memeorandum: U.S. Figures Iran Still Has up to 2,500 Missiles, Countering Trump Assertions (Wall Street Journal)

10:25 PM ET, November 14, 2026

Top Items:

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 »

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 »

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

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: New York Post, All Rise News, Democracy Docket, Newsweek, FairVote 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: Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Guardian, RedState, NBC News and The Hill

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

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

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

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

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, Lawyers, Guns & Money, RedState, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, The Mahablog, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit, FOX 10 Phoenix, Townhall, MS NOW, The Guardian, TheWrap, TheGrio, TheJournal.ie and Gizmodo

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

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

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’

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, The Guardian, New York Magazine, The Nation, Breitbart, The Hill and American Prospect

Wall Street Journal:

How Jensen Huang Built the Backdoor Route That Keeps Beijing in the AI Race — Massive data centers in Southeast Asia exploited a gap in U.S. sanctions, providing crucial computing power for Chinese companies and a cover for alleged chip smuggling — SENAWANG, Malaysia …

Discussion: Political.org and New York Times

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Figures Iran Still Has up to 2,500 Missiles, Countering Trump Assertions — The reconstitution of Tehran's missile stockpile has factored into Trump administration discussions about whether to resume strikes — The U.S. intelligence community assesses that Iran has between 1,500 …

Discussion: RealClearDefense, Politico and Al Jazeera

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, TheJournal.ie, RTÉ, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico, Bloomberg, vaticannews.va and Yle News

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

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

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

Financial Times:

Trump Media group stares down $1bn debt crunch as bitcoin bet fades — Plunge in shares and cryptocurrency prices could force Truth Social owner to sell assets or take on costly new debt — The Trump family's media group may soon be forced to sell hundreds of millions' worth of assets …

more at Techmeme »

Richard Rubin / Wall Street Journal:

Democrats Torn Over Floating New Taxes to Cover Multitrillion-Dollar Agenda — Lawmakers debate raising new revenues to help pay for expanded healthcare and other big policy ideas — WASHINGTON—Democrats enter the new Congress with huge majorities and a broad consensus …

Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Washington Post:

Texas's Democratic gov.-elect vows to trade GOP culture wars for moderation … AUSTIN — GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and conservative state lawmakers tried to label incoming Democratic governor Gina Hinojosa a closet progressive, warning that she'll turn the deeply red state socialist.

Discussion: NewsMax.com and San Antonio Current

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
The other big flip Democrats pulled off in Texas

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

Marco Margaritoff / HuffPost:

Mamdani Announces Major SNAP Win After Conversation With Trump: ‘And He Agreed’ — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has developed an unexpectedly warm relationship with the president and once again used it to help people. — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has seemingly charmed …

Discussion: Fox Business, TheGrio, Joe.My.God., Breitbart, New York Times, The City Reporter, Mediaite, City & State New York and Politico

Ford McCracken / The Hill:

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin report additional deaths linked to measles — The U.S. reached 10 measles deaths this year after additional deaths reported in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a concerning sign as the previously eradicated disease makes a resurgence worldwide and in the U.S.

Discussion: MedPage Today, Axios, pa.gov, KDFX-TV, Washington Post and 6abc

Julie Steenhuysen / Reuters:
US loses measles-free status after continued spread of the disease, WSJ reports

Discussion: CBS News, Forbes, The Japan Times, Fox News, U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, CNN, Mock Paper Scissors, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, Protect Our Care, Joe.My.God., The Hill, The 74, KDFX-TV, Wall Street Journal and Washington Examiner

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

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.