In the Top of the News Stack, The Justice Department has issued at least three dozen new subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of its probe into the Alaska Senate race, a U.S. official confirmed to NBC News on Thursday. The subpoenas were sent to Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign offices and those of former schoolteacher Dan J. Sullivan, who is also running for Senate. The move comes the same day Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced that he is ordering an investigation into Peltola’s campaign following a report that it worked with allies to recruit a candidate with the same name as incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan in an effort to siphon his votes. The Department of Public Safety will seek to determine “whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted,” Dunleavy said in an overnight post to X. “The evidence will determine what happens next.” Dunleavy, a Republican, referred to Wednesday’s revelations from a bombshell New York Times report as “disturbing new evidence” and said that “anyone or any organization found to have broken the law must be held accountable.” Alaska’s Department of Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Austin McDaniel said Thursday that the Alaska Bureau of Investigation had started looking into the “alleged conduct in a recent New York Times article,” at Dunleavy’s request. “The Alaska State Troopers are committed to the fair and impartial enforcement of Alaska’s criminal laws, including those that protect the integrity of our elections. We will work closely with our partners at the Alaska Department of Law to ensure that the facts are thoroughly examined and that anyone found to have violated state law is held accountable,” McDaniel said in a statement. President Donald Trump’s rally in Salina has been canceled, according to the Salina Regional Airport, where the rally was to be held. Pieter Miller, executive director of the Salina Airport Authority, said due to the president’s schedule on Saturday, “all Salina events are cancelled.” The rally had been scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at Hangar 509, with Trump speaking around noon. Instead, the president is planning to hold tele-rallies in several states, including Kansas, in the closing days of the campaign. There’s no word on when the Kansas event will take place. Trump told reporters that he wasn’t coming to Kansas because Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is “doing well.” “I don’t feel I have to go to Kansas,” the president said. Patrick Stewart, the classically trained actor who added Shakespearean gravitas to the “Star Trek” and “X-Men” franchises, has died. He was 86. Stewart died Wednesday in Los Angeles, following “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said. Stewart’s diagnoses had not been previously disclosed. “We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today,” Hugh Jackman, a frequent Stewart co-star in the “X-Men” universe, said on social media. “And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.” While best known as Professor Charles Xavier and Captain Jean-Luc Picard from the “X-Men” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” series and films, respectively, Stewart spent more of his career onstage than in the X-Mansion or on the USS Enterprise. One survey, done by the online safety advocacy group, Common Sense Media, found that AI use starts early – years before kids hit the minimum age of 13 on most popular chatbots. Nearly half 9-to-12-year-olds have used an AI chatbot or companion. By the time kids are 13 years old, nearly three-quarters of them have used chatbots. The other survey, done by the mental health advocacy group JED Foundation, found that 90% of the 5,500 9-to-17-year-olds in schools across the country have used an AI chatbot. Nearly two-thirds use it both for schoolwork and as companions, or when they are stressed, lonely, anxious or overwhelmed. The findings are "remarkable" in showing how dramatically AI use by children and teens has changed in a short time, says developmental psychologist Anne Maheux at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who wasn't involved in the surveys. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, and Washington will decide whether biological males can compete in girls' sports next Tuesday.Washington's Initiative 638 is the strictest. It would require every girl who wants to play to get a healthcare provider to verify biological sex based on reproductive anatomy, genetics, or testosterone levels. Birth certificates do not count.Gallup still shows 69 percent of Americans believe transgender athletes should only compete on teams that match their birth sex. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
