by Steve Benen | Nov 11, 2026 | Maddowblog
Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Rare evidence of progress: “Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large exchange of prisoners of war, envoys said Wednesday as two days of U.S. mediated talks concluded, but they announced no major breakthrough on ending the conflict that began after Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.”
* In related news, White House efforts to redeliver for the Kremlin are hitting a snag: “President Trump’s efforts to supply the U.S. with Russian diesel have yet to result in any new imports into the country, as several fuel tankers bound for America shifted course following difficulties finding buyers willing to accept the controversial cargoes.”
* Has the administration considered being less deferential to Russia? “U.S. officials will head to Moscow in person Thursday to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin to give his ‘blessing’ to allow European representatives to join future peace talks for Ukraine.”
* A welcome ruling: “A federal appeals court barred the Trump administration Tuesday from accessing extensive LinkedIn chat records between multiple journalists and scores of their confidential sources as part of a national security leak investigation, arguing the government’s request would ‘deal a damaging blow’ to First Amendment freedoms.”
* The plaintiff celebrated these developments, though given the potential pitfalls, the reactions were probably unwise: “A federal judge on Tuesday said President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over a misleadingly edited clip of a speech can go forward, but threw out Trump’s unfair trade practices claim against the broadcaster.”
* The fight over the arch is ongoing: “President John F. Kennedy’s family sued Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch, saying the
by Sydney Carruth | Nov 11, 2026 | News
President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, the sacred military burial site that stakeholders on both sides of the Potomac River say will be disrupted if the president carries out plans to build his 250-foot arch outside the entrance.
Addressing veterans after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Trump spun through his talking points on the Iran war and the military campaign in Venezuela, and claimed that the United States is “more respected” than ever before.
“This is really an amazing time in our country’s history, we’re doing things that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said. “And yes, we’ll have some minor setbacks. We’ll handle them very nicely.”
Trump was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who also spoke at the ceremony. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who withstood a first impeachment attempt by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, also attended and was met with applause and shouts of support after being welcomed by Trump.
Later on, Hegseth, his wife, and two others were reprimanded by a guard near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after one of them laughed.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” the guard boomed at them.
In Trump’s speech at the ceremony, he only made one mention of his arch. “Soon we’re going to dedicate a magnificent triumphal arch to our veterans, and it’s in honor of our great veterans and our great military,” Trump said.
The arch is slated to be built on a roundabout, known as Memorial Circle, in the middle of the historically significant sightline
by Steve Benen | Nov 11, 2026 | Congress, Crime & Courts, Maddowblog, White House
There are all sorts of reasons Democrats are thrilled to take back control of the Senate, but near the top of the list is the power over the confirmation process: From executive branch roles to judicial nominations, a Senate majority makes all the difference.
This isn’t lost on Donald Trump. “Very important for the U.S. Senate to confirm all of our pending 161 Nominations, including 25 Federal Judges,” the president wrote to his social media platform earlier this week. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The message did not go unnoticed on Capitol Hill. The Washington Sun reported:
President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans started a rush Tuesday to confirm as many judicial nominees as possible before they lose their majority in January, including the announcement of three new nominees.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance four judicial nominees to the Senate floor, teed up more committee votes on six other pending bench picks and held a confirmation hearing for another four.
The fact that this is happening is notable in its own right, though it’s also worth emphasizing how it’s happening: As HuffPost reported, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the outgoing chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, “ditched a number of the panel’s standard practices” this week. From the report:
In the committee’s first hearing since the GOP’s drubbing in the midterm elections, Grassley signaled plans to hold nomination hearings this week and next week, violating the panel’s bipartisan practice of holding such hearings no closer than two weeks apart.
The Iowa Republican added two judicial nominees to next week’s hearing whose questionnaires were returned to the panel just 10 and 14
by Joshua Fechter | Nov 11, 2026 | data centers, Democrats, Flock, ICE, immigration, News, public school, Texas, Texas Democrats
Riding high after their success in last week’s election, Democrats in the Texas Legislature unveiled an aggressive agenda Monday as bill filing opened for the 2027 session: Expand Medicaid. Boost the minimum wage. End tax breaks for data centers. Ban Flock cameras. Legalize marijuana. Other ideas included undoing a state law that requires sheriffs to partner with U.S.
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by Jake Johnson | Nov 11, 2026 | Democrats, Gaza, IDF, Israel, Israeli Military, Military, NDAA, News, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, west bank
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is considering a bid for Senate majority leader against Sen. Chuck Schumer, led a group of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday in demanding that congressional leaders scrap a bipartisan effort to more closely integrate the American and Israeli militaries, warning the initiative would threaten U.S. national security and risk further complicity in Israeli atrocities.
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