Two days before the US congressional elections, the Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, is facing fresh criticism from his former primary rival Haley Stevens. Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary in August, appeared on Sunday at a church in Detroit with Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers. The appearance followed Stevens being uninvited from a joint event with El-Sayed.
Stevens has criticized El-Sayed's statements about Israel. Her fiancé said recently that he would vote for Rogers, arguing El-Sayed had not done enough to address concerns in the Jewish community. In a Friday statement, Stevens said El-Sayed promises to take money out of politics and could start by taking Israel out of his explanation for everything Michigan cannot afford. She also urged him to condemn advertising by an independent left-wing group that linked high food prices to US support for Israel. El-Sayed said Saturday evening that the ad did not come from his campaign and that he disagreed with its content.
In a separate legal setback for Trump, US District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the president's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Saturday. The judge said Trump had not shown that the newspaper and Murdoch made defamatory statements with malicious intent, and that the lawsuit sought to invent flaws in the Journal's reporting. The dismissal is a setback for Trump and his administration, which has tried to push several news outlets to the margins. Trump is also involved in legal disputes with the BBC, the AP, CNN, MS NOW and Politico; CNN, MS NOW and Politico have sued Trump to regain access to the White House. Trump frequently calls coverage he dislikes fake news.
Washington D.C. and Virginia sued the US government over Trump's plan for a giant triumphal arch in the capital. According to court documents, they argue the plan has not been approved by Congress and are seeking to block construction.
In Alaska, the US Justice Department asked a court in Anchorage to order that certain ballots be kept separately after the contested Senate election. The ballots concern political newcomer Dan J. Sullivan, whom Republicans view as a Democratic straw man. The government said the aim was to allow an investigation, if necessary, into whether voters were confused because two candidates share the same name.
With the elections set for Tuesday, Trump canceled in-person campaign events in Iowa and Kansas. The Republican National Committee said Thursday he would instead hold telephone rallies for nearly 20 states. Republicans could lose control of the Senate and House in the elections, and Kansas and Iowa are expected to be close. Trump had said he would hold more than 30 rallies in October and had completed 25 by Thursday. After appearing with a hoarse voice in Mississippi on Monday, he rejected questions about his health, saying he felt great.
Media reports said Trump received a rare personal briefing from a senior military commander on the Iran war. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, presented military options to Trump at the White House on Thursday; the Journal said this could signal that a major US military operation might be ahead. Axios, also citing US officials, reported that Cooper's briefing focused on the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and coastal areas and whether it was working, as well as the Strait of Hormuz and economic pressure on Iran. Both reports said Gen. Dan Caine, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other cabinet members attended.
Pentagon data provided to Reuters show that the US military has spent more than $47 billion on the Iran war so far, more than 25% above the Defense Department's July estimate. More than $29 billion was for replacing munitions and more than $6 billion for new military equipment. The figures do not clearly show whether they include estimated costs for repairing damage to US bases caused by Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Sources: Handelsblatt.