November 6, 2025

MIDDLE EAST | Update from regional conflict zones:

• Reuters cites unnamed Syrian and Western officials as saying the United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,351 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian military officials say a drone attack struck a major oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd region this week for the second time in about three months, sparking a fire and causing unspecified damage. Reports note that the regional Lukoil refinery processes more than 15 million tons of crude oil annually – about 5.6% of Russia's total refining capacity. [more]
• More than 80 government energy officials and energy company executives from the U.S. and Europe are attending a meeting hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank in Athens, Greece, today to discuss how to better help Ukraine meet its energy needs amidst the ongoing Russian invasion. [more]

U.S. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND TRANSPORTATION | Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced yesterday that the Federal Aviation Administration will reduce flights by up to 10% at 40 major U.S. airports on Friday due to air traffic controller shortages related to the government shutdown. Analysts say the cuts, additional details on which are expected to be released later today, could result in some 1,800 flight cancellations daily. [more]

CALIFORNIA | The California Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit yesterday seeking to block implementation of congressional redistricting plans approved by voters on Tuesday, saying the state's new U.S. House map improperly uses race as a factor in redistricting. [more]

U.S. MILITARIZATION | Reports cite a formal Defense Department order dated November 4 as extending the Washington D.C. National Guard's deployment of more than 900 troops to "protect federal property and functions in the District of Columbia and to support federal and District law enforcement" through February 28. [more]

U.S. IMMIGRATION | Following a court hearing yesterday in which a group of detainees alleged they were being kept in "inhumane" conditions, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman ordered authorities to improve bedding, sanitary, and food conditions at the Broadview federal immigration detention facility in Chicago, Illinois. [more]

MORE U.S. IMMIGRATION | The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the U.S. is terminating temporary protected immigration status for some 5,000 immigrants from South Sudan effective January 5. Reports note that the protected status has been in place since 2011.  [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, announced today that, after nearly 40 years of representing the San Francisco, California, region in Congress, she will not seek re-election next year. [more]

U.S. TAXES | The Internal Revenue Service said in a memo sent to state comptrollers this week that IRS Direct File, the two-year-old free government electronic system for filing tax returns, will not be offered next year and that "no launch date has been set for the future." According to reports, about 300,000 people used the system to file their tax returns for the 2025 tax season. [more]

U.S. AND VENEZUELA | The Senate is scheduled to vote today on a resolution that would require the Trump administration to seek congressional approval for any military strikes within or against Venezuela. The vote comes amidst ongoing military operations against small boats alleged to have been carrying illegal drugs to the U.S. from Venezuela and President Donald Trump's contention that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is complicit in illegal drug trafficking. [more]

NATO | Poland, Romania, and Denmark will reportedly deploy new U.S.-made Merops anti-drone weapons system as part of NATO moves to strengthen defenses on the alliance's eastern flank. The moves follow a series of incursions by Russian drones into NATO airspace in recent months. [more]

SOMALIA | According to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center, attackers firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades boarded a ship off the coast of Somalia today in an incident analysts suggest was carried out by Somali pirates operating in the region. [more]

AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN | Afghan and Pakistani officials are meeting today in Turkey for a third round of peace talks aimed at ending border clashes between the two countries in which dozens of people have been killed since early October. [more]

GEORGIA | Prosecutors in Georgia charged eight opposition figures, including former President Mikheil Saakashvili, today with plotting to overthrow the government and aiding foreign powers. The charges follow a European Union assessment earlier this week that found Georgia was experiencing "serious democratic backsliding." [more]

VIETNAM | More than 250,000 military troops were placed on standby for rescue efforts, and six major airports were closed, ahead of today's arrival of Typhoon Kalmaegi in Vietnam with maximum sustained winds of about 92 mph. [more]

HOCKEY | With a goal in last night's game against the St. Louis Blues, the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin became the first player in National Hockey League history to score 900 career goals. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. Lincoln led the Union through the American Civil War to defend the nation as a constitutional union and succeeded in defeating the insurgent Confederacy, abolishing slavery, and expanding the power of the federal government. [more history]