How the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Made a Bad Situation Worse

Source: Liberalism.org
by Radley Balko

“A little-known law closes off federal appeals, even for the admittedly innocent. That’s by design.” (10/14/26)

https://www.liberalism.org/p/how-the-antiterrorism-and-effective-death-penalty-act-made-a-bad-situation-worse

TX: Glitch Delays 600,000 Voter Registrations as Early Voting Looms

Source: New York Times

“A computer error caused a backlog of hundreds of thousands of voter registrations in Texas, sending election workers scrambling to process them before early voting starts on Monday, county election officials said. The backlog of nearly 600,000 applications stemmed from a glitch in software run by the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to a lawsuit filed last week by voting rights groups. They accused the agency, as well as the secretary of state, who serves as Texas’ chief election officer, of failing to to maintain a reliable online voter registration system. … The backlog appeared to have been mostly cleared by Wednesday, according to county election officials, several of whom said there was little risk that Texans who tried to register would be unable to vote. But some voting advocates said they worried that the episode might discourage voters from turning out at all.” (10/15/26)

https://archive.is/Isz1A

California election officials offer absurd excuses in fight against illegal voting

Source: California Post
by staff

“California’s uber-lax voting system is an international disgrace. From flooding the state with ballots (with few controls on who returns them), to weeks of post-Election-Day counting, to a ban on Voter ID: The system’s almost seems engineered to seed public doubt — or worse. Yet state officials refuse to clean it up. Good for the feds, then, for pressing the issue. In recent months, Team Trump has investigated — and in some cases, prosecuted — voting fraud in California. Now, the Justice Department has given the state and LA County an ultimatum: Review and quarantine ballots that might have been sent to noncitizen voters, or face emergency litigation. And do it within 48 hours.” (10/14/26)

https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/opinion/california-election-officials-offer-absurd-excuses-in-fight-against-illegal-voting/

Pakistan: At least 33 pupils and teacher killed after school roof collapses

Source: BBC News [UK state media]

“At least 33 pupils and a teacher have been killed after a school roof collapsed in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to hospital officials. More than a dozen others are injured, with some in a critical condition. Emergency services were called to the private Al-Khair school in Dir Colony at 08:48 (03:48 GMT) on Thursday after lessons had begun, rescue official Bilal Faizi told the BBC. The roof of an upper-floor classroom had collapsed, he said, causing ceilings below to cave in and trap children beneath the debris. Announcing the arrest of the school’s owner, police chief Mian Saeed promised a thorough inquiry into ‘whether there were any violations of building codes’.” (10/15/26)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cked326llddgo

Romania: Nominated Prime Minister Secures Support Ahead of Confidence Vote

Source: US News & World Report

“Romania’s leftist Social Democrats said ⁠they ⁠will join the government of ⁠Prime Minister-designate Luca Niculescu while other parties pledged their votes, ​edging the country closer to ending a political crisis that has pressured its investment-grade rating. The Social ‌Democrats (PSD), parliament’s largest party, will have ‌11 ministers in the proposed government Niculescu will unveil on Thursday before a ⁠parliamentary vote ⁠of confidence, PSD leader Sorin Grindeanu said late on Wednesday. Technocrats will fill ​other ministerial posts, including finance, energy and foreign affairs. While other pro-European parties refrained from joining the cabinet, many said they will back Niculescu, ensuring the 233 votes required to win the vote ​of confidence.” (10/15/26)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-10-15/romanias-nominated-prime-minister-secures-support-ahead-of-confidence-vote