The written briefing — November 13, 2026
Good morning. Here is the Zark News Daily Briefing for Friday, November 13, 2026: Iran says it destroyed a U.S. radar in Bahrain while four tankers are hit in the Strait of Hormuz, Senator Chris Van Hollen challenges Chuck Schumer for the Senate leadership, the final Brooklyn collapse toll settles at eight dead, Europe wins a seat at the Ukraine peace talks, the Justice Department moves to seize $1.2 billion from the Binance hack, and Pope Leo meets abuse survivors in Peru before record crowds.
Iran Says It Hit a U.S. Radar in Bahrain as Four Tankers Are Struck in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that their aerospace forces destroyed a U.S. early-warning radar installation in Bahrain, in retaliation for an air attack on a telecommunications tower in the southern Iranian town of Sirik late on Thursday. The claim, carried by Iranian state media, could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from the U.S. military or Bahrain. In a separate development, Iran’s military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday and Thursday; the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed one vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile about 14 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah, causing an engine-room fire and the evacuation of its crew.
Van Hollen Challenges Schumer for Senate Majority Leader in Post-Midterm Leadership Fight
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, 67, announced on Thursday that he will challenge Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, 75, for Senate majority leader, in a closed-ballot vote on December 1. Democrats flipped eight seats in the midterms and will enter January with at least 55 senators. Van Hollen told MS NOW he has the support of more than 10 senators and acknowledged he is the underdog; Schumer answered that he has the votes to continue as leader.
Brooklyn Collapse Toll Settles at Eight Dead as Search Ends and City Orders Checks at 100 Linked Sites
Firefighters ended their search of the collapsed Flatbush building on Thursday afternoon and confirmed the final toll: eight people dead, including two children and two construction workers, and 18 injured, after the three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue fell into the open excavation next door at 2625 Bedford Avenue at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11. More than 250 firefighters and emergency personnel worked the pile over about 24 hours, and the Department of Buildings’ early finding is that unsafe construction work at the excavation brought the 1930 building down. Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered inspections at about 100 construction sites linked to the neighboring project, and full vacate orders were issued for 1323, 1325 and 1327 Flatbush Avenue.
Europe to Join Next Round of Ukraine Peace Talks, Envoys Say, as Work Begins on War’s Largest Prisoner Exchange
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to expand the next round of peace talks to include European nations, U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said on Thursday after he and Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky at Baldonnel airfield in Ireland. Washington is working toward the war’s largest prisoner exchange; Zelensky’s figure, given a day earlier, was 1,000 to 1,200 prisoners on each side, though the parameters were still being agreed. The week’s talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct round in nine months, ended without a breakthrough on a ceasefire, and who exactly will sit in Europe’s seat remains unresolved.
Justice Department Wins Court Approval to Seize $1.2 Billion From Binance Hack Blamed on North Korea
The Justice Department said on Thursday that a court had authorised it to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen from Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, in a hack on October 29 that the FBI attributes to TraderTraitor, a North Korean military hacking unit; North Korea denies any part in it. The department put the full theft at more than $6 billion, with Binance itself reporting about $6.34 billion taken, and the $1.2 billion is part of a broader freeze that has now restrained more than $2.7 billion. The authorisation is a seizure and restraint order, not a completed forfeiture; court proceedings over the money continue.
Pope Leo, in an Emotional Return to Peru, Meets Abuse Survivors as Record Crowds Line Lima’s Streets
Pope Leo met six survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Lima on Thursday, in a private meeting lasting more than an hour, as his return to the country he calls his homeland drew the largest crowds of his papacy, the Vatican said, estimating that 3 million people turned out in Lima. Leo, the first Peruvian citizen to lead the Catholic Church, served as a missionary in Peru for about 20 years and was bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. His 12-day, three-country tour of South America ends on November 16, and on Friday he travels to Chiclayo, the diocese he led for eight years.
That is the briefing for Friday, November 13, 2026. Full stories are at zarknews.com.
