
Start of early voting in North Carolina could be delayed after ruling in RFK Jr. ballot challenge
CNN
The first ballots in the nation are scheduled to start going out Friday in North Carolina, but that could be delayed after a judge ordered a temporary pause on ballot distribution.
The first ballots in the nation are scheduled to start going out Friday in North Carolina, but that could be delayed after a judge ordered a temporary pause on ballot distribution. The ruling came in response to a request from former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove his name from the ballot. North Carolina’s Democratic-controlled State Board of Elections voted along party lines last week to reject Kennedy’s request, saying that it wouldn’t be practical to reprint ballots and delay the start of voting. Kennedy, who dropped out of the race last month and endorsed former President Donald Trump, then challenged that decision in court. Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt denied the former candidate’s request Thursday but also ordered a pause to allow Kennedy to appeal. In her written order, the judge ordered the state not to proceed with mailing absentee ballots before noon Friday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.










