmakers from holding a vote in parliament on Tuesday to dismiss two ministers over a corruption investigation, demanding the removal of the entire cabinet instead. Zelenskyy made a one-day visit on Tuesday to Spain and took the opportunity to view Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, a painting that depicts the horrors of war and specifically the bombardment of civilian targets in Spain by fascist German and Italian forces. Economy Russian state conglomerate Rostec said its defence exports have fallen by half since 2022 as domestic orders became a priority during the war in Ukraine. Until 2022, Russia held second place in the world after the US in defence exports, but the volumes dropped “due to the fact that we have had to supply most of our production to our army”, Rostec chief Sergey Chemezov told reporters. Russian lawmakers endorsed new tax hikes on Tuesday as Moscow

Single faulty wire led cargo ship to crash into Baltimore bridge: Report

Single faulty wire led cargo ship to crash into Baltimore bridge: Report

Investigators say faulty wiring and two blackouts led the ship’s pilots to lose control of propulsion and steering. Published On 19 Nov 202519 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A single loose wire on the Dali, a 300-metre (984ft) container ship, was responsible for the deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore last year, according to a months-long investigation by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Due to problems with the wiring, the Dali experienced two blackouts on March 26, 2024, before losing control of propulsion and steering, leading the container ship to crash into the bridge and kill six highway workers, the NTSB said in a statement on Tuesday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The bridge collapse created a global media sensation last year when a livestream video of the accident went viral. It was captured by a camera set up to monitor traffic through the Port of Baltimore but instead filmed the swift collapse of a major section of the bridge. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said finding the culprit behind the accident took months of diligent work from the agency’s investigators. “Our investigators routinely accomplish the impossible, and this investigation is no different,” she said. “The Dali at almost 1,000ft is as long as the Eiffel Tower is high with miles of wiring and thousands of electrical connections. Finding this single wire was like hunting for a loose rivet on the Eiffel Tower.” The investigation also found that the crew of the Dali tried and failed to steer the ship away from the bridge but was unable to do so due to electrical problems, the NTSB said. The agency praised the ship’s pilots for swiftly notifying local authorities of the problems, which led the Maryland Transportation Authority to stop traffic from crossing the nearly 4km-long (2.5-mile-long) bridge. Advertisement Seven workers were already on the bridge at the time, the NTSB said, and six were killed in the accident. The shipping channel fully reopened in June, but the Maryland Transportation Board said this week that the bridge will not reopen until 2030 and will cost $4.3bn to $5.2bn to repair, according to CBS News. Adblock test (Why?)

Scotland beats Denmark 4-2 to book first World Cup spot since 1998

Scotland beats Denmark 4-2 to book first World Cup spot since 1998

Denmark needed just a draw for automatic qualification. Now they must fight for a spot through playoffs. Published On 19 Nov 202519 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Scotland has qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998 after a hair-raising match against Denmark that saw the Scottish side secure a memorable 4-2 victory with most of the action taking place in the final minutes. Expectations hung heavy in the night air long before kickoff on Tuesday in Glasgow as Scotland’s date with destiny loomed. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Despite qualifying for the last two European Championships, World Cup qualification has proved out of reach for Scotland since France 1998. Yet the Scottish side beat a 10-man Danish side 4-2 in a winner- takes-all match in Group C with Scott McTominay scoring with a bicycle kick just three minutes into the match, sending Scotland’s supporters at Hampden Park into raptures. The early cheers of the Scottish fans were dampened when Denmark’s Rasmus Hojlund levelled the score. Scotland’s Lawrence Shankland then put the home team ahead again, but that too was equalised by the Danes’ Patrick Dorgu in the 82nd minute. Scotland’s Scott McTominay celebrates scoring their first goal against Denmark on November 18, 2025 in Glasgow [Lee Smith/Reuters] A draw in the game would have given Denmark the group win, and the Danes were in a good position to achieve that result before Kieran Tierney put the Scottish side ahead again three minutes into added time. Kenny McLean then sealed Scotland’s World Cup qualification eight minutes into stoppage time when he chipped a shot over Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from the halfway line. “You would not believe it,” one match commentator said when Scotland scored their fourth goal, sending fans into delirium and ensuring the game will become part of the fabled folklore of Scottish football. Advertisement “We’ve been on a journey. I spoke to them about it pre-match, about how this is the opportunity we’ve waited for,” Scotland coach Steve Clarke said after the game. “This was the chance, one game. This was like a playoff final. We put everything on the line. There’s always one last step, and it’s always the hardest,” he said. Denmark’s Rasmus Hojlund shoots at the Scottish goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park [Russell Cheyne/Reuters] Denmark, which saw Rasmus Kristensen sent off in the 62nd minute, finished second in the group, two points behind Scotland. For much of the game, Denmark appeared to be the superior team. But after an already roller-coaster World Cup qualifying campaign for the Scots, including a 3-2 defeat in Greece on Saturday, the biggest twist was saved to the very end as the two goals in stoppage time sparked the loudest party the city of Glasgow has seen for years. “That just sums up this squad – never say die. We just keep going right to the end in one of the craziest games,” Scotland captain Andy Robertson said. “We put the country through it, but I’m sure it’s worth it. We’re going to the World Cup,” he said. Denmark, who only needed to avoid defeat to make sure of their third successive World Cup finals appearance, were left crestfallen. They will now join 11 other teams that finished second in their groups in a playoff competition: Only four of these 12 teams will qualify for the World Cup. Adblock test (Why?)

House Dem slammed for ‘sick’ defense of colleague caught texting Epstein during 2019 hearing

House Dem slammed for ‘sick’ defense of colleague caught texting Epstein during 2019 hearing

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was ridiculed as “dishonest” and “sick” after arguing from the House floor that his former law school student and colleague was only “taking a phone call from her constituent” when she was texting disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House hearing. Republicans on Tuesday, led by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., introduced a resolution to censure Plaskett for “inappropriate coordination with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,” which it says “reflects discreditably on the House of Representatives.”  Plaskett was caught texting Epstein, whose primary residence was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, during a 2019 hearing when former Trump attorney Michael Cohen was testifying about his work with the former president amid an ongoing probe into Trump’s business dealings and matters tied to the 2016 election.  “They want to give them another headline! Which is, that they’ve arraigned a Democratic member for taking a phone call from her constituent, Jeffrey Epstein, in the middle of a hearing. And, of course, I don’t think there are any rules here against taking phone calls in a hearing,” Raskin exclaimed on the House floor Tuesday afternoon amid Congress’s efforts to pass a bill aimed at censuring Plaskett. DEMOCRAT FOUND TEXTING JEFFREY EPSTEIN FACES HOUSE CENSURE, COMMITTEE REMOVAL THREATS  “Are we saying just because they were on a phone call, they’re guilty of something? We should strip them of their committee assignments. We should censure them. Have we gotten to that point? I mean, come on,” he continued. “Look, this is the House of Representatives. The United States of America. Let’s stick by the Constitution. Let’s stick by due process.” The White House’s Rapid Response team quickly shot back at Raskin on social media, posting a clip of his remarks that they described as “sick.” Raskin’s defense, while novel, was not alone, however. Several Democrats spoke from the House floor in defense of the congressional delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday, railing against Democrats for “besmirch[ing]” their colleague.   “Jamie Raskin — one of the worst to ever disgrace the halls of Congress — says Stacey Plaskett was just ‘taking a phone call from her constituent’ when she colluded with a convicted sex offender during a committee hearing,” the White House Rapid Response team said in response. “These people are SICK!” Meanwhile, independent journalist Lee Fang, who was formerly with The Intercept, called Raskin’s comments “incredibly dishonest,” noting that court filings revealed Plaskett had much closer ties to Epstein than the average constituent.     “Just incredibly dishonest. Plaskett helped Epstein while serving in the Virgin Islands gov w/ tax credits, went on to work directly for Epstein’s fixer, then received lavish campaign support from Epstein and his aides to clinch her election victory,” Fang said in response to Raskin’s comments.  EPSTEIN REFERENCED TRUMP IN PRIVATE EMAILS TO GHISLAINE MAXWELL AND OTHERS, NEW RECORDS SHOW Fang previously reported in 2023 that Plaskett, despite attempting to distance herself from the disgraced financier and claiming she had no knowledge of campaign donations made to her from Epstein, that was not the case.  “Plaskett not only repeatedly sought financial contributions from Epstein and had multiple face-to-face encounters with him, but she also worked directly for a St. Thomas-based law firm that played a role in cultivating influence for Epstein’s clandestine activities,” Fang wrote at the time. He also added that Plaskett’s involvement with Epstein could potentially even go further back because she previously served as an attorney on the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority that granted Epstein hundreds-of-millions in alleged “improperly obtained tax exemptions over the course of two decades.” “The spin is outrageous,” conservative influencer CJ Pearson said of Raskin’s defense.  “You can’t make this up!” quipped Eric Daugherty, assistant news director at Florida’s Voice News. “Let the person that hasn’t colluded with a convicted sex offender to rig the questions in a hearing cast the first stone,” Red State writer Bonchie wrote on X. “Why is Raskin trying to downplay his colleague chatting with a convicted sex offender? Is it because he knows his colleague Hakeem also wanted dinner with Epstein? Or is it because he’s worried about what else will be revealed about Dems…?” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson posted on X. Conservative journalist, filmmaker and podcaster, Mel K, highlighted the fact Raskin was Plaskett’s professor at American University’s law school in her response to Raskin’s House floor comments, which questioned if the Maryland Democrat was “for real.” Plaskett, defended by Raskin and others on the House floor, also stood up and defended herself, arguing there was no “public knowledge at that time” Epstein was under federal investigation despite  “I began to get innumerable texts from friends, from foes, from constituents about what was happening in that hearing. And I got a text from Jeffrey Epstein, who, at the time, was my constituent, who there was not public knowledge at that time that he was under federal investigation,” Plaskett said Tuesday after news of her hearing texts went viral. “I heard recently from someone that I was taking advice from him,” Plaskett added in her defense from the House floor Tuesday. “Let me tell you something. I don’t need to get advice on how to question anybody from any individual. I have been a lawyer for 30 years.” The resolution to censure Plaskett and strip her of her duties failed Tuesday night in a House vote.