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Democrats keep Pennsylvania Supreme Court control after 3 justices win retention races

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Democrats keep Pennsylvania Supreme Court control after 3 justices win retention races

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All three justices on the ballot in Pennsylvania will keep their jobs after winning races on Tuesday in an election that had threatened to change the state Supreme Court’s liberal composition.

Democrats will continue to hold a 5-2 majority on the state’s highest court, a result of voters overwhelmingly choosing to retain Democratic justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht. The Associated Press called the races at about 10 p.m. local time.

“Tonight, folks across our Commonwealth sent a resounding message by voting to retain all three Supreme Court Justices who will continue to defend the rule of law, safeguard our elections, and protect our constitutional rights,” Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement.

REPUBLICANS MOUNT CAMPAIGN TO FLIP PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT’S DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Christine Donohue speaks at her swearing-in ceremony Jan. 8, 2016, in Pittsburgh.  (Keith Srakocic/AP Photo)

The race attracted an unusual amount of attention as state and national groups poured what The Associated Press estimated to be more than $15 million into it, exceeding spending in past retention elections and underscoring the stakes of changing the court majority.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices serve 10-year terms and can be retained for consecutive terms until they reach the age of 75, at which point they must retire. Donohue, who is 72, will be unable to serve out another full term.

Republicans’ fight with the judiciary has intensified this year as judges have routinely thwarted President Donald Trump’s agenda. Their defeat in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that has seen high-stakes election litigation in recent years, comes after they suffered a bitter loss in an expensive Supreme Court race in another swing state, Wisconsin, in April.

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A voter drops off a mail-in ballot at the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Trump weighed in on the race this week, calling for the ouster of the three justices. Trump said they “ruled for Sleepy Joe Biden over and over, and interfered in the 2020 Election” and that it was “time for Justice.”

The odds had been stacked against the GOP in Pennsylvania since only one justice, Russell Nigro, had ever been voted out through a retention race. Nigro was defeated in 2005 amid public outrage over legislative and Supreme Court justice pay raises.

A voter uses a ballot drop box at the Bucks County Administration building voting on demand and ballot drop center in Doylestown, Pa., Oct. 31, 2024. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

Republicans dedicated their spending and resources to attempting to persuade voters that ousting the justices would be a well-deserved referendum on the Supreme Court’s controversial decisions surrounding COVID-19 lockdowns and election rules. Democrats argued that a loss would threaten women’s access to abortion and reproductive health services.

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The state’s highest court rejected Republicans’ attempt to toss out 2.5 million mail-in ballots in the 2020 election but delivered a mixture of smaller wins and losses to the GOP in the 2024 election over mail-in and provisional ballot lawsuits.

In 2020, the state Supreme Court also upheld Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s order temporarily shutting down non-essential businesses in the state because of COVID-19. 

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NYC mayor-elect tells residents how to resist ICE agents knocking at their door in new video

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NYC mayor-elect tells residents how to resist ICE agents knocking at their door in new video

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New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Sunday released a video outlining New Yorkers’ rights during encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an attempted raid in Manhattan, pledging that his administration will safeguard immigrant communities while protecting the city’s constitutional right to protest.

The video comes as immigration enforcement in New York faces renewed scrutiny, underscoring how Mamdani plans to confront federal actions he says threaten immigrant communities and demand that New Yorkers be prepared, informed and confident in asserting their legal rights.

In the video, Mamdani opens by recalling an ICE raid last weekend in Manhattan that sought to detain immigrants.

“As mayor, I’ll protect the rights of every single New Yorker, and that includes the more than 3 million immigrants who call this city their home,” he said. “But we can all stand up to ICE if you know your rights.”

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MAMDANI VOWS NYPD WILL ‘NEVER’ GO BACK TO ADAMS-ERA COOPERATION WITH ICE ENFORCEMENT

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Heather Khalifa/AP Photo)

He then offered guidance for immigrants who may encounter ICE.

“First, ICE cannot enter into private spaces like your home, school or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge,” Mamdani advised. “If ICE does not have a judicial warrant signed by a judge, you have the right to say, ‘I do not consent to entry’ and the right to keep your door closed.’”

He noted that ICE may present paperwork claiming authority to make an arrest, but said “that is false.”

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“ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent,” the mayor-elect said. “If you’re being detained, you may always ask, ‘Am I free to go?’ repeatedly until they answer you.”

Mamdani also said that people are “legally allowed to film” ICE agents as long as they do not interfere with an arrest.

“It is important to remain calm during any interaction with ICE or law enforcement. Do not impede their investigation, resist arrest or run,” he said.

DHS DEMANDS LETITIA JAMES TAKE ACTION OVER NEW YORK’S REFUSAL TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS

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Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York, left, and President Donald Trump are seen during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 21, 2025.  (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Mamdani closed by emphasizing New Yorkers’ constitutional right to protest.

“New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest, and when I’m mayor, we will protect that right,” he said. “New York will always welcome immigrants, and I will fight each and every day to protect, support and celebrate our immigrant brothers and sisters.”

The video comes more than two weeks after the mayor-elect met with President Donald Trump, appearing to forge a new path in their relationship as they found common ground on affordability issues and improving conditions in New York.

Despite that meeting, Mamdani reaffirmed New York’s status as a sanctuary city during a speech at a church in the Bronx.

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“I shared with the president directly that New Yorkers want to follow the laws of our city, and the laws of our city say that, in our sanctuary city policies, city government can be in touch with the federal government on around 170 serious crimes,” Mamdani said last month. “The concern comes from beyond those crimes, the many New Yorkers who are being arrested, they’re being detained, they’re being deported for the crime of making a regular court appearance.”

“My focus as the next mayor of this city is going to be to protect immigrants who call this city their home,” the mayor-elect added.

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Trump, Sheinbaum extend mutual invitations for visits after Washington meeting

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Trump, Sheinbaum extend mutual invitations for visits after Washington meeting

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that she and President Trump had a “cordial” hourlong meeting in Washington that ended with both leaders extending invitations to visit each other’s country.

“We’ll arrange a date later,” Sheinbaum told reporters outside the Mexican Cultural Institute.

The meeting was the first time the two had met face to face and followed months of clashes between the United States and Mexico over contentious issues such as trade, immigration and how to combat drug trafficking.

But on Friday, the two world leaders were brought together by soccer.

Sheinbaum was in Washington to attend the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw at the Kennedy Center, alongside Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are co-hosting the soccer tournament, which begins in June.

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In a social media post, Sheinbaum said the three leaders talked about “the great opportunity that the 2026 FIFA World Cup represents for the three countries and about the good relationships we have.”

“We agreed to continue working together on trade issue with our teams,” she added.

She later reiterated to reporters that the meeting had been “very positive,” and that she impressed upon Trump that Mexico is “extraordinary” country. She said she personally invited him to visit Mexico, and that he extended an invitation to come back to Washington.

Asked if Trump asked anything of her, she said he had “nothing in particular.”

After months of friction between the two countries, the meeting on Friday could break the ice and set the stage for policy negotiations as both presidents navigate pressures from their constituencies.

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Since the start of his second term in January, Trump has threatened to impose large trade tariffs on Mexico, the United States’ largest trade partner — but so far, Sheinbaum has been able to stave off many tariffs.

Trump and his team have also been floating the prospect of U.S. strikes on suspected criminals and drug laboratories in Mexico. But Sheinbaum has insisted she would not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels within its nation’s borders.

The ongoing negotiations come as Mexicans’ attitudes toward Trump and the United States have continued to sour. In contrast, Mexicans continue to see their own government’s management of the border positively, according to a Pew Research Center report published in July.

The upbeat aftermath of Friday’s meeting belied profound differences of opinion between the leaders of two nations that have an almost 2,000-mile border and share deep economic, security and cultural ties.

The two North American presidents could hardly be more different: Sheinbaum is a scientist and life-long leftist activist who maintains a low-key demeanor; Trump is a real-estate scion who embraces right-wing talking points and craves being the center of attention.

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Sheinbaum has had to walk a thin line as she has fought off Trump’s repeated threats to impose punishing tariffs on imports from Mexico, a nation heavily dependent on cross-border trade with the United States.

She has also rejected Trump’s suggestions that U.S. forces may intervene unilaterally in Mexico to attack drug cartels. She has maintained her mantra of “cooperation, not subordination,” even as Trump has mused about striking gangs in Mexico.

In various remarks, Trump has lauded Sheinbaum as “wonderful” and “brave,” while also declaring that she rejected U.S. military aid to fight Mexican cartels because she is is “scared to death” of the cartels.

Sheinbaum has assailed U.S. strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that have left dozens dead. She has also declared Mexico’s opposition to U.S. military intervention in Venezuela or anywhere else in Latin America.

Repeatedly, the Mexican president has insisted that her country would be “nobody’s piñata.”

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In his career, Trump has long used Mexico and Mexicans as a political punching bag, catering to anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States. Trump kicked off his 2016 presidential campaign declaring that Mexican immigrants were criminals, drug-runners and and “rapists” — though he acknowledged there were some “good people” among them — and repeatedly pledged to build “a big beautiful wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border that Mexico would pay for. It didn’t.

After Friday’s meeting, Ronald Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said on X that the encounter “reaffirmed a historic partnership based on results,” adding: “Their dialogue advances a high-level agenda focused on cooperation, security, and prosperity.”

Staff Writers Ceballos reported from Washington and McDonnell from Mexico City.

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Video: The Impact of Trump’s Slipping Approval Rating

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Video: The Impact of Trump’s Slipping Approval Rating

new video loaded: The Impact of Trump’s Slipping Approval Rating

After months of holding steady, President Trump‘s approval rating has dipped over the past several weeks, according to a New York Times analysis of public polling.

By Tyler Pager, Claire Hogan, Whitney Shefte and Stephanie Swart

December 7, 2025

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