Today's Top Stories from NBC News

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2025

In today's newsletter: Democrats are torn on what the party's senators got out of the shutdown deal. Inside Europe's strategy to defend against Russia's legion of cheap drones. And, the S&P 500 index is on track to broadly underperform compared to foreign markets this year.

Here's what to know today.

▼ The Lead

What Democrats say they won in the Senate shutdown deal

(Allison Bailey / NurPhoto via AP file)

Democratic allies and progressive activists were torn after eight Democrats struck a Senate deal with Republicans to end the longest U.S. government shutdown ever. Some said the deal symbolized what is wrong with the party: The eight senators caved to the Republicans while not taking advantage of the leverage built off the public's frustration over the shutdown.

But there are others who see silver linings in the deal, even if the Democrats didn't get everything they wanted from it. By striking a deal to end the six-week standoff, the two sides' agreement includes a "minibus" of three appropriations bills, which will fund some parts of the government through next fall. The rest of the government will be funded through Jan. 30.

The deal includes funding of the food assistance program known as SNAP for the rest of the fiscal year through September 2026, meaning food stamps can't be used as leverage in any funding fight in the coming months.

They also got the Trump administration to agree to reinstate federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown through reductions in force. And they secured language barring future mass firings for the duration of the resolution that keeps the government open through January.

The deal fell far short when it comes to health care. Democrats failed to win an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire on Dec. 31. Instead, they secured only a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune that the Senate will vote on a bill to extend the health subsidies by the end of the second week of December. The House has made no such promise.

Senate Republicans said they're open to extending a pot of Affordable Care Act funds — but only if Democrats acquiesce to stricter abortion restrictions on insurance plans. The demand presents a significant hurdle to reaching a bipartisan deal as Democrats are adamant that existing abortion guardrails under Obamacare are sufficient.

Drawing out the high-stakes shutdown through October and into the November ACA open enrollment period served two purposes for Democrats, members on both sides of the deal said. It gave them time to educate the public about an issue few in the country were talking about — the expiring subsidies — and came Americans began receiving notices of skyrocketing monthly premiums for 2026.

Read the full story.

More politics news:

Immigration officials said a drop in Chicago crime numbers was thanks to their work. Police data shows the decrease was taking place before federal agents arrived in the city.

A provision tucked into the funding package would potentially allow senators to sue the federal government for millions of dollars if their data is obtained without being notified.

As Trump touts new deals to cut the cost of weight loss drugs, he's barely mentioned Medicare's drug price negotiation program.

Major airlines cancelled 6% of their flights at 40 high-traffic airports yesterday to comply with an FAA mandate. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned the disruptions are likely to get worse ahead of Thanksgiving week.

At the edge of Latvia's capital, a small team is trying to solve a continental-sized problem: How can Europe protect itself from swarms of cheap Russian attack drones?

Used almost nightly in the war in Ukraine, a spate of mysterious drone incursions above airports and sensitive sites have highlighted Europe's vulnerability to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sparked alarm that NATO nations are unprepared to defend themselves from the attacks.

As a result, European leaders have backed plans for a "drone wall," a network of sensors and weapons to detect, track and neutralize intruding UAVs, and in Riga, the team at a small tech company called Origin is on the forefront of this new, high-tech battleground.

Its solution: a 3-foot-tall interceptor drone named "Blaze."

Read the full story.

Trump says he has an 'obligation' to sue BBC

President Donald Trump has said he has an obligation to proceed with his threatened $1 billion lawsuit against the BBC for editing a speech he made before his supporters' violent Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol in an attempt to overturn the presidential election result.

The BBC's top executive, Director-General Tim Davie, and its news CEO, Deborah Turness, resigned Sunday after an internal report, leaked to the Daily Telegraph, highlighted this and other alleged editorial misjudgments.

Asked whether he would sue, Trump told Fox News Tuesday night: "Well, I guess I have to you know, why not? Because they defrauded the public, and they've admitted it."

"I think I have an obligation to do it, because you can't get people, you can't allow people to do that," he said, before comparing the action to his lawsuit against CBS for a "60 Minutes" interview with his then-presidential election rival Kamala Harris. CBS paid $16 million to settle the case.

Trump also told Fox News he took offense at this coming from "one of our great allies," meaning the United Kingdom.

The BBC is funded by a national license fee of 174.50 pound ($228) per household, but it is editorially independent and frequently runs critical and revealing news stories about the government of the day.

The incident has provided potent fuel for conservative critics of the BBC, including many lawmakers and right-wing newspapers who oppose the license fee and accuse the corporation of being culturally liberal and institutionally biased.

Read the full story.

▼ Read All About It

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown appeared in a New Jersey court and pleaded not guilty in an attempted murder case out of Florida.

U.S. tariff rates on imported pasta from 13 major Italian companies could soar to as high as 107% under a preliminary U.S. Commerce Department decision.

Cleto Escobedo III, the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" bandleader, died, the late-night host announced yesterday.

Shortly before Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide, the player said goodbye to friends and said he couldn't bear to do any time behind bars, police recordings revealed.

Faced with higher prices, big student loan bills and elevated mortgage rates, Americans are waiting longer than ever to buy a home.

Sally Kirkland, a prolific actor best known for her Oscar-nominated role in "Anna," died at age 84.

Three original paintings by Bob Ross were auctioned for more than half a million dollars combined as part of a series to help raise money for public broadcasting after the Trump administration cut funding.

▼ Staff Pick

U.S. vs the World

In a year when the stock market has repeatedly hit record highs and the administration has so often touted it as a sign of success, it could seem like it's been an impressive year for investments.

But we took a deeper dive into the data. Our analysis found that the S&P 500 is lagging behind the world broadly by more than 10%. We went even further and broke out stock indexes from more than 60 countries around the world to compare them to the U.S. and we found that the S&P falls way down, in 41st place.

As the year nears its end, it would likely take a large jump to close the gap significantly. So while America is most likely still a highly desirable place for all kinds of investors, from the average person putting money into a 401(k) to a professional trader, the lagging performance this year is more than your typical year.

– Steve Kopack, senior business reporter

▼ NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

The NBC Select team rounded up the 100 best travel accessories for smoother trips and broke down a top deal on the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo espresso machine. Plus, an urgent recall alert on Peloton seats and surprising findings about micro‑plastics in underwear.