Overview
- Federal prosecutors stepped up actions late last week by opening a criminal probe in Alaska into a possible ‘spoiler’ candidacy and by issuing subpoenas and voter‑records demands in California and about 30 other jurisdictions.
- In California a federal appeals panel rejected a DOJ emergency bid to exclude more than 20,000 mail ballots and a judge ordered the department to stop threatening state election officials with prosecution.
- House Democrats have formally asked President Trump to preserve all interactions with commercial AI chat systems and set a deadline for a briefing in mid‑November as part of oversight into whether AI influenced official decisions.
- Qatar‑mediated talks between U.S. and Iranian interlocutors have continued but stalled over conflicting preconditions, leaving diplomacy fragile even as Washington pursues aggressive legal election tactics.
- Record early voting — more than 50 million ballots cast — and the Trump campaign’s last‑week schedule changes mean court fights over ballots or certifications could have outsized effects on who controls the House and Senate and on post‑election oversight.