Early Voting Opens in Several States as US Midterm Campaign Intensifies

Early voting for the US midterm elections began in several states on Thursday, marking what The Guardian described as the start of a crucial stretch of campaigning for control of Congress, with the elections now less than two months away.

According to the report, Virginia opened early in-person voting, while voters in Minnesota, Idaho and South Dakota were able to cast absentee ballots in person. The Guardian said the campaign is increasingly centered on the cost of living, alongside continued attention to the war in Iran.

Separately, the report said the Trump administration has approved a potential sale of 48 advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, valued at an estimated $24.3 billion. The Department of State said the proposed sale "will improve Saudi Arabia's capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense," according to the report.

The New York Times, as cited by The Guardian, reported that the move comes despite concerns from US intelligence agencies that China could potentially gain access to, or steal, sensitive F-35 technology through Saudi Arabia. The Times reported that a detailed assessment issued months ago by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency raised questions about whether American and Saudi authorities could secure sites housing F-35 technology. The assessment also raised concerns about access that Chinese military personnel have to Saudi bases, and about Saudi Arabia's extensive use of Chinese technology in telecommunications infrastructure and defense installations, the report said.

In a separate development reported by The Guardian, former staff members of the US Institute of Peace have asked a federal appeals court to block the Trump administration from engraving the president's name into the facade of the organization's Washington headquarters. The building was renamed the "Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace" last year.

Lawyers representing the institute's ousted board members argued that engraving Trump's name on the building would cause "irreparable harm" by undermining the organization's independent mission, according to the report. The Guardian noted that this dispute comes amid a separate controversy involving another Washington cultural institution.