Donald Trump won’t say whether Mary Peltola joins the Senate, even if Alaska voters elect her.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that people working with her campaign helped recruit a second man named Dan Sullivan onto the ballot against the Republican incumbent, a tactic both parties have used and Alaska law doesn’t forbid. That night, the governor ordered state troopers to investigate her. Trump’s Justice Department sued last week, before the Times story ran, to have every vote for the other Sullivan counted for the Republican, and to block certification if that changes the winner.
JD Vance isn’t sure it’s a crime. “Whether it’s criminal or not, she certainly has committed, I think, a great moral failing,” he said Thursday, “and hopefully the voters of Alaska punish her.” They get that chance Tuesday. Trump’s talking as though their choice needs his approval.
🟡100|🟢56|🟡104|🔴139|🟢36
Rubio signs memo diverting nearly $49 million Congress set aside for contraception in low-income countries to energy costs for unnamed partners.
Today’s GovBrief News
State Department approves $2.1 billion Patriot interceptor sale to Ukraine, paid by Canada, Germany, and Norway, after Ukraine’s president accused the Pentagon of delaying deliveries.
Source: NBC News
October 30, 2026Details
US Mideast commander insists Hormuz’s US-backed southern route is safe and open as Britain’s navy logs October as the war’s worst month for ship attacks.
Source: CBS News
October 30, 2026Details
Affordable Care Act benchmark premiums rise 13% next year, up about 42% since 2025, as federal subsidy cuts drive healthier people out, KFF finds.
Source: The Wall Street Journal [gift link]
October 30, 2026Details
CDC fails to approve its scientists’ urgent alert to doctors on measles in pregnancy as US cases hit a 35-year high, Washington Post reports.
Source: The Washington Post [gift link]
October 30, 2026Details
FDA proposes first infant formula nutrient update in nearly 30 years, silent on the botulism that hospitalized 52 infants fed powdered formula since last November.
Source: The Hill
October 30, 2026Details
Alaska’s top federal prosecutor confirms a criminal probe of groups tied to Democratic Senate candidate Peltola but won’t name a suspected crime, as Alaskans vote.
Source: The Alaska Beacon
October 30, 2026Details
Federal judge bars Justice Department from threatening California election workers over ballots it suspects noncitizens cast, as appeals court rejects its set-aside bid.
Source: Courthouse News Service
October 30, 2026Details
Federal judge weighs tossing a third case against ex-FBI Director Comey that prosecutors filed without a grand jury as the 10-year deadline expired.
Source: NBC News
October 30, 2026Details
Federal appeals court rules 2-1 Idaho can fully enforce its abortion ban, exposing a Boise doctor to prosecution for ending pregnancies that threaten patients’ health.
Source: The Idaho Capital Sun
October 30, 2026Details
Federal judge opens a formal inquiry into whether administration lawyers misled her for months about Trump’s plans to close DC’s East Potomac public golf course.
Source: NPR
October 30, 2026Details
Justice Department tells federal judge Trump’s 250-foot arch is needed for national security but can’t explain how, though it expects up to 22,000 tourists a day.
Source: WUSA Washington
October 30, 2026Details
Federal judge temporarily bars fast-tracking unaccompanied migrant children’s asylum interviews, after some got less than 24 hours’ notice instead of the usual 21 days.
Source: The New York Times [gift link]
October 30, 2026Details
Houston-area grand jury indicts an ICE officer who ran over a man while chasing a target whose sister says he died nearly a decade ago.
Source: KRPC Houston
October 30, 2026Details
Education Department posts a doctored image of its headquarters turned into a Spirit Halloween store as it works to dismantle itself.
Source: The Hill
October 30, 2026Details
Housing finance agency under Pulte blocked its watchdog’s reviews of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then cut most of its budget, inspector general tells Congress.
Source: Reuters
October 30, 2026Details
Trump-controlled Kennedy Center won’t say why it picked a little-known Minnesota firm that designs schools and churches to oversee its $257 million renovation.
Source: The Washington Post [gift link]
October 30, 2026Details
Bertie County, North Carolina, opens a climate-controlled animal shelter for under $300,000 after shelving a design estimated at more than $1 million.
Source: The Albemarle Observer
October 30, 2026Details
Federal judge orders three taxpayer-funded Trump administration ads pulled from TV and social media, including one promising Americans $5,000 if Republicans keep Congress.
Source: PBS
October 30, 2026Details