{"id":8982,"date":"2026-08-26T05:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T12:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7830591\/the-latest-canada-strikes-back-at-us-with-retaliatory-tariffs-as-trade-war-escalates\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T12:45:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:45:02","slug":"the-latest-democratic-states-sue-postal-service-to-block-trumps-limits-on-voting-by-mail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inhome\/news\/8982\/the-latest-democratic-states-sue-postal-service-to-block-trumps-limits-on-voting-by-mail\/","title":{"rendered":"The Latest: Democratic states sue Postal Service to block Trump\u2019s limits on voting by mail"},"content":{"rendered":"

Democratic-controlled states have filed a new challenge<\/a> to Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> seeking to limit mail voting in this year\u2019s midterm elections. The 25 states are suing the U.S. Postal Service, which Trump has tasked with deciding who can and cannot vote by mail. A majority of the Supreme Court justices ruled against the states<\/a> in a related case two days ago but did not say Trump\u2019s order was legal, and it remains barred from taking effect.<\/p>\n

Canada is striking back at the United States with retaliatory tariffs<\/a> on about $20 billion worth of American goods<\/a>, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment, as the trade war<\/a> between the once-friendly neighbors<\/a> escalates. And Justice Department lawyers told a court<\/a> that if Trump\u2019s name does not appear somewhere on the Kennedy Center, then the cultural center may be \u201crequired to be taken down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s the Latest:<\/p>\n

Judge denies Minnesota bid to extradite ICE officer from Texas, paving way for his release<\/p>\n

A federal judge has refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who is charged with shooting and wounding a man in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n

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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks with reporters at the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Alex Brandon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christian Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro is in custody in Brownsville on the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n

Under Texas law, Castro must be released from jail Thursday. Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee to Mexico.<\/p>\n

Castro is accused of shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg and of falsely accusing him and another man of attacking an ICE officer.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump claims that he\u2019s in no hurry to get back to talks with Iran<\/p>\n

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The Supreme Court is seen on the morning after the conservative majority sided with the Trump administration in a case over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail-in voting, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The president in a telephone call with Al Jazeera on Wednesday reasserted his belief that the U.S. is defeating Iran as the conflict nears the six-month mark.<\/p>\n

The Republican administration announced earlier this week it was expanding economic sanctions against Iran and warned countries that are still doing business with Tehran to cut ties or potentially face U.S. economic sanctions.<\/p>\n

Trump, however, told the Qatar-based broadcaster that he is \u201cnot in a hurry\u201d to return to talks with Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are winning very big,\u201d Trump said, according to Al Jazeera. \u201cThey\u2019ve got massive inflation, their economy is falling apart, they\u2019re treating their people very badly, they are killing many, many protesters. I have no time schedule; whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican nominee for Maine governor says he wants ICE agents at polling places in the state<\/p>\n

Bobby Charles, the Republican nominee for governor in Maine, has told supporters that he plans to ask a top Homeland Security official to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and U.S. Marshals to polling places in Maine before the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press obtained audio of Charles<\/a> making these comments during an address before the state\u2019s Young Republicans chapter.<\/p>\n

The Maine Democratic Party criticized the idea as likely illegal and an attempt to intimidate voters.<\/p>\n

Homeland Security has stated it does not plan to send ICE agents to polling places, and the White House dismissed concerns about federal agents interfering with elections.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Federal judge removes major legal obstacle to Trump mail voting order, with more challenges likely<\/p>\n

A federal judge is lifting a major legal obstacle<\/a> that had prevented the government from implementing President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order limiting mail voting.<\/p>\n

The decision came shortly after about two dozen Democratically controlled states filed a fresh lawsuit against the directive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether the order will be in effect for November\u2019s midterm elections, but it\u2019s already creating uncertainty just a week before the first mail ballots are sent out.<\/p>\n

The order directs the U.S. Postal Service to send mail ballots only to those on a list of eligible voters and requires a uniform envelope format.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

US hits allegedly left-wing Italy-based group with terrorism sanctions<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on an Italy-based group it accuses of fomenting left-wing terrorism online in Europe and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The Treasury and the State departments announced Wednesday that Autistici\/Inventati, also known as the A\/I Collective, had been added to their list of specially designated terrorist entities. The administration said the group was well known for supporting the infrastructure of radical left-wing groups.<\/p>\n

The State Department said in a statement that the group\u2019s \u201cspectrum of digital services are specifically built to provide far-left terrorist groups with the means to organize, recruit, communicate, and carry out violent attacks \u2013 all while remaining beyond the reach of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sanctions freeze any assets the group may have in the United States or that touch U.S. jurisdictions and bar American citizens from any financial transactions with it.<\/p>\n

Maryland court rules Democratic-backed redistricting amendment cannot go on November ballot<\/p>\n

A Maryland court has ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment that could have paved the way for Democrats to redraw the state\u2019s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections.<\/p>\n

Democratic state lawmakers had approved a proposed constitutional amendment earlier this month. If passed by voters, it could pave the way to redraw congressional districts before the 2028 election.<\/p>\n

The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state\u2019s capital city marks another setback in Democrats\u2019 national attempts to counter a Republican redistricting movement<\/a> pushed by President Donald Trump ahead of this year\u2019s elections<\/p>\n

The judge ruled that lawmakers missed a July deadline they had set to prepare summaries of ballot measures. The judge paused the effect of his ruling to allow for an appeal.<\/p>\n

Democrats already hold seven of the state\u2019s eight U.S. House districts. They hope that redistricting could help them win all eight.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Wave energy testing site opens off Oregon, a green energy milestone in the Trump administration<\/p>\n

The first large site for testing wave energy technologies in the continental U.S. has opened after securing a key green-energy approval from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Trump has created massive hurdles for clean energy, particularly offshore wind<\/a>. His government has implemented policies<\/a> that slow energy permitting and development, canceled billions in grants<\/a> for hundreds of clean energy projects, and spent nearly $4 billion to buy back leases<\/a> to stop offshore wind projects. But they see promise in harnessing the power of the ocean\u2019s waves.<\/p>\n

The Energy Department signed off on the PacWave South<\/a> testing facility, so it could open off the Oregon coast. Companies can now bring wave energy technologies to see how they perform in the ocean and send electricity back to the local grid.<\/p>\n

Oregon State University developed the facility, though it hasn\u2019t yet generated any electricity because developers of the wave energy devices are facing delays in federal funding.<\/p>\n

\u25b6 Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s executive order remains barred from taking effect<\/p>\n

The Trump administration is arguing that a separate injunction<\/a> needs to be immediately rescinded in light of the high court\u2019s ruling in the previous Democratic state lawsuit. It also had succeeded in a third case filed in May in the District of Columbia, convincing a judge that it was too early to prevent its implementation of the executive order.<\/p>\n

All previous challenges were filed before the administration published its mail ballot rule Friday night. The rule says that if states want their mail ballots delivered, they will need federal approval of the design of their envelopes and must give the Postal Service a list of voters eligible to receive them.<\/p>\n

What 25 attorneys general say about Trump\u2019s order on voting by mail<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the country, states are already deep into preparations for the 2026 elections. Now, at the last moment, the federal government is attempting to meddle in those preparations and potentially threaten countless Americans\u2019 right to vote,\u201d New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 25 Democratic attorneys general filing the lawsuit, said in a statement. \u201cUSPS has no authority to decide who can and cannot vote by mail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democratic states file new challenge to Trump\u2019s mail ballot directive<\/p>\n

The action, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against them<\/a> in a separate case.<\/p>\n

The justices did not rule on the legality of Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> seeking to limit mail voting in this year\u2019s midterm elections \u2014 instead, a majority found the Democratic lawsuit premature.<\/p>\n

But that was before the Republican administration issued a rule governing U.S. Postal Service delivery of mail ballots<\/a>. Election officials warn it will be impossible to implement<\/a> in the days before the first wave of mail ballots are sent out next week.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s some of what Meta agreed to apply to its platforms under the settlement<\/p>\n