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TDFP News Roundup – 10/29/26

Writer: Yossi Schmidt
Yossi Schmidt
5 hours ago
8 min read

Today’s 20 stories from The Digital Free Press, led by Judge David Carter’s order rejecting the Justice Department’s bid to hold 20,000 California ballots, Pete Hegseth’s firing of a top Pentagon strategist accused of leaking classified information, felony charges against James O’Keefe and Cam Higby in Minnesota, and new election fraud indictments in Southern California.



Part 1: Top 10 Stories


1. Judge Carter rejects DOJ bid to hold 20,000 California ballots; order says only 7,035 on the list had L.A. County addresses

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Wednesday denied the Justice Department’s request to set aside the vote-by-mail ballots of more than 20,000 people the federal government identified as likely noncitizens, according to a 26-page order reviewed by The Digital Free Press. The order says Los Angeles County’s review found that only 7,035 of the records had county addresses and that 71.2% of the people on the list had never voted. “This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” Carter wrote. The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal and a renewed request for an injunction the same day.


2. Hegseth fires top Pentagon strategist accused of leaking classified Iran and Ukraine war information

War Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, director of the Joint Staff’s strategy, plans and policy directorate, amid an investigation into allegations that he leaked classified information to journalists about the Iran war, Russia’s war in Ukraine and other sensitive matters, a Department of War official told Fox News. The official said Sylvia failed three polygraph examinations and that the investigation has been referred to the Justice Department. Fox News said it had reached out to Sylvia and the Justice Department for comment.

Source: Fox News


3. James O’Keefe and Cam Higby charged with felonies over Minnesota polling-place video

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged conservative activists James O’Keefe, 42, and Cam Higby, 26, with unlawful voting and identity theft over a video they recorded at Minneapolis polling places during the Aug. 11 primary to show how Minnesota’s voter “vouching” law works, Breitbart News reported. Prosecutors say the two gave election judges the names of registered voters without their consent; neither man cast a ballot. Moriarty said politics played no role in the charges. O’Keefe has said the video exposed the “sheer lunacy” of the vouching system.


4. Three alleged noncitizens indicted on federal election fraud charges in Southern California

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted three alleged noncitizens from Long Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes, a Mexican national, a Cambodian national and a Canadian national, on charges of illegally registering to vote, the New York Post reported, citing the Justice Department. Two are accused of also casting ballots in 2020, 2022 or 2024. The indictments follow arrests across California last week that authorities called the state’s biggest-ever voter fraud bust, with 28 suspects charged.


5. Alaska governor orders investigation into alleged Democrat-linked Senate spoiler-candidate scheme

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced he is ordering a probe after a New York Times report described an alleged effort by Democratic-linked operatives to recruit Senate candidates, including one with nearly the same name as Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, Fox News reported. Dunleavy said the reporting “substantially supports” findings from a state Division of Elections inquiry in June. The allegations involve the campaign of Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, Sullivan’s opponent; the race is among the closest in the country.

Source: Fox News


6. Former Army official pleads guilty in bribery scheme over Pentagon innovation lab in Hawaii

Former civilian U.S. Army official Carlos Duque pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu to conspiracy, bribery and major fraud tied to U.S. Army Pacific’s Hawaii-Pacific Innovation Campus, according to the Justice Department. The department says Duque agreed to take about $1.25 million in bribes over five years to steer subcontracts to two Florida defense contractors, received about $55,000, and that the Army paid the contractors’ company more than $3 million. He agreed to forfeit $55,166.70.


7. Supreme Court lets Texas-DOJ deal end Biden-era rule that let judges pause deportation cases

The Supreme Court, with no noted dissents, allowed an agreement between Texas and the Justice Department ending a 2024 Biden-era rule on “administrative closure,” which let immigration judges temporarily pause certain deportation proceedings, Fox News reported. Texas sued in June arguing the rule was adopted without legal authority, and the Trump Justice Department agreed and asked the court to vacate it. The high court’s move leaves in place a lower-court ruling eliminating the rule.

Source: Fox News


8. AP: U.S. tells allies to prepare for possible renewed Iran strikes after the midterms

U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to be ready for possible renewed military action against Iran after next week’s midterm elections, and for possible Iranian retaliation, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter, the Associated Press reported. The diplomats stressed that President Trump has not made a final decision on new strikes. Trump has said repeatedly that he is weighing new military action once the Nov. 3 elections are over.


9. DOJ slams Virginia attorney general’s guidance telling poll workers when to call police on federal agents

The Justice Department called Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones’ Election Day guidance “bluster and political posturing,” pushing back on a 10-page bulletin that advises local election officials to call police when federal agents approach polling places and to document their activities, Fox News reported. The Oct. 15 bulletin, issued with the Virginia Department of Elections, also covers how to handle DOJ election monitors and possible federal demands for ballots and voting equipment.

Source: Fox News


10. Richmond mental health agency co-owner indicted in $49 million Virginia Medicaid fraud case

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has indicted the co-owner and chief operating officer of Richmond-area mental health agency Advancing Communities Everywhere (ACE) on charges of helping bill Virginia Medicaid more than $49 million for crisis services not provided as billed, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. Prosecutors allege the agency billed for team services delivered by a single, less qualified worker and paid more than $2 million for hotel rooms to get Medicaid recipients to accept services they did not need. An earlier charging document says the co-owner signed a session note while on a flight from Grand Cayman.


Part 2: 10 More Stories, Only on TDFP


11. Trump says he would pick Sen. Ted Cruz for the Supreme Court if another justice retires

President Trump told a rally in Texas on Tuesday that he would nominate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to the Supreme Court if another justice retired during his presidency, the Daily Wire reported. “I would pick Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court justice, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Trump said, adding that Democrats would “100% vote for it because they hate the guy and they want to get rid of him.” That prediction is his claim, not verified. Cruz laughed along from the crowd.


12. Emergency declared at South Carolina nuclear site after lab fire; no contamination found

The Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, declared a Site Area Emergency at 5:39 p.m. Wednesday after a fire broke out at the Savannah River National Laboratory, Fox News reported, citing the Department of Energy. The emergency was ended at 9:45 p.m. after the fire was put out and radiological surveys found no detectable contamination. One employee was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, a DOE spokesperson said.

Source: Fox News


13. U.S. economy grew at a 3.4% rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2%

Gross domestic product grew at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted 3.4% annual rate from July through September, the Commerce Department said Thursday, Breitbart News reported, up from 2.2% in the second quarter. Business investment and consumer spending drove the gain. Breitbart noted that part of the increase in government spending reflected an accounting effect from reduced Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil sales, which had no direct effect on overall GDP.


14. NYPD arrests 14 anti-ICE protesters who blocked Brooklyn Bridge traffic

The NYPD said 14 people were taken into custody Wednesday after about 30 anti-ICE demonstrators sat down on the Brooklyn Bridge and blocked traffic on the Manhattan side, the New York Post reported. The protesters demanded the release of a Dominican national with a criminal record who was shot and detained by ICE agents in the Bronx earlier this month. Traffic on the bridge came to a halt during the protest.


15. U.S. strike on suspected drug boat in the eastern Pacific kills five

U.S. Southern Command said a Tuesday strike on a go-fast vessel operating along known trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific killed five people the military identified as “narco-terrorists,” Fox News reported. SOUTHCOM said Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out the Oct. 27 strike and released video of it.

Source: Fox News


16. Zelensky says Ukraine-Russia talks could come as soon as Nov. 10, a week after the midterms

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said U.S.-led talks between Ukraine and Russia, expected in Abu Dhabi, could take place as soon as Nov. 10, a week after the U.S. midterm elections, the New York Post reported. Zelensky said the meeting would be at the “technical level” but could pave the way for a summit with President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It would be the first face-to-face talks between the two countries since Trump lifted sanctions on Moscow.


17. Pentagon tells Congress the Iran war has cost more than $47 billion

Pentagon officials told Congress on Oct. 16 that the cost of the war with Iran had passed $47 billion, including nearly $30 billion in munitions, the Washington Examiner reported. The total keeps rising as the military maintains a large force in the region to enforce the blockade of Iranian ports, even though strikes between the two countries have halted.


18. U.S. sends about 50 recon Marines to the Baltic to help guard undersea cables

The U.S. military is sending about 50 reconnaissance and intelligence Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to the Baltic Sea to help NATO protect undersea internet cables and energy pipelines amid concerns about sabotage, the Daily Caller reported, citing Task & Purpose and an Oct. 22 Marine Corps release. The Marines will join Finnish forces in NATO’s Baltic Sentry operation, using surveillance drones and coastal sensors.

Source: Daily Caller


19. Federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, who oversaw the Maduro case, dies at 92

U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York, who was overseeing the criminal case against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, died Tuesday at 92, Fox News reported. The court said he died of natural causes. Hellerstein, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, also presided over President Trump’s attempt to move his New York criminal case to federal court.

Source: Fox News


20. Manhunt underway for illegal immigrant released under NYC sanctuary policy after alleged assault on officer

Authorities are searching for Alpha Bah, an illegal immigrant from Guinea who was released after his arrest on charges including aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest, Fox News reported. The Department of Homeland Security says it sent repeated requests to detain him but New York City released him without notifying federal immigration authorities, under the city’s sanctuary policy.

Source: Fox News


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