How major US stock indexes fared Thursday 11/5/2026

President Trump on Thursday signed a proclamation that he says will preserve the Oval Office and Cabinet Room as a national monument, his first official action after his party was swept aside in midterm elections on Tuesday. But the action does not prevent future presidents from restyling the iconic office that Mr. Trump has filled to the brim with gold flourishes, nor does it prevent a successor from rolling back the proclamation itself. Mr. Trump himself has reversed national monument designations made by his predecessors.

A federal panel voted Thursday night to give final approval to President Donald Trump's "triumphal arch" -- with construction potentially set to begin imminently. The vote by the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by Trump appointees, was 8-4. The vote came after hours of public testimony, including from the Vietnam veteran who's leading the lawsuit to stop the project, who called it "frankly blasphemous."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is behind on approving major projects to protect Southern California totaling more than $191 million, a backlog that affects projects intended to reduce damage from floods, earthquakes, fires, and landslides, according to FEMA data. The projects are supposed to be funded by a FEMA program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities — or BRIC. The Government Accountability Office has been studying the BRIC program over the last year.