Democrats rally behind progressive Aisha Wahab after win in California special election – US politics live

First Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to California legislature held lead throughout race over main opponent Melissa Hernandez Sign up for the US Breaking News email The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang and Sam Levine report that former officials and voting rights experts are expressing skepticism over a pledge by the Trump administration to dispatch 1,000 monitors across the country to scrutinize November’s US midterm elections . “I’m skeptical they’ll actually get to 1,000. Even if they did, that wouldn’t be so different from the number in prior years; that’s a national number suitable for observing but not nearly enough to disrupt; and local election officials can, and will, toss anyone who makes trouble,” said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has worked on voting rights issues at the justice department and White House. Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen , who turned on the president in 2019, when he compared him to a mobster during congressional testimony, executed another 180-degree turn , showering the president with praise during a friendly conversation between the two men on Cohen’s New York City radio show. The White House faced fresh questions over whether Donald Trump ’s closest aide, Natalie Harp , had access to US government secrets without security clearance. At a Rose Garden event to promote Melania Trump ’s advocacy for foster children, the first lady opened with a joked about her lack of recent public appearances , as her husband looked on with something less than rapt attention. One week after Trump ordered his navy secretary to redesign a new aircraft carrier, the USS Doris Miller - to scrap the modern electromagnetic system used to launch fighter jets, and install old-fashioned steam-powered catapults instead - CNN reports that the navy is considering another change to the same ship: removing the name of Miller, a Black sailor known for his heroism during the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and naming it instead the USS Donald Trump. The non-partisan Cook Political Report updated its midterm election forecast to rate the US Senate races in both Texas and Iowa , which had leaned in favor of Republicans , as toss ups that could break for Democrats. Continue reading...