Saturday, October 31, 2026Sat, Oct 31
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Trump escalates legal challenges, scrambles schedule as midterm elections near

The Justice Department wants to block certification in Alaska if Republicans narrowly lose, as more than forty-eight million early ballots are already in; the rallies are back too.

On air: Gloria Vance and Hank Ledger on Late Night BBN
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Photo: Donald Trump
Photo: Daniel Torok · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

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  1. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorWith Tuesday's midterm elections close, President Trump has restored two rallies he canceled a day earlier, in Kansas and Iowa, plus nearly twenty virtual appearances, a White House official says.

  2. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHe told a Florida crowd on Friday it would be the last one. Then it wasn't.

  3. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorCNN reports he said he had wondered whether his presence would even matter, and that he restored the events because Republicans in those states asked him to.

  4. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo he wasn't sure he mattered, and then he was asked, and now he matters in two states.

  5. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorMeanwhile, the Justice Department has amended a lawsuit in Alaska to block certification of results if Republicans narrowly lose, Reuters reports.

  6. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA separate demand to California asks officials to set aside as many as twenty thousand ballots from potential noncitizens.

  7. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorBefore the loss.

  8. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorA lower court has already denied one California request, saying it could disenfranchise thousands of legal voters, and California officials say the department relied on suspect data.

  9. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorMore than forty-eight million early ballots are in, a record for a midterm.

  10. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the lawsuit is ready for a result that forty-eight million people have already voted early on. I'd call that thorough, but I've seen thorough, and it isn't this.

  11. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorPreparing the appeal before the verdict is a long diplomatic tradition, Hank. Usually the verdict is at least scheduled.

  12. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe rally he thought was the last one, he's now doing two more of, plus about twenty on video.

  13. Gloria Vance · World News AnchorRex. Go carefully.

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