Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday that aims to shield California elections from federal interference, saying he expected President Donald Trump’s administration to try to meddle in the midterms this year.

A federal judge has declined to halt President Donald Trump’s executive order creating a federal voter list and limiting mail voting, clearing the way for potential sweeping changes in how American elections are run shortly before this year’s midterm elections.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against him, according to a person familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. military on Wednesday struck another vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two men. U.S. Southern Command posted video on social media showing a boat resting on the water before being struck by an explosion.

MILAN (AP) – Italian authorities have seized more than 200 million euros ($232 million) in assets linked to the late mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro’s drug trafficking network, in what anti-mafia prosecutors described Thursday as a blow to the Sicilian Mafia’s attempts to rebuild its financial power.

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) – The little girl approached the therapy dog outside the school library, reaching out to touch her fluffy blond coat. Social worker Nicole Herje leaned in.