The Weekend

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California Fights DOJ Bid Over Voter Data Oct 25, 2026

Show notes

October 25, 2026; 9am: The Department of Justice has filed lawsuits in California and Alaska, laying the foundation to challenge the counting of ballots and even contest the certification after Election Day. MS NOW reports, “The Justice Department sent threatening letters to California election officials on Friday demanding local registrars immediately sequester ballots from voters the Trump administration alleges are noncitizens.” Those letters were sent to every county in the state and, in at least one letter obtained by MS NOW, it warned that if the official did not follow DOJ’s demands, she could face prosecution. Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, joins “The Weekend” to discuss. Then, California Senator Alex Padilla joins to weigh in on the DOJ’s request for his state’s voter data.

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Texas Politics and the Latino Vote Oct 25, 2026

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October 25, 2026, 8 AM; In order to achieve that win, both parties will need support from Latino voters. In 2024, Donald Trump made big gains among Latinos, winning 48%, according to a Pew Research analysis. In Texas, he did even better, winning 55% of the Latino vote, a record for a Republican presidential candidate in that state. However, there are signs that Latino voters are turning on Trump and Republicans due to his immigration crackdown and soaring prices on pretty much everything. Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones joins The Weekend to discuss how the Latino vote will effect next week's midterm elections in Texas.

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Dueling Presidents Oct 25, 2026

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October 25, 2026; 7am: Candidates across the country are hitting the trail and bringing in their parties' heavy hitters. Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump held rallies in battleground states to help candidates deliver their closing message. President Obama called out the “cruelty” and “indecency” from President Trump and the GOP. In Georgia, President Trump took aim at Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Abdul El-Sayed. Trump will take his closing message back on the road again later today with a rally in Michigan. Dana Milbank, columnist for The Washington Sun, and Scott Macfarlane, Chief Washington correspondent for Meidastouch, join “The Weekend” to discuss.

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DOJ Sues Alaska Oct 24, 2026

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October 24, 2026; 9am: This week, the Justice Department, at Trump's direction, filed a lawsuit to block the certification of the Alaska Senate race if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, claiming a loss would be due to “voter confusion” since there is another candidate on the ballot with the same name. Plus, the DOJ has also started to notify states and counties where it plans to deploy federal election monitors for Election Day, including Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and Utah. Representative Joe Morelle joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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Obama on The Trail Oct 24, 2026

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October 24, 2026; 8am: With 10 days left until the midterms, President Obama is hitting the campaign trail in two key battleground states, Ohio and Michigan. First, he will stump for Democrats in Ohio, where the closely watched Senate race between Sherrod Brown and incumbent senator Jon Husted is taking shape. He will also campaign for Democrats in the governor’s race between Amy Acton and Vivek Ramaswamy, a race at the center of controversy this week. Then, Obama will head to Michigan to energize voters for Jocelyn Benson in the governor’s race and Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate contest. MS NOW Chief Political Reporter, Chris Jansing, joins “The Weekend” from Detroit, and MS NOW Reporter Nnamdi Egwuonwu joins from Cleveland.

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The Deciding Vote: Black Voters in Michigan Oct 24, 2026

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October 24, 2026; 7am: In the next installment of MS NOW's three-part series, "The Deciding Vote," Eugene Daniels traveled to Michigan, where today marks the start of early voting. It's also a key battleground state where Democrats are concerned about the skepticism among some Black voters toward Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Eugene sat down with El-Sayed and pressed him directly on the warnings coming from the ground. He also met with grassroots organizer Tashawna Gill on the mood of Black voters in the state.

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Election Day Preps Oct 18, 2026

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October 18, 2026; 9am: As the country prepares for the midterm election in just 16 days, President Trump continues to rehash his claims of fraud in the 2020 election, and election officials are reportedly concerned about what could come in the weeks ahead. Vanita Gupta, former Associate U.S. Attorney General under President Biden, joins “The Weekend” to discuss.

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Political Battle Over AI Oct 18, 2026

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October 18, 2026, 8 AM; Worries are mounting around A.I. with a new AP poll finding 8 in 10 Americans saying they want the U.S. government to ensure that A.I. stays under human control. And 64% of Americans in that poll also think A.I. is developing “too fast”. Machine Gods host Kevin Roose joins The Weekend to discuss the growing concerns of A.I.

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Massive ‘No Kings’ Energy Oct 18, 2026

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October 18, 2026; 7am: The fourth round of nationwide "No Kings" demonstrations focused on getting people to the polls to vote early for this year's midterms. Events took place across all 50 states and Washington, DC and organizers hoped they would lead to the largest single day of early voting in American history while also building a network of volunteers to help defend elections. MS NOW political analyst Eugene Robinson and Matt K. Lewis, columnist for The Washington Sun, joined “The Weekend” to discuss.

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Trump in Georgia Oct 17, 2026

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October 17, 2026, 9 AM; He gave a speech at a rally yesterday in Dalton where he went on several unhinged rants, including renewing false claims of voter fraud and spreading lies about the legitimacy of Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff’s election in 2020. Trump was campaigning for Ossoff’s opponent, Republican Congressman Mike Collins, as well as Republican Gubernatorial Nominee Rick Jackson. Over the last three months, Ossoff raised $33.1 million dollars, nearly 12 times the roughly 2-point-8 million dollars raised by Collins. 10 Steps Campaign founder Stacey Abrams joins The Weekend to discuss the latest.

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