SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Trump administration sued California election officials Thursday, asking a judge to bar the state from counting mail-in ballots for next month’s midterm elections from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their status can be confirmed.

The lawsuit comes after the Justice Department said California officials failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contains a list of 20,000 names the federal government believes are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election. The state mails ballots to all registered voters. A top Justice Department official had sent a letter earlier this week threatening potential legal action if California didn’t comply.

California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said in a letter to the Justice Department that the federal government hasn’t provided evidence to support its allegation that 20,000 names on the state’s voter rolls are of noncitizens. She referenced an instance in which the federal government alleged nearly 16,000 possible noncitizens were listed on Nevada’s voter rolls, but the state determined that all were, in fact, U.S. citizens.

She also noted that voting is already underway in the state. Weber, a Democrat, said the Justice Department was “demanding unprecedented measures that threaten thousands of Californians’ right to vote, based on unverifiable information or methodology that you still fail to explain or provide.”

California’s elections are in “full compliance” with federal law, she added.

Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said in a statement that his office received the letter and thumb drive this week, along with a “hand written note providing a password” to access the list of alleged noncitizens on the voter rolls. He said he did not consider the thumb drive a secure device. The secretary of state’s office said the password was written “on a sticky note.”

The Justice Department’s lawsuit says the federal government sought to “work collaboratively” with California to identify noncitizens registered to vote in the state, and “California made no serious effort to do so.”

“The United States thus seeks commonplace election relief when a ballot is called into question,” the lawsuit says. “This Court should enjoin California from presently tabulating vote by-mail ballots from likely noncitizens in the upcoming federal election until the voter’s citizenship status can be determined,” the lawsuit says.

Weber, who is named in the lawsuit, suggested the federal government’s outreach had not been collaborative.

She said that over the summer, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that California had 190,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls but refused to provide the methodology or data sources when the office asked for them.

The post Trump administration sues California to block ballots from alleged noncitizens appeared first on MS NOW.

Open enrollment for Medicare plans begins Thursday and enrollees will face a slew of changes that go into effect in 2027.

Open enrollment for Medicare plans begins Thursday and enrollees will face a slew of changes that go into effect in 2027.

Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce spurned by Moscow was over.

(Image credit: Alberto Pezzali)

Ukrainian drones attacked a refinery in Russia's Ryazan region early Thursday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a brief truce spurned by Moscow was over.

(Image credit: Alberto Pezzali)

The roof of a private school collapsed in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 other people.

(Image credit: Maaz Awan)

The roof of a private school collapsed in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 28 children and a female teacher and injuring more than 50 other people.

(Image credit: Maaz Awan)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of a lobster fisherman who alleged the government requiring commercial fishing boats to use electronic tracking devices amounts to unreasonable search and seizure. Maine lobster fisherman Frank Thompson sued after his state began requiring all federally permitted lobstermen to install GPS trackers on their boats to collect data that will help manage the industry. Thompson appealed to the high court after losing at the appeals court level. The Supreme Court formally denied Thompson’s petition on Oct. 5. The decision allows the state to collect “critically important” data, said Carl Wilson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. “It will inform the lobster stock assessment, enhance offshore enforcement, and support better decision-making in a range of federal management contexts,” Wilson said in a statement. Thompson’s lawsuit raised questions about the limits of government surveillance and the ways commercial fisheries are managed. Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented Thompson, said in a Tuesday statement that “the fight over whether the government can use industry regulations to sidestep Fourth Amendment protections is far from over.” The foundation said in a blog post that the court’s decision means some 1,200 Maine lobster fishermen who hold federal permits can be tracked. However, the legal battle over government surveillance isn’t over, the foundation said. Environmental groups that have called for more commercial fishing surveillance cheered the decision. Some have said the industry needs to be monitored more closely to protect rare North Atlantic…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a strong reminder of the financial straits of many older people.

Senior advocacy groups say the COLA is a strong reminder of the financial straits of many older people.

The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin)

The White House publicly asked for U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation on Tuesday as she faced mounting accusations of improper conduct.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin)

Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed, the Vatican announced Tuesday.

Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer and had the lower lobe of his right lung removed, the Vatican announced Tuesday.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for the murder of rap icon Tupac Shakur.

SERANGAN ISLAND, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities on the tourist island of Bali released 20 protected green sea turtles back into the ocean Tuesday after they were found and seized on an empty boat seemingly abandoned by wildlife smugglers fleeing a police raid. Officers conducted final checks on the turtles at a conservation center on Serangan Island, also known as Turtle Island, in southern Bali. They then carefully lifted the turtles using blue cloths and transported them by small truck to the shoreline. Marine police officers in Bali on Saturday foiled an attempt to smuggle 22 green sea turtles, known by the scientific name Chelonia mydas, in the waters off Serangan Island after receiving a report from residents who suspected sea turtle smuggling activity in the area. Two of the 22 turtles are still sick and need to be treated before they can also be released, Gusti Agung Purnama Wirahadi from the Bali Water and Air Police said Tuesday. All of the turtles, which are protected species in Indonesia, were found alive on the boat, but the suspected smugglers had already fled the scene by the time officers arrived. “We hope that no one will dare to capture, keep, or trade these protected species anymore,” Wirahadi said. Turtle species in Indonesia have been legally protected under conservation and fisheries laws since 1990. A 2018 Environment Ministry regulation further clarified protections for the six species of sea turtles found in the country’s waters. Additional government regulations also prohibit their trade. According…This article was originally published on Mongabay

The company said it strongly disagreed with the claims made in the lawsuit and that the settlement admits no wrongdoing.

The company said it strongly disagreed with the claims made in the lawsuit and that the settlement admits no wrongdoing.

Voters across the country are worried about the effects artificial intelligence data centers are having on electricity bills, water and the environment.