Sweden is reportedly in discussions to sell up to 120 Saab JAS 39E “Gripen-E” multirole fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force in a deal valued at more than $10 billion. The talks come as President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson this morning in Linköping — home to the Saab Defense Group.

Senator Ted Cruz delivered a fiery address casting the post–October 7 era as a defining struggle between civilization and barbarism. He described Israel’s mission to eliminate Hamas as “unambiguously good,” arguing that the attacks had exposed deep-rooted antisemitism across America’s universities and within the radical left. Cruz praised Texas authorities for quickly detaining agitators and called on the federal government to investigate potential foreign funding behind violent campus demonstrations. He applauded Israel’s recent intelligence triumphs — including the covert “pager operation” — and hailed its joint success with President Trump in striking Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, describing it as “a total victory over Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.” Adopting a more somber tone, Cruz warned of a growing threat: the rise of antisemitism within parts of the American right and complacency among Christians. He cautioned that young believers are being swayed by “replacement theology” and urged church leaders to reaffirm the biblical covenant with Israel. Support for Israel, he argued, is both moral and strategic: “Those who hate Israel hate America.” Cruz concluded with a call for vigilance and faith: “We were placed in this moment for a purpose — God bless Israel, God bless Texas, and God bless the United States of America.”

Following yesterday’s report, Hamas’ “Radaa” and “Sahm” police units have released footage displaying weapons and equipment seized from Abu Shabab militia fighters during a raid north of Rafah. The confiscated items reportedly included an ATV, a motorcycle, an M-16 rifle, additional gear, and a sum of cash. The video shows Hamas police operatives towing the captured ATV behind a jeep, alongside several pickup trucks used by the militia. Hamas-affiliated media outlets claim that members of the “Radaa” and “Sahm” units may execute the detained Abu Shabab fighters once interrogations are complete.

The United States has notified Iraq that any future trade or investment agreements will be contingent upon the disarmament of Iran-backed militias — including Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and the Badr Organization. Washington emphasized that Baghdad must limit the influence of Iran’s Quds Force to preserve Iraq’s sovereignty and pave the way for deeper bilateral cooperation.

Aftermath of a Russian strike on Kharkiv

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in joint statements with U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem: Netanyahu: "In the past year, we have had an unparalleled alliance and partnership with the United States. This changes the Middle East and also the world. It creates opportunities for security and expanding peace, something we are working on very diligently. And it is simply unmatched." U.S. Vice President J. D. Vance: "We have a challenging mission ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but also to rebuild Gaza; to improve the lives of Gaza's residents while also ensuring that Hams no longer poses a threat to our friends in Israel. This is not easy. I think the Prime Minister knows this as well as anyone else. But it is something we are committed to in the Trump administration."

Multiple explosions were reported early this morning in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan—more than 600 miles from Ukraine—following what appears to be a large-scale drone attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces targeting the “Dagneftegaz” Oil Refinery and other key infrastructure sites in southwestern Russia.

In a highly unusual move aimed at tightening control over information leaving the Pentagon, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg have ordered all Department of Defense personnel — except those in the Office of the Inspector General — to route all communications and engagements with state officials and members of Congress through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs. The directive, outlined in an October 15 memo obtained by *Breaking Defense*, marks an unprecedented effort to centralize oversight of congressional and state-level interactions.

On Tuesday, Japan’s Parliament elected Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first-ever female prime minister. A staunch conservative from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi has championed traditional gender roles, stricter immigration controls, and a hardline stance on China, while emphasizing the importance of Japan’s alliance with the United States. She has previously stated that she admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and seeks to follow in her footsteps.

For the first time in several months, North Korea has launched an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) tonight. The launch comes just days ahead of next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in South Korea, which will be attended by several world leaders, including U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Russian channels are now reporting an unusual, ongoing attack by Ukraine involving air-launched cruise missiles and drones targeting western Russia.

On November 18, President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are set to sign a series of agreements at the White House covering artificial intelligence, security, nuclear cooperation, and trade, according to Bloomberg. The two leaders are also expected to discuss the normalization of relations with Israel, though the deals themselves are not contingent on that issue.

Eight individuals suspected of working with Russian Intelligence, including a 21-year-old Ukrainian, were arrested today and over the past week by Special Services in Poland and Romania, according to Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for Poland's Special Services Coordinator. The suspects are accused of collaborating with Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service to conduct surveillance on military facilities and critical infrastructure in both countries, in preparation for sabotage and targeted attacks across Poland and Eastern Europe. Poland’s Special Services reported that the group had established a route to transport explosives through Poland and Romania to Ukraine, with the shipments designed to spontaneously ignite or detonate during transit. The intended goal of these actions was to intimidate local populations and destabilize European support for Ukraine.

The Budapest Summit between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been indefinitely postponed following a planning call yesterday between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The call, intended to assess whether Russia might soften its stance on ending the invasion of Ukraine, reportedly went poorly. Officials told CNN that Rubio observed no shift in Russia’s “maximalist position” during negotiations and is expected to recommend that next week’s planned meeting with Lavrov not proceed. In response to this morning’s reports of the postponed summit, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated, “It’s impossible to postpone something about which there was no agreement.”

The U.S. Treasury Department has ordered its employees not to photograph or record the ongoing demolition and construction work on the East Wing of the White House, which began earlier today as part of the initial phase of President Donald J. Trump’s planned $250 million State Ballroom project.

In his annual address to the Shura Council, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani accused Israel of violating the Gaza ceasefire and condemned what he described as repeated Israeli breaches — without acknowledging that Hamas was the first to break the truce. Emir Tamim stated: “What has taken place in the Gaza Strip over the past two years amounts to genocide — a term that encompasses all atrocities. It is deeply regrettable that international legitimacy remains unable to uphold its own principles in the face of the suffering of our Palestinian brothers. We reaffirm our condemnation of all Israeli violations and actions in Palestine, particularly the transformation of the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human life, the continued ceasefire breaches, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank, and the ongoing attempts to Judaize al-Haram al-Sharif. We also reaffirm that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Palestinian territories and the unified State of Palestine.”

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been engaging with Republican Senators to explore integrating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), established as an independent agency by Congress in 1958, into the Department of Transportation, as reported by Ars Technica.

The White House is striving to uphold the Gaza Strip ceasefire, amid growing concerns from U.S. officials that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might abandon the agreement. Vice President JD Vance, along with Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, will reportedly travel to Israel on Tuesday to persuade Netanyahu against launching a full-scale offensive on Hamas, per the New York Times.

A senior White House official tells TMZ that President Donald J. Trump is weighing a potential commutation for rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs' roughly four-year prison sentence—handed down earlier this month on two counts of interstate transportation for prostitution—as soon as this week.

The European Council has approved a draft resolution calling for the complete phase-out of all short-term contracts for Russian natural gas by January 1, 2026, with a total ban across the European Union set to take effect on January 1, 2028.