Pope Leo XIV, a registered voter in Illinois, has voted in next week’s midterm elections after he requested a mail ballot at his residence in Vatican City.
“Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen, whenever he was eligible to do so,” the Vatican press office said Friday in a statement.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” it added.
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Pope Leo votes by mail -
Two Sullivans in AlaskaBehind the scenes in the "other" Sullivan's home town:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daniel-j-sullivan-left-alaska-hometown-senate-election/
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Another general bites the dustFollowing the news that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired another Army general this week, a statement shared to media outlets from a Pentagon official said the high-ranking officer had failed polygraph examinations amid an ongoing investigation into alleged leaks of classified information to journalists. The revelation is unusual and raises questions about whether the disclosure violated federal privacy laws.
Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia's ouster from the Joint Staff was first reported by The Atlantic Wednesday evening.
Soon after, social media influencers and news outlets, including CBS News, published a statement that said Sylvia failed three polygraph examinations. Some attorneys say the disclosure could run afoul of the Privacy Act of 1974, which generally prohibits federal agencies from releasing personal information maintained in certain government records without the individual's consent or other legal authorization.
Polygraph results, which are ordinarily maintained in personnel security or counterintelligence records, are protected under the law.
The statement from the official also accused Sylvia of leaking classified information about Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-disclosure-fired-general-brett-sylvia-polygraph-privacy-laws/
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The golf courseJudge Reyes is not happy.
A federal judge on Friday opened an investigation into whether Trump administration officials repeatedly deceived her about the president’s plans to shutter and redevelop a Washington, D.C. golf course.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ordered the investigation after weeks of increasing exasperation, as she has sought to discern when the administration began implementing a plan to close the East Potomac golf course on Nov. 15. It’s a central question in a conservation group’s lawsuit seeking to block the renovation altogether.
Reyes, a Biden appointee, said her inquiry will focus on whether the administration operated in “bad faith” throughout the litigation and whether attorneys at the Justice Department and the Interior Department prompted witnesses to omit crucial information from sworn statements to the court.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/30/misconduct-investigation-trump-golf-course-hearing
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WorriedThe 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the Justice Department’s request for California to set aside disputed ballots received in the midterm election.
The panel’s 2-1 ruling is the latest setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to assert control over state-run elections.
The administration has alleged California sent ballots to some 20,000 people who may not be U.S. citizens. It wants the state to set those ballots aside and not count them until citizenship can be verified. California officials say the list is highly unreliable and likely includes many people who are U.S. citizens.
A district court judge already forcefully denied that request and warned that the Justice Department’s demands could disenfranchise citizens.
“As the district court found — and we discern no clear error — there is no feasible way to identify and segregate the ballots of specific individuals without potentially catastrophic effects on the entire system,” the appeals court wrote.
Earlier on Friday, a federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to share the disputed list of names with lawyers for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. They want the list so they can examine who is on the list and assess its impact on eligible voters.
It will be the first time that a nongovernment organization will have the opportunity to evaluate the merits of the list of some 20,000 names.
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Orange Guy cancels weekend ralliesI can’t imagine what the reporter looks like if Trump said he looked out of shape.
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Orange Guy cancels weekend ralliesAnd now the rallies are back on....
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Word association thread -
Norway has a sense of humor -
Word association threadsecurity
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RIP Elke SommerElke Sommer, the prolific German star of the Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark, early 70s Agatha Christie adaptation And Then there Were None, and British sex comedy Carry on Behind, has died aged 85. Bild magazine reported that Sommer died in Los Angeles of heart failure.
German-born Sommer, whose best-known film roles were in the 1960s and 70s, was one of the wave of European performers who crossed over to Hollywood and English-language cinema with considerable success, following the postwar emergence of European new wave cinema. Sommer was one of the few German actors to make waves at the time, as Hollywood made much of her bombshell image.
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Orange Guy cancels weekend ralliesFacing a potential Democratic takeover of Congress in next week's midterm election, President Donald Trump blew up at a reporter who asked about his abrupt cancellation of a campaign rally originally set for Kansas this weekend.
"Oh you're sick to ask that question. You are sick," Trump said Oct. 29 when the reporter, who works for Reuters, asked whether the president canceled the trip because he's "sick of traveling."
"Look at this guy. He's way out of shape," Trump said, adding that he's no longer going to Kansas because incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall is "doing very well." The White House said Trump is instead planning to hold a tele-rally for Marshall and other Republican midterm candidates.
"You know what the reason is? I don't feel like I have to go to Kansas. I'm going to Florida tomorrow," said Trump, who is holding a rally in Daytona, Florida, on Friday. "You've been following me for you two weeks. I feel perfect. You are disgusting. Put yourself in shape. You look like hell."
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Orange Guy cancels weekend ralliesUS President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled planned weekend campaign stops in Kansas and Iowa, and his allies said he would instead phone in to rallies nationwide after four weeks of travel to boost Republicans' election chances.
Trump told reporters he did not "feel like I have to go to Kansas," a Midwestern state where Senator Roger Marshall, a fellow Republican, is in an unexpectedly competitive race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. "He is doing very well," Trump said of Marshall. "We are going to have a strong Tuesday night."
Later on Thursday, the Republican National Committee said in a statement that it would also cancel a planned rally in Iowa, home to several competitive congressional races.The canceled in-person rallies were set for Salina, Kansas, on Saturday, and Dubuque, Iowa, on Sunday.
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RIP Patrick StewartPatrick Stewart, Star Trek actor and acclaimed thespian, dies aged 86
Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men actor died at his home after ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia’
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/oct/29/patrick-stewart-dead
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Norway has a sense of humorVisit Norway makes shithouses ‘great again’ after Trump insult
Tourist board responds with toilet humour after US president’s ‘shithouse country’ jibe over failure to win Nobel peace prize
Some might find it decidedly incommodious to be dumped on by Donald Trump as a “shithouse country”. Not the Norwegian tourist board, which chose instead to lift the lid on some of the nation’s loveliest lavatories.
“Are these the world’s best shit houses?” asked Visit Norway on its website, days after the US president vented his fury once more over failing to win the Nobel peace prize by describing Norway as a “shithouse country” at a rally on Sunday.
“Norway makes shit houses great again!” the agency continued above pictures of some of the country’s most striking public conveniences, adding: “These toilets are worth a visit, both when you really have to go – and when you don’t.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/29/trump-norway-shithouse-toilets
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Two Sullivans in AlaskaSo true.
BTW, Isaac Saul's Tangle had a piece about how crazy the polls are right now. I don't think it's behind a paywall.
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Weird weatherWe've been having phenomenally lovely fall weather, much warmer than usual. This morning started out sunny but the clouds rolled in. A few minutes ago we heard a rumbling noise. Thought it was the neighbor moving her garbage toter around, but the noise lasted for a long time. Checked local radar and see this:
Pop-up showers!
edit: The sun is out again....
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Sweet story for the dayIt involves a kitten and a kind-hearted air traveler.
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Another general bites the dustDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon's top military planner, several sources confirmed to CBS News late Wednesday.
Sylvia's firing comes as President Trump weighs resuming strikes against Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Staff, and was coordinating the Iran battle plan. Sylvia is the second general during Hegseth's tenure to be removed from what is known as a "J5" post, which is the lead on how the Iran war affects long-term planning.
Sylvia's predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced to retire in October 2025.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-fires-pentagons-top-military-planner/
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WorriedI'm a bit nervous myself but am trying to stay hopeful. The GOP and Trump have had a bunch of judges push back on the carp. And states aren't going to roll over and give in to them.