• AI and DOE: On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the “Genesis Mission,” which directs the Department of Energy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to work with private companies to accelerate the development of Artificial Intelligence. “The private sector has launched artificial intelligence at huge scale,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright explained, “but with a little bit different focus — on language, on business, on processes, on consumer services. What we’re doing here is just pivoting those efforts to focus on scientific discovery, engineering advancements. And to do that, you need the data sets that are contained across our national labs.” The EO also directs the DOE to create an integrated platform for fast-tracking scientific advancements via AI, an aim that Trump recently described as the U.S. working “to build the largest, most powerful, most innovative AI ecosystem in the world.”

• Ukraine agrees to peace deal: U.S. officials and Ukraine’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, report that Ukraine has “agreed to a peace deal” to end the four-year Russian assault. President Volodymyr Zelensky would need to travel to Washington to finalize his end of the deal, which could happen before the end of the month. U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Abu Dhabi meeting with Russian officials as news of Ukraine’s agreement broke; further developments to end the war may come very quickly at this point. Umerov said there are still details to be worked out, but a “common understanding on the core terms” has been reached. The leaks of the proposed deal show Ukraine surrendering the entirety of the Donetsk region but securing a security guarantee from the United States similar to NATO’s Article 5. Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to agree to the deal.

• Senator Mark Kelly probed: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on X that while five of the “Seditious Six” Democrats who urged service members to defy orders are not subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Senator Mark Kelly is. Actions that are intended to interfere with “the loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces” are prohibited under the UCMJ, and retired service members such as Kelly are still subject to the UCMJ under 10 U.S.C. § 688 and other applicable regulations. Therefore, Hegseth announced that the allegations against Kelly are coming under a thorough review that will determine further actions, possibly including recalling Kelly to active duty for court-martial. Kelly responded that if these actions are meant to intimidate and prevent him from “holding this administration accountable, it won’t work.”

• Trump designates Muslim Brotherhood as an FTO: Certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists per an executive order signed by President Trump on Monday. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in 1928 in Egypt as a Sunni Islamic organization aiming to gain political power. It exists today as a collection of loosely affiliated Islamic chapters, some directly associated with other Islamic terrorist organizations such as Hamas. Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as an FTO allows the U.S. to go after the organization’s U.S.-based finances, conduct military intel, and prosecute those who offer “material support” to the Muslim Brotherhood.

• Rubio rolls back DEI, State employees cheer: Despite the negative reporting surrounding Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s efforts to expunge woke DEI ideology from the State Department, it turns out that even the department’s leftist employees appreciate a commitment to meritocracy over race-based favoritism. Since Rubio has thrown out the Biden-era DEIA category for evaluating overall work proficiency and offered restitution to some 295 employees who were marked down for failing to show they would “seek diversity in staff,” and thereby denied promotion, a number of employees who self-identify as “leftist” have praised Rubio. As one employee wrote, “I am very happy for everyone who is getting promoted after throwing out the ludicrous DEIA score. It is well deserved.”

• Meta and sex-trafficking minors: “You could incur 16 violations for prostitution and sexual solicitation, and upon the 17th violation, your account would be suspended,” testified Instagram’s former head of safety and well-being, Vaishnavi Jayakumar, in a recently unsealed court filing. The plaintiffs in the case against Meta allege that the company was well aware that its products were being used by adult strangers to contact minors, yet downplayed the issue and refused to take corrective action. The problem has been made public before; while testifying before Congress last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced the audience and apologized to the victims of child exploitation on his platform after being berated by Senator Josh Hawley. The current lawsuit alleges that Meta “pursued a strategy of growth at all costs,” ignoring the issue and possibly lying to Congress about its knowledge of it.

• 2028 Dem primary and ranked-choice voting: A number of Democrats are promoting the dubious ranked-choice voting scheme following its success in making Zohran Mamdani the Democrat candidate in the New York City mayoral race. Some Democrats are advocating for adopting ranked-choice voting for the 2028 presidential primaries. They see it as a popular way to get out the vote, claiming it helps prevent the perception that people’s votes are “wasted.” Not everyone is sold, however, as a number of states and municipalities that have experimented with ranked-choice have since reverted to the fairer single-vote method. For the DNC to adopt ranked-choice voting, it would require a majority of the 450-member body to approve new rules and bylaws. Furthermore, individual state parties would need to approve the change, and on top of that, a number of state governments would have to amend their election laws.

• WV senator to pay $5M in back taxes: Senator Jim Justice agreed to pay $5.1 million to the federal government after the Department of Justice brought a lawsuit over his failure to pay debts dating back to his 2009 filings. The former governor of West Virginia, Justice replaced former Senator Joe Manchin following his retirement. Justice inherited the Bluestone Coal Corporation from his father and was once a billionaire before hard times reduced his net worth to a reported $664 million. At one point, debts of over $1 billion led to Justice being declared “broke.”

• China’s state media calls for nuke strikes against Japan: The Chinese Communist Party-controlled online outlet Guancha, Chinese for Observer, is calling for nuclear missile strikes to end what it deems to be Japanese “militarism.” This follows remarks by Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who told the Japanese legislature that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would pose a survival threat to Japan, requiring military intervention. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Sunday that Japan “crossed a red line” by suggesting military involvement. Despite the threats, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are “steadily moving forward” with the deployment of a medium-range surface-to-air missile unit at a military base on Yonaguni Island, about 68 miles from the east coast of Taiwan. Taiwan says the move would strengthen security in the Taiwan Strait, and Japan insists it will help prevent an attack on its own country.

Headlines

• Core wholesale prices rose less than expected in September; retail sales gain (CNBC)

• Shoppers curtail Black Friday plans to stretch spending (CNBC)

• House Education and Workforce Committee launches nationwide investigation into anti-Semitism in K-12 schools (House.gov)

• North Dakota Supreme Court restores near-total ban on abortion (RedState)

• UK okays state experiment with puberty blockers and children (Hot Air)

• Humor: Average IQ in Congress expected to rise significantly after MTG resigns (Babylon Bee)

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