memeorandum: Mike Johnson: 'We don't really need any investigation' into FAA ground stop (Suryatapa Chakraborty/The Hill)

8:25 PM ET, November 14, 2026

Top Items:

Suryatapa Chakraborty / The Hill:

Mike Johnson: 'We don't really need any investigation' into FAA ground stop — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said there is no need for an investigation into the ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday, instead highlighting the need for “investment.”

Discussion: Axios, CNN, RedState, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, The Mahablog, The Daily Wire, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Townhall, MS NOW, FOX 10 Phoenix, The Guardian, TheWrap, TheGrio, TheJournal.ie and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

John F. Harris / Politico:

Are Trump Officials Living in an Alternate Reality? … Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin started his White House news conference on the nationwide air traffic control meltdown with a little quip about it being Friday the 13th. … I guess a little gallows humor is okay.

Marco Margaritoff / HuffPost:

‘Biggest F**k You To The American People’: Critics Slam Duffy Over Flight Shutdown Response — The transportation secretary demanded $50 billion from Congress at a press conference on Friday about the ground stop. — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy united Republican and Democrat critics …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Advocate, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, El País, Semafor, Bloomberg and Washington Examiner, more at Techmeme »

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:

As Crisis Circled the Skies, Trump Kept Out of Sight and Off Topic — The F.A.A. called a rare halt on flights nationwide, but the president stayed away from cameras and issued social media posts on the entertainment industry and California's Democratic governor.

Discussion: Mediaite and TheWrap, more at Mediagazer »

Oriana Pawlyk / Politico:
‘Incompetence’ or faulty equipment? Duffy blames air contractor and demands $50B from Congress.

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
What to Know About Friday's Nationwide Ground Stop

Discussion: Breitbart, Reuters, Fox News, Fast Company, NewsMax.com, Scientific American, Joe Hoft, Los Angeles Times, RTÉ, Roll Call, FOX 10 Phoenix, Miami New Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money and VINnews

Associated Press:
US air travel schedule should recover from ground stop by the end of Sunday, FAA says

Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
Ground Stop Highlights Chronic Vulnerabilities in Air Traffic System

Discussion: Deseret News and CT Mirror

Donica Phifer / Axios:
FAA back at “full operations” after Friday outage, Transportation Sec. says

Discussion: CBS News, The Hill, HuffPost, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Political.org, New York Times and The Air Current

NBC News:

Why Mary Peltola is on track to win in Alaska, even if ranked choice ballots come into play — The Democratic Senate candidate could still win an outright majority. She also has an advantage in voters' second-choice ballots, according to an NBC News Decision Desk analysis.

Discussion: Newsweek, Democracy Docket and Washington Examiner

Liz Ruskin / Alaska Public Media:

Peltola leads in U.S. Senate race, nearing 50% mark with almost all ballots counted — Former Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola widened her lead again Friday, though she still has less than 50% of first-choice votes. If that remains so, the race will likely be decided by ranked choice tabulation.

Discussion: NBC News, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and RedState

Eric Stone / Alaska Public Media:
Alaska elects Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins governor

Discussion: NBC News, Associated Press, The Independent, Political.org, Newsweek, Joe.My.God., Politico, NPR, Washington Post, Fox News, The Hill and Democracy Docket

Ford McCracken / The Hill:
Peltola holds nearly 4-point lead on Sullivan in latest ballot drop

Discussion: New York Post, Washington Examiner, FairVote, Mediaite, NewsMax.com and The Daily Wire

Tim Balk / New York Times:
Alaska Senate Race Between Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola Still Counting Votes

Discussion: NBC News, Newsweek, MS NOW, Wonkette, The Hill and Democracy Docket

Politico:

How the White House plans to put Democrats on defense on oversight … President Donald Trump wants Democrats investigating him to be afraid. Very afraid. — That's the unmistakable sentiment behind the president and his top aides' recent suggestions that lawmakers could face criminal prosecution …

Discussion: Liberal Currents

Jeff Mason / Bloomberg:
Trump's White House Lawyer on Subpoena Compliance: ‘It Depends’

Discussion: Fox News and Crooks and Liars

Ellie Fivas / The Washington Sun: Trump Allies Are Looking for a Shield From the Supreme Court

New York Times:
As Congress Plans Investigations, White House Prepares Ferocious Response

Discussion: emptywheel, CNN, Wall Street Journal and Political.org

Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:

How Can Democrats Govern Under These Conditions? — In just a few months, Democrats will have their largest congressional majority since 2009. — But Donald Trump will still be president. And with Stephen Miller by his side as White House chief of staff, there is almost no chance …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Schumer allies voice confidence, argue Van Hollen challenge about ending ‘filibuster’ — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer's (N.Y.) allies are predicting he will get more than 40 votes in his leadership contest against Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) while slamming the challenge as a “distraction.”

Discussion: Townhall, NewsMax.com, Politico, RedState, HotAir, MS NOW, Political.org, ABC News, The Contrarian and The Gateway Pundit

Tessa Stuart / Rolling Stone:
Can Chris Van Hollen Really Unseat Chuck Schumer?

Discussion: The Post Millennial, New York Times, Mother Jones, Axios, The Guardian, New York Magazine, The Nation, Breitbart, The Hill, American Prospect, TheJournal.ie and The Washington Sun

New York Times:

Russia Revives Demand That NATO Retrench to Secure Ukraine Deal — The hard-line position of Russian officials in closed-door negotiations about ending the war thrusts European security into the heart of the talks. — Two months before Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 …

Discussion: Telegraph, Reuters, RTÉ, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico, vaticannews.va, Yle News and Bloomberg

Kevin Whitelaw / Bloomberg:
Kushner Wants Direct Russia-Europe Talks in Ukraine Peace Push

Discussion: Associated Press, The Kyiv Independent, CBS News, Reuters, Political.org, Intelligence Report, Council on Foreign Relations, HuffPost, The Hill and ABC17NEWS

Volodymyr Verbianyi / Bloomberg:
Zelenskyy Says US Floats NATO Membership in Deal for Donbas

Discussion: Politico, Reuters, KTVZ-TV, Associated Press, vaticannews.va, The Independent, The Kyiv Independent, Political.org, TheJournal.ie and France 24

Luke Harding / The Guardian:
SpaceX not being honest about ‘political’ reasons for slowing Starshield, says Zelenskyy

Discussion: The Kyiv Independent, Reuters, NewsMax.com and Politico

New York Times:

Did the Redistricting Wars Backfire on Republicans? In a Word, No. — The G.O.P. was able to avoid more House midterm losses — on top of the advantage it already had from gerrymandering. — When Republicans started redrawing congressional maps in the summer of 2025 …

Discussion: Charlie Cook Politics and Slow Boring

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:

The other big flip Democrats pulled off in Texas — This special Saturday edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 📣 Subscribe to PN 📣 — The midterms were an almost incomprehensible success for Democrats, who ran up numbers everywhere.

Discussion: NewsMax.com and Joe.My.God.

Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Washington Post:
Texas's Democratic gov.-elect vows to trade GOP culture wars for moderation

Discussion: NewsMax.com and San Antonio Current

Norman Eisen / The Contrarian:

What Mississippi's Voting Barriers and Trump's Huge Arch Have in Common — Publisher's Roundup 93 — This week, democracy had a big win in the court of public opinion with the loud verdict of the voters in Mississippi despite massive efforts to hamper them. And democracy overcame obstacles in the courts of law as well.

Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:

Ecuadorian fishermen who survived US boat strikes sue Trump administration — US military has killed nearly 250 people in attack on ‘narco-terrorism’, and on 17 March, sank the 16 plaintiffs' boat, leaving two with serious burns — More than a dozen Ecuadorian fishermen are suing …

Discussion: Truthout

Hamilton Nolan / How Things Work:

What's Next May Be Familiar If You Remember What Came Before — Inside the great battle for the Democratic Party's future. — DENVER—The Democrats! Like migratory birds they descend upon this swagless Western city, seeking warmth among the microbreweries.

Discussion: Colorado Times Recorder

Jesse McKinley / New York Times:

After Relative Silence, Joe Rogan Said Trump's Policies Have Lost the ‘Podcast Bros’ — The nation's top podcaster addressed the midterm election results, days after declaring that he thinks politics is “gross.” — In the aftermath of the midterm wipeout for Republicans, Joe Rogan …

Susannah George / Washington Post:

Middle East monarchies brace for Trump corruption scrutiny after blue wave — Persian Gulf governments fear fallout as Democrats prepare to investigate the Trump family and follow the money, officials say. — SummaryLoading... Persian Gulf governments are preparing with dread for the inevitable …