CHICAGO (WLS) — With the midterm elections approaching, concerns are growing that eligible voters could face significant obstacles when they try to cast their ballots.

For decades, the U.S. Department of Justice has sent election monitors to communities nationwide on Election Day.

The goal, according to Jason Mazzone, a University of Illinois College of Law professor, has been to protect access to the ballot and prevent violations of voting rights.

Mazzone told the I-Team that the Trump administration’s plans to deploy monitors during this year’s midterm election could carry serious consequences.

“I think the suggestion is that the monitors are there to make sure that people who are not supposed to be voting are not voting,” Mazzone said. He warned that the situation could escalate if federal officers conclude that misconduct is taking place. “You can imagine some really drastic scenarios in which, for example, federal officers think that there’s some funny business going on, and they decide to seize ballots or make arrests. That would be tremendously disruptive of the midterm elections.”

President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the integrity of U.S. elections, despite a lack of evidence showing widespread voter fraud.

ABC7 chief legal analyst Gil Soffer has firsthand experience with the process. He previously served as an election monitor while working as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Justice Department.

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Federal monitors may investigate potential violations of election law, Soffer said, but they cannot disrupt the voting process. “They could try to see if there’s a problem from any federal law perspective. What they certainly can’t do is interfere with the administration of the election,” he said. “The question is: What does that mean? Can they go up to people, interrogate them? Can they stand in the way of people? Almost certainly not. But there’s some gray there.”

This month, the Department of Justice sent letters to at least 30 states, including Illinois, directing officials to preserve materials connected to the 2024 election. The department has also requested voter rolls from several states. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has joined investigations into alleged voter fraud. A DHS whistleblower told Senate Democrats that investigators are accessing sensitive personal data as part of what the whistleblower described as a baseless pursuit.

“There’s no evidence to support that we are having large numbers of migrants, undocumented migrants, voting in our nation’s elections,” said John Cohen, a former DHS undersecretary for intelligence and an ABC News contributor. “If the evidence isn’t there, why are we spending our limited law enforcement resources looking for it?”

Election experts told the I-Team that the president could be amplifying concerns in a way that discourages people from voting in the midterms. They pointed to reports of federal election monitors interviewing voters during Wyoming’s primary.

DHS said it will investigate election fraud wherever it finds evidence of it.

Brock Purdy’s continued rise comes as no surprise to San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey has grown weary of repeatedly being asked whether Purdy has elevated his game to a new level.

“I feel like I answer that question all the time,” McCaffrey said. “At some point … he’s an incredible, great quarterback. He’s unbelievable. So can he take it to another level? I mean, yeah. But he’s already in the category of somebody who is special.”

McCaffrey continued: “Again, I’ve been answering that question for years now. ‘Are you shocked by how good he is?’ Then the next week, ‘Are you shocked by how good he is?’ And the next year, ‘Are you shocked by how good he is?’ Now, I’m not shocked. He’s special.”

Purdy delivered another highly efficient performance Sunday, accounting for three touchdowns while misfiring only twice. He completed 20 of 22 passes for 287 total yards against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. Entering Monday Night Football, Purdy’s 96.6 overall grade was the highest mark among all NFL players.

Although media expectations have often lagged behind his performance, Purdy has established himself as a potential franchise quarterback after being selected last overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.

“He’s special. I think that’d be the word I’d use for it. When he and Kyle get on a roll like that, it’s so fun to watch,” McCaffrey said. “It’s unbelievable to watch how decisive he is, how well he throws on time and how he creates when he has to. When he’s at the helm, we feel good.”

Donald Trump is responding to what he describes as a media blackout by launching a news-style channel of his own after barring several outlets from the White House.

The White House announced the debut of “TRUMP TV: The Essential Station” on YouTube at 7 p.m. ET Monday.

The livestream opened with clips from several classic television series before switching to a speech Trump delivered at Mount Rushmore in July.

“Welcome to TrumpTV. The press, in some cases, reported inaccurately or not at all on the Administration’s many record breaking accomplishments on behalf of all Americans,” Deputy Assistant to the President Kaelan Dorr wrote on social media.

“Trump TV is a 24/7 livestream of the Administration’s greatest hits, unfiltered. All on the White House YouTube Channel and Official App. ENJOY!!”

The format resembles the 24-hour YouTube playlists often used by major music artists, featuring a continuous stream of popular clips involving Trump and his administration.

The YouTube description says: “Watch the Trump Administration’s biggest moments all in one place. Top videos, major remarks, and must-see highlights streaming 24/7 and updated in real time. Stay informed and stay up to date!”

Trump is also introducing a text-messaging service that gives his MAGA supporters a direct way to send messages to the president.

“This is the official number of President Trump and the White House. We launched this number to stay directly connected with YOU, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. We’ll share important updates and ways you can get involved,” the service said.

Trump banned the outlets on Friday, labeling them “fake news” and criticizing their coverage of his administration.

Vice President JD Vance defended the decision Monday, saying, “It’s about basic fairness.”

“They can still report. They still have the access to free speech. They’re just not going to get an office in the White House anymore,” Vance said.

Reporters from the affected outlets who arrived at the White House to work over the weekend saw some of their press passes revoked.

Major broadcasters rallied behind the banned outlets, issuing a strongly worded statement condemning the president’s decision.

Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC, which together make up the television pool, are protesting the White House ban by declining to send cameramen or reporters to cover Trump on Monday.

As a result, Trump’s Monday trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly meeting will not be carried live by the major networks.

Conservative outlet Real America’s Voice will nevertheless be present to stream the event from the UN, while local television operator Hearst will cover the president’s White House events.

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Fox News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton, the television pool chair responsible for coordinating presidential coverage, confirmed in an email Monday morning that no TV news personnel would be sent to the UN.

‘This is to advise that, effective today, the TV pool will not be covering events designated as pool coverage of the President,’ Boughton writes.

‘This follows the White House’s position preventing CNN from fulfilling its assigned pool duties. There will be no replacement pool put in place.’

It is unclear when the major broadcasters will resume coverage of the president.

CNN was previously scheduled to serve as the TV pool crew on Monday, but that was before Trump banned that outlet, MS NOW and Politico from the White House.

However, the official daily guidance sent out by the White House on Sunday stated that there would be no TV pool on Monday, leaving CNN’s rotation off the list.

Trump has also threatened to take action against the New York Times and the Washington Post.

‘The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government,’ they said in a statement. ‘No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.’

When pressed for comment, the White House responded with a social media post from the president published earlier on Monday morning. 

‘The White House is not instituting an assault on the Free Press, something which I cherish,’ Trump wrote. ‘It is instituting an assault on the fake news, something that has grown like Cancer in our beloved United States of America.’

‘It is corrupt, purposeful, pervasive, fully coordinated, and totally out of control. It is a threat to our National Security, and must be stopped, now!’ 

While CNN was banned from the White House, its reporters and crew still covered Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he opened the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, showing that the White House ban does not extend to other departments.  

The three media outlets Trump targeted, CNN, MS NOW and Politico, announced they would combat the administration in court over the ban. 

‘This morning, we notified the government that we are filing a lawsuit today to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes,’ they said in a statement released on Monday. 

‘Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,’ the statement continued.

‘Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.’

US District Judge Timothy Kelly, who Trump appointed in his first term, is presiding over the case and is on familiar legal ground. 

In 2018, he ordered the White House to restore CNN journalist Jim Acosta’s credentials after his press pass was pulled following a heated clash with Trump. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Sept. 20 that her government plans to introduce legislation limiting the number of foreign students in Italian classrooms and prohibiting face-covering garments, including burqas and niqabs, in schools.

The conservative prime minister said the measures are intended to promote integration, protect Italy’s cultural identity and prevent Italian children from feeling marginalized in their own classrooms.

“There’s no way that in an Italian classroom, the ones who feel marginalized are Italian children because they have become a minority,” Meloni said in Rome while addressing Gioventù Nazionale, the youth wing of her conservative Brothers of Italy party, according to reports.

The proposal would set limits on non-Italian students in individual classrooms, with the stated goal of avoiding large concentrations of foreign pupils in particular districts.

Although Meloni did not identify a specific limit, she said the plan would require parents of foreign students who have difficulty integrating to attend Italian-language classes.

“For us, anyone who comes to Italy and wants to build their future here must learn our language, understand our culture, and respect our rules,” Meloni said, The Associated Press reported.

“It is the only serious way to welcome them.”

According to figures from Italy’s Education Ministry cited by the ISMU ETS Foundation, students without Italian citizenship represent about 11.6% of school enrollment across the country.

Italian law also does not automatically grant citizenship at birth to children born to foreign parents. Those children must wait until they turn 18 to apply.

Meloni said classrooms with high numbers of students who do not speak Italian fluently can disrupt the learning process for both those pupils and their classmates.

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“If in a classroom there is only one child who doesn’t understand Italian, it is possible that that child will manage, with the help of his peers and teachers, to learn the language and integrate fast,” she said.

“But if these children are many, or even the majority, that’s not integration anymore, that’s abandonment.”

The package would also address religious clothing by banning burqas and niqabs in educational institutions. Other Islamic attire, including the hijab, would remain permitted.

In a series of posts on X on Monday, the Brothers of Italy party reinforced the prime minister’s message:

“Those who choose to build their future in Italy must learn our language, know our culture, and respect our rules.

“School is attended with one’s face uncovered. No tradition can impose on a young woman the obligation to hide herself.”

A subsequent post added: “Limit on the number of foreign students in classrooms, obligation for parents of pupils with serious integration difficulties to learn Italian, and ban on burqas and niqabs in educational institutions.

“Integration comes through knowledge of our language, respect for our rules, and protection of our cultural identity.”

France, Belgium and several other European countries have already enacted bans on face coverings in public spaces, although the laws and their enforcement vary from one country to another.

The proposed Italian legislation is expected to be considered by Italy’s Council of Ministers before being sent to Parliament for consideration.

Meloni, who has led Brothers of Italy since 2014 and served as president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party from 2020 to 2025, has governed Italy since 2022.

Her administration recently surpassed previous records set by Silvio Berlusconi to become the longest-serving uninterrupted government in modern Italian history.

There’s an old way of delivering bad news: lead with something even worse, then reveal the comparatively comforting part. “Hey, Wilhelm, Klaus burned down your house. … Just kidding. But we did see him and your wife, Rebecca, looking awfully cozy together.”

That’s a painful update wrapped in an even more alarming setup. At least, in this case, you still have a place to sleep—and you don’t actually know whether Rebecca is cheating. The scene looks suspicious, and Klaus isn’t exactly trustworthy, but frightening appearances don’t always tell the whole story.

Now apply that same idea to fantasy football managers who have Caleb Williams on their rosters. Williams left Sunday’s game screaming in pain after suffering a noncontact injury. The better news arrived Monday, when Tom Pelissero reported that the quarterback had avoided a major injury and that the Chicago Bears had not ruled him out for Week 3.

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At first glance, that sounds encouraging. But before the “good news” arrived, there was no reason to wonder whether Williams would play this week—or miss any time at all.

Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to New York City on Monday night, stopping at Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side during his two-day trip for the United Nations General Assembly. There, he met with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Following the approximately hour-long meeting, a reporter questioned Trump about the White House decision to exclude CNN, MS NOW and Politico, and asked whether Mamdani had offered him any advice.

Trump gestured toward the crowd of journalists outside and replied, “They said they were going to boycott me but they never boycott me.”

He then delivered a five-word jab: “Look at all that press!”

Trump’s remarks came only hours after a troubled ribbon-cutting ceremony on the White House lawn. The event was broadcast around the world, but the feed carried no audio after major networks boycotted the president’s announcement of a new helipad.

The White House television pool, which includes ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN and NBC, had announced that it would suspend coverage of presidential events. The networks said the move was intended to support journalists who had been barred by the administration over the weekend.

Earlier Monday, CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of violating their First Amendment rights after their reporters were denied access to the White House.

Mamdani avoided endorsing Trump’s comments when the two appeared together before reporters. “I told the president that we’re going to have all of the members of the press here on the lawn and that is something that I believe in. As everyone, no matter the opinion or the critique, that we engage,” the mayor said.

The meeting also covered a proposal to build approximately 12,000 homes and create 30,000 jobs in New York. The plan could eventually transform a major rail yard in Sunnyside, Queens, into an entirely new neighborhood.

Mamdani said both sides had agreed to open a new level of dialogue about developing the site, an undertaking that would demand substantial cooperation and investment.

Trump also claimed he had helped persuade Mamdani to move into Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York’s mayor.

According to Trump, Mamdani had been uncertain about moving into the “luxurious Gracie Mansion” until the president urged him to take up residence there.

Trump spoke favorably about Mamdani, saying the mayor “certainly got potential.”

Ahead of his arrival, Trump called Gracie Mansion “one of his favorite places in the world” and recalled spending “lots of hours there over the years” with former New York mayors.

“It will be interesting to see how it looks now, invited by Mayor Mamdani. Look forward to it,” Trump wrote.

The conversation marked the third in-person meeting between Trump and Mamdani, but their first encounter in New York City.

The two previously met at the White House in November 2025, shortly after Mamdani’s election, and again in February.

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Mamdani’s communications director, Anna Bahr, said Monday’s meeting would focus on ‘issues affecting New York City and New Yorkers.’

The White House confirmed the meeting but did not provide additional details.

And the meeting marks a striking shift in a relationship that began with very public hostility toward one an other.

During Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign, Trump repeatedly attacked the Democratic socialist, at one point calling him a ‘100% Communist Lunatic.’

Trump also criticized Mamdani’s political agenda and warned about the potential consequences of his policies for New York.

Mamdani, on the campaign was sharply critical of Trump and his administration, particularly over immigration enforcement. 

During the campaign, he called ICE a ‘rogue agency’ and said that if Trump pursued his promised mass deportation effort in New York, he would ‘have to get through me’ to do so.’

He also accused Trump of using the threat of federal enforcement to intimidate New Yorkers. 

But the tone changed considerably after Mamdani won the election.

When the two first met in the Oval Office back in November 2025, their interaction was notably cordial.

Trump described Mamdani as a ‘very rational person’ and said he could ‘surprise some conservative people.’

Trump also said he would be happy if Mamdani succeeded in running New York.

The two met again at the White House in February, with housing among the issues discussed.

Mamdani has said the pair remain in contact by phone and text, although he has declined to discuss how frequently they communicate or what they talk about.

Trump’s visit is particularly notable because presidential visits to Gracie Mansion are rare.

The last sitting president to visit was Ronald Reagan in 1981, meaning Trump’s meeting with Mamdani marks the first presidential visit to the mayor’s residence in 45 years.

Trump’s week in New York City features high-level diplomacy, with the United Nations General Assembly bringing world leaders from across the globe to Manhattan.

The president is due to address the UN on Tuesday and is holding a string of meetings with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi.

Talks on Iran, the Middle East and other international issues are expected to take place before Trump heads back to Washington later in the week for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House.