November 21

CFPB brings major digital payment apps under federal supervision

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule supervising large nonbank digital payment and wallet apps. The rule applied to companies handling more than 50 million transactions per year and aimed to protect consumer data, reduce fraud, and police illegal debanking.

A federal jury convicts Kim Taylor in an Iowa absentee-ballot scheme

A federal jury convicted Kim Phuong Taylor on 52 counts tied to voter registrations, absentee-ballot requests, and absentee ballots in Iowa's 2020 primary and general elections. Prosecutors said Taylor generated votes for her husband, Jeremy Taylor, during his Republican congressional primary and Woodbury County supervisor campaigns. The case involved dozens of forms and ballots, making it larger than the one-ballot cases that dominate voter-fraud prosecutions.

Biden awards $1.1 billion to extend Diablo Canyon nuclear plant life

The Biden Energy Department announces a conditional $1.1 billion Civil Nuclear Credit award to Pacific Gas & Electric to extend the operating life of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California, the state's last nuclear facility, which produces roughly 15% of California's carbon-free electricity. The plant had been scheduled for decommissioning in 2024-2025. The Biden administration reverses course, providing federal funding to keep it operating while California builds out more clean energy. The $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is the first federal investment aimed at preserving existing nuclear capacity. Jennifer Granholm calls nuclear "our largest source of clean electricity."

A federal judge rejects the Trump campaign's Pennsylvania election challenge

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann dismissed the Trump campaign's Pennsylvania election lawsuit with prejudice. The campaign sought to block certification based on claims about mail-ballot procedures in Democratic counties, but the order called the case a mix of meritless legal arguments and speculative accusations. The ruling protected Pennsylvania's certification process from a federal lawsuit that targeted counties whose voters had backed Joe Biden.

Israeli Attorney General Indicts Netanyahu on Bribery, Fraud, Breach of Trust

Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 21, 2019, charging him with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three cases: Case 1000 (gifts from billionaires for political favors), Case 2000 (favorable newspaper coverage for regulatory concessions), and Case 4000 (regulatory favors for a telecom owner for positive news coverage). Netanyahu denied all charges and refused to resign, becoming the first sitting Israeli prime minister indicted while in office. The trial began in 2020 and continued through multiple coalition governments.

Turning Point USA launches Professor Watchlist to publicly name and shame academics

Turning Point USA, a conservative campus organization led by Charlie Kirk, launched Professor Watchlist, a publicly searchable database that named college professors it accused of advancing liberal bias or anti-American views in the classroom. The site encouraged students to submit professors for listing and included their names, institutions, and descriptions of allegedly objectionable statements or assignments. Academic freedom organizations warned that the list could expose faculty to harassment and create a chilling effect on teaching. The model transformed private campus disputes into national reputational campaigns and helped institutionalize the idea that outside political groups could and should police what professors say inside their classrooms. Within months, several listed professors reported receiving threatening messages. The Watchlist became a durable infrastructure for organized pressure on faculty speech that other advocacy groups replicated in subsequent years.

Trump supporters beat Black BLM protester at Birmingham rally Trump says he should have been

At a Trump campaign rally in Birmingham, Alabama, on November 21, 2015, Black Lives Matter activist Mercutio Southall Jr. began shouting "Black lives matter" and was set upon by at least six Trump supporters who shoved, tackled, kicked, and punched him while he was on the ground. Trump watched and later said the protester "was so obnoxious and so loud" that "maybe he should have been roughed up." On Fox & Friends the next morning, Trump endorsed the violence: "Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing." Southall confirmed he was beaten and indicated he planned to pursue hate crime charges.

Senate Eliminates Filibuster for Most Presidential Nominees in 52-48 Vote

The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 52-48 on November 21, 2013, to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold for most presidential nominees, a procedural change known as the nuclear option. Majority Leader Harry Reid triggered the change after Republicans blocked three of President Obama's nominees to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The rule change allowed executive branch nominees and lower federal court judges to be confirmed by a simple majority, though it excluded Supreme Court nominees.

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Senate Confirms Presidential Nominees by Simple Majority After Filibuster Reform

The Senate's elimination of the filibuster for executive nominees on November 21, 2013, immediately changed how Cabinet secretaries and agency heads were confirmed. Nominees who previously needed 60 votes to overcome procedural delays now required only 51. The change allowed the Obama administration to confirm three blocked D.C. Circuit Court nominees within weeks and set the template for how future administrations would staff the executive branch with far fewer minority-party vetoes.

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Senate Democrats Invoke Nuclear Option for Executive and Judicial Nominees

Senate Democrats under Majority Leader Harry Reid used the nuclear option to change Senate rules by simple majority vote, ending the 60-vote threshold for cloture on executive branch nominations and federal judicial nominations below the Supreme Court. The 52-48 vote established a new precedent allowing the majority to confirm nominees with 51 votes, bypassing Republican filibusters that had blocked dozens of Obama appointees. The change applied immediately to all pending nominations but exempted Supreme Court nominees from the new 51-vote threshold.

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Bush signs Civil Rights Act of 1991 restoring workplace discrimination remedies

President George H. W. Bush signs the Civil Rights Act of 1991 on November 21, 1991. The law responds to several Supreme Court decisions that had narrowed employment discrimination protections. The statute strengthens disparate-impact claims, provides jury trials and damages in some discrimination cases, and clarifies burdens of proof under federal employment law. Supporters say it restores civil rights protections weakened by the Court. Congress rebuilds workplace discrimination enforcement and preserves disparate-impact doctrine as a tool against systemic racial inequality in employment.

Soviet ships begin taking IL-28 bombers out of Cuba after weeks of dispute

Soviet vessels begin carrying IL-28 bombers away from Cuba after prolonged U.S. pressure. Their removal addresses one of the last major military issues left over from the October settlement. The step helps close the visible crisis, though mistrust remains high.

Supreme Court allows Mississippi to segregate Chinese American student in Lum

The Supreme Court rules in Gong Lum v. Rice on November 21, 1927, that Mississippi may require Martha Lum, a Chinese American child, to attend a segregated school for nonwhite students rather than a white public school. The Court treats the case within the separate-but-equal framework and allows state school segregation to apply beyond Black-white categories. The ruling shows how Jim Crow systems classified and excluded Asian American children as well as Black children. The decision expands the history of school segregation beyond a binary frame and shows how racial hierarchy operated across communities.