Monday, Nov. 7

• President Joe Biden congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu on his election victory even as the Israeli prime minister is poised to form one of the most right-wing governments in the nation’s history. Biden however commended “Israel’s free and fair elections.” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said, “The president reaffirmed the strength of the bilateral partnership and underscored his unwavering support for Israeli security.”
• The Justice Department announced charges against seven Haitian gang leaders for their alleged involvement in the abduction of a group of Christian missionaries near Port-au-Prince last year.
• Stewart Rhodes, leader of the right-wing extremist group the Oath Keepers, testified in his own defense in a seditious conspiracy trial. He claimed to jurors that there was no plan for the Oath Keeps to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan weeks after the a spate of violent conflicts between the two countries. “What we are seeing now are real steps and courageous steps by both countries to put the past behind and to work toward a durable peace,” Blinken said.
• A new draft federal report was released, saying, among other things that, “Over the past 50 years, the U.S. has warmed 68 percent faster than the planet as a whole,” and adding that the change reflects a broader global pattern in which land areas warm faster than the ocean, and higher latitudes warm more rapidly than lower latitudes.

Tuesday, Nov. 8

• Election Day. An anticipated “red wave” of Republican wins failed to materialize, in part due to young voters turning out to support left wing candidates. Democrats retained control of the Senate with a seat in Pennsylvania flipping from red to blue when John Fetterman defeated Republican Mehmet Oz. It is still unclear, as the ICO goes to press, which party will control the House.
• Ray “Hushpuppi” Abbas, a Nigerian social media influencer, was sentenced by a federal judge to 11 years in prison for money laundering and ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution to two fraud victims. An FBI official called Abbas “one of the most prolific money launderers in the world.”
• American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia for cannabis possession, was moved to a penal colony after a court rejected her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence last month. White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre said, “Every minute that Brittney Griner must endure wrongful detention in Russia is a minute too long. As we have said before, the U.S. government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens.”

Wednesday, Nov. 9

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to the U.S. election, saying, “These elections are important, but it’s not necessary to exaggerate their importance in the short and medium-term for our relations. These elections cannot change anything essential. Relations still are, and will remain, bad.”
• Biden said billionaire and new Twitter owner Elon Musk’s ties to foreign countries should be scrutinized. “I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden said. “Whether he is doing anything inappropriate, I’m not suggesting that. I’m suggesting they’re worth being looked at.”

Thursday, Nov. 10

• Federal District Court Judge Mark Pittman blocked Biden’s student debt forgiveness program, arguing that the program oversteps the president’s authority. The White House in turn filed an appeal. The program was already on hold pending another federal lawsuit brought by Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina.
• The White House announced that Biden will nominate Daniel Werfel to head the Internal Revenue Service, replacing Trump nominee Charles Rettig, whose term expires Nov. 12. The nomination comes on the heels of Congressional approval of an $80 billion increase in the agency’s budget to go after tax cheats.
• National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House has “deep concern” for British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who is jailed in Egypt and on a hunger strike ahead of the COP27 climate summit held at the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.
• State Department spokesperson Ned Price condemned far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir for attending an event honoring Meir Kahane, an ultranationalist rabbi who has been accused of inspiring extremist violence against Palestinians and Arab Americans.
• The Federal Trade Commission said it was watching Twitter after the company’s top security and privacy officers quit, putting the social media platform at risk of regulatory violations. “No CEO or company is above the law and companies must follow our consent decrees. Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance and we are prepared to use them,” said Douglas Farrar, the FTC’s director of public affairs.

Friday, Nov. 11

· U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asked for his resignation a day after the midterm elections, but that Magnus refused to step down.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. plans to buy 100,000 South Korean-made artillery shells for use in the Ukraine war.
• Biden spoke at the COP27 United Nations climate conference in Egypt, where he called for global action to combat the climate crisis and announced new initiatives and funding to help developing countries. “The United States is acting; everyone has to act. It’s a duty and responsibility of global leadership,” Biden said.

Saturday, Nov. 12

• The Washington Post reported that U.S. intelligence officials have compiled a classified report detailing extensive efforts by the United Arab Emirates to influence the American political system and U.S. foreign policy by both legal and illegal methods.

Sunday, Nov. 13

• The New York Times reported that while in office, President Donald Trump repeatedly told his chief of staff John Kelly that “he wanted a number of his perceived political enemies to be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.”