The familiar Kars4Kids jingle will continue playing across California for now after a state appeals court sided with the charity in its ongoing legal fight over the ads.

On June 4, a California appeals court ruled that Kars4Kids can keep airing its advertisements in the state while it challenges a lower court decision that found the commercials deceptive.

The order temporarily pauses a judge’s ruling that would have prohibited the New Jersey-based vehicle donation charity from running the ads in their current form. The appeals court did not address the merits of the case, which remains under review.

The decision marks an important victory for Kars4Kids, whose fundraising operation relies heavily on the nationally recognized “1-877-Kars4Kids” advertising campaign. For now, the well-known jingle will remain on California airwaves as the nonprofit pursues its appeal.

Three U.S. citizens were arrested Friday and accused of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group, including raising money to purchase drones and rocket-propelled grenades allegedly intended for attacks against American service members deployed overseas.

The suspects were identified as Bisaam Ghafoor, 21, of Leawood, Kansas, Elias Shamsaldeen, 21, of Porterville, California and Bereen Dzayee, 25, of Lakeside, California.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the District of Kansas, the three men conspired to provide material support to ISIS by collectively sending more than $2,000 to a person they believed was a member of the terrorist organization.

Federal authorities allege that from at least February 2025 through June 2026, the defendants communicated through Discord chats, voice calls and other messaging platforms about plans to support ISIS through personnel, services and financial contributions.

Investigators said the men pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader and exchanged messages in social media groups that promoted violence on behalf of the organization.

The complaint alleges that Ghafoor said it would be “sick” if his name could be written on a drone used in an attack against Americans. Dzayee allegedly suggested that U.S. Special Forces personnel should be among the targets of drone attacks.

Authorities also said Shamsaldeen expressed a desire to stab and injure a U.S. service member. According to the complaint, Ghafoor stated that he had always wanted to kill a female soldier by beheading and added, “I wish I could kill 300,000,000 Americans.”

Investigators allege that Ghafoor’s name was written on the projectile of a rocket-propelled grenade that was purportedly intended for use in an overseas attack against U.S. military personnel. Shamsaldeen allegedly provided money intended for the purchase of drones that were to be used to attack and kill American service members deployed abroad.

The complaint further alleges that the defendants and others discussed traveling outside the United States to fight on behalf of ISIS and, in some communications, expressed a willingness to die for the organization.

“This administration has put terrorists, cartels, and gangs on notice,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “Today’s arrest of three individuals who allegedly conspired to provide material support to ISIS makes clear our commitment to taking down terrorist networks — anywhere.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said the suspects allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS, plotted attacks and targeted U.S. service members, adding that the arrests prevented further acts of violence.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said the defendants are accused of supporting a “ruthless terrorist organization” and helping fund plans to kill American service members overseas.

The investigation was conducted by FBI Joint Terrorism Task Forces in Kansas City, San Diego and Sacramento, with assistance from FBI field offices in Richmond and Newark.

The three men are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) — Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, who is currently leading in the race and is likely to advance to November’s primary, is calling for faster ballot counting as officials continue processing votes.

Hilton appeared in the Bay Area, holding a rally Friday morning outside the San Mateo County Elections Office in San Mateo. There, he criticized the state’s ballot-counting timeline, urging changes to speed up results.

Election officials say the system prioritizes accuracy over speed. California law allows ballots to be counted if they arrive up to a week after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by then. State officials argue the policy ensures more voters are able to participate, particularly those casting mail-in ballots at the last minute.

Hilton has proposed additional resources to accelerate the counting process, including an “Emergency Election Support Corps” to assist counties.

Slow CA vote count criticized by Trump, GOP governor hopeful Steve Hilton: ‘Another Democrat fiasco’

“It involves surging workers to these election centers so you don’t just have empty places, nothing happening,” Hilton said. “People working around the clock to make this happen. I’m proposing a regional surge team for every area where the counties don’t have the resources.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office pushed back in a statement, saying, “It’s concerning that a candidate for Governor doesn’t know the Governor has nothing to do with counting ballots.”

Local election officials also disputed Hilton’s characterization of the process. Jim Irizarry, San Mateo County’s assistant chief elections officer, said staffing is already in place and working continuously.

“Well, that’s not correct,” Irizarry said of Hilton’s claim that there are election centers with nothing happening. “Here in San Mateo County, we have two crews working full-time here to actually process all of the ballots that we have. In California, we’re governed under the ‘California Voters Choice Act,’ which provides a 30-day certification process to ensure that every vote that is cast is counted. So it’s very inclusionary. It’s safe and secure, and it takes time.”

Inside the elections office, ABC7 Eyewitness News saw workers processing ballots, including conducting what officials call a “1% dice roll” to determine which votes will be manually double-checked Monday, a step designed to ensure accuracy in the count. Officials say crews are working overtime, around the clock.

LIVE: See latest election results here

Final results are still days, and possibly weeks, away as ballot processing continues statewide.

County elections officials need to finalize their official results by 30 days after the election. The Secretary of State certifies results 38 days after the election.

Hilton is stopping short of claims by some GOP members that California is rigging votes by taking time to count and certify election results, despite continuing delays in final tallies.

There is no evidence to support such claims.