Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska endorsed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor Tuesday, crossing party lines in the final week ahead of Election Day.

The endorsement delivers to Kreiss-Tomkins a high-profile Republican endorsement in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Murkowski announced her support in an interview with Alaska News Source, citing widespread dissatisfaction with the direction of the state and praising Kreiss-Tomkins’ willingness to work across the aisle.

“Alaskans are seeking change. They don’t like the status quo,” Murkowski said. “I think it’s been a hard eight years in many different areas, and Alaskans are looking for something different.”

Four candidates are competing to replace Dunleavy, who cannot seek another term after eight years in office. Recent polling shows Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state lawmaker, leading the crowded field against Republicans Bernadette Wilson, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson and former state Attorney General Treg Taylor. Alaska uses a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, with the lowest-performing candidate eliminated and that candidate’s votes redistributed until one candidate secures a majority.

Murkowski described Kreiss-Tomkins as a candidate who could bring new energy and a collaborative approach, emphasizing his commitment to including Republicans, Democrats and independents in his administration.

“JKT is a young Alaskan with a view and a perspective that I think Alaska needs right now,” she said, calling him “a common sense guy who has a known ability to be working together.”

“We need a governor who’s going to work with the legislature,” Murkowski added.

Kreiss-Tomkins welcomed the endorsement, praising Murkowski’s bipartisan record.

“I have a lot of respect for Lisa, her integrity. I think she’s worked across the aisle in Congress, which is a quality I really admire, and hope to live up to if I’m elected governor,” he told Alaska News Source. “I’m very grateful that she wanted to step up and be a part of the coalition that we’re building.”

The endorsement is the latest example of Murkowski’s willingness to break with her party. She previously supported Democrat Mary Peltola’s campaign for the House in 2022 and 2024.

She has also repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump, including over his conduct and leadership of the Republican Party. Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump subsequently backed a Republican challenger to Murkowski in her 2022 re-election race, which she won.

Most recently, Trump lashed out at Murkowski on Saturday, calling her a “disgrace to Alaska and our country” after she criticized his administration’s lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if the Republican candidate loses narrowly. Trump also accused Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system of being a “total Democrat scam.”

Wilson, who has been endorsed in the gubernatorial race by Trump, blasted Murkowski’s endorsement in a social media post Tuesday, accusing the senator of abandoning Alaska’s values.

“As Governor, I will not be a sitting duck,” Wilson wrote, “and I can assure you, I will actively work to unseat the worst “Republican” senator in the country.”

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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson launched a seven-figure ad blitz in the final stretch of his race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, casting the contest as a choice between wealthy interests aligned with President Donald Trump and everyday Americans.

The closing campaign ad, first reported by MS NOW, comes as Jackson holds a razor-thin polling lead over Collins in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races, with control of the chamber at stake.

“This November, Mainers will decide the direction of this whole country,” Jackson said in the ad. “Is it for the billionaires and Trump, or everyday people like us?”

With exactly one week until Election Day, the ad is part of Jackson’s final campaign message as Democrats seek to capitalize on voter frustration over rising costs, healthcare affordability and Trump’s economic policies.

Jackson leads Collins 48.9% to 47.3%, according to the latest polling average from FiftyPlusOne, MS NOW’s polling data partner. The average weights polls based on their quality and recency, giving Jackson a roughly 2-point edge over the Republican incumbent.

He has earned endorsements from prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Ro Khanna of California.

Collins, a five-term incumbent, is facing her second Democratic opponent this election cycle after oysterman Graham Platner dropped out of the race amid sexual assault allegations, leaving Jackson as her challenger. (Platner has denied the accusations.)

Trump has also intervened on Collins’ behalf, endorsing her despite occasional efforts to distance herself from him. On Friday, Trump moved to lift 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods important to Maine’s economy, a decision aimed in part at bolstering Collins’ re-election.

Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and longtime labor advocate, has sought to portray Collins as increasingly aligned with Trump despite her reputation as a moderate Republican.

“We can protect Social Security, get people healthcare and keep more of what we earn,” Jackson said.

He closed with a personal appeal emphasizing his independence from Trump and wealthy interests.

“I owe nothing to the billionaires or Trump. I owe everything to the people of Maine,” he said. “That’s what’s in my heart.”

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Former FBI Director James Comey is facing new federal criminal charges in Washington, D.C., accusing him of unlawfully transmitting sensitive national defense information and conspiring to disclose it to a reporter, according to court documents unsealed Monday.

Prosecutors filed the two-count criminal information under seal on Oct. 5, alleging Comey improperly disclosed national defense information while serving as FBI director in 2016. The charges include unlawfully transmitting national defense information to an unauthorized person and conspiracy to commit that offense.

According to the filing, Comey allegedly directed an individual, through one or more co-conspirators, to disclose national defense information to a reporter at a national news publication on Oct. 5, 2016.

The filing came exactly 10 years after the alleged conduct on Oct. 5, 2016, a significant detail because the charges carry a 10-year statute of limitations.

Comey was charged by criminal information — charges filed by prosecutors — instead of an indictment by a federal grand jury in this case. He has not yet entered a plea.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ordered the proceedings unsealed Monday at Comey’s request, which federal prosecutors did not oppose.

Comey has already moved to dismiss the case, according to court filings, arguing that two other prosecutors previously declined to bring these charges against the former FBI director.

“The information in this case centers on alleged disclosure of classified information to the New York Times (NYT) on October 5, 2016, that was investigated by two separate U.S. Attorneys over the past ten years,” they wrote. “Both declined to prosecute.”

Comey’s lawyers also argue the national security statute would have required prosecutors to bring the charges by an indictment, rather than criminal information, for the statute of limitations to hold.

“As the Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear, courts may not read words or phrases into statutes,” they wrote.

They are asking the case to be dismissed as “time barred.”

“For the third time in a little more than one year, the Department of Justice has attempted to charge Mr. Comey with a federal crime,” Patrick J. Fitzgerald, an attorney for Comey said in a statement on Monday. “Mr. Comey steadfastly maintains his innocence.”

Fitzgerald also mentioned that prosecutors previously declined to bring these charges against Comey.

“Now, ten years after the article was published, the Government filed an ‘Information’ against Mr. Comey that was not approved by a judge nor issued by a grand jury,” Fitzgerald added. “It purports to charge Mr. Comey with crimes that he did not commit.”

The government responded Comey’s motion to dismiss the case in a filing, saying Comey is “mistaken” that the government was within its authority to bring these charges by criminal information

The new charges mark the third time Comey has faced federal criminal prosecution under the Trump administration, following a dismissed 2025 case in Virginia and an April indictment accusing him of threatening the president in North Carolina.

The North Carolina case remains active, but has been delayed until at least early next year. Comey faces two felony counts for allegedly threatening the president’s life in a photo posted on social media.

In May 2025, Comey posted the photo, which featured the numbers “86 47’’ spelled out in seashells on a beach in North Carolina. The term “86” is widely used among restaurant workers to mean getting rid of or refusing something, such as an unwanted customer or unavailable menu item. Trump is currently the 47th president of the United States.

Comey has yet to enter a plea on those charges and will not do so until at least January.

Comey was first charged with lying to Congress last year in Virginia. That case was swiftly dismissed after a federal judge found Lindsey Halligan — the sole prosecutor to sign that indictment — had been unlawfully appointed. The government appealed that dismissal and that appeal remains pending.

The development also comes the same day a federal judge ruled that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Comey’s daughter, Maurene Comey, from her position as a federal prosecutor in New York, ordering her retroactive reinstatement and back pay.

The post Former FBI Director James Comey faces new federal criminal charges in D.C. appeared first on MS NOW.

The Trump administration plans to lift 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods critical to Maine’s agricultural industry less than two weeks before Election Day, while also imposing new duties on other imports.

The move, announced Friday, hands Republican Sen. Susan Collins a political boost as she fights to retain her seat in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.

President Donald Trump signed a proclamation exempting certain Canadian products, including seaweed, packaging materials, plywood, refrigeration equipment and agricultural machinery, from the steep tariffs.

While the exemptions, set to take effect Oct. 30, ease some trade restrictions, the proclamation also imposes 50% tariffs on other Canadian imports, including certain cocoa powders, carpets and floor coverings.

Trump’s latest ease on tariffs marks another shift in his administration’s contentious trade relationship with Canada. The president has repeatedly imposed and modified tariffs on Canadian imports, prompting concerns among U.S. businesses and lawmakers about rising costs and disruptions to cross-border trade.

Tensions between Trump and the U.S.’ northern neighbor appeared to reach a boiling point earlier this year after Trump announced a round of tariffs of up to 50% on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney threatened to match those tariffs “dollar for dollar.” Days later, Trump signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario, which forms part of the U.S.-Canada border, “Lake America” in the U.S.

Collins, who has sought tariff relief for Maine businesses amid Trump’s escalating trade tensions with Canada, celebrated the exemptions Friday, saying she had repeatedly pressed senior administration officials to ease the financial burden on farmers and growers.

“I am pleased to have secured additional tariff exemptions [for] products crucial to Maine’s agricultural industries, including blueberry, potato, apple, and seaweed producers,” Collins wrote on X.

The senator said she had raised the issue in repeated conversations with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other administration officials. She also pledged to continue seeking additional exemptions and a broader trade agreement with Canada, which she described as Maine’s “largest trading partner.”

The announcement comes as Collins faces a competitive re-election challenge from Democrat Troy Jackson in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.

Collins has sought to distance herself from some of Trump’s policies, particularly his tariffs on Canada, while emphasizing her ability to secure concessions from his administration for Maine residents.

The tariff relief gives Collins a tangible policy achievement to highlight in the final days before the Nov. 3 election, as voters remain concerned about rising costs and the economy.

The post Trump rolls back some Canadian tariffs with Maine Senate race on the line appeared first on MS NOW.

Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola on Friday blasted the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to block Alaska from certifying the results of its Senate race under certain circumstances, calling it a “desperate attempt to silence Alaskans.”

“This is exactly the kind of corruption that Alaskans are sick and tired of,” Peltola told MS NOW’s Nicolle Wallace. “This is clearly a very desperate attempt to cling to power, using his allies in Washington, D.C., to rig the system even further.”

The remarks came after President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice filed an extraordinary preemptive lawsuit seeking to prevent Alaska from certifying the Senate election results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Peltola by a narrow margin.

The lawsuit centers on another candidate named Daniel Sullivan, a retired teacher who shares the incumbent senator’s name. The administration argues that the presence of both candidates on the ballot could confuse voters and potentially affect the outcome of the election.

Trump said Friday that he directed the Justice Department to pursue the lawsuit, an unusual intervention in a Senate contest that could help determine control of the chamber. The legal challenge comes as polling averages show Peltola narrowly leading Sullivan with 11 days until Election Day. Peltola holds a 2-point lead over Sullivan, 49.7% to 47.7%, in MS NOW polling partner FiftyPlusOne’s weighted average.

Sen. Lisa Murkowsi, Alaska’s Republican senator who frequently bucks Trump, also blasted the lawsuit on Friday night.

“Alaskans don’t need any help voting for their preferred candidates, and the State of Alaska has already handled this by clearly distinguishing the candidates on this year’s ballot,” Murkowski said on X. “The Department of Justice should never have filed this lawsuit.”

In her interview with Wallace, Peltola rejected the suggestion that voters could mistake the two candidates, noting that the ballot identifies the incumbent senator.

“It is not playing well with Alaskans at all, and it’s sending a message that Dan Sullivan does not believe that Alaskans are sophisticated enough to know exactly who they’re voting for,” she said.

Peltola also argued that the lawsuit was an effort to distract voters from affordability concerns and Sullivan’s record.

“It’s such a distraction,” she said. “The only thing Alaskans want to talk about right now is affordability and the high cost of living, and just the concerns about making it through this upcoming winter, being able to afford to heat your home and feed your family.”

The Alaska Supreme Court has already considered the question of whether the other Daniel Sullivan could appear on the ballot, ordering the state’s Division of Elections in June to include his name on the primary ballot.

Asked whether she was confident that a win would ultimately be certified, Peltola said she is “worried about the level of desperation,” adding that she hoped for a decisive enough margin to avoid a prolonged dispute.

Peltola said her campaign had set a $60 million fundraising goal even before the prospect of costly litigation over the election results, citing the high cost of advertising and reaching voters across Alaska’s remote communities.

“We are worried about the implications of the cost of a legal battle,” she said.

She also warned that intervention from Washington could backfire in a state where voters prize their independence.

“Alaskans know exactly who they’re voting for,” Peltola said. “We have safe and secure elections, and this is just more distraction, more diversion and another red herring.”

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