Good morning. It's Friday, November 13, 2026. Eight people, including two children ages 9 and 10, died Wednesday when a three-story Brooklyn building fell into a construction pit next door, and investigators are now asking how it happened.
It was a week that tested the systems we count on. Diplomats shuttled from Moscow to Dublin in a single day, trying to move Russia and Ukraine closer to peace. A failure in Microsoft's cloud computers cut off email and calendars for millions of workers across 74 countries.
And new numbers showed the American job market holding steady, with layoffs still rare. Today we will walk through what happened, what it means for you, and one story from Florida that will restore some faith in your neighbors.
The Top Stories
In Brooklyn, a three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed Wednesday into an excavation site next door, killing eight people, including two children ages 9 and 10. At least 18 others were hurt, among them four firefighters, and city investigators are examining the construction site, which had a history of safety violations.
If digging or heavy construction starts near your home, report any shaking, new cracks, or unsafe work to your city right away, because early complaints get inspectors on site. Overseas, American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours in Moscow on Thursday, then flew to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Both sides agreed in principle to a large prisoner exchange, and Europe will have a voice in the next round of talks. Steadier world affairs tend to calm the fuel and grocery prices that weigh hardest on fixed incomes.
Finally, a major outage that began Thursday in Microsoft's cloud email service knocked out Outlook mail and calendars and disrupted parts of Teams, and the trouble stretched into Friday morning as engineers rolled back a recent change and worked to restore service in stages. It is a good reminder to keep doctor, pharmacy, and family phone numbers written down on paper, where no outage can reach them.
Washington & the Nation
Congress returned to work this week for the final stretch of the year, with a new Congress set to be sworn in come January. Lawmakers from both parties say the top item is the annual defense bill, which includes pay raises for the troops, and the Senate has planned votes on a measure to speed up reviews for new energy projects such as power lines and pipelines.
The push to modernize the nation's air traffic control system is also back on the front burner. In September, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked Congress for $30 billion for a broad aviation infrastructure package that would finish the air traffic control overhaul and also fund airport terminal and airport improvement grants, on top of roughly $12.5 billion already provided.
He backed a Senate bill, the Modern Skies Act, that would provide $10.1 billion for air traffic control modernization in fiscal year 2027. On Wednesday, Mr. Duffy said the White House is now helping lobby lawmakers, and he plans meetings with members next week and after Thanksgiving, hoping to secure the funding before the current Congress goes home.
For travelers, especially those who fly to see children and grandchildren, this is not an abstract debate. Old equipment has been tied to delays and close calls, and the pace of this funding fight will shape how smoothly the nation's airports run in the years ahead.
Around the World
The week's diplomacy moved fast. Earlier in the week, talks in Abu Dhabi produced the first direct discussions between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in nine months.
Then on Thursday, envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met President Putin at the Kremlin for about two hours. A Kremlin aide called the talks useful, and Mr. Putin proposed a joint humanitarian mission, with a short-term ceasefire, in the embattled eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka.
He held firm on Russia's broader demands and repeated that European troops in Ukraine after any ceasefire would be unacceptable to Moscow. The envoys then flew to Dublin, where President Zelenskyy was meeting with representatives of more than 40 European countries and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
The clearest result so far is an agreement in principle on a major prisoner-of-war exchange, with exact numbers still to be announced. Mr. Zelenskyy called the exchange a positive step but said Ukraine will not trade away occupied territory for peace.
He also said Europe will sit at the table as a negotiating party in the next round, a change from earlier talks that Moscow has resisted.
Your Money
Wall Street had a down day. Measured on a delay, the Dow was lower, the S&P 500 was lower, the Nasdaq was lower, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was lower as well.
Gold also slipped, while oil moved higher, which can show up at the gas pump and in heating bills as winter sets in. The week's economic news was steadier than the markets.
New claims for unemployment benefits rose by 9,000 to 200,000 in the week ending November 7, a bit above forecasts but still low by historic standards. Claims have stayed at or below 200,000 every week since mid-September, the four-week average sits at 195,250, and the number of people continuing to draw benefits fell to about 1.7 million.
The unemployment rate eased to 4.1 percent in October. In plain terms, employers are holding on to their workers, and that supports the spending that keeps the economy moving.
The Federal Reserve meets next month, and these job numbers will weigh heavily on its interest rate decision, which in turn affects what savers earn and what borrowers pay.
Health & You
A date to circle: Medicare's open enrollment period ends Monday, December 7, and any change you make takes effect January 1, 2027. The deadline is firm, and it is the date your request must be received, not just mailed.
There are real changes coming next year. The most you can pay out of pocket for covered Part D prescription drugs rises from $2,100 to $2,400, and the standard Part D deductible climbs from $615 to $700.
On the brighter side, the average monthly premium for Medicare Advantage plans is set to fall from $14.37 to $12.00. An analysis by the health research group KFF found that nearly 7 in 10 people on Medicare, 69 percent, did not compare their coverage with other options during the open enrollment period for 2022 coverage, yet drug lists, pharmacy networks, and doctor networks change every year.
Pull out the Annual Notice of Change your plan mailed you, and compare options with the Plan Finder tool at Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. Free, unbiased help is also available from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known as SHIP.
One hour of checking now can save hundreds of dollars next year.
One Good Thing
We close in Palm Bay, Florida, where record rainfall recently flooded neighborhoods across Brevard County. Brittany Grant and her 11-year-old son Nikoa were trapped in their home as water rose around them.
They sat on the kitchen counter for more than three hours with their three dogs while repeated calls to 911 brought the same answer: rescue crews could not reach the street. Desperate, Mrs. Grant posted a plea for help on social media.
A neighbor, Stephanie Fanguy, saw it and turned to her teenage sons. Lucas, 17, and Jonah, 15, set out at once on a borrowed kayak and an inflatable paddleboard, crossing about 100 yards of floodwater past submerged cars and mailboxes.
They helped Nikoa out through the kitchen window, then ferried mother, son, and all three dogs to dry land, one of the dogs taking up half the paddleboard. Asked why he did it, Jonah said simply that they were in danger and needed help, so he did not stop to think.
Mrs. Grant put it this way: her faith in humanity has been restored.
On This Day
In 1956, The United States Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, ending the Montgomery bus boycott. In 1982, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
In 1850, Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author. In 1955, Whoopi Goldberg, American actress and comedian. (From the 50PlusHub Nostalgia archive.)
That's the briefing for this Friday. If one practical step comes out of today's news, let it be this: sit down this weekend with your Medicare paperwork, because December 7 will be here before you know it, and a single hour of comparing plans can save real money next year.
And after a day when millions lost their email without warning, keep a paper list of your doctors, your pharmacy, and your family's phone numbers where you can always find it. The news this week carried real sorrow, but it also carried two teenagers on a paddleboard who did not stop to think before helping a neighbor.
That spirit is worth carrying into the weekend. I'm Alex. Thank you for spending part of your morning with me, and I'll see you back here Monday.
Sources
- Associated Press, US envoys meet with Putin in Moscow on Ukraine talks, then see Zelenskyy in Dublin (2026)
- The Washington Post, Eight dead and at least 18 injured after Brooklyn building collapse (2026)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (2026)
- CNBC, Widespread Microsoft outage continues, taking down Outlook and other 365 services (2026)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Open Enrollment for 2027 Coverage (2026)
- KFF, Nearly 7 in 10 Medicare Beneficiaries Did Not Compare Plans During Medicare's Open Enrollment Period (2024)
- U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields)
- Yahoo Finance (delayed market quotes)