FBI Contacts Alaska Senate Donor as France Deploys 70,000 Police

Federal investigators in Alaska reached out to campaign donors ahead of Tuesday's ranked-choice U.S. Senate election, Idaho voters prepared to weigh an advisory ballot measure selecting an official state firearm, and French authorities deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes for a third consecutive weekend of youth-led rallies over education and living costs, according to reports from KCBS Radio, the San Francisco Examiner, and NBC Bay Area.

FBI Visits Petersburg, Alaska Donor in Senate Ballot Inquiry

In Alaska, an Anchorage-based FBI agent visited a boat dealership in the fishing community of Petersburg owned by Charles Flint, who contributed $500 over the summer to U.S. Senate candidate Dan J. Sullivan — a retired teacher and musician who shares a name with Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan — according to Associated Press reporting carried by KCBS Radio.

Flint said the agent asked his son whether Flint felt "misled" about which candidate he was supporting. Flint told the Associated Press he has known the retired teacher for years, was not misled, and plans to rank Democratic challenger and former Rep. Mary Peltola first on his ranked-choice ballot followed by Dan J. Sullivan. Alaska U.S. Attorney Michael Heyman said in Anchorage that the federal probe has been underway for several months and prompted a surge of law enforcement assets, while the U.S. Department of Justice sought a court order Friday to isolate certain Alaska ballots. At a Friday rally in Anchorage, Peltola denied any involvement in recruiting the candidate and called the allegations part of a campaign to suppress turnout.

Idaho Voters Weigh 6 Weapons for Official State Firearm

In Idaho, lawmakers placed a nonbinding question on Tuesday's ballot asking voters to choose among 6 weapons — including the Winchester Model 1894 hunting rifle, the Colt Single Action Army frontier revolver, and the World War II-era M1 Garand infantry rifle — to mark America's 250th birthday before the Idaho Legislature makes a final decision next year, according to Anna Griffin in the San Francisco Examiner.

According to gun experts cited in the report, about 60% of Idaho adults live in households with firearms, while Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Idaho 50th in the nation for the strength of its gun laws. Ten other states have designated official state firearms, including Utah (the Browning M1911 pistol designed by John Browning), Kentucky (the Kentucky long rifle), and Texas (the 1847 Colt Walker revolver). Republican State Sen. Mark Harris of Soda Springs sponsored the measure, which was also supported in committee debate by Republican Sen. Treg Bernt of Meridian and Greg Pruett, president of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, while Washington State University professor emeritus Joan Burbick noted that the ballot measure reflects efforts to link firearm ownership with western heritage.

France Deploys 70,000 Police as Youth-Led Protests Spread Across Europe

In Europe, France deployed 70,000 police and gendarmes on Saturday for a third consecutive weekend of demonstrations over school conditions and living costs, according to Associated Press reports in KCBS Radio and NBC Bay Area.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warned of a high risk of disorder after dark on Halloween, and President Emmanuel Macron said marches would be kept out of city centers to protect shops. Paris police banned union and "yellow vest" marches through the city center — ordering demonstrators onto a single outer-boulevard route from Porte de Bagnolet to Porte de Charenton after unions and student groups lost a court challenge — and barred entry to Place de la Republique and Les Halles from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, alongside a 9 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied youth around the Champs-Elysees. French authorities counted about 550,000 protesters nationwide on Oct. 17 and 410,000 last Saturday, when police made more than 1,300 arrests.

Across Europe, Germany's "Gen Z regelt" movement organized rallies across 30 cities with more than 140,000 online sign-ups and about 10,000 participants expected at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate; Catalan police in Barcelona activated their highest alert following 130 arrests last Saturday tied to the TikTok network Blocus; and Italian police remained on alert after clashes in Milan, Turin, and Bologna, with protest calls also circulating in Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal.