By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — After months of extraordinary steps to ensure his party maintains control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterms, President Donald Trump is turning his sights toward the voting process in next week’s elections.

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That pivot is raising alarm among Democrats and others who warn that he may be testing strategies his administration could use to interfere with elections in 2026 and beyond.

Late last week, Trump’s Department of Justice announced it was sending election monitors to observe voting in one county in New Jersey, which features a race for governor that Trump has become deeply invested in, and to five counties in California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a ballot measure to counter the president’s own effort to rejigger the congressional map to elect more Republicans.

That announcement was followed with a pre-emptive attack by Trump on the legitimacy of California’s elections. The post on his own social media platform echoed the baseless allegations he made about the 2020 presidential election before he and his allies tried to overturn his loss in a campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Watch how totally dishonest the California Prop Vote is!” Trump wrote last weekend on Truth Social, referring to Proposition 50, the lone issue on the state’s special election ballot. “Millions of Ballots being ‘shipped.’”

The combination has prompted responses from several prominent Democrats, who were already bracing for Trump to use his presidential powers to tilt next year’s midterms to his side.

“It’s a bridge they’re trying to build the scaffolding for, all across this country, in next November’s elections,” Newsom said in a video in which he also predicted the administration will send masked immigration agents to polling stations next week.

During early voting so far, there has been no indication that troops or federal officers have shown up near polling sites or ballot drop boxes in any state. Despite the warnings from some Democrats, millions of voters already have cast ballots through early in-person or mail voting, a process that has produced no significant problems.

Voter Alex Colcho, from Norwalk, Calif., drops off his family’s ballots at a ballot box at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s headquarters Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Norwalk, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Voting expected to be ‘safe and secure’

Trump has long accused the Biden administration of trying to interfere in last year’s presidential election after the Justice Department filed federal charges against him related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 results and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, using the president’s favorite derogatory nickname for California’s governor, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Newscum ought to stop fearmongering to score political points with the radical left flank of the Democrat party that he is courting ahead of his doomed-to-fail presidential campaign.”

Tuesday’s elections are purely state-based, with no federal offices on the ballot. Trump has no ability to change the outcome in any way, experts said.

“Voters who go to vote in the 2025 election are going to find a very safe and secure process,” said David Becker, a former Department of Justice voting rights attorney who now runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “For example, I’m 100% confident that whoever wins the statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey, regardless of what the president says, will take office.”

Some ballot questions have big implications for 2026

The relatively low-profile off-year elections are headlined by the races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, California’s redistricting question and the mayor’s race in New York City.

Los Angeles County Election officials assist first time voter Robert Conejo, right, as he votes in person on California’s Proposition 50 election on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s headquarters in Norwalk, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Two of the states where voting already is underway are considering measures that have major implications for next year’s midterms.

In Pennsylvania, voters will decide whether three Democratic justices keep their seats on the state’s supreme court. If they’re removed, the court will have a 2-2 ideological split and potentially be unable to resolve disputes over voting and election procedures next year in the critical swing state.

In California, voters will decide whether to temporarily override an independent redistricting process and allow the Democratic-controlled Legislature to redraw the state’s congressional districts. If voters pass the measure, it could create five new seats Democrats could win to counter Trump’s push for Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw their districts and increase the number of winnable Republican House seats.

‘These are not normal times’

That’s one reason the administration’s decision to send monitors drew so much attention. It’s not unusual for the federal government to send monitors to observe voting and ballot counting in certain areas, but it’s typically done in consultation with local jurisdictions. That did not happen this time.

Instead, the Trump administration announced the monitors solely in response to requests from local Republican parties.

Federal monitors are only allowed to observe, are prohibited from talking to voters or even poll workers, and have no way to influence the counting of votes, said Becker, who has served as a monitor and also trained them.

“I don’t think voters are ever going to notice or see any of these people,” he said.

Still, the Democratic attorneys general in California and New Jersey raised alarms, with New Jersey’s Matt Platkin calling it “highly inappropriate” and California’s Rob Bonta saying the move is especially concerning given Trump’s record.

“These are not normal times,” Bonta said in a call with reporters this week. “We have to look at the broader context here about what the Trump administration is saying and what they are doing.”

The action follows a monthslong campaign by Trump to use the powers of his office to boost his party’s political prospects ahead of the midterms, where the incumbent party traditionally loses seats in Congress. The president has pushed states where Republicans control the redistricting process to redraw their boundaries to create more conservative-friendly seats. He also has directed his administration to investigate Democratic politicians, fundraisersand donors.

Is Trump positioning for the midterms?

Newsom and his Illinois counterpart, Gov. JB Pritzker, have warned that Trump’s attempts to send the U.S. military into their states’ most populous cities — Los Angeles and Chicago — are precursors to deploying the military or federal agents to polling places in Democratic-leaning cities next year.

FILE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

They and other Democrats also have alluded to how some Trump allies in 2020 used manufactured claims of election fraud to propose using the military to seize voting machines.

At the same time, the Justice Department is demanding detailed voter data from the states and Trump issued an executive order trying to reshape how elections are run, which has been largely halted by the courts because the Constitution gives that power to the states, and, in some cases, Congress. It spells out no role for the president in setting election rules.

Until fairly recently, Trump had been relatively quiet about the 2025 elections, mostly taking steps that other presidents have made in election years, such as supporting his party’s nominees in key races.

Hannah Fried, executive director of the voting rights group All Voting is Local, said the Nov. 4 election will provide “an important set of data points” about issues that could crop up in future elections, especially next year.

“That’s the big dog,” Fried said of the midterms. “Everybody in the country’s going to be voting in 2026. This is about control of Congress. As a country, we all have a stake in that.”

When we invite you to email us with suggestions, such as for worthwhile burgers that did not make our massive annual guide, we aren’t kidding. We read them all.

After the guide was published last week, Eat editor Jess Fleming and I heard from readers about some newly opened places, old-school prices and beloved overlooked spots that sounded too good to pass up for another year.

(Keep sending ideas our way! We’re at eat@pioneerpress.com)

So with your recommendations, here’s an addendum to the 2025 Pioneer Press best burgers guide (a.k.a. Burgerin’ 2: Electric Burger-loo).

Animales Barbecue Co.

Animales, which started as a cult-fave barbecue food truck about eight years ago, has finally opened a permanent home for smoked meats and burgers in Minneapolis after years of planning. It’s a huge space — about 12,500 square feet, with plenty of seating, a full bar, live music stage and a kids’ play area — and Animales’ bold vibe fills it effortlessly.

Oh, and the food is great. The double smashburger (“wagyu butter burger, American cheese, dill pickles, dijonnaise, milk roll”) is like the best backyard-barbecue burger you’ve ever had. The crispy, peppery, slightly charcoal-fiery meat skirt is the highlight, and the slight sweetness of both the bun and white American cheese are nice, too. Vinegary pickles come on the side, so you can put them on the burger if you want, but I found them to be more enjoyable as a palate-cleanser between bites.

Yes, it’s a pricey burger — $20.40 with a service charge; the restaurant does not accept tips. Fries/sides are sold separately. Even if it’s hard to justify a place in your regular dinner rotation, it’s an experience worth having.

Animales Barbecue Co.: 241 Fremont Ave N., Minneapolis; 952-222-7427 (that’s 952-ABC-RIBS); animalesbbq.com

Lion’s Tap

The double California burger at the Lion’s Tap in Eden Prairie is served July 24, 2025. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

Lion’s Tap in Eden Prairie, one of the original Twin Cities burger destinations, has been going strong for nearly seven decades. The menu is simple, and cheap: hamburger, cheeseburger, California (the classic fixings), bacon cheese or mushroom Swiss; and your call on single (starting at $5.45) or double (from $10.10), all hit with their in-house seasoned salt blend. Fries for $3.15. You love to see it.

And “double,” to be clear, is not just two patties — it’s double everything. The immense double California burger, which looked like a delightful cartoon satire of American cuisine, took three skewers to hold upright. (By height alone, this might be the top burger in the Twin Cities. *ba-dum-tss*) The seasoning salt accentuated but did not overpower the beefy flavor, which rocked. Be prepared with napkins, though, for the juices that’ll run down your hands.

Lion’s Tap: 16180 Flying Cloud Dr., Eden Prairie; 952-934-5299; lionstap.com

House of Coates

Readers say this small-town tavern, along U.S. 52 South between the edge of Rosemount and the start of farm country, punches above its weight when it comes to burgers, and I’m inclined to agree. Their signature burgers, like the Swanee (bacon, American cheese, fried onions; $8.25) come with a half-pound patty. That’s no city-slicker smashie; even the third-pound patties on the simpler burgers ($6.50–$7.50) have some serious girth. My patty was a skosh too dry on a recent visit, perhaps a bit overcooked, but this is a solid meat-lover’s burger at a price point that’s sadly becoming rarer.

House of Coates: 16300 E. Clayton Ave., Rosemount; 651-437-2232

Burger Moe’s

The Moe’s Original burger is served Oct. 27, 2025, at Burger Moe’s on West Seventh. The burger comes with caramelized onions and cheddar plus the classic fixings. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

If nothing else, the West Seventh sports bar with an extensive burger list has something for everyone. In my case, since I’m eating for research purposes, I sprang for the Moe’s Original, which comes with caramelized onions and cheddar plus the classic fixings. And you know what? For a quick, easy meal, it was utilitarian, and that counted for something. The patty, while juicy, never quite reached the savory, beefy depths of the best burgers in town, but it got the job done.

And speaking of good prices: On Mondays after 3 p.m., almost every burger on the menu is just $7, and now that there’s no longer a giant sinkhole nor one of the city’s oldest remaining limestone houses to get in your way, that’s a great time to head to Burger Moe’s.

Burger Moe’s: 242 W. Seventh St.; 651-222-3100; burgermoes.com

328 Grill

The Fo’ Cheesy is served Oct. 24, 2025, at 328 Grill in St. Paul Park. The sandwich is a patty melt with American and cheddar cheeses and pepper jack Cheez Whiz on parmesan-crusted bread. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)

We already know chef Mik German slings some of the most creative burgers in town from inside the American Legion Post 98 in St. Paul Park, but don’t sleep on the Fo’ Cheezy, his version of a patty melt. The original is one of German’s classic short rib/brisket/chuck patties plus cheddar and American cheeses and pepper jack Cheez Whiz on parmesan-crusted bread (count ‘em, that’s fo’ cheeses), but any burger or sandwich on the menu can be made Fo’ Cheezy style.

In particular, the parmesan crust on the bread is a clever way to provide a rigid structure — which is vital, given the ooey-gooey-ness of what’s inside — without resorting to a thicker or too-tough slice that might take attention away from the beef and/or cheese.

In my opinion, the true soul of a patty melt is not actually a burger but a grilled cheese sandwich, and this is a phenomenal grilled cheese sandwich that happens to contain an equally phenomenal burger patty. It’s also so rich, you guys. I could barely even finish it. (I did, though, and am proud of it; thank you very much.)

328 Grill: 328 Broadway Ave., St. Paul Park; 651-459-8016; 328grill.com

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By JONATHAN J. COOPER, Associated Press

Vice President JD Vance advocated a slowdown in legal immigration Wednesday, saying, “We have to get the overall numbers way, way down.”

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Vance took questions from students at the University of Mississippi at an event organized by Turning Point USA, stepping into the role of debater that was so often performed by the organization’s slain founder, Charlie Kirk.

Vance said the optimal number of legal immigrants to admit is “far less than what we’ve been accepting,” but he did not offer a firm number when pressed by a woman who questioned his stance. He criticized former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, which he said allowed too many people into the country and threatened the social fabric of the United States.

“When something like that happens, you’ve got to allow your own society to cohere a little bit, to build a sense of common identity, for all the newcomers — the ones who are going to stay — to assimilate into American culture,” Vance said. “Until you do that, you’ve got to be careful about any additional immigration, in my view.”

Vance also spoke forcefully about avoiding American deaths in “unnecessary foreign conflicts,” touting President Donald Trump’s Middle East diplomacy and the strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, even as the U.S. steps up military pressure on Venezuela and strikes boats that the Trump administrations says are transporting drugs.

Asked whether Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-led cities will lead to a future president using that government power against conservatives, he said his allies shouldn’t be worried about Trump’s exercise of executive power. He justified Trump’s targeting of his political enemies by pointing to his arrest during Biden’s administration. He was charged with illegally keeping classified documents after his first term and attempting to subvert the 2020 election he lost, but the charges were dismissed after he was elected to his second term a year ago.

“We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future,” Vance said. “The left is already going to do it regardless of whether we do it.”

Vance was introduced by Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, in one of her first public appearances since she took over her husband’s role leading Turning Point.

“Being on campus right now, for me, is a spiritual reclaiming of territory,” she said, reflecting on Kirk’s love of visiting universities and his mission to move campuses to the right.

Wearing a white “freedom” shirt like the one her husband wore when he was shot, Erika Kirk urged young Christian conservatives to courageously fight for their beliefs and not fear the social consequences.

“If you’re worried about losing a friend—I lost my friend,” she said. “I lost my best friend.”

As a species, humans possess a kind of superpower: the ability to survive on a remarkably wide variety of foods, allowing us to thrive everywhere from the Amazon rainforest to the Arctic tundra.

Now, thanks to social media, our dietary range is being tested again. TikTok and YouTube have made stars of influencers who tout — often with the help of celebrities — the virtues of various lifestyles from veganism to juicing to subsisting on nothing but meat. Advocates of some of these trends even claim their diets have cured them of serious diseases.

Are any of these extreme diets safe or healthy? Sometimes, for some people, under some circumstances. They can also be risky and are best done under a doctor’s supervision. That’s why physicians should take seriously the possibility that some of these dietary interventions can help people and learn how to guide patients in adopting them safely.

From a nutritional standpoint, the body needs a variety of minerals and vitamins, a certain amount of protein, and, for energy, a combination of carbohydrates and fats. In the mid-20th century, nutrition researchers deemed fats to be harmful, but have since revised that view and now consider a balance between fat and carbohydrates to be best for most people.

Some of the most popular diets — such as the ketogenic, or “keto” diet — eliminate or restrict carbohydrates and rely heavily on fats. The carnivore diet is a more extreme example, eliminating all plant-based foods. While ketogenic diets have helped some people lose weight and keep it off, they can also cause side effects such as nutrient deficiencies and high cholesterol. And alarmingly, despite warnings from doctors, some people are even promoting a carnivore diet for their children.

Vegan diets might help some people feel healthier, as long as they include all the essential vitamins and minerals, as well as plant-based foods that contain healthy fats and complete sources of protein. But it’s also possible to follow a vegan diet that consists primarily of processed food and sugar, which increases the risks of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. Vegan diets are more environmentally sustainable than diets heavy in meat — but they’re not ideal for everyone.

People sometimes resort to even more extreme diets for quick weight loss or to indulge the illusion that they are being “cleansed.” In a juice cleanse, for example, people may consume no solid food and get calories only from fruit and vegetable juice for a few days or even several weeks.

This might help people who lose a pound or two to fit into a particular outfit for a special occasion, but juicing concentrates the natural sugar in fruit, and scientists have increasingly realized that even natural sugar, in large quantities, can be bad for you.

It’s understandable that people would buy into this trend, since years of heavy advertising convinced the world fruit juice was the healthiest thing you could consume (it isn’t), and the public health community has been far too reluctant to acknowledge its mistake in demonizing fats and pushing a high-carbohydrate diet as best for everyone.

Some may feel better on a juice cleanse because they’ve cut out something that was unknowingly making them feel sick — but in general, any weight lost will quickly return, and your insides won’t be any “cleaner.”

Unfortunately, the only diets that seem to produce lasting, dramatic effects are those that people commit to for life. Evidence dating back to the 1920s, for example, showed that ketogenic diets were highly effective at preventing seizures and helping people with epilepsy live normal lives.

Eric Kossoff, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University, said this very high-fat diet mimics some of the effects of fasting, which has been understood for centuries to put seizures in remission. The body has two main pathways for generating energy. Most of the time, food is broken down into glucose, which is stored in the liver and can be used as fuel. If the liver has no glucose — because you’re fasting or eating almost no carbohydrates — your body burns fat through a process called ketosis. It’s an important adaptation that allows us to use body fat as a backup fuel source.

The diet fell out of favor in the 1950s, said Kossoff, because new drugs and surgical treatments for epilepsy emerged, and dietary fat was wrongly stigmatized as fattening and artery-clogging. Now ketogenic diets are making a comeback, he said, thanks to patients and their families. He credits a patient advocacy group, the Charlie Foundation, for pushing doctors to re-examine dietary intervention for children who don’t respond to medication. Today, there are ketogenic diet centers for epilepsy all around the world.

Kossoff recently attended a conference of over 400 doctors in Paris discussing keto for epilepsy, as well as their potential for treating other conditions. The diet has shown promise for managing some cases of bipolar disorder, depression and other psychiatric conditions.

But the diet can negatively affect growth and development in children and cause other health problems, he said, and for some people it can cause unwanted weight loss. Most complications, however, can be addressed with supplements or modifications to the diet, he said, reinforcing the importance of having a knowledgeable doctor involved.

Medical supervision was also crucial in a study published last year, which followed people with Type 2 diabetes over five years as they adopted a ketogenic diet, guided by doctors through telehealth. A significant fraction saw their diabetes go into remission — a result that doesn’t occur spontaneously.

There’s a reason patients are leading the doctors in this area: it’s something people can do on their own, and because dietary interventions haven’t been studied beyond a few conditions, there’s still plenty of untapped potential.

Nicholas Norwitz told me that a ketogenic diet gave him relief from debilitating irritable bowel disease. He developed the condition at 21. After trying medications and various diets, he found that a ketogenic approach worked, enabling him to finish a PhD in metabolism at Oxford University and earn an MD from Harvard.

He said he eats lots of fish, eggs and olive oil. He has nothing against the non-starchy plants allowed on a ketogenic diet, but they don’t always agree with him.

But people can and do stick to diets when the stakes are high enough. We don’t all have to eat the same way — and we shouldn’t. Thanks to our species’ superpower — adaptability — we have more options than we think.

F.D. Flam is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering science. She is host of the “Follow the Science” podcast.

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