On Tuesday night, as election results poured in, it became immediately clear: anti-transgender ads had failed to earn Republicans a victory in the year they relied on them the most. Despite $183 million spent on ads targeting transgender people and any Democratic politician who had ever expressed support for them, even Democrats who openly supported transgender people won in Republican strongholds.
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The Justice Department on Friday dropped its lawsuit seeking to block California from counting roughly 20,000 ballots it alleged were cast by potential noncitizens after the Supreme Court and lower courts rejected the Trump administration’s efforts.
In a three-page filing in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, federal prosecutors moved to voluntarily dismiss the case. The Justice Department said the disputed ballots would be mixed with other ballots before a Nov. 13 hearing, making its request to keep them separate moot.
“The relief the United States sought and needed is no longer available,” prosecutors wrote.
The lawsuit, filed in October, alleged that California had failed to adequately investigate a federal list identifying more than 20,000 registered voters as potentially ineligible because of their citizenship status. State officials disputed the list’s accuracy and warned that the administration’s demands could disenfranchise eligible voters.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter rejected the administration’s request for a temporary restraining order on Oct. 28. The Supreme Court subsequently denied an emergency request to separate the ballots Monday, leaving California’s election procedures intact.
Friday’s dismissal came a week before a court-appointed special master was scheduled to examine the accuracy of the administration’s list of suspected noncitizens and whether California election officials could separate the disputed ballots.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta had opposed the administration’s demands, arguing that the government had failed to provide reliable evidence supporting its allegations and that the proposed restrictions could prevent eligible citizens from having their votes counted.
Lisa Rubin contributed to this report.
The post DOJ voluntarily drops California ballot lawsuit appeared first on MS NOW.
In recent months, thousands of Americans have flooded municipal government buildings to testify against the construction of AI data centers in their communities. According to a May 2026 Gallup poll, 7 out of 10 people oppose the construction of data centers in their local area, citing grave concerns over their environmental impact, water consumption, noise, and potential health risks.
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The MAGA youth movement is on life support and placing its hopes on a couple of the survivors of the “blue wave” in this year’s midterm elections.
In their postelection grief sessions, leaders of the electorally hapless Turning Point USA and other MAGA influencers have cited Texas Rep. Brandon Gill and Rep.-elect Michael Alfonso of Wisconsin — who is Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s son-in-law — as proof of their movement’s vitality.
For what feels like the umpteenth time, Turning Point-endorsed candidates took a bath this election cycle. The organization’s leaders have been trying to project an air of confidence and authority anyway, so they’re banking on Gill and Alfonso to carry their mantle forward in the next Congress and beyond.
Gill won re-election in Texas’ heavily gerrymandered 26th District, staving off the blue wave that washed over his state. He’s known for being the son-in-law of MAGA conspiracy theorist Dinesh D’Souza, who helped launch his political career, and for spewing unabashed racism. President Donald Trump has even said Gill “could very well be the future” of the Republican Party.
And the 26-year-old Alfonso, another Trump-endorsed candidate, will enter the next Congress as the youngest member of the House. A political newcomer, he was endorsed by Turning Point and says he was largely inspired by Charlie Kirk to run for office. Alfonso’s campaign drew large donations from a bunch of transportation industry executives — some of whom don’t appear to have any ties to Wisconsin.
If we are to believe MAGA world’s narrative, these are the Republican Party’s newest young guns, the boyish faces of a movement that has been submerged by a blue wave. For
The Trump administration has likened the need to build out the nation’s artificial intelligence infrastructure to the Manhattan Project, the World War II effort that produced the world’s first atomic bomb. The White House’s point person on the effort, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, has spoken of the “AI arms race” with China as an existential issue for the nation.
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