Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The eight impeachment articles accuse Hegseth of violating the 1973 War Powers Resolution by continuing to attack Iran even after both chambers of Congress ordered the Trump administration to stop. He’s also accused of illegally waging war against Yemen, ignoring laws designed to reduce civilian casualties, overseeing “extrajudicial killings” in attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, abducting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization, and suppressing the free speech rights of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in retaliation for reminding troops not to obey illegal orders. Congressmember Massie outlined the charges during a speech from the House floor.

Rep. Thomas Massie: “Wherefore, Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law, Peter Brian Hegseth thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.”

It’s expected the House will vote on Hegseth’s impeachment on Wednesday. Only a few Republican defectors would be needed for a simple majority, setting up a Senate trial on whether to remove Hegseth. On Monday, President Trump said he would stand by Hegseth if he’s impeached. 

The Wall Street Journal reports the Pentagon has evacuated aircraft from a second base in the United Kingdom due to another alleged threat from Iran. U.S. refueling tankers were reportedly moved from a base in Mildenhall on Monday. Last month, the Pentagon pulled B-1 bombers out of another British base.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says two more ships, including a supertanker, are on fire near the Strait of Hormuz after using what Iranian officials have called an “unauthorized route.” Iran has claimed 11 strikes on ships over a 10-day span. The continued attacks on shipping came as Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it could reopen the strait within 48 hours if the U.S. agrees to Tehran’s list of demands.

Esmail Baghaei: “If the U.S. meets the demands put forward by Iran, the situation in the region could see a positive shift in as little as two days, and security in the Strait of Hormuz could also be restored.”

On Monday, President Trump spoke with Qatar’s prime minister, who’s acted as a mediator in efforts to end the war. After the talks, Trump claimed there was “positive momentum” in negotiations for a deal with Iran.

President Donald Trump: “The military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing, but we’re locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason that changes. Israel and the entire Middle East are protected from Iranian danger and threats, and we’re seeing momentum toward the end of this conflict. I think it’s going to be ending fairly soon.”

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Iran in February, Trump has claimed more than 40 times that the war was close to an end, that a deal was near, or that the war was already over.

Democrats are continuing to build on their historic wins in last week’s midterm elections as votes continue to be counted. In Mississippi, Scott Colom’s lead over Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has topped 2,500 votes, with just two batches of ballots left to be counted before a Friday deadline to certify the results. 

In Colorado, Republican Congressmember Lauren Boebert is trailing in her bid to hold on to her seat. On Monday, CNN projected Boebert will lose the race to Democrat Eileen Laubacher, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who served on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.

On Monday, President Trump reversed his previous comment that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterm elections. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “Does anybody really believe that this 'Election' was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong???”

Senate Democrats could be headed for a leadership shakeup, after Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen indicated Monday he’s open to running for Senate majority leader when the new Congress convenes in January. A source close to Van Hollen told Politico the Maryland Democrat is thinking about a run after he “received an outpouring of calls and is now in active listening mode. The door is not shut.” 

This comes as a growing number of Senate Democrats have called for new leadership or refused to commit to supporting New York Senator Chuck Schumer for majority leader. Joining the call is a major labor union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which wrote in a letter to Schumer on Monday, “We believe this is the right moment for a new generation to lead Senate Democrats.” 

Meanwhile, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said he’s open to new leadership if a challenger to Schumer emerges.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal: “But we need to have a conversation about leadership going forward, because we need new energy and ideas.”

In more news from Capitol Hill, the Senate voted 73 to 25 Monday to take up a sweeping permitting reform bill. It was advanced by nearly every Republican and 22 Democrats. Environmental groups have called the legislation an “aggressive attack on federal environmental protections in order to facilitate rapid, unregulated development of fracked gas power plants, dirty fossil fuel pipelines, and expensive hyperscale data centers.” Meanwhile, Indigenous leaders, including New Mexico Governor-elect Deb Haaland, argue the bill would undermine tribal sovereignty.

More than 160 health, consumer, religious and environmental groups are calling on Congress to instead pass the No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act. It’s sponsored by Michigan democratic socialist Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who said, “[The] elections send a clear message that Americans want their representatives to protect their health and environment, not sell them out to Big Tech and Big Oil.” 

Here in New York, activists with Climate Defenders, New York Communities for Change and Planet Over Profit protested at Anthropic’s Manhattan offices for over an hour on Monday. Five of them were arrested for blocking the employee security entrance. The protesters blasted Anthropic’s moves toward an initial public offering that could see it valued at $1.4 trillion — far less than previous estimates it could be worth as much as $2 trillion. This comes after major global tech stocks fell sharply last week following the U.S. midterm elections, which sparked concerns among investors that the Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress will mean tougher regulation of AI. This is activist Jonathan Westin speaking to Democracy Now! as he was being arrested.

Jonathan Westin: “I’m getting arrested because we’re trying to stop Anthropic from crashing the global economy, along with AI. They are not worth the paper they’re printed on. Millions and millions of lives will be affected by it.”

In South Africa, the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, suffered its worst results in local elections on Sunday. The ANC won just 31% of the vote, though it remains South Africa’s largest party. Its main rival, the Democratic Alliance, said it won the votes of more than 1 million Black South ⁠Africans for the first time.

At least 39 migrants have died after a small wooden boat capsized off the Atlantic coast of Senegal as it tried to reach Spain’s Canary Islands. This year alone, the Spanish immigrant rights group Walking Borders has recorded over 600 migrants’ deaths in the Atlantic, as more people desperately flee war, famine and climate disasters and attempt to reach Europe. This comes as at least 22 people have died while attempting to reach Greece from Libya over the course of three days.

Back in the United States, a deportation flight carrying Iranian nationals to Iran via Pakistan was abruptly canceled Sunday morning, after at least eight Iranians had been loaded onto a plane in Mesa, Arizona, bound first for the Republic of Georgia. The flight would reportedly have been the first deportation of Iranians since the U.S. launched attacks on Iran in February. Back in October, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the U.S. government to give the court 24-hour notice of any plans to deport Iranians to Iran or to any other country, and five days’ written notice before deportation is carried out.

In San Diego, an 8-year-old Haitian boy is in federal custody after ICE detained him at a scheduled immigration appointment. He had been living with his uncle since his father was deported last year. DHS says the uncle could not establish legal guardianship. Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, said, “This is not child protection. This is state-inflicted trauma disguised as immigration enforcement. An eight-year-old child should be sitting in a classroom, learning, playing, and dreaming about his future, not being taken away and retraumatized by armed federal agents. His father has already been taken from him and deported, now this administration has stripped him of the stability, family, and community every child deserves.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to resume the construction of a new border wall in Big Bend National Park and along more than 500 miles of the Rio Grande in Texas. Monday’s ruling lifted a lower court’s temporary injunction that blocked construction back in October while a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and others is resolved. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only Supreme Court member to dissent. Click here to see our coverage of this story.

An estimated 6.3 million people in the U.S. could lose their food assistance by 2029 over a new proposed policy set forth by the Department of Agriculture. The Republican-backed measure would toughen restrictions on people’s eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The policy change could also leave millions of children without access to free school meals.

The news outlet New York Focus has uncovered a 2023 lawsuit in which two former Cornell students say the university’s Title IX office ignored their complaints that the same male student sexually assaulted them in 2018 and 2021. A complaint filed by one of the students and their lawyer says, “At least five to ten others are known to have been sexually abused and it is believed that many more were abused but have yet to come forward.” Cornell University and the male student tried to have the case dismissed, but a trial is scheduled for next year. The lawsuit follows another high-profile lawsuit filed by Jane Doe in September over an alleged fraternity gang rape at Cornell in 2024, prompting a massive public outcry and leading to New York Attorney General Letitia James ordering a new investigation.

In the United Kingdom, the comedian, actor and podcaster Russell Brand has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison for raping a fan and sexually assaulting three other women. The abuses occurred between 2004 and 2009 at the peak of Brand’s career. This is Judge Joel Bennathan.

Judge Joel Bennathan: “About 20 years ago, Russell Brand, you were becoming famous. You were clever and, in many people’s eyes, funny and charismatic. You had also become a sexual predator.”

In California, Proposition 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax on individuals and trusts with over $1 billion in assets, has failed to pass. Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom was an opponent of the wealth tax, while Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna of California was in favor of the tax. 

The progressive online magazine Salon has abruptly shut down after 31 years of publication. Salon was widely celebrated as a trailblazer for digital journalism after it was founded in 1995. 

In Pennsylvania, the Gaza-born Palestinian American writer and businessman Ahmed Moor launched a 2028 Democratic primary challenge Monday against Senator John Fetterman, who is an ardent defender of Israel. Moor is a regular columnist at publications including The Guardian and The Nation. He’s running as a democratic socialist, connecting U.S. military aid to Israel and the Trump administration’s war on Iran to the rising cost of living. This is Ahmed Moor speaking with Democracy Now! in 2024 about his family in Gaza.

Ahmed Moor: “My family has experienced direct loss through the genocide. Most recently, my cousin’s 19-year-old son was killed by an Israeli sniper in Rafah. And so, the urgency surrounding this lawsuit goes to the fact that the conditions are getting worse. The danger that people are exposed to continues even as we speak.”