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TDFP News Roundup – 11/05/26

Writer: Yossi Schmidt
Yossi Schmidt
23 hours ago
7 min read

Today’s 20 stories from The Digital Free Press, led by Speaker Mike Johnson stepping aside as House Republicans pick a new leader, Hakeem Jeffries’ bid for speaker, President Trump’s backing of Pete Hegseth, and four TDFP reports: Keith Schiller’s Kazakhstan foreign-agent filing, a Guatemalan candidate’s lobbying over his visa, Meta’s lawsuit against California and a court order on Afghan deportation flights.



Part 1: Top 10 Stories


1. Speaker Mike Johnson won’t seek a leadership post as Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan launch bids to lead House Republicans

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would not seek a leadership role after Democrats regained the House majority in Tuesday’s midterm elections, the Daily Caller reported. Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan launched bids Wednesday to become Republican leader in the 120th Congress, with the vote set for Tuesday. “To succeed in this fight, we will need to stand united as one team,” Scalise said.

Source: Daily Caller


2. Hakeem Jeffries launches his bid to become the next speaker of the House

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is officially running for speaker in the next Congress after Democrats took back the House and the Senate, Fox News reported. In a letter to House Democrats on Wednesday, Jeffries wrote, “I write to humbly request your support in connection with my candidacy to serve as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives.” Fox News said Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar signaled they would run for the No. 2 and No. 3 posts.

Source: Fox News


3. Trump says he has “every intention” of keeping Pete Hegseth as secretary of war

President Trump said Thursday that he has “every intention” of keeping Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, as pressure on the Pentagon chief grows after Tuesday’s Democratic victories, the New York Post reported. “I have every intention to keep him,” Trump told ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl, according to the Post.


4. EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s former bodyguard Keith Schiller registers as an unpaid foreign agent for Kazakhstan’s prosecutor general

Keith Schiller, President Trump’s longtime former bodyguard, has registered with the Justice Department as an unpaid agent of Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office, alongside former Trump Organization executive George Sorial and attorney Robert Seiden, The Digital Free Press reports. The Foreign Agents Registration Act filing says their firm, Javelin Advisors, will arrange meetings on extradition cooperation, “including a potential bilateral extradition treaty,” and receives no compensation. It says roughly 50 people wanted by Kazakhstan have been identified in the U.S.


5. EXCLUSIVE: Guatemalan presidential hopeful Carlos Pineda hires U.S. lobbyists over his visa denial

Carlos Pineda, the Guatemalan businessman who leads the SERVIR party and is seeking his country’s presidency, has hired Wyoming-registered Zion Strategies to lobby Washington on “Mr. Pineda’s visa denial,” according to a federal lobbying registration reviewed by The Digital Free Press. The filing also lists U.S.-Guatemala relations and “upcoming election transparency in Guatemala” as issues. A 2023 U.S. letter reported by Prensa Libre cited suspected drug trafficking; Pineda denies any such ties.


6. Meta sues to block California’s ban on personalized feeds and autoplay for teens

Meta Platforms sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta in federal court on Wednesday to block AB 1709, which bars personalized feeds and autoplay for users under 16 starting Jan. 1, 2027, The Digital Free Press reports. The 49-page complaint argues the law lets the state override how Facebook, Instagram and Threads choose and display posts, in violation of the First Amendment. It also discloses a default two-hour daily limit and overnight block that Meta says are coming for California teens.


7. Judge orders ICE to stand by its statement that no Afghan deportation flights are planned this week

A federal judge in Manhattan entered a temporary restraining order requiring ICE to abide by an agency official’s statement that no flights are planned to deport Afghan nationals to Afghanistan or Pakistan, The Digital Free Press reports. The government consented to the order after a New York legal aid group sued to stop removals it said could begin as early as Nov. 3. The order expires Saturday at 11:59 p.m. unless the court extends it.


8. Justice Samuel Alito says he is not retiring and is committed through the end of the current term

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito told Fox News on Thursday that he has no plans to retire and is committed through at least the current term, which is set to end in late June. Fox News said the statement came amid speculation about the court’s future after Democrats won control of the Senate, which would make it harder for President Trump to fill a vacancy.

Source: Fox News


9. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo concedes to Democrat Aaron Ford

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, called Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford on Wednesday to concede the governor’s race after one term in office, Breitbart News reported. “This morning, I called Attorney General Aaron Ford to congratulate him on his victory,” Lombardo said. “Whether you cast your vote for me or Attorney General Ford, we are all Nevadans.”


10. Jobless claims fall to 189,000, tying the lowest weekly level since 1969

Initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 6,000 to 189,000 in the final week of October, tying the July 18 reading that was the lowest since 1969, Breitbart News reported. The four-week average fell to 194,750, down from 225,500 a year earlier, the report said.


Part 2: 10 More Stories, Only on TDFP


11. U.S. drone strikes hit ELN cartel operations in Venezuela

The U.S. military carried out a series of drone strikes over the weekend on operations of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in a rural part of Venezuela, in coordination with the Venezuelan military, which moved in to secure the area, Breitbart News reported. The ELN, a guerrilla group that started in Colombia, is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.


12. Three injured in a shooting at the main Des Moines post office; suspect in custody

Police in Des Moines, Iowa, said three people were injured and a suspect was in custody after a shooting Thursday at the main U.S. Postal Service facility at 1165 Second Ave., Fox News reported. ATF agents responded to assist local police. “Public safety remains our top priority,” ATF Kansas City said.

Source: Fox News


13. Operation Southern Surge: 89 arrests and more than 1,600 pounds of drugs seized at the Texas border

Federal officials announced the results of Operation Southern Surge at a press conference in Laredo, Texas, saying the Homeland Security Task Force effort has netted more than 1,600 pounds of drugs, 15 firearms, more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition and over $360,000 in cash since mid-October, Breitbart News reported. CBP said the operation also led to 89 arrests.


14. At least 11 flights across Europe diverted by bomb threats that proved unfounded

At least 11 planes from cities including Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw were diverted or made emergency landings Thursday because of bomb threats that turned out to be unfounded, Fox News reported. The source of the threats was not immediately clear. Several European flights received similar warnings Tuesday that the U.K. government called “malicious hoax threats.”

Source: Fox News


15. Indiana executes Jeffrey Weisheit, the first of three U.S. executions set for Thursday

Indiana executed Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, who was convicted of killing his girlfriend’s two young children, early Thursday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to the Indiana Department of Correction, Fox News reported. Florida and Alabama are set to carry out executions later Thursday, which would be the second time this year that three inmates are put to death on the same day.

Source: Fox News


16. Appeals court hands Mayor Mamdani a win on New York City’s second-home tax

A New York state appeals court on Wednesday unanimously dismissed homeowners’ lawsuit over New York City’s tax on high-end second homes, finding the plaintiffs lacked standing, Fox News reported. The ruling reversed a September decision by a Staten Island judge who had ordered Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to redo the tax’s rollout. The tax still faces separate legal challenges.

Source: Fox News


17. Gun-rights group asks the Supreme Court to hold New Jersey’s appeal in its magazine-ban case

New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to review Cheeseman v. New Jersey, in which the Third Circuit declared the state’s ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds unconstitutional, the Daily Caller reported. The Firearms Policy Coalition said in a brief filed Wednesday that the Third Circuit ruled correctly, but asked the justices to hold the petition rather than deny it while they decide pending arms-ban cases, including Viramontes v. Cook County.

Source: Daily Caller


18. Washington state voters back an initiative barring male athletes from girls’ school sports, early returns show

Initiative 638, which would bar biologically male students from competing on girls’ school sports teams in Washington state, led 57% to 43% as of Wednesday with votes still being counted, Breitbart News reported. “To every female athlete who wondered whether her voice mattered: tonight, Washington heard you,” said Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington.


19. Binance says North Korean hackers stole $6.3 billion through a fake job interview scheme

Crypto exchange Binance said in a report Tuesday that North Korean state-backed hackers drained $6.3 billion through a monthslong scheme involving fake job interviews, tampered software and stolen credentials, Breitbart News reported. Binance linked the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean cybercrime group. North Korea denied involvement, with state media calling the accusation a “grave political provocation.”


20. Hong Kong court sentences Joshua Wong to 10 more years on foreign collusion charges

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, 30, to 10 more years in prison on foreign collusion charges under the city’s National Security Law, Breitbart News reported. Wong, a co-founder of the disbanded group Demosisto, has spent roughly six years in jail and was serving a sentence on subversion charges with an expected January 2027 release, the report said.


Hold Everyone Accountable.

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