World
This week showed some movement in the current political conflicts in the world. On November 4th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy restated his intentions to have Ukraine join the European Union. He stated that he would like if Ukraine could join the EU by 2030. He also added that he desired that the Russian invasion of Ukraine would end before Ukraine joined the EU.
Ukraine initially received EU candidate status in 2022, and negotiations were opened two years later in 2024. For Ukraine to join the EU, it would have to undergo numerous economic and political reforms in order to adhere to EU standards. If Ukraine were able to undergo these reforms and join the EU, both the EU and Ukraine would be able to help each other financially, motivating Ukraine to join the EU and motivating the EU to accept Ukraine.
On the other side of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Putin has asked his government for the feasibility of resuming nuclear testing. The United Nations in 1996 adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons. Countries such as the United States have practiced this treaty whilst not officially having it legally ratified. Russia withdrew from this treaty in 2023, but, similarly to the United States, had still practiced it.
However, President Donald Trump recently posted on social media that he instructed the Department of War to start testing nuclear weapons. He stated on 60 Minutes Interviews that the reason for this was because Russia and China were testing nuclear weapons, and that “You just don’t know about it.” In response, Putin has publicly asked top officials to put in proposals for the resumption of nuclear tests. If both the United States and Russia begin to resume nuclear tests, they will be the first tests in over 30 years.
In some more brief news, the conflict in the Middle East is still being figured out. The Gaza Ceasefire came into effect on October 10th, 2025. Since then, the UN reports that Israel has rejected over 100 humanitarian aid requests, and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) claims that Palestinian terror groups have violated the ceasefire at least 18 times. While it may seem quiet on paper, in reality, the fighting still rages on.
United States
The United States was very busy this week. Three elections have concluded and been decided on, with Democrats Mikie Sherill, Abigail Spanberger, and Zohran Mamdani winning New Jersey Governor, Virginia Governor, and New York City Mayor, respectively (Read More: https://efrordonez.com/a-blue-wave).
On November 5th, Supreme Court Justices showed their skepticism on the legality of President Trump’s Tariffs. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that Trump was the first president to use IEEPA since its passing in 1977. IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) is a law that allows the president to regulate international commerce in the case of a national emergency. Trump has declared a national emergency multiple times to justify using IEEPA, with China and Chinese goods being a primary target, with the most recent reason being the “large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits.”
The Supreme Court questioned whether the President should be allowed to pass these massive ways of tariffs. The argument was made that tariffs are taxes, and the power to tax was given to Congress by the Founding Fathers. Supreme Court Justices also noted that, although the imposed tariffs were meant to address trade deficits, a 39% tariff was placed on Switzerland, a U.S. ally and a country with which the U.S. had a trade surplus, an example of the reason for the imposed tariffs being illegitimate. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant stated that the U.S. might have to refund over $750 billion if the tariffs are ruled illegal. The Supreme Court did not come to a decision on Wednesday.
In California this week, voters approved a redistricting map that could potentially gain California Democrats 5 more seats in the House, raising the total from 52 to 57. This was initiated by Trump’s attempts to redistrict Texas to gain 5 more Republican seats, and his goal to redistrict California to also gain more Republican seats. Some states are attempting to gerrymander in order to maintain a Democratic or Republican majority. As another win for Democrats, Pennsylvania reelected three Supreme Court Justices, further ensuring a Democratic majority in the Supreme Court.
If this week wasn’t crazy enough in politics, Trump also threatened military action against the African country of Nigeria. This was a response to the beliefs that Islamic militants in Nigeria were killing specifically Christians. U.S. Officials stated that drone strikes are not out of the question. This makes relationships between the two countries very fragile and puts Nigerian President Tinubu in a difficult position with their biggest foreign trading partner. No further action has yet been taken.
On a separate note, the ongoing government shutdown officially became the longest in U.S. history, surpassing the previous 2019 recordholder on Wednesday and is now at 39 days and counting. It has also taken another victim, with flights at 40 of the nation’s top airports set to be cut and potentially mess up holiday travel as Thanksgiving nears.
Additionally, on November 4th, former Vice President Dick Cheney, to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, died at 84 years old. He was argued to be one of the most influential Vice Presidents under Bush (Read More: https://efrordonez.com/former-vp-dick-cheney-dead-at-84)
Finally, on November 6th, Democratic House member Nancy Pelosi, age 85, announced that she would not seek reelection in 2026. Her retirement marks the end of a nearly 40-year career in the House of Representatives. Pelosi entered the House in 1987 and was the Speaker of the House from 2007-2011 and from 2019-2023, being the first woman to ever hold this office.
Photo Credits: Getty Images
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