Table of Contents
As the final stretch before Election Day approaches, political campaigns across the United States are making their closing arguments. Meanwhile, recent developments in Alaska’s Senate race and a high-profile military dismissal at the Pentagon have drawn national attention.
Midterm Campaigning and Alaska Senate Race Controversy
President Trump has been campaigning for at-risk Republicans, though he has abruptly switched to virtual rallies. As Saige Miller reported to NPR, Trump’s tour to boost voter turnout has focused largely on competitive Republican-leaning states, featuring 19 telerallies alongside in-person events. Miller noted that this shift in strategy, combined with polling data, suggests Republicans may face challenges, particularly in the House, and while Trump knows he is a key motivator for his party, his strategy could also backfire by energizing Democrats.
In Alaska, the governor ordered an investigation following a New York Times report on the state’s toss-up U.S. Senate race. The article revealed that Democratic campaign operatives attempted to recruit a candidate, who shares the name Dan Sullivan, whom Republicans claim could confuse voters and siphon support from GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan. Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, aims to flip the seat. Liz Ruskin of Alaska Public Media spoke with election law experts who found no applicable laws broken, but noted the conduct crosses moral and ethical lines.
Elsewhere in the election landscape, the Department of Justice subpoenaed election workers in Los Angeles amid rising tensions with California officials regarding the Trump administration’s efforts to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. Additionally, while Democrats initially appeared unlikely to gain Senate seats due to many races being held in red states, the ongoing war in Iran has shifted the political landscape.
Pentagon Shake-Up and Military Home Loans
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, who oversaw planning at the Pentagon and served as part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The removal occurs as the U.S. and Israel prepare for a new potential round of attacks against Iran. Although Sylvia held a senior position in strategy, planning and policy, he was not directly involved in day-to-day operations regarding the Iran conflict.
Greg Myre reported for NPR that the Pentagon is investigating a leak without providing further details. Hegseth has dismissed several generals and admirals, often without explanation, which Myre stated has disrupted senior military operations. The U.S. currently maintains two aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea, with a third, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, en route. Myre noted that stationing three carriers in the Middle East is unusual, with the last instance occurring during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In housing news, thousands of military veterans with VA-backed mortgages have faced higher interest rates and monthly payments since last year. This occurred after the Trump administration shut down a key part of the VA’s home loan program. The Veterans Affairs Servicing Purchase (VASP) program, created under the Biden administration, previously helped tens of thousands of veterans who fell behind on payments by rolling missed payments into a new, low-interest mortgage. Despite warnings from the mortgage industry and housing groups, the administration ended the program without a viable replacement, forcing veterans to modify loans at higher interest rates. An NPR investigation revealed that more than 15,000 veterans experienced monthly payment increases of at least $150 after loan modifications due to financial hardship, with over 700 veterans seeing their payments rise by $1,000 or more.
Organ Donation Policy Changes and Weekend Culture Picks
Rob Stein, NPR’s science desk correspondent and senior editor, reported on a significant shift in the organ transplantation system. For decades, a fundamental ethical principle has been the “dead donor rule,” which mandates that organs should only be retrieved from a deceased person and that death must never be accelerated to improve organ usability. This relied on a strict firewall between hospital care teams and organ retrieval teams. However, after receiving a tip, Stein confirmed that the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network’s board of directors endorsed a change, effective November 18, to relax that firewall.
The policy revision is part of new initiatives designed to boost donations and improve patient safety following disturbing revelations of mistakes, such as patients being wheeled into operating rooms for organ removal while still alive. While some changes received praise for enhancing safety, many bioethicists, transplant surgeons, and patient advocates warn that relaxing the firewall is dangerous. Critics fear it could lead families and caregivers to discontinue treatment prematurely and deepen distrust in the organ donation system.
For weekend entertainment, audiences can explore several cultural offerings highlighted by NPR. In movies, the horror film Clayface embraces body horror to tell the origin story of the Batman villain, starring Tom Rhys Harries as an actor who uses AI and nanotechnology after being disfigured by a mob boss. On television, HBO’s War features Dominic West and Sienna Miller as a British couple navigating a high-stakes divorce. In literature, Elizabeth McCracken’s Seven Stories About Tammy presents interconnected short stories about a family’s experiences with their eldest son’s girlfriend. In music, Slovakian singer Adéla discusses the music industry and her debut album, PRIMA, following attention gained from her hit song “Nicole Kidman.”
Passings and Scientific Discoveries
Sir Patrick Stewart, renowned for playing Professor X in the X-Men franchise and Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 86. Trained as a Shakespearean actor, Stewart brought gravitas and a playful sense of purpose to his roles and was knighted in 2010.
In scientific research, a new study published in Science revealed that the Manx shearwater bird experiences jet lag similar to humans. Researchers discovered that during long flights across the Atlantic, these birds become disoriented as their internal clocks fall out of sync with the sun.
Additionally, Jane Arraf shared an installment of Far-Flung Postcards from the former home of English mystery novelist Agatha Christie on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad, which now stands abandoned and crumbling.
