Justice Dept. Demands That California Counties Help Identify Noncitizen Voters  —  Election officials across the state received letters from the agency saying if they fail to comply, they “risk significant federal scrutiny.”  —  The Department of Justice sent letters on Friday …

White House Is Weighing Mass Pardons for Junior Staff  —  White House attorneys are evaluating whether to issue mass pardons to junior staffers, as Trump allies press the administration to protect lower-ranked officials from prosecution and other legal challenges, according to two sources familiar with the conversations.

In U.S. Gas Talks With Kremlin, Hidden Financing for Alaska Project Emerges  —  Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm.  The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.  —  At first blush, the proposed venture looks like it would further …

Scoop: U.S. intel memo warns of “advanced” Iranian plots to kill officials abroad  —  U.S. intelligence finds Iran has “substantially increased” its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching “advanced stages,” …

How Trump Gave the Worst Polluters a Free Pass  —  The president temporarily waived clean-air rules for industrial facilities that spew cancer-causing gases.  Then his appointees worked to gut the regulations altogether.  —  Within sight of a southeast Texas middle school stands a chemical plant …

Grift Becomes Bigger Issue for Voters in Final Days Before Midterms  —  Democrats have spent $182 million this year highlighting corruption as an issue in House and Senate races  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump walked out of the White House on Thursday afternoon and delivered a warning to his political allies.

Woman in ad who said a Democrat endangers kids pleaded guilty to endangering kids  —  Shellie Flockhart, who called Iowa Democratic House candidate Sarah Trone Garriott “dangerous” for kids, pleaded guilty after authorities said she drove drunk with her children in the car in 2017.  —  SummaryLoading...

How the Most Ruthless Ad of the Midterms Divided Republicans  —  The fallout from Vivek Ramaswamy's brutal spot targeting his Democratic rival in the Ohio governor's race showed that even in the Trump era, a political attack can be seen as going too far.  —  The most explosive advertisement …

In defense of empathy  —  Public Notice is proudly celebrating five years of independent journalism.  This special Saturday edition is possible thanks for paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🙏 Subscribe to PN 🙏  —  Empathy is one of those things that really shouldn't need defending.

Britt McHenry resigns from State Department job after basketball game altercation  —  The former ESPN reporter was appointed as a press adviser last month.  —  In this Sept. 8, 2015, file photo, ESPN television reporter Britt McHenry smiles before a baseball game between the Washington Nationals …

Hillary Clinton thinks we should have 13 Supreme Court justices.  Here's why that matters.  —  Hillary Clinton may no longer be the most influential voice in the Democratic Party, but she remains a member in good standing of the party establishment.  So when she expresses support for expanding …

Fire devastates the Eagle's Nest retreat built for Hitler in Germany.  A person is detained  —  The retreat known as the Eagle's Nest built for Adolf Hitler in the Bavarian Alps was almost completely destroyed in a fire, and work to extinguish the blaze was still in progress Saturday, authorities said.

Live: Police fire tear gas at demonstrators in cities including Toulouse, Lyon  —  French police fired tear gas at protesters on Saturday in Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes hours after Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned violence would not be tolerated.  Some 70,000 officers are attending marches by …

The signs for El-Sayed in Detroit — and the lack of them — are setting off alarm bells  —  Sixteen days before Election Day, Abdul El-Sayed is sitting at the dinette of a bus that has his face plastered all over it.  —  I had just played him a clip on my iPad.

Trump is pushing a massive AI buildout.  His own voters are wary of what comes with it … President Donald Trump has cast America's artificial intelligence race with China as a national-security imperative, pushing faster development of the technology and an immense buildout of the data centers …

Speed of Starshield Satellite Network Is Improving, Ukraine Says  —  The announcement followed more than a week of disruption to Starshield, the Pentagon-funded satellite network that Ukraine relies on to thwart Russian attacks.  —  Ukrainian drones connected to the Pentagon-funded Starshield …

What's at Stake in the Midterms  —  America's midterm elections will probably be determined primarily by issues like affordability.  But what is at stake goes far beyond the quotidian concerns that many voters are focused on.  —  The principles and strategies that over multiple generations …

Obama Returns to the Trail, Setting Up Dueling Appearances With Trump  —  The 44th president will appear in Ohio and Michigan on Saturday, while President Trump will be in Georgia.  The two men have presented starkly contrasting pitches in the midterms.  —  Former President Barack Obama …

Troy Jackson's Closing Argument: ‘A Vote For Susan Collins Is A Vote For Trump’  —  The ad comes as the race between Jackson and Collins remains razor-tight.  —  A new ad from Troy Jackson's campaign in Maine's high-profile and heavily-contested battle with GOP Sen. Susan Collins focuses …