Liberal Party of Australia

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, has acknowledged she never belonged to Phi Beta Kappa despite claiming in a 2016 legislative hearing that she "graduated Phi Beta Kappa." A Wall Street Journal investigation found her 2002 University of Minnesota commencement record showed no honors distinction, and her campaign confirmed she was only nominated but never joined, citing unpaid fees. The Journal also found her official state biography overstated her academic record, describing a double major in American Indian studies and child psychology, when she actually majored in child psychology with a minor in American Indian studies.

The disclosures add to scrutiny of Flanagan's record, including prior reporting on Medicaid overpayments tied to tribal programs and a 2025 state audit citing financial-management lapses in her office.

Wisconsin's open governor's race is shaping up as one of the tightest contests of the midterms, pitting Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley against U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a longtime Trump ally who has recently distanced himself from the president on Iran policy and AI data centers. Polling, including a Marquette University Law School survey, shows the race roughly even despite Trump's low approval ratings nationally. Tiffany, backed by three billionaire megadonors, has outspent Crowley roughly $53 million to $35 million and has attacked him on crime and immigration, including a Milwaukee County inmate tablet program Crowley recently curtailed. Crowley, who narrowly won a chaotic Democratic primary over democratic socialist Francesca Hong, is trying to tie Tiffany to Trump, tariffs, and gas prices, while Democratic leaders including Gov. Tony Evers, Hong, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and Kamala Harris rally behind him. Crowley would be Wisconsin's first Black governor. The race, open for the first time in 16 years, could also affect control of the Legislature.

A politically diverse coalition — including Bernie Sanders, Steve Bannon, and lawmakers from both parties — gathered in Washington, D.C. for a "Pro-Human Assembly" calling for guardrails on artificial intelligence development. Republican Rep. Chip Roy and Democratic Rep. Greg Casar both warned against unchecked AI growth, citing constituent concerns over data centers, jobs, and competition with rivals like China. Rep. Lori Trahan touted her bipartisan FRONTIER Act, which would create independent evaluators for frontier AI models.

The event follows AI researcher Jacob Coxon's public resignation from Anthropic over safety concerns, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's call for developers to slow down, echoed by OpenAI's Sam Altman and Elon Musk. President Trump has dismissed AI risk concerns as a "hoax," insisting strong leadership is sufficient safeguard, while Vice President JD Vance struck a more cautious tone. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Trump will meet AI executives at the White House soon. CBS polling shows most Americans doubt government oversight of AI will be adequate and expect job losses from the technology.

More than a dozen liberal Michigan rabbis and Jewish leaders, backed by the progressive Zionist group Zioness, released an open letter titled "Nonnegotiable Michigan" ahead of the state's closely watched U.S. Senate race. Without naming Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed directly, the letter lists five principles — including Jewish safety, the right to self-defined Jewish identity, Jewish sovereignty in Israel, political inclusion, and a positive vision for the Middle East — that it says candidates must affirm to earn Jewish votes. Organizers Rabbi Josh Whinston and Rabbi Aaron Starr said the effort predates but was sharpened by El-Sayed's recent partial apology for past comments about a synagogue attack in West Bloomfield Township.

The campaign contrasts with a separate effort by other Jewish leaders urging a vote for Republican Mike Rogers instead. El-Sayed, a vocal Israel critic, has been courting Jewish voters and plans to hire a Jewish liaison, but has not shifted on recognizing Jewish sovereignty in a two-state solution. Michigan's roughly 100,000-strong Jewish community has become a flashpoint in the race, which could help decide Senate control.