Trump's administration and the Alaska Senate ballot
Today is Monday, November 2, 2026
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- Good morning, and welcome to Hark News. Here's what the world got up to while you slept. First, the weather in New York. A high of 65 and a low of 44, with clear skies.
- Heather Cox Richardson argues the administration is signaling it will try to steal the midterm to keep the Senate. The clearest example is Alaska. A federal judge in Alaska dismissed the Justice Department's effort to segregate ballots and block certification of any winner other than the Republican incumbent.
- A federal judge in California ordered the Justice Department and Homeland Security to stop threatening state and local election officials with prosecution. The judge said the warning letters likely exceeded federal authority and may have violated the Voting Rights Act.
- Michigan Democrat Haley Stevens said she is endorsing Republican Mike Rogers, breaking with her party days before the vote. She appeared with Rogers at a Detroit church after a public feud with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
- The New York Times reported that a Peltola-linked operative helped recruit a candidate with a similar name to Dan Sullivan. Sullivan said he will accept the Alaska results even if he loses.
- Trump hosted a jungle-themed Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago, with caviar and king crab, three days before the midterms. He bragged about his rich members. The New York Times reported the scene.
- Trump reportedly lashed out at former lawyer Alina Habba Mildon over a $50 million deal tied to a pardon for a Venezuelan billionaire, calling it totally obnoxious.
- Politico's Jonathan Martin points to a striking early-voting pattern in the South. In the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and even Louisiana, Black voters have already cast ballots at a pace well beyond their share of the last midterm.
- A federal judge dismissed Trump's lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal with prejudice, meaning he cannot refile. The suit concerned reporting on a birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein.
- The New York Times reports Anthropic could be valued at $2 trillion in its public debut, which could make its seven founders billionaires. The company was started in 2021 by former OpenAI employees.
- Axios reports OpenAI will launch a policy and PR push after Tuesday's vote, including a plan to rebrand data centers as AI compute campuses. Proposals include speed limits for powerful AI systems and new community compacts.
- Semafor reports the All-In podcast has cooled on Trump's preferred term for AI, super intelligence. Mentions fell after the September renaming, and the latest episode had none.
- The Neuron reports publishers, including TIME through a company called Mobian, are serving labeled ads to AI agents rather than people. Anthropic says Claude will stay ad-free.
- The Nasdaq slid into correction territory on Friday as AI bets unwound. Intel fell 29%, its biggest one-day drop since the 1970s, after disappointing Amazon and Google earnings.
- The FBI says North Korea stole $6.3 billion from Binance last week, the largest crypto heist on record. Analysts say AI could make such attacks easier.
- US-Iran talks stretched into a third day as the prospect of renewed fighting loomed. Trump said one or two more targets remain. Oil topped $100 a barrel after an LNG carrier was struck.
- The US approved a $2.1 billion sale of 500 Patriot interceptors to Ukraine, paid for by donations from Canada, Germany and Norway. Zelenskyy warned deliveries could take a few years.
- El Salvador is sending as many as 2,000 troops to Haiti, a number that could double or triple, according to Axios. Trump endorsed the move.
- Gen Z-led protests turned violent in German cities over the weekend, with looting and clashes with police. Unrest has spread to France, Italy, Belgium and beyond, with some observers blaming algorithm-driven tribalism.
- Poland's long judicial crisis flared again as hundreds protested Prime Minister Donald Tusk's plan to overhaul the Constitutional Tribunal, following the suspension of its president.
- NPR's Morning Edition team spent October in six pivotal states. Their reporting found Democrats motivated and Republicans disappointed, with high costs as the central theme.
- POLITICO Forecast lays out eight reasons the world should care about the midterms. A Democratic win could mean pressure over the Iran war, Hegseth, and Ukraine funding.
- Semafor reports the Daily Caller has moved hard against Trump's Iran war and Israel, following co-founder Tucker Carlson. The shift has cost it some donors, according to publisher Neil Patel.
- Semafor's Ben Smith writes that a Kansas City dietitian and TikToker, Katy Hoffman, has become the chief critic of Amy Griffin's memoir, and that wealthy New Yorkers are following her closely.
- X suspended more than a dozen accounts pushing suspected Russian disinformation about the midterms, flagged by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. CNN says Russian interference has so far been limited.
- And that's your world for today. The full stories and the links are waiting in the app. Tap through, bookmark what matters, and share what's worth sharing. And if you want to see what stuck, take today's quiz in the app: five quick questions. And if Hark is making your mornings a little better, share it with a friend. It's the best way to help us grow. I'll see you again tomorrow morning. Until then, have a great day.