By MARC LEVY, Associated Press

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Democrats and their allied groups are pouring in more money, cutting a fresh television ad with Gov. Josh Shapiro and sending in the national party chairman in the final week of campaigning for a Pennsylvania Supreme Court election, possible signs of concern for a race that could reshape the highest court in the largest presidential battleground.

Spending in the race is on track to exceed $15 million — far surpassing previous spending in what’s called a retention election — as Democrats try to blunt a late-emerging Republican campaign to oust three Democratic justices.

The outcome will have consequences for next year’s midterm election, the 2028 presidential race and the next decade’s congressional redistricting. The nation’s most populous swing state has a politically divided government that has left disputes over election laws and other major issues to the courts in recent years.

At issue in Tuesday’s election is whether the three justices will each serve another term, up to 10 years. They don’t face opponents and are not listed by party affiliation. The ballot merely asks voters to cast a yes-or-no vote.

Retention elections are supposed to be nonpartisan, but Christine Donohue, one of the justices running to remain the bench, said she’s “shocked at the partisan nature” of the election.

“This is extraordinarily unusual,” Donohue said in an interview on Wednesday. “I suppose that’s a sign of the times, though.”

Christine Donohue, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice running for another term, acknowledges applause after speaking to the crowd at a Lancaster County Democratic Party event, Oct. 29, 2025, in Lancaster, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has a 5-2 Democratic majority, so an across-the-board loss for Democrats in Tuesday’s election could produce a 2-2 ideological split for two years. Political stalemate could likely prevent their seats from being filled until the next judicial election in 2027, potentially leaving the court unable to decide voting or election-related cases through next year’s midterm elections.

“It could lead to chaos,” Donohue said.

While the spending is far below the more than $100 million spent on a state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin earlier this year, it highlights how important these races have become for both parties because of the role state courts play in deciding redistricting disputes, lawsuits over voting and elections, and setting policy on hot-button issues such as abortion.

Donohue and the other justices up for retention, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht, were spending their final days of the campaign attending Democratic Party rallies and get-out-the-vote efforts. Ken Martin, the Democratic National Committee chairman, traveled across Pennsylvania to headline events on Wednesday and Thursday.

A sign is posted in opposition to retaining Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices in the November election, in Berwyn, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

At a Lancaster County Democratic Party meeting Wednesday evening, Martin told a couple hundred people that Republicans were trying to steal power by buying court seats so they can enact right-wing policy through the courts.

“This isn’t just about Pennsylvania,” Martin told the crowd. “Because if they win here, you can bet your bottom dollar they bring this in every single state around the country. … This is about our democracy.”

Democrats and their allies were on course to outspend Republicans by a ratio of as much as 4-to-1 after a blitz of TV ads in the final weeks to counter a wave of Republican flyers and commercials.

The TV ads supporting the justices portray them as defenders of abortion rights, union rights and voting rights. Backing them are labor unions, trial lawyers and Planned Parenthood’s political arm.

While not all spending or financial sources have been disclosed publicly, groups linked to a network that typically spends campaign contributions from Pennsylvania’s richest man, securities billionaire Jeffrey Yass, so far has spent about $2 million, according to figures from AdImpact, which tracks advertising.

A sign is posted in support of retaining Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices in the November election, in Berwyn, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democrats and their allies reported spending more than $7 million in October. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are among left-leaning groups that have increased their spending late in the race as Democrats seek to counter a wave of Republican-aligned TV ads and flyers that launched in September, just before voters began casting mail ballots.

The blitz concerned Democrats. Lancaster County Democratic Party Chairman Tom O’Brien said party members were in “panic mode” as they worried about how the party would respond.

Particularly worrisome to Democrats was Republican messaging urging Democratic voters to “term limit” the justices by voting no. It was packaged with wording meant to convey sentiments typically expressed by Democrats, including “no kings” and “defend democracy.”

Democrats also realized that a major task was educating voters about what a retention election is. O’Brien and others said they are feeling better as canvassers have helped educate voters, and Democratic-aligned flyers and TV ads have flooded the state.

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In an October TV ad running in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Shapiro told viewers that the justices “have proven that we can count on them to protect a woman’s access to abortion and birth control, and stand up for all our freedoms.”

Democrats say they are satisfied with their voting-by-mail turnout in the weeks leading up to the final day of voting, but they are continuing their campaign push. On Saturday, Philadelphia labor leaders and Mayor Cherelle Parker will lead a half-day motorcade through the city to promote the justices’ campaigns.

Republicans’ most potent voice, President Donald Trump, has not waded into the election, although his name has occasionally been invoked. A Republican-aligned TV ad says, “On Nov. 4, you can help President Trump to term limit three woke Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices.”

State Republican Party Chairman Greg Rothman suggested that a “no” campaign is only natural.

“Retention shouldn’t be automatic,” he said. “Otherwise, why even have it?”

Rothman said he didn’t know whether the Republican effort would succeed but said voters already cynical about government could be motivated to vote “no.” A state government budget stalemate approaching its fifth month and the federal government shutdown could put voters in a mood to vote against any incumbent.

“Based on the Democratic Party response, and Shapiro cutting ads and all the money that trial lawyers and the national DNC is bringing in, that they must think we’re onto something,” Rothman said.

Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is stripping his brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicting him from his royal residence, Buckingham Palace said.

In a statement, the palace said Andrew will be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and not as a prince.

The move follows revelations about Andrew’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press

Go ahead and roll your eyes. Shrug your shoulders. Or maybe just juggle your hands in the air.

Dictionary.com’s word of the year isn’t even really a word. It’s the viral term “6-7” that kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about and parents and teachers can’t make any sense of.

The word — if you can call it that — exploded in popularity over the summer. It’s more of an inside joke with an unclear meaning, driven by social media.

Dictionary.com says its annual selection is a linguistic time capsule reflecting social trends and events. But the site admitted it too is a bit confused by “6-7.”

“Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,” the site said in its announcement this week.

How did ‘6-7’ become a thing?

It all seems to trace back to rapper Skrilla’s song from 2024 called “Doot Doot (6-7).”

That song started appearing in TikTok videos with basketball players, including the NBA’s LaMelo Ball who stands 6-foot-7.

Then a boy, now known as “The 6-7 Kid,” shouted the ubiquitous phrase while another kid next to him juggled his hands in a video that went viral this year.

That’s all it took.

So what does ‘6-7’ mean?

The real answer is no one knows.

And sometimes it depends on who’s on the receiving end of “6-7.”

Even how to write “6-7” is up for debate — is it “6 7” or “six seven?”

According to Dictionary.com, the phrase could mean “so-so,” or “maybe this, maybe that” when combined with the juggling hands gesture.

Merriam-Webster calls it a “a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens.”

Some simply use it to frustrate adults when being questioned.

“It’s meaningless, ubiquitous, and nonsensical. In other words, it has all the hallmarks of brainrot,” Dictionary.com said. “Still, it remains meaningful to the people who use it because of the connection it fosters.”

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How has the rest of the world responded?

Parents and teachers have created their own videos trying to explain the sensation.

Some offer tips on how to stop their kids from repeating it all day long. Others suggest embracing it — even making “6-7” Halloween costumes — so it will become uncool.

Teachers have banned it. Influencers and child psychologists have tried to make sense of it.

It’s even spilled over into the NFL as a way to celebrate big plays.

Why is it word of the year?

Dictionary.com says it looks for words that influence how we talk with each other and communicate online.

The site scoured search engines, headlines and social media trends in making its choice. Online searches for “6-7” took off dramatically over the summer, it said, and haven’t slowed, growing by six times since June.

“The Word of the Year isn’t just about popular usage; it reveals the stories we tell about ourselves and how we’ve changed over the year,” the site said.

The Twins have officially answered one big offseason question, naming Derek Shelton the 15th manager in club history on Thursday morning, a decision which concludes a month-long search for Rocco Baldelli’s replacement.

In Shelton, president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey said in a statement, the Twins found someone who is “genuinely driven to take on the challenge of bringing winning baseball back to Minnesota.”

“We’ve seen firsthand the trust and respect he earns from players and how he helps them reach their best,” Falvey said in the statement.  “His journey, through both the successes and the tough stretches, has given him real perspective as a leader. That balance and his connection to what this place means to people will serve our players and staff well as we work to build something lasting for our fans and for Minnesota.”

The Twins will hold an press conference to introduce Shelton on Tuesday afternoon at Target Field, but for now, here are five things to know about the new Twins manager:

He has a long history with Derek Falvey

It appears the Twins front office was looking for a familiar face, and Shelton certainly fits that mold.

Shelton, 55, got his first major league coaching opportunity in Cleveland, taking over as the hitting coach during the middle of the 2005 season. He remained in that role through the 2009 season. Concurrently, Twins president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey was charting his own path in Cleveland beginning as an intern in 2007 and rising all the way up to assistant general manager.

Falvey was hired by the Twins in October 2016 and brought Shelton over as bench coach a year later to work alongside then-manager Paul Molitor.

“It’s an exciting day for us to find somebody who can impact our culture, our coaching staff and, most importantly, our players,” Falvey told reporters in 2017 upon hiring Shelton as bench coach. “We searched throughout baseball and talked to a number of people around the game about this position. Derek’s name came up very early on, and as we got deeper and deeper, it became clear he was the best fit for our organization.”

A year later, after the Twins parted ways with Molitor, Shelton was a finalist for the manager job, which eventually went to his good friend, Baldelli. Shelton agreed to stay on as bench coach under Baldelli, serving as a guidepost for the rookie manager. After a 101-win season, Shelton got his first managing gig in Pittsburgh.

He spent more than five seasons managing the Pirates

At the beginning of the process, Falvey pledged that the Twins would be “open minded,” in their search as they sought a “good partner,” who “is invested in the Twins and wants to be a part of this organization top to bottom.”

The Twins interviewed a mix of people for the job, some, but not all, with prior major-league managerial experience. Shelton is the first Twins hire with previous major league managerial experience since Gene Mauch in the mid-1970s. Shelton went 306-440 (.410) in nearly five and a half seasons in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates consistently fielded a team with a bottom-five payroll. He was dismissed in early May after beginning last season 12-26.

At the time of his dismissal, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called Shelton “an incredibly smart, curious and driven baseball leader.”

He became a coach in his 20s

Shelton grew up in Illinois with a father, Ron, who himself had a minor league career before going into coaching. He played baseball at Southern Illinois before spending two seasons as a minor league catcher in the New York Yankees organization, where he was teammates with future Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.

Shelton’s playing days were cut short by an elbow injury, but by his late 20s he was already a coach in New York’s minor league system. From coaching, he became a minor league manager before eventually working his way to the major league level in 2005.

Shelton was the hitting coach in Cleveland (2005-09) before leaving to take the same job with the Tampa Bay Rays, which he held through the 2016 season. He then spent one season as the Toronto Blue Jays’ quality control coach before landing in Minnesota for the first time.

He helped create Joe Mauer’s memorable final moment

When Joe Mauer finished his career by getting behind the plate to catch one last major league pitch, it was because of a conversation between Shelton and then-bullpen coach Nate Damman.

Mauer hadn’t appeared behind the plate since 2013 because of concussion issues that forced him over to first base. But on that day in 2018, in the final game of his career, the future Hall of Fame player took his familiar position one last time to catch a single pitch, a fitting and memorable send-off for the hometown star.

It was an emotional moment for everyone in the ballpark, but none more so than Mauer, who acknowledged the crowd and then wiped tears from his eyes before catching an outside pitch from Matt Belisle and departing the game.

“I have a lot of emotions going on right now and today I don’t think could have gone any better to script,” Mauer told reporters that day.

He’s good friends with Rocco Baldelli

Shelton took over as the Rays’ hitting coach in 2010, Baldelli’s final year as a player. After his retirement, Baldelli remained in the organization and eventually joined the coaching staff in 2015. The two coached together in Tampa Bay for two seasons before Shelton moved on to Toronto.

They linked up once again after Baldelli was hired by the Twins, spending one more season together in 2019.

“There’s a few people that I think all of us in the game kind of think about when you talk about your growth as a baseball person, and I would say Shelty is on that short list of people for me,” Baldelli said in 2023.

In the years that followed, the two often had fun jabbing each other. Shelton, in particular, liked to poke fun at the fact that Baldelli was often ranked near the top of writer Craig Calcaterra’s “Most Handsome Managers” list. In April 2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town to play the Twins, Shelton showed up wearing a custom shirt with Baldelli’s face on it that read, “Hi, I’m Rocco, the best looking manager in baseball, and I approve this message.”

A couple of years later, Baldelli couldn’t hide his glee when telling reporters that Shelton had fallen off a boat while on a fishing trip.

“Shelty apparently purified himself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka off the side of a boat,” Baldelli said, referencing Prince’s famous line in the movie “Purple Rain.”

In response, Shelton vowed that Baldelli would never, ever see evidence.

“There is video and you know who will never get that video? Rocco Baldelli,” Shelton said. “He will never get the video because if the video was there, it would be on the scoreboard.”

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