When Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand first said she would run for her third full term, the announcement prompted a flicker of surprise in New York political circles and a flood of speculation about who would challenge her.

As New York’s junior senator, Gillibrand had kept her head down in recent years — picking unglamorous and thorny legislative battles, rarely courting headlines and inspiring skeptics to tag her as a sort of ghost senator.

But nine months after she announced her candidacy, Gillibrand has defied many expectations. No up-and-coming Democrats have stepped up to challenge her. And pundits said they doubted the GOP will bother with a serious general election effort to oust her.

If she makes the general election, the strength of her performance could lift or dent Democrats in a handful of key congressional races.

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The crew of a Horizon Airlines regional jet diverted their flight to Portland, Oregon after a person authorized to ride in the cockpit’s jumpseat tried to shut down the jet’s engines on a flight to San Francisco.

Horizon Air flight 2059 was en route from Everett, in suburban Seattle, Sunday night with an “authorized occupant” sitting in the flight deck with the crew, Alaska Air said Monday in an emailed comment. Alaska Air Group is the Seattle-based parent of Horizon and Alaska airlines. “The crew secured the aircraft without incident,” Alaska said.

The Embraer E-175 flight was met by law enforcement in Portland and the event is being investigated, the airline said. The company did not identify the person who was allowed to ride with the flight crew or how many people were aboard the flight.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit and he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now, I think he’s subdued,” a pilot told air traffic controllers, according to audio recorded by Live ATC. “We want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked.”

GALLUP, N.M. — Brennen Yonnie can picture his future wedding. It will take place on a crisp fall day atop a mountain on the Navajo reservation where he and the man he loves grew up.

Yet he can only dream about that setting. Though same-sex marriage has been legal in all 50 states since a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, it remains prohibited on the largest Indian reservation in the country, which, as a sovereign tribal nation, is not subject to the decision of America’s highest court.

“We would be recognized as equals — that’s something that means a lot to me,” said Yonnie, 38, who lives with his partner in Gallup, N.M., just outside the reservation. “And right now I can’t do that.”

They and other same-sex couples are at the center of a contentious debate on the Navajo Nation, where the tribal council is weighing legislation to repeal a ban enacted in 2005. The change would grant them equal rights in situations involving property and hospital visitation. Indigenous scholars say it also would honor Navajo tradition, which recognized multiple genders and sexualities that were suppressed and stigmatized after Europeans arrived.

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed in a phone call Sunday that Israel will allow a “continued flow” of humanitarian assistance into Gaza, according to the White House.

During the call, Biden “welcomed the first two convoys of humanitarian assistance since Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack, which crossed the border into Gaza and is being distributed to Palestinians in need,” according to a readout from the White House. “The leaders affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza.”

The first two convoys of aid reached Palestinians this weekend, after the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened Saturday to allow food and medical assistance into the region. Another convoy of 15 trucks was expected to cross Sunday evening, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues David Satterfield said Sunday during an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed on Sunday Axios' report that the IDF found a USB key with instructions for producing a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas operative who participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

The big picture: Herzog's comments in an interview with Sky News are part of a wider Israeli diplomatic effort to mobilize support in the West for the Israeli operation against Hamas.

"This is how shocking the situation is where we're looking at the instructions that are given on how to operate and how to create a kind of non-professional chemical weapon with cyanide," Herzog told Sky News.

Driving the news: Axios reported on Saturday that the Israeli Foreign Ministry's weapons of mass destruction non-proliferation department sent a classified cable to Israeli embassies in dozens of capitals worldwide, including Washington, late last week under the headline: "Hamas intention of using chemical weapons."

Sen. Tim Scott's presidential campaign racked up a burn rate of more than 260% in the third quarter of 2023, leaving him at risk of going into debt by the Iowa caucuses in January.

Why it matters: Scott transferred $22 million from his Senate committee and has more cash than many of his rivals. But he'll need to curtail his spending or find new donors as his existing ones max out.

Scott's team brought in $4.6 million during the third quarter, but spent close to $12.4 million.

By comparison, the campaign of former UN ambassador Nikki Haley brought in $8.2 million and spent $3.5 million during the third quarter.

Britons are expected to buy fewer and cheaper items this Christmas – especially online – as the cost of living crisis forces many to rein in the celebrations.

While total spending will rise by 3.4% to almost £110bn in the final three months of 2023, according to retail analysts at GlobalData, shoppers will be looking for bargains and cutting back on the number of gifts they buy as inflation remains high at 9.3%.

“Sharply higher prices mean shoppers will spend less in real terms than last year, choosing either to trade down or trim the number of presents they buy. Last year sales growth was supported by shoppers spending savings built up during the lockdown. But with those savings now depleted by cost of living increases and mortgage rate hikes, consumers are likely to shop more cautiously and more savvily,” said Nick Gladding, lead retail analyst at GlobalData.

With budgets tight, online spending for Black Friday (24 November) is expected to be down 2% year on year, according the IMRG trade body, despite high levels of inflation. It has predicted a 3% fall in the value of online clothing orders and an 11% dive in sales of gifts as families add fewer treats for friends, neighbours and children than in previous years.