A federal judge on the eve of Election Day barred the Trump administration from demanding California officials set aside ballots from registered voters it suspects are noncitizens, finding the effort likely violates the Constitution.
Why it matters: Courts had already rejected the Justice Department's attempts to force California to separate the ballots.
Monday's ruling goes a step further, directly barring federal officials from making those demands even as DOJ turns to the Supreme Court to compel the state to comply.
President Trump told Axios in a phone interview Monday he's "in no rush" to decide whether to resume fighting in Iran.
Why it matters: The midterm elections have been seen as an inflection point for Trump on whether to unleash a massive bombing campaign to try to bring the war to an end.
But it appears the president, at least for now, will continue on dual tracks — letting negotiations play out while preparing to go back to war if he concludes a deal isn't reachable.
The world seems convinced the end is near — and social media is amplifying that belief, convincing people to stock up on food, water, generators and other items.
Why it matters: Online chatter is fueling viral predictions of societal collapse amid growing unease about the future. But you're probably not going to die tomorrow.
Lots of companies successfully price IPOs. Lots of other companies try to price IPOs, but cancel the process when it goes wobbly.
OPay appears to be the only company to have successfully priced its IPO, and then thrown in the towel. Just hours before its shares were set to begin trading.
After another rough week for the AI trade, stocks seem to be bracing for more uncertainty in the days ahead.
Why it matters: While the AI trade has sputtered, the S&P 500 has managed to largely tread water thanks to strength from shares tied to the basics of the economy, like consumer staples, health care and utilities. (Soaring oil shares didn't hurt either.)
But Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections and the potential reescalation of major fighting in the Iran war after the vote pose another potential hurdle to the market.
President Trump had a candid phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday about the state of U.S. negotiations with Iran and how quickly to return to combat, according to one Israeli and one U.S. source.
Why it matters: The sources said Netanyahu is pressing Trump to strike Iran immediately after the midterm elections on Tuesday. But Trump, for now, wants to let negotiations play out — a strategy Netanyahu is concerned about.
A fight over whether the 2030 Census should stop asking about race and ethnicity has drawn more than 100,000 public comments, according to advocates tracking the federal docket.
Why it matters: The change could weaken the nation's most complete snapshot of race — data used in civil rights enforcement and redistricting — just as America grows more multiracial.
