U.S. and world news for Nov. 14

Trump’s plans: A spokesman for the Trump campaign defends Donald Trump for using the same language used by Adolf Hitler before he started murdering the Jews. Trump in a speech in New Hampshire over the weekend referred to his critics as vermin that must be exposed. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said of Trump’s political critics, “Their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.” Trump has also said that if he’s elected again he’d invoke the Insurrection Act and use the U.S. military to silence critics, build concentration camps to house millions, and replace career workers in the federal government with people who will do only what he wants.

Inflation cools: Inflation shows new signs of cooling down according to data released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices rose 3.2% over the 12 months ending in October, a drop from the 3.7% inflation rate recorded for the 12 months ending in September. While food costs went up 0.3% in October, energy prices came down 2.5% for the month. Today’s statistics have spurred speculation that the cooling of inflation will encourage the Federal Reserve to hold off on additional interest rate hikes.

Gaza hospital: Palestinians today called for the Red Cross to supervise a cease-fire and evacuation of patients from the Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The hospital has been without power or water or medical supplies and is overrun with patients. Israeli forces have surrounded the hospital, claiming that Hamas is using it as a command center and has a sophisticated system of tunnels under the hospital.

Code of ethics: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has published a code of ethics for the court, saying that it specifies what the justices have been doing all along. The justices have come under criticism for not having a code of ethics while Justices Thomas and Alito have received gifts from wealthy people with interests in cases that have come before the court. Chief Justice Roberts said he was issuing the code of ethics to clear up what he said was a misunderstanding. The code has no provision for monitoring what justices do and no provision for enforcement in event of a violation.

Pelosi testifies: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul testified yesterday in the trial of the man who broke into their house and attacked him with a hammer. David DePape broke into the Pelosi’s San Francisco home in October of last year. Pelosi testified he recognized that he was in serous danger but tried to stay as calm as possible. DePape has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted kidnapping of a federal official. Nancy Pelosi was in Washington at the time of the attack.

Government funding: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have endorsed legislation proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson that would keep the government from having to shut down at the end of the week. The stopgap government funding bill temporarily funds some government agencies through the middle of January and provides funding to keep others open into February. It doesn’t address the need for long-term government funding.