Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is asking a federal judge to block the Trump administration's efforts to obtain voter registration and election records from the state. Fontes acknowledges that some information, such as names, addresses, and party affiliation, is publicly accessible, but argues that much of what the Department of Justice is demanding is protected under state privacy laws. The protected information includes Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, mother's maiden names, birthplace, email addresses, and signatures.
The House is expected to vote Thursday on a war powers resolution that would require Congressional approval before President Trump orders further military action against Iran, with the vote pushed by a bipartisan group led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). House Speaker Mike Johnson informed Republican lawmakers of the upcoming vote on a Sunday call, while urging members to vote against the resolution. Republican leadership faces a narrow margin, as Johnson can only afford to lose one vote if all members are present. Johnson also indicated plans for a separate vote this week on Department of Homeland Security funding amid an ongoing partial government shutdown.
ICE has significantly expanded its operations under the Trump administration, receiving a funding boost estimated at $22 billion annually and conducting large-scale enforcement actions such as Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, which resulted in 3,000 arrests. The agency has faced criticism over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, the detention of children including those with active asylum cases, and reports that 170 U.S. citizens were detained in the first nine months of Trump's second term. Concerns have been raised about ICE's growing role beyond immigration enforcement, including its presence at overseas diplomatic events and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon's stated intention to deploy agents at polling stations during the 2026 midterm elections. Critics argue these developments reflect a broader shift toward domestic surveillance and political militarization, raising questions about democratic oversight and civil liberties.
Aziz Huq argues that the U.S. and Israeli aerial assault on Iran sets a dangerous precedent by demonstrating that Trump can deploy military force with disregard for legal constraints. Huq warns that this exercise of unchecked power could embolden the Trump administration to use national-security authority domestically, potentially to justify repression ahead of the midterm elections. The piece acknowledges the deaths of many Iranians under the country's theocratic government while framing the military action as the start of what Huq describes as arbitrary and difficult-to-contain violence.
Alaska's Division of Elections transferred private voter data — including the last four digits of Social Security numbers — to the Trump administration's Department of Justice, despite state laws designating such information as confidential. The data sharing is part of a broader federal effort to build a national voter database by comparing state voter rolls to Department of Homeland Security immigration records to identify noncitizens. At least three federal courts and several other states have rejected similar federal requests, while Alaska signed a Memorandum of Understanding that requires the state to remove voters flagged as ineligible by the DOJ within 45 days. Alaska legislative committees are now examining who directed the state's Division of Elections director to sign the agreement and what political pressure may have influenced the decision.
Donald Trump has appointed numerous individuals who supported his unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" through widespread voter fraud to key government positions, including roles within the Justice Department and election oversight bodies. Experts and officials, including former CISA Director Chris Krebs, have maintained that the 2020 election was the most secure in American history and that no credible evidence of fraud exists. Critics warn that placing election fraud proponents in influential positions could undermine public trust in the electoral process and make it more difficult to counter election-related misinformation.
This opinion piece claims that the United States and Israel launched a military attack on Iran on February 28, allegedly assassinating Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, which the author characterizes as war crimes including aggression, civilian targeting, and political assassination. The article contextualizes these events against a backdrop of a major Iranian popular uprising in January 2026, in which the Islamic Republic reportedly killed at least 7,000 protesters and arrested 40,000 others. The author argues that both the Iranian regime and U.S.-Israeli military intervention pose threats to the Iranian people's aspirations for democracy and social justice, and criticizes the attacks as "imperial hubris" unlikely to achieve regime change without ground forces or an organized armed opposition. The piece calls on the global left to oppose both the theocratic Iranian government and U.S.-Israeli military actions while supporting Iranian civil society movements.
Nevada election advocates, including the ACLU of Nevada, Silver State Voices, and the Nevada Immigrant Coalition, are launching an expanded nonpartisan election protection program in response to Trump administration threats to nationalize voting operations and comments suggesting ICE agents could be deployed at polling stations. Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar has been coordinating with county officials and sheriffs, noting that intimidating voters or election workers is a felony under state law. The federally proposed SAVE America Act poses an additional concern, as its strict citizenship documentation requirements and ban on universal mail voting would significantly impact Nevada voters, particularly rural residents and women who have changed their names. A bipartisan group, the Democracy Defense Project, co-chaired by former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, has also spoken out in defense of Nevada's existing election infrastructure.
Former President Donald Trump has long promoted conspiracy theories about voting, designed to explain his 2020 electoral defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Now, Trump is filling his new government with people who supported his false claims of election fraud.
Janice Johnston spent years pushing to investigate Fulton County's 2020 election. Here's how her dogged effort influenced the FBI's ballot seizure.
Former U.S. military and legal experts, including the former chief of international law at U.S. Central Command, allege that President Trump's coordinated strikes against Iran violated international law, the U.S. Constitution, and the War Powers Resolution. Critics argue that briefing the congressional "Gang of Eight" ahead of the strikes did not satisfy the resolution's requirement for formal written notification to Congress within 48 hours, and that Congress — not the president — holds the authority to authorize offensive military action. The operation, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," resulted in three U.S. service members killed and multiple casualties on all sides, including reported civilian deaths from a strike on a girls' school. Some analysts also raised concerns that Trump is linking the military action to domestic political grievances, warning it could be used to justify expanded use of executive power ahead of the midterm elections.
Israel and the U.S. conflict with Iran has expanded into a third day, with Hezbollah launching rockets into Israel for the first time in over a year and Israel responding with airstrikes in Lebanon. Iran is also targeting neighboring countries hosting U.S. military bases, with Saudi Arabia reporting Iranian drone strikes on a major oil refinery, causing oil prices to spike. The Pentagon confirmed three U.S. service members were killed over the weekend, while Congress is pursuing bipartisan war powers resolutions to limit President Trump's military operations, though those efforts face significant obstacles. Separately, Texas primaries are being watched as a test of whether Republicans can maintain the Latino voter support that helped fuel Trump's 2024 electoral gains.
