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THIS DAY IN HISTORY November 10 1775 Birth of the U.S. Marine Corps During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress passes a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces for the recently formed Continental Navy. Read More Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT African History 1995 Playwright and activist hanged in Nigeria Arts & Entertainment 1928 WWI novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” is published 1969 “Sesame Street” debuts 1973 Copies of “Slaughterhouse-Five” burned in North Dakota Civil War 1865 Henry Wirz hanged for murder Inventions & Science 1903 Mary Anderson patents windshield wiper Native American History 1808 Osage tribe cedes Missouri and Arkansas lands Natural Disasters & Environment 1975 Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sinks in Lake Superior Sports 1984 Maryland gets a miracle in Miami U.S. Presidents 2001 George W. Bush addresses the United Nations regarding terrorism

School Closures Surge A total of 1,156 US public schools closed during the last academic year, the highest number since the pandemic. The figure, from a new analysis published this week, largely reflects declining birth rates and funding cuts. Student enrollment is falling faster than public schools are closing, with enrollment down by roughly 1.4 million students from 2019 to 2024. Analysts say the decline is primarily due to a multidecade drop in birth rates; the under-18 population fell by roughly 2.1 million children from 2010 to 2025. The federal immigration crackdown and postpandemic expansion of private school vouchers and homeschool options have also contributed. Projections indicate that tumbling enrollment could cost public schools roughly $11.5B in state funding annually by 2030-31, compared with revenue received in 2025-26, potentially spurring further closures. Research shows closures may not deliver the savings school districts expect, since busing, severance, and vacant-building security add costs. Displaced students also often experience long-term declines in reading and math scores. Compare state test scores here. And dive into the history of America's public education system here.

COP31 Begins The United Nations’ annual climate summit, known as the Conference of the Parties or COP, kicked off its 31st gathering yesterday in Antalya, Turkey. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will participate in the event; the US did not send an official federal delegation for the second consecutive year. COP31 commenced days after a European climate monitoring service reported that last month was the warmest October ever recorded. It also marked the third straight month to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold. Over the next two weeks, delegates will push countries to honor their previous emissions-reduction pledges and work to provide developing nations with funds to adapt to a warming climate. They will also try to resolve deadlocks over how to transition away from fossil fuels. Those efforts come as a recent UN report found the US drove one-third of the rise in global emissions last year, outpacing every other major economy. See an interactive visualization of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide here.

Congress Clocks In The 119th Congress resumed yesterday for the first time since last week’s wave of Democratic victories (see latest). Republicans have five scheduled legislative weeks left before losing control of both houses in January. Chief among Republican priorities is to pass a funding bill ahead of a Dec. 11 government shutdown deadline. Garnering support for the Pentagon’s annual policy bill amid an unpopular Iran war is also a priority. It also comes as outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R, KY-4) reintroduced a resolution yesterday to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on eight counts, including over his handling of the Iran war; a House vote could come as soon as this week. Massie separately predicts he will amass the 218 signatures necessary to force floor action on the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files. Separately, the Senate voted 73-25 yesterday to advance a measure to speed up approval of data center development. Americans voted overwhelmingly last week to restrict data center construction through dozens of ballot initiatives (see the one place that didn't).

Mr Potato Head was the first toy to be advertised on TV. James

California voters reject measure to tax the wealth of billionaires SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have rejected a first-in-the-nation tax on the net worth of billionaires following a contentious ballot fight that generated huge spending by some prominent tech leaders eager to stop their taxes from going up. https://apnews.com/article/california-billionaire-tax-4ae8cbdc057b99579818016f02ac9d9e?

🍁 Parting shot: Autumn in New York Photo: Natalie Daher/Axios I snapped this photo yesterday while visiting Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Queens, after spending the afternoon at MoMA PS1. 🎨 MoMA PS1 is now free to visit through 2028, thanks to a gift from philanthropist Sonya Yu marking the museum's 50th anniversary. My subway take: Make all museums free!

Your next micro AI experiment Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Your AI chatbot can do a lot more than draft emails or summarize articles. New features can turn ChatGPT, Claude and other AI tools into even better personal researchers, problem-solvers and amateur app developers. Why it matters: You don't need to be a tech expert to get more out of AI. Sometimes, you just need a few practical ideas for putting it to work. Inspired by The Washington Post's new guide to AI "power-ups," here are five ways to put your chatbot to work: 🔧 Fix something around the house: Snap a photo of a confusing error message on your dishwasher, thermostat or washing machine. Upload it with the model number, and ask AI to identify possible causes and suggest safe troubleshooting steps. I recently used AI to help authenticate a Herman Miller chair I bought secondhand on Facebook Marketplace, comparing its design details with changes in the chair's production over the years. 🗂️ Turn a pile of documents into a personal assistant: Upload vacation itineraries, travel confirmations and reservations into a ChatGPT Project or Google's NotebookLM. Ask it to build a day-by-day schedule, flag conflicts and answer questions about your trip. My color-coded honeymoon itinerary for Argentina and Chile next month is courtesy of Claude, not my spreadsheet skills. It was right on the suggestion to book a rental car in Bariloche; brushing up on my Spanish is on me. 🔎 Research a big purchase: Use a chatbot's Deep Research feature to compare refrigerators, mattresses or cars. Give it your budget and must-haves, and request a side-by-side breakdown of reliability, long-term costs and independent reviews. You can do the same for local services: AI helped me compare dog walkers and led me to Parkside Pups, which now walks my sweet poodle-beagle a few times a week. 🛠️ Build something just for you: Want a family trivia game, holiday gift tracker or personal website? Describe it in plain English and ask AI to build a working version — no coding experience required. It's called "vibe coding," and if you've checked out a journalist friend's portfolio lately, you may have seen it in action. 📑 Decode the fine print: That confusing clause buried in your 50-page homeowners insurance policy or warranty? Ask AI to explain exclusions, deductibles and coverage limits in plain English — and point you to the exact passages supporting its answers. Between the lines: AI can be confidently wrong. Double-check important advice and research, and run consequential decisions by a human you trust. Security is essential: Remove sensitive personal information before uploading documents, and check your chatbot's privacy settings. Gift link. Have you had an experience with a chatbot lately that saved you time or taught you something? Write us at finishline@axios.com.

The Joke’s on Him View in browser When President Trump posted on Saturday that he’d asked Dana White, the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to be the new White House press secretary, it felt like a callback to the freewheeling first-term Trump. “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 on Truth Social, adding that he needed White and his band of mixed-martial-arts fighters “to defend us against the Lunatic Left. Dana will be a Press Secretary like none other. Dana, please take the job!” By weekend’s end, the possibility of the appointment had dissolved, though not without a subplot of speculation that Trump was confusing the impresario with another Dana White who had actually served as a Pentagon spokesperson during his first term. CNN reported that White had declined, and last night, Trump told reporters he never meant it anyway. “I was only kidding, but Dana loves the idea,” he said. Perhaps. Trump has a long record of launching outlandish ideas and then playing them off as jokes when they don’t work out. If it was all a jape, then the weak stab at humor seems to underestimate the electorate’s frustration with his antics. If he was serious and got rejected, it’s even worse. An old maxim goes that when the president of the United States asks you to do something, you do it. But Trump no longer has the juice he did in the early days of this administration, when billionaire tech CEOs were showering him with attention and the odd bauble. Last Tuesday evening, as election results rolled in, my colleague Jonathan Lemire wrote that “Donald J. Trump is now officially, thoroughly a lame duck.” Now we’re getting a glimpse of what that looks like in practice. Start with the cool reception that Trump’s elevation of Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff received among Republicans. Representative Marlin Stutzman called it a “horrible decision.” Another legislator told Fox News that his reaction was “utter disbelief.” When a Politico reporter informed one member of the choice, they replied, “Please tell me you’re lying to me right now, just to get a reaction.” Take these statements with a grain of salt—Republicans have often been happy to talk trash about Trump anonymously while going along with him publicly—but whether or not they acquiesce with the president matters less now that the GOP is so outnumbered in Congress. One test of where House Republicans actually stand will come this week. Thomas Massie, a renegade GOP member who Trump helped defeat in a primary earlier this year, refiled articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today. Although Speaker Mike Johnson (speaking of lame ducks) had temporarily stymied Massie’s impeachment efforts in September by sending members home until after the midterms, the House is now back in session. Rounding up enough Republican votes to move the articles forward will be difficult but not impossible; a significant number of GOP members lost their seats last week, including many of the more moderate representatives, which means they are less in Trump’s thrall. Assuming that Hegseth is not impeached this month, it seems all but inevitable once Democrats take over. This weekend, presumptive Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said he’s a “hard yes” on impeachment. Republicans’ losses have produced infighting elsewhere in the party too. As Miller moves to take over, fallout from his predecessor Susie Wiles’s tenure continues. Calley Means, a former aide to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he accused Wiles and James Blair, a top Trump political adviser, of selling the MAHA movement out to corporate interests. The Wall Street Journal reports that, ahead of their public social-media fight, Blair texted Means, “If you are gonna try to knife me, I’m happy to return the favor.” Meanwhile Senator Ron Johnson, a hard-right figure from Wisconsin, has picked up on Means’s comments to accuse the Trump administration of “corruption.” One person in particular left somewhat unmoored by the results is Vice President Vance, who built his entire profile on closeness to a politician whose toxicity is now made plain. In a long post-election X post, Vance pinned the midterm defeat on the Iran war. This was widely seen as a swipe at the president and an attempt to position himself for 2028, but as The New Yorker’s Jason Zengerle observed, Vance “didn’t so much throw Trump under the bus as try to bring him on board his bandwagon by essentially putting words in Trump’s mouth.” But Trump does not seem inclined to cooperate. For one thing, he continues to defend the war. On 60 Minutes last night, he acknowledged the political fallout but said, “I think, historically, this will be a very good decision. Is it a good decision for today and tomorrow? Maybe not.” Speaking with reporters last night, he once again declared victory in the unresolved war with Iran and then claimed, falsely and callously, that “we haven’t lost anybody. No soldiers.” At other times, though, Trump has sounded unusually chastened since Election Day. He told The New York Times that he looks forward to working with the Democrats. He also acknowledged on 60 Minutes that his deportation policy, which “might be too tough,” could explain the GOP’s shellacking. “I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border,” he said, “but I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation, or breaking of the law, and that was that they came into the country illegally.” A deescalation on immigration enforcement seems unlikely with Miller as chief of staff, given his role in implementing that policy, but the fact that Trump was willing to offer conciliatory remarks suggests that he is beginning to recognize the challenges of life as a lame duck. Related: Repudiation ICE after the blowout

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony is this weekend. Who's getting in, and who's honoring them? Billy Idol, Oasis, Wu-Tang Clan, Phil Collins, Sade, Queen Latifah, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order and the late Luther Vandross will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday. Read More.

Senate weighs sweeping energy legislation in first major action since midterm elections The Senate on Monday is set to take up bipartisan legislation aimed at speeding up permitting reviews for data centers and other infrastructure projects, in the first major action since last week’s election that soundly repudiated President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Read More.

Nvidia's investigation into CEO Huang's affair puts a spotlight on chip billionaire's personal life Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been one of the poster boys for the artificial intelligence revolution because his company's chips are essential for the technology. Now his personal life is in the spotlight after revelations of an affair with a purported Chinese spy that triggered an investigation by the board. Read More. Internal probe into CEO Jensen Huang and 'foreign intelligence' weighs on high-flying Nvidia shares Shares of Nvidia tumbled more than 5% Monday after the computer chip maker, central to the artificial intelligence race, opened an investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort.” Read More.

Japan to provide coastal radar and drones to the Philippines under $27M deal Japan said it will provide a coastal surveillance radar system and unmanned aircraft to the Philippines under a security deal signed Monday, as the two defense partners face growing tensions with China. Read More.

Diamond-rich Botswana says it will increase its stake in De Beers to 30% under proposed sale Botswana's president said Monday that the diamond-rich southern African country will double its stake in De Beers to 30% under a proposed deal by a consortium of investors to buy Anglo American's shares in the company. Read More.

FBI is looking at Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese agent, Trump says WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the FBI is investigating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s affair with an alleged Chinese government agent, but said he doesn’t think the executive who has helped to develop artificial intelligence has a reason to worry. https://apnews.com/article/china-denies-spy-jensen-huang-nvidia-3345b9f05c54d58909e88f6dcb9c1cd8?

What every church worker needs to hear, but few people are willing to say. The post When the Church Hurts: A Survival Guide for Those Called to Serve <label class="rltv-edition-check-wrap" onclick="event.stopPropagation();" title="Add to 5-Story Mini-Newspaper"><input type="checkbox" class="rltv-story-checkbox" data-id="170511860" data-title="When the Church Hurts: A Survival Guide for Those Called to Serve" /><span>+ Edition</span></label> appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

Cold case solved Two young women were sexually assaulted and strangled outside of Pittsburgh nearly 50 years ago. For decades, the answer to who did it remained a mystery. Now police say a serial killer was responsible.

Supreme Court clears the way for border wall construction in Texas’s Big Bend to resume WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for the Trump administration to resume border wall construction in the Big Bend region of Texas, a blow to bipartisan opponents who had argued the project is a waste of money that threatens the unique landscape. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-trump-border-wall-cd5697e9502b4ae32e1c14300de02985?

👩‍🚀 1 for the road: Astronauts wanted Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios NASA is now accepting applications for new astronauts for its Artemis lunar program. Aspiring candidates have until Dec. 3 to submit their applications. Final selections are expected by late 2027. 🚀 With only 32 active astronauts, the space agency needs more recruits as it looks to expand humanity's presence beyond low-Earth orbit. Artemis III commander Randy Bresnik tells AP: "We have far more work than we have astronauts." Go deeper ... How to apply.

🧑‍💻 Job worries persist Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Americans are getting more worried about rising unemployment, but they're also more confident that they could find another job if they needed to, Axios' Neil Irwin and Courtenay Brown write from a new report. 📈 By the numbers: The perceived probability that unemployment will rise over the next year climbed to 45.3% in October, according to the New York Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations. That's the highest since April 2020. Yes, but: People's perceived probability of finding another job if they lost their current position rose to 46.5%, the highest in about a year. 🤔 The mixed sentiment underscores the weirdness in today's labor market: Hiring is picking up and unemployment remains low, but it can be tough to find work. Explore the data ... Go deeper.

Investors split on Huang's future Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Nvidia investors are rushing to CEO Jensen Huang's defense publicly, while privately expressing disappointment, after he admitted to having an affair with a purported Chinese spy, Axios' Madison Mills reports. The company's stock was down about 5.5% as of midafternoon. 🤳 Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman wrote on X that Huang (pronounced wong) "is an incredible human. ... We should all support him and his family." Elon Musk, replying to a post which suggested that Huang had "no bad intention," wrote: "I agree." Gavin Baker, managing partner and CIO of Atreides Management, said on X: "I simply do not believe he would ever knowingly do anything to disadvantage either America or Nvidia." One Nvidia investor told Axios that the situation is "profoundly disappointing," but added that they think Huang will keep his job. Dan Ives, senior managing director at Yorkville Ives, wrote in a note to clients: "Nvidia and its AI success and ambitions are heavily tied to [Huang] staying on as CEO." 🏛️ Between the lines: A newly blue Congress is looking to investigate tech execs who work closely with the Trump administration. One investor told Axios they're concerned about how much time Huang will have to spend in Washington as investigations unfold. 🔎 What's next: Nvidia's board has launched an independent probe, which investors worry could result in pressure for Huang to leave his post. Go deeper.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky launches bid to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Thomas Massie moved Monday to force a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing his fellow Republicans to remove one of the Trump administration’s most prominent figures following sweeping election losses blamed in part on fallout from the war in Iran. https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-pentagon-briefing-congress-impeachment-f5303cfb626ae2ef7a4a3f660f5519df?

Citizenship in the Hebrew Bible When thinking of the origins of democracy, as many are doing after election day, most point to ancient Greece. Greece indeed formalized processes and ideals that continue to inspire governance today. The Hebrew Bible, though not focused on democracy, takes a different approach. It cultivates civic life within a covenantal system, managed by various kinds of leaders—prophets, elders, judges, priests, and kings—but also, essentially, by everyday people. Bearing in mind that the Bible weaves many sources and traditions together, I nonetheless discuss here a few important themes it explores about the formation of the civic self vis-à-vis the conscience, public discourse, and community. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/citizenship-in-the-hebrew-bible/? The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have caused as much excitement as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/?

Republicans Are Desperate to Pretend They Never Supported the War With Iran To say that Americans were pissed off is an understatement. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/06/jd-vance-midterms-republicans-iran-war/? Pentagon Officials Float Names of Hegseth’s Replacement Replacements for embattled War Secretary Pete Hegseth are increasingly being discussed at the Pentagon, according to current and former defense officials. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is at the top of many lists. Mike Waltz, the disgraced former national security adviser at the center of the 2025 Signalgate messaging scandal and currently U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has also been mentioned. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/06/pentagon-hegseth-replacement-desantis-waltz/? Tons of “Bunker-Buster” Bomb Parts for Israel Go Through JFK Airport An Israeli airline shipped thousands of pounds worth of parts for controversial “bunker-buster” bombs through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York during the height of the Israeli–U.S. war against Iran, according to a new investigation by a left-wing research group. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/09/israel-weapons-bombs-jfk-airport/? How a Socialist Can Govern a City Under the Thumb of the Trump Administration Socialists will soon govern three of the United States’ most influential cities: Los Angeles, New York City, and the District of Columbia. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/07/janeese-lewis-george-dsa-dc-mayor/? Defeating Zionism to Free Palestine Earlier this week, Abdul El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan after months of Islamophobic abuse, most notably from President Donald Trump, who referred to El-Sayed as “Mohammed.” https://theintercept.com/2026/11/06/defeating-zionism-to-free-palestine/? The Pressure on LA’s First Self-Proclaimed Socialist Mayor On paper, the second-largest city in the country has its first democratic socialist mayor. https://theintercept.com/2026/11/08/nithya-raman-la-mayor-socialist-progressive/?