The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses while another candidate with the same name is on the ballot. That's sparking fears of a lengthy battle between the U.S. government and states over certifying an election where President Donald Trump's party is struggling.
In Ohio, the backlash over a campaign advertisement attacking Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor, has spread beyond the state's borders. The ad features Acton's estranged mother calling her "a liar."
Trump posted on social media Thursday that Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's ad was "hitting pay dirt" and that Acton was "fair game."
Trump’s aggressive defense of Ramaswamy practically guarantees that more of his party’s candidates will face questions about the issue. Acton's mother lost custody of her children after her husband was indicted for raping Acton.
Here’s the latest:
Trump has wrapped up rally for Republican candidates in South Florida
For 90 minutes, the president rolled through a list of his administration’s accomplishments, imploring voters, “you must vote Republican” in the midterm elections.
He also called on the crowd to back GOP candidates in the state’s contests, particularly U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, and Sen. Ashley Moody.
This weekend, Trump’s midterm campaign blitz heads to Georgia and Michigan, home of two of the most closely watched Senate races in the country.
Moody, Donalds praise Trump--even as Donalds walks a fine line on the economy
Trump called Moody and Donalds to the stage separately and both praised the president for his job performance and his support for their campaigns.
Moody urged Floridians to help Republicans hold majorities on Capitol Hill to “continue that fight for you.”
“It’s like a UFC fight on the White House lawn,” she said.
Donalds told Trump he was proud to support his presidential campaigns.
The congressman has carefully navigated the economic realities of Trump’s second presidency. He hasn’t blamed Trump for inflation but he’s built his general election bid around a promise to address Floridians’ economic struggles.
Even standing next to the president, he promised to make Florida “more affordable.”
Trump hails spending to boost nursing home work force
The president says his administration will spend $250 million to boost the nursing home work force in underserved areas.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday that it would dedicate $100 million, less than the figure the president quoted, with states committing $175 million for total program of $275 million.
The initiative is expected to support 4,000 nurses nationwide. Nursing students and licensed nurses will qualify for up to $40,000 in student loan repayment or a $10,000 stipend in exchange for a three-year-commitment to serve in a qualifying nursing home in a rural area or another area with a nursing labor shortage.
The money will come from civil penalties collected by CMS and state Medicaid agencies from nursing homes.
The administration previously faced backlash for trying to cap student loan amounts for nurses, among some other professions. But a federal judge put those changes on hold in June.
Lawmakers push Pentagon to restore Ukraine Starshield access
A group of bipartisan lawmakers has urged the Pentagon immediately restore Ukraine’s access to the Starshield satellite internet system used to intercept Russian strikes.
In a letter released Friday, six Democrats and two Republicans told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he should “ensure that Ukrainian forces maintain access to satellite communications at speeds and service levels.”
They said in the letter dated Thursday that it should include “connectivity over Russian territory where necessary to support Ukraine’s lawful military operations.”
The release comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was still experiencing Starlink and Starshield speed restrictions. The Trump administration has offered conflicting explanations as to who is responsible for the slowdown in the Elon Musk-built satellite internet system.
Trump on Friday brushed off questions about the role Musk played in the disruptions and declined to comment on who ordered the restrictions.
Newsom rallies California Democrats in push to claim 5 additional US House seats
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told fellow Democrats “it’s all on the line” as he urged party members to help win five additional U.S. House seats to allow Democrats to claim the majority next year.
President “Donald Trump’s presidency ends as we know it on Nov. 3, as long as we do our job,” Newsom, a likely 2028 presidential contender, said to cheers at a San Francisco rally.
State voters last year approved new congressional district boundaries intended to tilt five additional seats to Democrats to thwart Trump’s maneuvers in Texas and other Republican states to gain more seats and maintain the GOP’s fragile hold on House control.
Referring to Trump’s GOP, Newsom said, “These guys are not screwing around and nor can we.”
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi told the crowd “we now have to work to elect those five seats.”
“We have to get out there,” she implored the crowd.
Trump repeats slur to describe Somalia
__ Please note: The following post contains profanity.
In a long diatribe against Rep. Ilhan Omar, Trump said the Minnesota Democrat who was born in Somalia came to the U.S. from “a shithouse country.”
Omar is a naturalized citizen whose family fled civil war when she was a child. They first went to Kenya and then came to the U.S. as refugees.
During his first presidency, Trump denied using the phrase “shithole countries” to describe Haiti and other African countries, as some of his former aides described.
He admitted in 2025 that he had, in fact, used the description for majority Black nations.
Trump has repeatedly disparaged Somali immigrants to the U.S., including Omar, and suggested she should be stripped of her congressional seat and her citizenship.
Under Trump, federal authorities are investigating potential fraud in her family's immigration paperwork and have issued grand jury subpoenas to some of her relatives.
Trump suggests US can ‘take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran’
That came after someone in the south Florida crowd shouted a question about Cuba as Trump talked about his administration's actions in Venezuela and Iran.
As U.S. ships eventually return from Iran, Trump suggested that one of them could “stop about 50 yards off the coast, they’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re going to send in (Secretary of State) Marco Rubio.”
Trump has previously said “Cuba’s gonna be next” in terms of intervention efforts abroad.
Earlier this week, the two countries clashed at the United Nations as the Trump administration sought once again to build opposition for an upcoming annual vote condemning Washington's decades-long economic embargo against Havana.
Issues related to Cuba are particularly closely followed in South Florida, where Trump is speaking Friday.
Senior Ukrainian negotiator says local humanitarian ceasefire with Russia will start on Oct. 27
Ukraine’s top negotiator involved in a humanitarian mission led by U.S. first lady Melania Trump told The Associated Press late Friday that a local ceasefire with Russia will start Oct. 27 — two days before the mission begins — and last several days.
Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. negotiators reached a deal Friday to provide humanitarian assistance in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, in the war-divided region of Kherson in southern Ukraine.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian ombudsman and his country’s chief negotiator in the talks, said the ceasefire would take effect across the Kherson region and neighboring areas essential to the operation. He added that the initiative could act as a model for future humanitarian missions.
Trump opens Florida rally at Florida Gulf Coast University
“We love Florida,” Trump said as he opened an afternoon rally, celebrating that he’s back in his adopted home state.
He’s trying to boost Florida Sen. Ashley Moody as she seeks her first election after being appointed to the seat and Rep. Byron Donalds in his effort to be elected governor.
Trump opened by misrepresenting his 2024 vote totals, suggesting he got “millions and millions” more votes than any other candidate ever has.
Trump got more than 77 million votes in 2024. But Democrat Joe Biden got 81 million votes to defeat Trump in 2020.
Omar responds to Trump claim about her name
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is responding directly to Trump claiming that she has an entirely different name and will not be allowed to be a member of the House.
“Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar,” the congresswoman said in a social media post on X. “Maybe you should focus on what your VP’s real name is.”
Trump’s comments came in a Truth Social post.
Omar’s name has been listed in court records as such for nearly two decades. She sought two marriage licenses under her name, twice filed for divorce under that same name and has numerous traffic and parking tickets under her name. She is also registered to vote under the name.
From 2009 to 2017 she was married to a man named Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. His last name is the one Trump now claims is her correct name. But in their marriage and divorce filings, she always used the name Ilhan Omar and did not adopt his name.
Greeting Trump, DeSantis says midterms ‘all about the turnout’ for Republicans
On the Southwest Florida International Airport tarmac as Trump landed Friday, GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted wins for Republicans in tight Senate races as long as turnout is robust.
“If people come out, if our people vote, I think we’ll win, not just in Florida, but some of these other Senate races that are close,” DeSantis said, welcoming the president “back to his home state.”
As the president brings his midterm blitz to Florida, DeSantis said “no one does it better” than the president when it comes to energizing voters.
“If they vote, we’re going to win big,” Trump said.
According to an Associated Press analysis of early voting two weeks before Election Day, voter turnout is soaring compared with the last midterm election in many of the states expected to decide control of the U.S. Senate.
Trump says he ordered the Justice Department lawsuit over Alaska’s US Senate race
President Donald Trump said he told his administration to file a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, kicking off what many fear could become a lengthy battle between the government and states over certifying an election where the president's party is struggling.
“I’m the one that said do it,” Trump told reporters as he landed for a campaign rally in Florida.
The lawsuit centers on one of the president’s longstanding complaints in the Senate race — the presence of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan who Republican fear could siphon away votes from the incumbent in what’s likely to be a photo-finish contest with Democrat Mary Peltola, the state’s former congresswoman.
The second Dan Sullivan, who is Daniel J. Sullivan from the tiny fishing community of Petersburg, has said he decided to run on his own, but Republicans have contended he is a Democratic plant to siphon votes away from their candidate.
Republican congressman from Iowa releases new video featuring Democratic supporters
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican, is emphasizing his bipartisan support in the final week of his reelection campaign. His new political advertisement includes some Democrats saying directly to camera that they’re backing Nunn over Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, a state senator.
Nunn is seeking his third term representing the district that includes Des Moines, the fast-growing suburbs to the city’s west, and rural counties in southern Iowa. While Republicans outnumber Democrats in each of the three targeted House races in Iowa, Nunn’s has the smallest GOP advantage.
One member of the Des Moines city council identifies himself in the ad as a moderate Democrat who is ticket-splitting this year.
“I’m supporting Rob Sand, and I strongly support Zach Nunn,” Mike Simonson says in the ad. Sand is the Democrat running for governor.
Trump says Musk should not be blamed for Starshield disruption in Ukraine
Trump brushed off questions about the role Elon Musk played in disruptions to service between the satellite system he owns and the drones Ukraine uses to fight Russia.
“Elon will never do anything wrong,” Trump told reporters outside the White House. “I know him very well. He’s a fair person.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that service remained slow from Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service. The disruption produced speed restrictions on Ukrainian drones, which have been unable to intercept Russia’s jet-powered drones.
Trump said he hadn’t heard that there are still problems with the service, and declined to comment on who ordered the restrictions to Starshield, telling a reporter, “I wouldn’t tell you if I did know.”
Trump suggests NFL should postpone this weekend’s Paris game because of unrest
“The NFL could have probably postponed that match if you want to know,” Trump told reporters. “France is really in trouble, that’s what happens when you go left.”
Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints is scheduled to go ahead despite recent civil unrest in Paris and other cities in France. More demonstrations are planned for this weekend.
The protests in France were originally sparked by high school and university students demanding better school funding, smaller class sizes, and other reforms to the country’s education system, but have morphed into a broader outlet for public anger about rising costs and the government’s effort to tighten its budget.
While tens of millions have taken to the streets, some rioters have used the demonstrations as cover for looting and destroying government property.
Vivek Ramaswamy defends ad accusing Amy Acton of lying
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy accused his opponent in the Ohio governor’s race, Democrat Amy Acton, of lying about the ad he’s running, which features her mother calling her “a liar.”
“The irony is they’re lying about an ad that is about lying,” Ramaswamy said.
Speaking at a campaign stop in Strongsville, Ohio, he added that the ad had “nothing to do” with childhood abuse. Acton’s mother lost custody of her children after her husband was indicted for raping Acton.
“They’re changing the subject,” Ramaswamy said, “because they don’t want to answer for their own failures.”
The advertisement also includes Acton’s mother insinuating her daughter has mental health issues. Acton is Ohio’s former public health director and has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child.
Acton has condemned Ramaswamy for the ad.
“I won’t normalize somebody who has said that my childhood is just something I’m complaining about,” she told Spectrum News, a cable news outlet in Ohio.
Judge allows Trump’s tree cutting at a historic DC golf course to resume
The historic public golf course at East Potomac Park is one of several Trump projects in D.C. that are embroiled in lawsuits challenging the president’s remake of the city. Trump wants to turn it into a professional-level course.
On Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes denied a request to extend her temporary order that had stopped the National Park Service from cutting more trees at the park.
Reyes ordered the halt on Oct. 13, after a holiday weekend when the government, with little notice, cut down more than 400 trees with plans to cut hundreds more. The actions led to eight hours of court hearings.
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit trying to block Trump’s renovation had sought to extend the stoppage. The order lapses Oct. 26, and Trump has said work would begin “immediately” on the course.
Trump doubles down on support for Ramaswamy on ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother
Leaving the White House Friday, Trump said "no" when asked if he had reconsidered his support for the Ohio campaign advertisement attacking Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton, following criticism from other Republicans.
The president engaged in a heated exchange with a reporter asking if the president knew about the backstory behind the ad from Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. The spot features Acton’s mother, who lost custody of her children decades ago after her husband was indicted for raping Acton as a child.
“You don’t know that,” Trump said, of the abuse allegations, adding that Acton’s mother had an “obligation” to tell voters “that her daughter is a liar.”
Zelenskyy urges trilateral talks with Trump and Putin
The Ukrainian president said he spoke with Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner just before appearing remotely for an address at the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank.
Witkoff and Zelenskyy met earlier this week in Oslo, Norway, about ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine before Witkoff went on to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Putin says he agreed to trilateral talks next month with Trump and Zelenskyy, who on Friday said “we need these meetings, and we need diplomacy to move forward.”
Zelenskyy says we “cannot have these meetings without America” and that Ukraine was counting on the U.S. to “give this priority at every level.”
He said reaching a “ceasefire is point number one” and then after that would be sorting out security guarantees. Russian officials have resisted a ceasefire and said they want to broker a comprehensive settlement to end the war.
Trump says Republicans aren’t losing in Mississippi
The president has a rather eyebrow-raising addition to his midterm travel schedule: a stop Monday in deep-red Mississippi, where GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is up for reelection.
Asked about the visit Friday, Trump said he won the state by 32 points and “they’ve asked me to go,” without specifying who “they” were.
“I look forward to it. And Cindy Hyde-Smith, you know, Cindy Hyde is fantastic,” Trump said. “She’s very popular. She’s up in the polls. She’s not losing.”
Trump to vote this weekend in Florida
The president is an early voter.
“I think we’re voting tomorrow in Florida,” Trump told reporters as he was preparing to depart for a rally in Fort Myers and a weekend in Palm Beach, where his club is located.
Early voting in Palm Beach County began Monday and runs through Nov. 1.
At another point in the gaggle with journalists, Trump was asked about this year’s early voting figures and which party that benefited.
“Nobody knows,” he responded.
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This post has been corrected to show that early voting in Trump’s home county runs from Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, not Oct. 24 through Oct. 31.
Trump administration sues to block possible Democratic win in Alaska Senate race
The Trump administration has filed a lawsuit to block certification of the U.S. Senate race in Alaska if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses. Another candidate with the same name is on the ballot.
This move has sparked concerns about a lengthy battle between the U.S. government and states over election certification. The Department of Justice filed the lawsuit Thursday, demanding Alaska be blocked from certifying a win for Democrat Mary Peltola if the other Sullivan remains on the ballot.
The Alaska Supreme Court previously rejected efforts to remove the other Sullivan.