{"id":352387,"date":"2026-06-09T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/352387\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T00:52:09","slug":"trump-says-fraud-california-says-count-the-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/352387\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Says Fraud. California Says Count the Ballots."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Secret Service agent patrols outside Madison Square Garden before game three of the NBA Finals, between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. Trump is attending, meaning increased security and the cancellation of a watch party outside the stadium, infuriating New Yorkers. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

For daily news updates and analysis, be sure to follow us on Instagram<\/a>. If you are able to support independent journalism, please make a tax-deductible donation to News Not Noise here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

President Trump has dispatched a federal prosecutor to the LA County Ballot Processing Center to investigate voter fraud. All because Spencer Pratt has fallen to third place in the Los Angeles Mayor\u2019s race. The Associated Press\u2019 highly regarded decision desk just declared Nithya Raman the second place finisher<\/a>, knocking out Pratt.<\/p>\n

Predictably, the bright stars of conspiracy land have assembled. The President: \u201cNot possible for Spencer to have lost.\u201d Elon Musk: \u201cThe level of fraud here is mind-blowing.\u201d Ron DeSantis: \u201cCount until you get the result you want?\u201d Even a (Musk-invested) Sequoia partner \u2014 a person paid to understand risk and probability \u2014 offers: \u201cIt takes a conspiracy theorist to believe California\u2019s election is secure.\u201d Nothing says \u201clegitimate legal concern\u201d like announcing fraud before the prosecutor has reviewed a single ballot.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s in short supply: anyone willing to explain how California elections actually work. I\u2019ll do it.<\/p>\n

California mails every registered voter a ballot \u2014 all 23 million of them<\/a>. Counties have 30 days to count and certify. Ballots postmarked by Election Day can arrive up to 7 days late and still count. The Secretary of State certifies by Day 38. This is not a glitch. It\u2019s the law<\/a>. Written down. Publicly available. And somehow still treated as evidence of a shadowy cabal.<\/p>\n

In 2024, two House races<\/a> took nearly a month to call<\/a>. Nobody stormed the ballot processing center. Which suggests this week\u2019s investigators are less about finding fraud and more about laying groundwork to blow up mail voting before November.<\/p>\n

The math: LA County is roughly 85% non-Republican. The red mirage is real and predictable \u2014 Election Day votes go red, mail ballots close the gap. Pratt is already above the GOP registration ceiling.<\/p>\n

The system is a mess. As I\u2019ve said, it seems designed by someone who genuinely hates voters. That\u2019s not fraud, it\u2019s bureaucracy. Counting continues. So does the noise.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s newsletter: The World Cup kicks off \u2014 and it\u2019s already a mess. Spencer Pratt is channeling his inner Trump. In Texas, Ken Paxton\u2019s defense attorney switches sides. Trump rage-quits an interview. Kevin O\u2019Leary humbled in Utah. Iran: ceasefire or mirage? And the Pope goes viral in Madrid.<\/p>\n

Beautiful Game: The World Cup, the most important soccer competition and arguably the planet\u2019s largest sporting event, kicks off this week. And for the first time in over three decades, it\u2019s happening here. The US, Canada and Mexico are jointly hosting the tournament. It\u2019s already broken records \u2014 not all of them good \u2014 and is generating significant controversy. Here\u2019s what you should know.<\/p>\n

The Basics: The World Cup is held every four years. This time, the US, Canada, and Mexico are joint hosts, though it\u2019s mainly the US: 11 of the 16 stadiums hosting 78 of the 104 total matches are in the US. Forty-eight countries have qualified \u2014 it\u2019s the largest World Cup in its nearly century-long history. For context on how much the rest of the world cares: 1.5 billion people watched the last final<\/a>. That\u2019s more than ten Super Bowls combined. Soccer is the most popular sport<\/a> in over 150 countries \u2014 and interest in the US is growing fast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Golden Boot: This World Cup is shaping up as the most expensive \u2014 and lucrative \u2014 in history. FIFA, the competition\u2019s notoriously corrupt<\/a> governing body, expects to rake in $11 billion<\/a>. FIFA rolled out a new \u201cvariable pricing\u201d system<\/a> for tickets, driving prices into the tens of thousands of dollars<\/a>, while somehow still leaving empty seats<\/a>. Trump said he<\/a> \u201cwouldn\u2019t pay\u201d for a pricey ticket to the US team\u2019s opening match, a relatable position. FIFA is also pushing fans to use<\/a> its new resale platform<\/a>, where it takes a 15% fee from both the buyer and seller. (Ticketmaster, taking notes). New York and New Jersey issued subpoenas to FIFA<\/a> to investigate its ticket pricing and alleged misleading sales practices.<\/p>\n

Not Welcoming: So far, a tourism windfall isn\u2019t materializing in the host cities. US hotel owners warned that<\/a> the Trump administration\u2019s travel bans<\/a> and visa restrictions \u2014 plus a political climate foreigners perceive as hostile, and horror stories of legal visitors detained by immigration enforcement \u2014 are \u201csignificantly suppressing<\/a>\u201d international demand and undermining an expected tourism boost<\/a>. Already, US officials reportedly turned away a referee from Somalia<\/a> at the border and denied visas<\/a> to many of the Iran team\u2019s support staff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Does it Work: For those of you as soccer illiterate as Jessica, here\u2019s a little more info. The 48 soccer teams are divided into 12 groups of four. The US Men\u2019s team, for example, is in Group D, and it will play Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. Of those 48 teams, 32 will advance from the group stages to a knockout round that culminates in the final, on July 19 in New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium.<\/p>\n

Red Mirage: Progressive LA city councilmember Nithya Raman has defeated<\/a> Republican former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt in the Los Angeles mayor\u2019s primary race. With 93% of the vote counted<\/a>, incumbent Mayor Karen Bass leads with 34.3%, Raman sits at 28.6%, and Pratt 25.8%. Bass and Raman will advance to the runoff. Republicans across the country are crying foul. Pratt said he didn\u2019t understand the city\u2019s vote-counting process and suggested that Raman\u2019s surge is driven by<\/a> some kind of fraud involving the city\u2019s unhoused population. Trump calling the election<\/a> \u201crigged\u201d and claimed<\/a> it was \u201cnot possible\u201d for Pratt to have fallen behind. CNN\u2019s chief data analyst called this<\/a> the \u201cdumbest conspiracy theory \u2026 ever,\u201d noting that \u201cthe Democratic establishment and Karen Bass wanted Spencer Pratt in the runoff.\u201d Polling shows Bass easily defeating Pratt but losing to Raman in a general election.<\/p>\n

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Stop the Spread: Health officials in Africa are warning that the current Ebola outbreak<\/a> is spreading at an unprecedented rate. There have been 534 confirmed cases<\/a> and 93 deaths so far. The CDC warns that the outbreak, <\/a>if not contained properly, could rival the worst Ebola outbreak in history, which killed more than 11,300 people. Some good news: A US doctor who tested positive for Ebola and was evacuated to Germany for treatment has been discharged, having been being free of the virus<\/a> since May 30. Doctors called it \u201ca significant therapeutic success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Triggered: Trump stormed out of an interview<\/a> with NBC\u2019s Meet the Press after anchor Kristen Welker pressed him for evidence of his election conspiracy claims. He called his slush fund<\/a> is a \u201cgreat idea,\u201d repeated <\/a>baseless claims<\/a> that Jan 6 was a set up, and insisted the FBI and \u201ccrooked cops\u201d framed J6ers. He claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 election was \u201crigged\u201d and that Democrats are \u201ccheating\u201d in California\u2019s elections. When Welker asked for evidence, Trump erupted, attacking her, NBC, and Democrats. \u201cYou\u2019re either crooked or you\u2019re stupid,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s call it quits, because I\u2019ve had enough. Thank you, darling.\u201d Trump later blamed the weather<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Telling: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton\u2019s defense attorney<\/a>, who helped him defeat impeachment and criminal charges, has endorsed his challenger<\/a>, state Rep. James Talarico. Dan Codgell donated to Paxton\u2019s Senate campaign<\/a> last year, but now he says Paxton is too deferential to Trump<\/a>, while Talarico \u201cbelieves in unity over division \u2026 and we need that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data Down: Kevin O\u2019Leary agreed to scale down<\/a> the controversial Stratos data center project in Utah. It would have been the largest in the world. He said he had<\/a> \u201cno choice\u201d but to accept Utah\u2019s senate president\u2019s request to shrink the project by 75%. O\u2019Leary said \u201cwe really screwed it up\u201d by assuming \u201cpeople would be excited\u201d and not consulting them first.<\/p>\n

Poor Taste: Land that a farming family all-but-gifted to a Texas city for use as parkland will instead become a data center<\/a>. In 1999, the Griffin family gave 87 acres of land to the city of Taylor for a nominal $10, on the condition it be used \u201cas parkland.\u201d In 2025 the city sold it to a data center developer for $10 million.<\/p>\n

Do Your Job: A federal judge struck down a series of Trump administration policies<\/a> targeting millions of immigrants and asylum seekers<\/a>. The judge wrote that the changes<\/a>, enacted last year, threw \u201ccountless immigrants\u201d into \u201cindeterminate legal limbo.\u201d The judge accused the US Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law and hiding behind \u201cpretextual concerns of \u2018national security\u2019 that mask anti-immigrant sentiments it is forbidden from letting influence its decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make It Rain: OpenAI announced it has filed confidentially<\/a> to go public. The company said<\/a> it \u201cmay be a while\u201d before it actually happens, \u201cbecause there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.\u201d It\u2019s not alone. Last week rival Anthropic also filed confidentially for an IPO<\/a>. Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX is going public on Friday for $135 a share<\/a>, valuing it at $1.77 trillion \u2014 the largest (and potentially<\/a> most unusual<\/a>) IPO in history.<\/p>\n

Deep Breath: Iran and Israel have pulled back from a round of retaliatory strikes<\/a> that threatened to plunge the region back into war<\/a> after Trump insisted they<\/a> \u201cstop \u2018shooting.\u2019\u201d Here\u2019s how it escalated: on Sunday, Israel struck Beirut<\/a>, which it said was retaliation for Hezbollah strikes on northern Israel<\/a>. Iran responded with its first barrage of missiles at Israel<\/a> in two months. Trump reportedly pushed Netanyahu not to respond<\/a>, but Israel struck Iran\u2019s largest petrochemical facility<\/a>, prompting another wave of Iranian missiles; Iran also threatened to target regional energy assets<\/a>. Trump says five countries in the Middle East asked him<\/a> to stop Israel, and he called Netanyahu<\/a>, telling him, \u201cYou better be careful or you will be on your own very soon.\u201d Trump said he told Netanyahu<\/a> that \u201cwe have to use sense\u201d and argued a deal with Iran was days away<\/a>, apparently convincing Netanyahu to call off a major attack on Iran<\/a>. Trump declared both sides wanted a ceasefire<\/a> \u2014 though Iran said it would resume strikes<\/a> if Israel continued targeting southern Lebanon, which Israel is doing.<\/a><\/p>\n

Blockade: The US military fired on and disabled an oil tanker<\/a> that was heading for Iran. Trump says the US blockade <\/a>\u201cwill remain in place\u201d until a final deal. He claimed it has<\/a> \u201cbeen extremely effective\u201d \u2014 but analysts warn Iran can outlast the blockage<\/a> longer than the world can tolerate<\/a> Iran\u2019s chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

New Player: The Houthis, the Iran-aligned Yemeni militia that has largely stayed out of the conflict<\/a>, fired missiles at Israel<\/a>. The group also announced<\/a> a \u201ccomplete and total ban on Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea,\u201d and warned that<\/a> \u201cany state that becomes involved will be targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a Promise: Asked about his promises<\/a> of \u201cno new wars,\u201d Trump told NBC\u2019s Kristen Welker he \u201cdidn\u2019t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?\u201d He said he calls the conflict \u201ca military exercise because people would rather have it called that.\u201d (Possibly because war requires congressional authorization<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

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Bunny and Dove: Pope Leo XIV is in Spain, the country\u2019s first papal visit in 15 years<\/a>. Already he\u2019s touched on some major issues, including respect for migrants<\/a> and the need for peace<\/a>. He\u2019s also weighed in on some less pressing matters, like which of Spain\u2019s two biggest soccer teams he supports<\/a>. \u201cThe Pope is for all teams,\u201d he said, \u201cbut Prevost\u201d \u2014 his birth name \u2014 \u201cis Real Madrid.\u201d Little wonder, then, that 80,000 people packed into the club\u2019s stadium to pray with him. But the Pope was far from the only global superstar drawing crowds in Spain\u2019s capital. Bad Bunny, the reggaeton sensation who headlined this year\u2019s Super Bowl, happens to be in the middle of a 10-concert residency in Madrid<\/a>. The Pope acknowledged that many young people<\/a>, if forced to choose between the two, \u201cwill see Bad Bunny. But I think there will also be a few here to see the Pope.\u201d A few is an understatement<\/a>: half a million people, many of them young, attended an evening vigil, and 1.1 million packed into the streets for an open-air mass. While riding in the Popemobile, Pope Leo appeared to do the viral \u201c6-7\u201d hand gesture<\/a>, drawing cheers. He urged the crowds<\/a> to dedicate themselves \u201cto families, to the poor, to those who suffer, to those who have lost hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

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