MMN Editor

A federal judge denied the NAACP’s request to block the Justice Department from sending election monitors to polling places, but ordered the department to ensure they are not sworn law enforcement officers and cannot make arrests.U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, in an order Monday night, said the DOJ must also ensure its monitors are unarmed, out of uniform and do not display insignia identifying them as federal employees. The order applies to the department’s poll monitoring program for Election Day, Nov. 3.BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS VOTER-FRAUD PROBES IN BATTLEGROUND STATES JUST DAYS BEFORE MIDTERMS”The Court is therefore unpersuaded by the plaintiffs’ assertion that a person who is simply ‘project[ing a] command[ing] presence, scan[ning] crowds, and more” – without any outward indications of law enforcement authority – would generate objectively reasonable fear in a voter,” according to Walton, who was nominated to the Washington, D.C., court by former President George W. Bush. “Thus, the Court finds that in conjunction with the defendants’ public statements regarding voter fraud and election integrity, the deployment of these individuals as election monitors would not place the average voter ‘in reasonable fear of harassment and interference with their right to vote.'”The NAACP had sought a temporary restraining order barring the DOJ from deploying personnel from agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Prisons. The group argued their presence could intimidate voters and violate the Voting Rights Act.Walton denied the motion without prejudice, finding that the current record did not show the NAACP was likely to succeed on its claim. He said the DOJ’s representations at a hearing addressed his concerns: the monitors would be administrative or clerical employees, not sworn officers, and would not carry firearms.TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE SLAMS DOOR ON DOJ AS COURT LOSSES PILE UP DAYS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS”The Court will order that the defendants comply with their counsel’s concession that they will take action to ensure that the monitors participating in the DOJ’s Poll Monitoring Program are indeed administrative or clerical personnel and not law enforcement officials, will not be in uniform or display any other insignia indicating their affiliation with a federal agency, will not be armed with a firearm, and will not have the power to effectuate arrests,” Walton wrote.Walton also ordered monitors not to interfere with voters or election officials, to follow state and local rules, and to avoid speaking with voters inside polling places. They may speak with voters outside only after they have cast a ballot. Monitors must introduce themselves to election officials and carry federal credentials in case they are asked to verify their employment.Walton ordered the DOJ to file a status report by 7 a.m. ET on Tuesday explaining how it confirmed that none of the monitors would be law enforcement officials with arrest powers.The ruling followed allegations that the DOJ planned to send more than 1,000 personnel, including law enforcement agents and investigators, to polling locations. The department’s attorneys told the court that sworn agents and officers would be excluded from the program.Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

It was 28 years ago when Kordell Stewart, the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, got a phone call from a friend who was curious to ask him a question following a stop at the barbershop.The friend told him people at the barbershop were saying he was arrested at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh on charges of participating in a lewd act with a trans woman. Within hours, he was being contacted by former teammates and others in cities like San Francisco, Atlanta and Indianapolis.It was a rumor – nothing more than that. Yet, Stewart, nicknamed “Slash” for his unique skill set that saw him play quarterback, receiver, running back and even punter, dealt with scrutiny and outside noise stemming from the rumor while trying to cement himself as the franchise signal caller.CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE”Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn” is a new HBO and NFL Films documentary, directed by Brian Rivera, which allowed Stewart to tell his story and how a rumor had a long-term impact on his career and life.”To have an opportunity to have a story out there to tell I think is what allured this relationship between myself, my team, with NFL Films and Brian Rivera being the director, to the collaboration with HBO and HBO Max. It’s surreal to say the least considering, with storytelling, there’s so many layers,” he told OutKick during a recent interview.Stewart called the experience “unique and cathartic,” and it included a trip to Schenley Park and its crudely named “Fruit Loop Circle,” where the 1995 NFL Draft choice was said to have been participating in the lewd act when he was arrested. Again, Stewart was never arrested and has always denied the accusations.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!But while the rumor is something that always seems to come up when Stewart comes to the minds of Steelers fans and others, he wants his body of work on the field to be the main topic of conversation, which is the documentary’s theme.In fact, Stewart views himself as a trailblazer in the sport because the league, in his eyes, was not ready for someone with his skill set – a dual-threat quarterback that is now coveted by teams in the NFL.”You look at the game today. It was everything I did back then. Guys are being drafted No. 1 overall? Where’s my money, Scott? I need my back pay here, you know what I mean? Sarcastically speaking,” Stewart said. “It’s appreciated and I think all the work that’s been put in – if I had to do it again, I’d do it again. All the work put in, it was well worth it.””It was a tremendous amount of fun,” he added about his career. “Some sorry moments, but that’s a part of the game and a part of life. You can’t always stay down there at the bottom of the barrel knowing that the road traveled was one of trying to succeed. As [former Steelers] Coach [Bill] Cowher said, he’s won more games with me than any other quarterback over the course of his career. That’s something to be proud of.”Stewart’s football career has many layers, as he alluded to earlier. As a standout at Colorado, he had tremendous arm talent, but also possessed the speed and agility to be a “Hall of Fame wide receiver,” which he said the Steelers told him he could be.But playing quarterback is what he felt his calling was on the gridiron, and he stuck to that belief from the very start until the end. However, to get playing time after the Steelers drafted him in the second round, Stewart did what was needed. The nickname “Slash” followed after Cowher put him “Quarterback/Wide Receiver” on the roster.Stewart, though, wanted to eventually shake that thought out of the Steelers’ mind, as he continued to prove his worth as the team’s starting quarterback.2026 SUPER BOWL ODDS: 49ERS FAVORED; RAVENS PLUMMET AMID LAMAR JACKSON INJURYIn 1997, Stewart went 11-5 as a starter, eventually reaching the AFC Championship Game before falling short of the Super Bowl. Everything seemed to be going well, but with key coaching changes, especially offensive coordinator Chan Gailey leaving, Stewart was struggling to find consistency on the field.Compound that with the rumors circulating, and you would understand if Stewart started to spiral. Instead, he took all of it with grace.The word-of-mouth rumor was allegedly traced back to a Pittsburgh police officer, though Stewart doesn’t know who exactly it was to this day. He still can’t understand why someone, especially a Steelers fan, would do such a thing.”I mean, really? For real bro, that’s how low we went because of the disdained taste that many may have had in their mouths, their minds and their spirits of me being the face of that organization at the quarterback position,” he said. “That makes me want to go back in time and do it again. Because you weren’t going to move me off my spot of what I believed in and knew what I could do. So, the what ifs don’t stick with me because I did my part.”If we’re standing on the only thing I couldn’t do was win a Super Bowl – look at Dan Marino. Look at Dan Fouts. Look at Warren Moon, who has a yellow jacket. If that’s the only problem that I have – people are going to pick other stuff. But holistically, if that’s the only issue I had, I was a great quarterback in that city and in the National Football League considering four of those five years. I had different coordinators and had to go through that stuff that you just talked about. Bro, come on. The normal person couldn’t handle that and still be consciously aware and articulating and comfortable and laughing and smiling and having a great time to where you’re prepared to want to tell the story 28 years to Nov. 1 this year that this story is finally being told.”Today, 54-year-old Stewart continues to love the game of football, serving as the volunteer offensive coordinator for the South Forsyth War Eagles high school football team in Cumming, Georgia.And he also makes it quite clear he would like the Steelers to show some respect to his career outside of weathering the storm on and off the field.Stewart was the first player in NFL history to throw for 20-plus touchdowns (21) and rush for 10-plus touchdowns (11) in the same season. He also sits third all-time in passing yards in Steelers history, and his 2,561 rushing yards are the most by a quarterback in franchise history.”People want to segregate it and make it about what I didn’t do as a quarterback,” he explained. “The body of work and the totality of the stuff I did in that city, you can’t throw that away. You can try to because you want to stick to what you want to stick to, and sometimes the traditional ways we want to believe what we want to believe.”But the reality is no one has ever done before, and will not ever have to play the game that way – full-time at receiver, become the best quarterback, and then it be talked about in a way we will have to learn how to because that impact on the game has changed the game so much.”It is what it is. God blessed the chance to work in that beautiful city, a very historical football team, a ton of history there. I’m proud of the run I had in that city. I hope those can become proud considering I handle myself at the highest levels and never turned my back on anything other than that foolishness that was talked about. When it came to the organization – my teammates, the game, my coaches, and the fans who appreciated that run – I appreciate you guys, man. If I had to do it again, I promise you I’d do it again. I wouldn’t change nothing.”

Lamar Jackson has posed a problem for every NFL team that has played the Baltimore Ravens the past nine years. Now he is the biggest problem the Ravens are perhaps about to face since they arrived in Baltimore in 1996.Jackson, as everyone understands, must have surgery to repair the battered thumb on his right (throwing) hand that he injured Sunday against the Buffalo Bills — an injury coach Jesse Minter said would land the team’s quarterback on injured reserve and “potentially” threaten his status for the remainder of this season.That, believe it or not, is the good news.RAVENS QUARTERBACK LAMAR JACKSON INJURED ONCE AGAIN AND OUT OF THE GAME AFTER ONLY ONE PLAY AGAINST THE BUFFFALO BILLSThe bad news is what comes next because that includes the possible departure of a generational player who turned a solid Ravens franchise when he arrived into a playoff contender every game of every season he was healthy and played since 2018.So here we are: Jackson may have played his final game for the Ravens.His constant and often losing battle to stay healthy, against a backdrop of a difficult contract and salary cap situation in 2027, could force a divorce between the Ravens and Jackson next offseason.The Ravens will find themselves in a situation where they must decide to pay a 30-year-old, often-injured, very expensive Lamar Jackson because he’s a difference-maker when healthy?… Or do they try to trade him – with his permission because he has a no-trade clause – to a team of his choice that is willing to improve instantly?(Whispers Miami Dolphins, Jackson’s hometown team).LAMAR JACKSON LEAVES GAME WITH INJURED ANKLE AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT SHOWS NO ONE FEARS THE TENNESSEE TITANSThe questions boggle because a two-time MVP is typically a piece of the puzzle for an NFL team and not the puzzle itself that requires a solution.This crazy situation is, at its root, going to be about money and business and not love or emotion.Simply:Jackson is carrying an $84.34 million salary cap charge next year on a team that is estimated to be $45.9 million over the estimated cap. That is not sustainable.And it wouldn’t be a problem if Jackson were healthy this season, playing at his usual heights, and promising more of the same in the future. The Ravens would then negotiate an extension with Jackson that would lower his cap charge while rewarding him with a lot of new cash.Except that might not be the view the Ravens can logically share anymore. Their view post-injury that threatens to knock him out of the lineup for 16 of 34 games after this season, is not known. But the club might decide paying Jackson as if a season-crashing injury had not happened might not be the smartest approach.JONATHAN TAYLOR ADDRESSES TRADE RUMORS AMID COLTS’ FIRE SALE: ‘HOPEFULLY THAT DAY MAY NOT COME’The Ravens and Jackson have squared off on the contract front before. The 2023 offseason brought one dramatic moment after another before Jackson and the club agreed to a $230 million deal.Jackson absolutely expects an extension next offseason because he will not want to play the season on an expiring deal. That is not how business is typically done in the NFL and definitely not with a franchise-type of quarterback.And did I mention, Jackson expects to be the league’s highest-paid player when he inks his next extension.All this might be too much for the Ravens who have seen this season that opened with Jackson and much promise sink into an abyss of uncertainty.Colts coach Shane Steichen on Monday answered a question he himself helped pose after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars by saying he needed evaluate everyone, including Daniel Jones.That was understood to mean Jones, a disappointment so far this season, could be benched. But, no.”Evaluating the tape, looking back at it, some things he could do better, some things that we need to help him with moving forward,” Steichen said. “But I do feel that Daniel gives the best chance to win right now.”Great. Stop right there.If the Colts, in garage sale mode after trading Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, don’t start calling around offering Jones in trade by the Nov. 10 trade deadline, they are totally missing the point of the remainder of their season.No one in Indy cares if Jones gives the a Colts team already out of significant contention a better chance to win next weekend. But the Minnesota Vikings might care that Jones might help them make the playoffs.Or even win a championship.The Colts should be on the phone to the Vikings offering to trade Jones to them and reunite the QB with the coaching staff that wanted to bring him back for 2025 after he spent the latter part of ’24 in their facility.The Vikings need help. Kyler Murray is struggling with a sore hamstring, he’s already had a concussion earlier this season, and he hasn’t exactly lit any defenses on fire when healthy.It makes sense for the Vikings to invest, say, a fourth- or fifth-round pick to bring Jones aboard. And the Colts?Jones won’t be on the Colts in 2028 or 2029, but that mid-round pick might be to give them a better chance to win then.The Arizona Cardinals made the obvious transition from Jacoby Brissett to Gardner Minshew as their starting quarterback on Monday after the man with the game’s greatest O.K. Corral mustache threw three touchdowns passes to lead a comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!Coach Mike LaFleur not only benched Brissett but demoted him to the No. 3 emergency QB spot behind Minshew and rookie Carson Beck.That makes Brissett a luxury and someone the Cardinals should be making or taking phone calls about as a possible trade deadline target.It makes sense for the Cardinals to get something for Brissett and give him a chance to matter on a team where he might be more valued.He served his purpose in Arizona, it would be wise to turn the page.FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO

Ukrainian Intelligence Just Tried Its Own Version Of The Israeli Pager Attack

It appears Ukrainian intelligence has attempted to do its own version of the Israeli pager bomb attacks that decimated many Hezbollah commanders in September 2024.Russian authorities announced Monday the uncovering of a bizarre and twisted plot involving boobytrapped goggles for military drone operators. 

Source: FSB

The FSB security service said Monday it thwarted a shipment of drone goggles rigged with explosives that were meant to be distributed across drone units.”During an X-ray examination, explosives specialists established that Ukrainian special services had embedded improvised explosive devices into the first-person view goggles where cooling fans are normally placed,” the FSB said.Per the official statement and claims, the explosives would have detonated the moment the goggles were turned on, resulting in immediate death or injury.It was undisclosed just how many headsets were intercepted, but likely border authorities are on high alert protecting against any further shipments or severe security breaches. The rigged shipment in question was first discovered in the southern Volgograd region – but then other shipments were intercepted elsewhere. The shipments were presented as part of ‘volunteer’ donations.This isn’t the first time that electronic items had bombs planted in them allegedly by Ukrainian intelligence operatives. Russian authorities are on the lookout for pontentially tampered items including speaker systems, power banks, laptops, or even car parts.The incident is being compared to the prior similar Israeli operation which was years in planning that rocked Lebanon at the height of the recent Israel-Hezbolllah war there. As we featured at the time:Former Mossad agents revealed new details of Israel’s pager and walkie-talkie terror attacks carried out against members of Hezbollah in interviews with the CBS News program 60 Minutes this week..According to a former Israeli intelligence agent known as Michael, Hezbollah bought more than 16,000 of the exploding devices. When Mossad chief David Barnea gave the green light for the attack in September, the pagers and walkie-talkies were detonated on subsequent days.Some 42 people were killed, including two children, while about 4,000 were injured. Many lost their hands and eyes or had their stomachs ripped open by the explosions. Michael said the walkie-talkie batteries, which included explosive devices, were made in Israel at a Mossad facility.Drone warfare has become front and center in the longrunning Ukraine war, and has fundamentally transformed the battlefield. And so drone parts and operating equipment continue to be in high demand among both warring sides.In some cases loitering drones have even been known to attack and bomb single individuals in gruesome scenes. Both sides have been deploying these tactics.
Tyler Durden
Tue, 11/03/2026 – 06:30