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TDFP News Roundup - 11/11/26

Writer: Yossi Schmidt
Yossi Schmidt
12 hours ago
6 min read

Today's 20 stories from The Digital Free Press: the House stalls Rep. Thomas Massie's impeachment push against War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Republicans elect Jim Jordan as their next House leader and keep John Thune in the Senate, and the Justice Department charges three Iran-backed operatives in nearly 20 attacks and plots, including a foiled attack on a U.K. base housing U.S. forces, plus Oklahoma's Supreme Court striking down ballot-petition limits, the FAA's landing license for Sierra Space's Dream Chaser and DeepL's tone-aware voice translation.

Part 1: Top 10 Stories

1. House stalls Massie's impeachment push against Hegseth, 211-204

The House voted 211-204 on Tuesday to refer Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) resolution impeaching War Secretary Pete Hegseth to the Judiciary Committee, the clerk's roll call shows, shelving eight articles over the U.S. war with Iran rather than voting on them directly. Massie, who introduced the resolution Monday, called it "a procedural motion to kill the resolution"; the Pentagon declared "total victory." Time reports Democrats could revive the effort when they take the House majority in January.

2. House Republicans elect Jim Jordan as their next leader

House Republicans elected Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their leader for the next Congress on Tuesday, defeating Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) in a closed-door secret ballot, NBC News reported. Jordan replaces outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and will lead the GOP minority when the new Congress convenes in January. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) was re-elected whip, fending off Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas).

Source: NBC News

3. Senate Republicans re-elect John Thune as leader

Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune (R-S.D.) as their leader Tuesday, with no challenger emerging despite calls from some conservatives to delay the vote after major midterm losses, NBC News reported. Thune, majority leader since 2025, will lead a GOP minority next year. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) walked out after Republicans voted 31-15 to hold the election Tuesday.

Source: NBC News

4. U.S. charges three Iran-backed operatives over nearly 20 attacks and plots, including attempted U.K. base attack

An eight-count superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday charges Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a dual Iranian-Iraqi national; Mohsen Mohajeri, an Iranian national; and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, an Iraqi national, with terrorism offenses in support of Kata'ib Hizballah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Justice Department said. The indictment covers their alleged involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across Europe and the United States, including a September 2026 plot at RAF Fairford, a British base where American forces were stationed. Prosecutors say al-Saadi, already jailed in New York on terrorism charges, passed coded messages through third parties to coordinate with his co-defendants.

5. Appeals court upholds job protection for VOA director Michael Abramowitz

A federal appeals court upheld job protections for Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz, finding the U.S. Agency for Global Media lacked statutory authority to fire him unilaterally, NBC News reported.

Source: NBC News

6. Oklahoma Supreme Court strikes down 2025 ballot-petition law

Oklahoma's Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Tuesday that Senate Bill 1027, a 2025 law restricting citizen-led ballot petitions, is unconstitutional, including county signature caps and a requirement that petition circulators be registered state voters. The court struck the law in full and left earlier petition laws in force; dissenting justices argued some provisions should survive.

7. FAA licenses Dream Chaser to reenter and land at Vandenberg

The FAA has licensed Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane to reenter and land at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, allowing up to four reentries a year for five years if its configuration and mission profile stay unchanged. The agency cites a targeted spring 2027 mission; the license is landing approval, not a completed orbital flight.

8. Carney says Trump remains central to Canada-U.S. trade talks

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the White House remains central to trade talks between Canada and the United States despite Democrats' sweeping midterm wins, Vos Iz Neias reported. His comments are Canada's negotiating response to the changed Congress, not a new trade agreement.

Source: Vos Iz Neias

9. Oppenheimer plans $66 million Manhattan headquarters, retaining 1,001 jobs

Oppenheimer & Co. will invest $66 million in a new Manhattan headquarters that retains 1,001 jobs, Vos Iz Neias reported, with a $3.2 million state grant supporting the plan. The 1,001 figure is retained jobs, not new ones.

Source: Vos Iz Neias

10. DeepL says new Aure model carries tone and emotion into translated speech

DeepL unveiled Aure, a real-time voice-translation model the company says carries changes in a speaker's tone, emotion, emphasis and pace into another language while preserving their recognizable voice. It initially supports eight languages and applies automatically across DeepL's meeting, in-person conversation and voice API products; these are company claims, not an independent accuracy test.

Source: DeepL

Part 2: 10 More Stories

11. EXCLUSIVE: Pemberton bodycam shows Mayor Bianchini offering to leave council meeting if others involved were removed

Body-worn camera footage obtained by The Digital Free Press through an OPRA request shows Pemberton Township Mayor Matthew Bianchini telling others in a back room after the Oct. 21 council confrontation, "I think if they're removed, I should go then too." The footage, a police case report and a dispatch log also show officers logged the call after the fact and arrested no one.

12. Prison news publisher sues Bureau of Prisons over UNICOR settlement records first requested in 2021

The publisher of Prison Legal News sued the Bureau of Prisons and UNICOR, alleging a June 2021 FOIA request for records of UNICOR's legal settlements and payouts was never answered beyond a processing letter. The complaint, filed Nov. 9 in federal court in Washington, also says a 2024 request got no response.

13. Judge refuses to halt Arizona's Hermosa critical minerals mine, leaves jaguar and ocelot question open

A federal judge in Arizona refused to pause the Hermosa Critical Minerals Project, a South32 manganese and zinc project near Patagonia, while environmental groups challenge its federal approvals. The Nov. 6 order says the next year's work is limited but leaves undecided whether the government's limits on harm to jaguars and ocelots meet the law.

14. Justice Department's $53 million Lyft suit says drivers refused a former federal appeals judge and his guide dog

The Justice Department's ADA lawsuit against Lyft names former federal appeals judge David S. Tatel among riders it says drivers refused because of a guide dog. The complaint says Lyft answered his complaints with $10 credits and alleges the company receives thousands of disability-discrimination complaints a year; the suit seeks $53 million and a civil penalty.

15. Elkhart firefighters test AI sonar in water-rescue drill

Elkhart, Ind., firefighters demonstrated AquaEye sonar in a simulated underwater rescue, using the device to flag possible victims and guide divers, WNDU reported. Officials say the technology can speed searches; the demonstration was a training drill, not an actual rescue.

Source: WNDU

16. Microsoft brings Auto SR upscaling to handheld play

Microsoft's Auto SR automatic super resolution is out of preview for handheld play on supported Ally devices, the company said, with rollout caveats on 120 fps and HDR support.

Source: Microsoft

17. SpaceX wins $9.9 million study of its Plaser laser terminal

The Space Development Agency awarded SpaceX $9.9 million to study its Plaser laser terminal, including representative hardware and support for missile-warning and tracking system integration. Announced Nov. 10, the study is due by October 2027 and could reach $12.7 million with options; it is not an announcement of operational deployment.

18. Telegram adds in-message widgets for bots

Telegram added widgets that render inside messages, limited to private chats with bots and unable to be forwarded, the platform's API changelog shows.

Source: Telegram

19. TIER IV opens five autonomous-driving AI models, with caveats

Japanese autonomous-driving company TIER IV announced five open driving AI models. Its AutoE2E release is partial, and Level 4 autonomy remains a stated goal rather than a shipped capability.

Source: TIER IV

20. Three Chabad organizations plan joint Hei Teves 40th-anniversary celebration

Chabad's three central organizations plan to unite for a historic Hei Teves 40th-anniversary celebration at the Bedford Armory in Crown Heights, COLlive reported; the program and schedule are still forthcoming.

Source: COLlive


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