Saturday, November 7.

“Our service for one another is a service to humanity.”

— Lailah Gifty Akita

A man claiming to be LeBron James' son was arrested Friday night at the NBA star's Brentwood home, sources tell NBC4 Investigates.Police were called to the superstar athlete's home at about 9 p.m. for a reported burglary, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Security personnel told police they spotted the man on surveillance cameras and called law enforcement.There, officers encountered a man who claimed to be LeBron's son, sources told NBC4 Investigates. He was then arrested on suspicion of felony stalking.The man's identity and approximate age were not released.At the time of the incident, James, who joined the Philadelphia 76ers, was in Cleveland playing a game against the Cavaliers.This story originally appeared on NBCLosAngeles.com

Israel's president picks Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot to form government

Knesset has been deadlocked since the election last month when Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition lost its majorityIsrael's president has ⁠chosen Gadi Eisenkot, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ⁠strongest rival, to ⁠try to form a new government, after a deadlocked election that left neither man ⁠with a clear path to power.Isaac Herzog's office said he had informed Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party, on Saturday night "of his intention to task him with forming a government". Continue reading...

U.S. Justice Department drops bid to force California to set aside disputed ballots

Texas THC battle takes a turn after Vikki Goodwin defeats Dan Patrick

President Donald Trump on Saturday said on Truth Social that he had offered the job of White House press secretary to Dana White, the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship."I am pleased to announce that the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior, has been offered the job of Press Secretary of the United States," the president wrote.Trump suggested in his post that White should bring several UFC fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje and Amanda Nunes, as assistants to defend against the "Lunatic Left.""Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!" he added.Trump and White have long been friends and the president has attended many UFC fights while serving in the White House.Earlier this year, White also organized a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House, an event that was part of a slate commemorating the United States' 250th birthday.Many Trump administration officials and Republican lawmakers attended the fight in July.It's unclear whether Trump's offer to White to serve as press secretary is a serious one.A spokesperson for the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The position has been vacant since Katie Zacharia departed the role after just five days in October.Zacharia had replaced Karoline Leavitt, who served as White House press secretary since Trump returned to office in January of last year. Leavitt announced in August that she would leave her post to spend more time with her family.The White House had another staff shake-up on Friday, when chief of staff Susie Wiles said she would be stepping down from her post. Trump named longtime aide Stephen Miller as her replacement.

This plot to hurl Trump overboard would be insanely dangerous — and America's best hope

America has finally, finally, figured out en masse that Donald Trump himself is the disease, and did all it could to excise him with clarity.The only issue remaining is that when Trump faces "problems," his only tool, the only solution of which he can conceive, is to throw "more Trump" at the debacle. He hits strategic limits upon deciding, "If brute force isn't working, it's because I'm not using enough." See Stephen Miller being made his new chief of staff.Others have now come to the same conclusion, except these others are within the Trump camp as currently constituted. Yes, according to a Bulwark report, it appears there might be a trilateral agreement to oust Trump or at least render him impotent... more impotent.Based primarily on speculation regarding their actions, Jonathan V. Last posits that JD Vance, Don Trump Jr., and Tucker Carlson are, to some degree, operating together to fix a problem they know will only grow, absent an alternative.He notes that Vance blamed the historic electoral loss on the war with Iran — of which the decision to start was unilaterally Trump's, a break in Article II hegemony. The cleanest break, not messy policy, the war. A break that Don Jr. immediately and unequivocally agrees with — it was the war, Trump's decision, nothing else. Meanwhile, the never-to-be-sufficiently-damned and suspected anti-Semite Tucker Carlson has always opposed the war and appears to be in cahoots with the other three.The way the putsch organizers see it, they can still have it all. MAGA's strongest man in the bullpen, Vance, gets to be the next president. He has immediate cred with righty voters (such as they are), given that he wasn't the one who ordered the war — opposed it all along, if you read it right — and has support of the Trump family, which is where Don Jr. comes in. Meanwhile, Tucker plays the role of the intellectual, the coach, the disappointed CEO, standing off out of the way (for now), nodding, assuring others this is a good idea because it was always a bad idea to support Israel in a war, and thus proof Trump lost it long ago, something else Tucker noted previously.What is "the end goal"? On that, things get a little fuzzy.The group can go all the way from publicly demanding Trump step aside; they can huddle the Cabinet and utilize constitutional remedies — putting Vance in as at least temporary president — or form a government in waiting, an alternative in which Trump no longer has the one thing he demands above all else, loyalty.Will it work? Of course not. But first we better define what constitutes "working" as this plan's goal. With that, together, we're full circle. They understand that, as things stand, they'll lose in 2028, and there's no damn rule saying it can't be even worse. They understand that Trump will do nothing and is indeed fully incapable of addressing the issues (Has he yet accepted any personal role in this loss? None so far, no reason to believe that will change). In other words, "this" becomes the plan to save 2028. Thus it is doomed from the beginning, but they might do a lot to endanger whether this country ever sees 2028. To be sure, first, there is an outside chance that Trump takes a survey of all his projects, sees that none are really close to completion, and decides that he's now really not having any fun anymore. He no longer owns libtards, rallies are stupid; he already has his own helicopter and plane anyway, plus it's almost winter and who wants to be in DC in winter? He might simply resign, attribute it to health reasons (he'd never concede he's been defeated), even be partly correct — he's bored to death. The other options are more compelling as television, more terrifying as citizens.The troika can approach Trump with their plan in private, likely be told to get bent, and only then go public. (As all know, Trump cannot fire Vance as an independently elected officer. He can demand Vance resign — not the worst idea from Vance's perspective — but Trump cannot fire Vance). If they go public, it is on. And right there, it gets dangerous.As said, Trump can't react with introspection, restraint, adhering to good counsel — no, he promotes Miller; this is Donald Trump. He will go insane with the certainty that only more Trump will fix this. Even that is nothing really new; it can be 2 a.m. on a Tuesday and Trump will be medium to medium-well wholly out of control angry about something. This time, however, Trump will be fighting to demonstrate that he's president, he calls the shots, no one forces him out, and he still pushes all power buttons.There are precious few harmless ways for an already reckless president to demonstrate total executive authority. One would not want to be Iran in such a situation because what's more "American president" than bombing someone who can't fight back? And he could go way, way overboard, something that gets The Hague's attention. *One somewhat comforting fact: Trump is now so neutered (as predicted here long ago) that if he were to go too far, order a nuclear launch or massive land invasion, we could see revolts in the Pentagon — it's possible.Trump could tell Blanche to arrest the traitors, perhaps charging them with treason, subject to the death penalty, unintentionally writing his own Shakespearean tragic comedy as he circles the drain. A nation that arrests people for simply challenging authority (It's not like Vance is rallying troops at the White House gates), that's a pretty sucky nation — right there with Venezuela if you think about it, no matter how close we may already appear as such, be as such. An already somewhat addled Trump mind may become even less tethered to reality and start really drifting, unable to make even the most obvious orders from a president that might need to protect us from the obvious. After all, if the FBI gets word that Iran has assembled terrorist actors here within the U.S. (Or Israel does something similar, making it look like Iran, not impossible), we at least want a president aware of such and overseeing what experts tell him we need — but even that's not guaranteed, not if they threaten anything outside of Florida. Hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, tornadoes, all have a habit of showing up at the worst times — there couldn't be a worse time, or more blue states.Vance could get cold feet, stepping back to let the two that aren't currently in the administration do most of the work — though he best be careful; word around the campfire is that Carlson may run for president and the first order of business in such a plan is to "pew-pew" the guy who would otherwise be the heir apparent, even with a Vance resignation, perhaps especially with a Vance resignation, putting more distance between himself and any Trump stench.Trump would watch on in fury as he's more and more ignored, a condition that was coming without regard to a historic loss; being a lame duck is lame, especially for a self-obsessed dopamine addict. If one were Vance, one would think that the best option is an intervention behind closed doors, nothing in public — until leaked, which may not be needed if done right. Vance can flatter; Trump has succeeded! He got rid of DEI, he's been ultra cruel to immigrants, he blew s*#* up, and, more than anything, he won again after 2020. It's already mission accomplished; let Vance take it from here. It all sucks anyway!Trump may or may not know that his son stands behind him with a giant knife.The odds of success depend almost solely on whether a lot more golf and a lot more money (He would demand a payday, of course) ensconced in Mar-a-Lago as President Emeritus sounds better than the Oval Office. They can lie and say he'll be consulted on everything, and they'll tell the public such, and if successful, never to speak to him again. Sadly, it all really does get down to how much fun the toddler really sees in his near future, his only future at his age.The one unavoidable is the GOP will not even sniff the White House with a blue map, and Trump remains president. It could be entertaining; it will be inherently dangerous to all of us. But watch Don Jr., see if he makes another comment. He must know that he has no future, either, if he doesn't divorce that fam fast. He is likely to be the most obvious weather vane.The laughable part is that these three almost surely believe that the plan is a restart, giving them a real chance in 2028. Sure, J.D., sure. But feel free to give it all you got.Trump is dangerous enough as is. Maybe this isn't necessarily more dangerous. Maybe even we can agree it's worth a shot. It's not like we're worried about their ultimate success.Not anymore. Jason Miciak is a Raw Story columnist, former editor at Occupy Democrats, author, attorney, consultant, and single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at [email protected]

Israel's president taps opposition candidate, not Netanyahu, to form a government

Gadi Eisenkot ran as the main rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but neither won enough support to command a majority. Israel's main parties have recommended Eisenkot form a new government.

Frantic Trump races against time to stop his greatest fear from coming true

Trump is trying to get his construction projects finished before Democrats can stop him when they take control of Congress in two months. There's an urgent reason for that, from his perspective.On Monday afternoon, on the eve of the midterm election, Trump stood at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and delivered his closing argument.But instead of talking about healthcare, inflation, housing costs, education, or the challenges working families and farmers are facing as the result of his and the GOP's policies, he went off on an extended, rambling rant about fountains, marble, the "arch," and his other construction projects. And, repeatedly, about Corinthian columns.As Barack Obama noted last week, Trump has an obsession with gluing gold-painted decorations to the walls of the Oval Office; Obama called it "arts and crafts." He's covering things with gold trim, gold-gilded picture frames, elaborate ornamentation, and even regilding monumental statues in DC. He's torn down the White House's East Wing, is building a massive ballroom, is ripping up an historic DC golf course, and wants a triumphal arch.What's going on here?Just ridiculing this as "arts and crafts" misses an enormously important aspect of what Trump's up to; this isn't simply the vanity of a former real estate developer who likes shiny stuff.Historians will tell you that there's a long and disturbing history of brutal authoritarian leaders, particularly fascists, being obsessed with architecture, massive construction projects, and remaking capital cities in their own images.And now Trump's doing it to America, and few people seem to realize its importance.— Adolf Hitler was obsessed with architecture; he spent countless hours with Albert Speer planning the transformation of Berlin into "Germania," a gigantic imperial capital with buildings designed to dwarf anything built by previous civilizations. His proposed People's Hall would have a dome nearly 1,000 feet high: Hitler wanted buildings so massive that ordinary human beings would feel insignificant standing before them, buildings that would last like the monuments of ancient Rome.— Benito Mussolini did the same thing in Italy, demolishing historic neighborhoods in Rome to construct grand avenues and massive government buildings; he was deliberately invoking the architecture of the ancient Roman Empire, saying his fascist regime was the rebirth of Rome's long-lost "greatness." Future generations, he said, would see his buildings and remember his name and its imprint on the Eternal City.— Joseph Stalin, who called himself a communist but ruled like a fascist, planned an enormous Palace of the Soviets featuring a gigantic, larger-than-life statue of Lenin.— In Romania, dictator Nicolae Ceaușecu ripped up entire neighborhoods of Bucharest to build his enormous Palace of the Parliament, burning through billions while ordinary Romanians were struggling just to get through life day-to-day.— And let's not forget Louis XIV, the Sun King of France, who turned Versailles into a world-famous monument to his iron-fisted monarchy. It featured gold everywhere, elaborate ornamentation, massive ceremonial spaces and ballrooms, and was created to tell his subjects that he wasn't just running France: he was France.There's a reason these men did these things, and it's the same reason Trump is following in their footsteps.Speeches and campaigns last moments to years; buildings and monuments can last for centuries, even millennia. They reshape how people experience the power of the state and its monarch, delivering his message long after their builders are dead.Triumphal arches tell people that somebody conquered something. in this case, Trump conquering Washington, DC. Covering the White House with gold tells average Americans that its resident is enormously wealthy and powerful, making the rest of us feel small, poor, and insignificant.Collectively, their message is that the nation and its ruler are one and the same, and that's precisely the message that Trump is trying to convey.This is — quite literally — precisely what this nation's Founders were trying to prevent. They'd seen the palaces of the European monarchs, were disgusted by their ostentatiousness, and had just fought a successful revolution against the most powerful among those rulers.They intentionally created something radically different: a republic, where the sovereignty of the nation rested with its institutions and its people, rather than any one individual. The president was to be a temporary public servant: no individual was ever supposed to become synonymous with our nation itself.George Washington famously endorsed that idea, voluntarily surrendering power after two terms, establishing the precedent of America's president as a servant of the people rather than their ruler.The White House was intentionally built to be modest; it was supposed to be the small-r republican opposite of Windsor and Versailles. The National Mall was designed to belong to the people, not a ruler who'd try to name parts of it after himself. They belong to us, not the guy living temporarily in the White House.This is why Trump's architectural obsession is far more dangerous to the future of our republic than his public admiration of Nicki Minaj, his grifting billions, or even the allegations of child rape that have been leveled against him.Trump's goal — like Hitler's, Mussolini's, Stalin's, Ceaușecu's, and Louis XIV's — is to physically remake the symbols of our republic into symbols of his pseudo-imperial rule. He's creating his own personal mythology and legacy in stone and concrete, replacing the institutional continuity and modesty that republican government is supposed to represent.We're witnessing what German philosopher Walter Benjamin wrote about when he noted that "fascism transforms politics into spectacle," presenting grand displays of "national greatness" while stripping the nation's people of their wealth, political power, and ultimately their personal freedom.As Obama noted, while millions of Americans are struggling with the cost of housing, healthcare, groceries, transportation, education, and retirement Trump is treating us to rambling monologues about gold decorations, marble columns, triumphal arches, and gigantic ballrooms. It is, quite simply, a spectacle of "greatness" instead of the substance that government is supposed to provide to the people of a democratic republic.Architecture defines history: while a president can be voted out of office, his buildings last forever. Replace a humble, inexpensive public golf course that many Black residents of DC love to use with an elegant "five star" course that only the rich can afford. Build ballrooms and arches and other monuments to Trump that will cause future generations to think such garish displays of wealth and power are a normal part of the American national identity.When children grow up surrounded by monuments to kings, they learn that kingship is how things are supposed to be.Citizens walking through public spaces that awe them and invoke one single leader take in an entirely different message about the meaning of America than those who visit spaces that celebrate constitutional government, remember democratic struggles, or memorialize national accomplishments.This is why fascists and authoritarian rulers all the way back to ancient Rome have been obsessed with redesigning their capitals: they're building a new political consciousness, reshaping the citizenry's understanding of what it means to have the power to control that country's government.Like every fascist movement in history, Trump's MAGA has long embraced the language of national rebirth, of a renewed "greatness," of hostility to independent institutions that might check a leader's power (it's why he's hanging banners with his face on them over our federal buildings).This is why historians repeatedly draw this parallel between fascist movements and their obsession with architecture.The danger to our nation isn't that Trump loves gold; it's that he's using the power of his presidency to remake Washington DC in his own image, to normalize the idea that he's bigger than the institutions and the nation he's supposed to be serving.Our Founders understood — and wrote repeatedly — that our republic depends on a culture in which our public officials know they're the servants of the people, not the owners of the country. That culture is expressed in our laws and traditions but also — as the original architects of Washington DC, the Capitol, and the White House knew — our buildings and monuments.Destroy those traditions and symbols, remake the architecture of the nation's capital, and you rip down our republic without once taking a pen to the Constitution.If we allow Trump to continue to transform our nation's seat of governance into a monument to one man's ego and power, we lose what took us a revolution and a civil war to establish: that America doesn't belong to a king and doesn't have a royal family.It belongs to us.The question that this new Democratic Congress now faces is whether they're willing to defend that idea before Trump makes his fascist version of America permanent.And whether, in the two months between now and then, the judges of America take heart and continue to stand up to this wannabe dictator's fascist efforts to reshape our country and its capital.Now the hard work starts.

Trump's elevation of Stephen Miller is a middle finger to millions of voters

Architect of Trump's far-right immigration agenda is now most powerful unelected figure in government – it suggests White House is moving to a war footingDonald Trump just gave the middle finger to millions of American voters.Any other president who suffered the kind of drubbing at the polls that Trump did this week might have felt at least a sliver of humility – and perhaps even an obligation to work with the new opposition in Congress. Continue reading...

'A footballing alien': Mamadou Sangaré soars to Premier League heights

Brentford's Mali midfielder stood out when he was six and has shone in the Premier League since £39m transfer"When I first saw him, I thought to myself: 'Who on earth is this player?' laughs Youness Bengelloun as he remembers Mamadou Sangaré. With the transfer window in full swing in July 2025, the former Manchester City scout and agent was not expecting to come face to face with a "footballing alien", but that proved the case during a visit to Rapid Vienna's training ground. A few weeks later, Sangaré moved to Lens for around €5m. "He was impressive and what struck me was his technique and his work rate," Bengelloun says.That's more or less the impression Sangaré has made at every club he's played for, including Brentford, for whom the Mali midfielder signed, from Lens, for a club-record £39m at the start of August. The 24-year-old excelled in his debut against Tottenham a few weeks later, dominating the centre of the pitch and providing the assist for Keane Lewis-Potter's opening goal, and has featured in every game this season, with Brighton up next. "I gave him his debut for Mali in September 2024, against Mozambique. He made an immediate impact," says Sangaré's former international manager Tom Saintfiet. "He's every manager's dream player." Continue reading...

New 2027 Met Gala exhibit theme announced after Galliano controversy

On TV

Nothing airing worth remote control today. The screen can rest.

New Music

No new drops today. Go rediscover something in your old playlists.

In theaters

No new releases hitting theaters today. Your popcorn can wait.

Launching today

Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-432 — SpaceX (00:48 UTC)

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of rocket stage drop zones being exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches.

Useless Fact

Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

The loonie

CAD → USD

0.7086

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CAD → EUR

0.6356

▼ 0.0012

Today In History

2016 — Janet Reno, First Female U.S. Attorney General, Dies at 78

American lawyer and public official Janet Reno, who was the first femaleattorney general (1993–2001) of the United States, died at age 78

2016 — Influential Songwriter Leonard Cohen Dies at 82

Canadian musician Leonard Cohen—a hugely influential singer and songwriter, known for spare songs that carried an existential bite—died at age 82.Can you name the songwriters in our quiz?Istvan Bajzat/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

2000 — Disputed U.S. presidential election

On this day in 2000, the U.S. presidential electionended in a statistical tie between Democrat Al Goreand Republican George W. Bush, only to be settled on December 12 by the U.S. Supreme Courtafter a bitterlegal dispute

2000 — Hillary Clinton Elected to U.S. Senate

American politician Hillary Clinton was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first first lady to win elective office

1996 — NASA Launches Mars Global Surveyor

NASA launched Mars Global Surveyor, a robotic spacecraft designed to carry out a long-term study of the planet; contact with the spacecraft was lost in 2006

1991 — Magic Johnson Announces HIV, Retires from NBA

In 1991, NBA star Magic Johnson announced he was HIV-positive and immediately retired from professional basketball. He would later return to play part of the 1995-96 season.

1989 — Douglas Wilder Elected First African American Governor

American politician Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, becoming the first African American to win a U.S. gubernatorial election

1980 — Death of Actor Steve McQueen at Age 50

American movie star Steve Mc Queen, known for his portrayal of macho loners in such films as The Great Escape (1963) and Bullitt (1968), died at age 50

1967 — Carl Stokes Elected First African American Mayor of Cleveland

American lawyer and politician Carl Stokeswas elected mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the first African American to lead a major U.S. city.AP/Shutterstock.com

1962 — Nixon's "Last Press Conference" after California Loss

After losing the governor's election in California, American politician Richard Nixon gave what he called his "last press conference," telling reporters that "you won't have Nixon to kick around any more"; he was elected president six years later

1962 — Eleanor Roosevelt, Former First Lady, Dies at 78

Eleanor Roosevelt, who served as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945 and was known as a diplomat, humanitarian, and one of the world's most admired women, died in New York City at the age of 78.

1944 — FDR Wins Unprecedented 4th Term as President

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the incumbent Democratic president, defeated Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey in the 1944 presidential election, securing an unprecedented fourth term as president of the United States.

1940 — Collapse of Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge connecting the Olympic Peninsula with Tacoma, Washington, collapsed in 1940 due to high winds of around 42 miles per hour (67 km/h).

1917 — Bolshevik Overthrow of Russian Provisional Govt

The October Revolution (named after the dates of this event in the Julian calendar), the last phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917, ended as the Bolshevik Party seized power in Russia, inaugurating the Soviet regime

1916 — Jeannette Rankin Elected to U.S. House of Representatives

Jeannette Rankin won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first woman elected to Congress

1913 — Birth of Nobel Laureate French Author Albert Camus

French author Albert Camus, who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 for such classic works as The Stranger (1942), was born

1874 — Thomas Nast Cartoon on Grant's Third Term Bid

Harper's Weekly featured a Thomas Nast cartoon about the possibility of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant seeking a third term, and the Republican vote was represented by an elephant; the animal, which appeared in several other Republican-related cartoons by Nast, eventually became the party's official logo

1837 — Abolitionist Editor Elijah Lovejoy Murdered in Alton, IL

Abolitionist newspaper editor Elijah P. Lovejoy was murdered by a mob in Alton, Illinois, while defending his press building

1811 — Battle of Tippecanoe: U.S. Forces Defeat Shawnee Indians

In the Battle of Tippecanoe, a seasoned U.S. expeditionary force under Major General William Henry Harrison defeated Shawnee Indians led by Tecumseh's brother Laulewasikau (Tenskwatawa), known as the Prophet

This is today, boiled down to the essentials. The full stash lives at logicalchaos.ca. Go get lost in it.