Good morning, it's Friday, Oct. 6. California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved to clear the state's death row, sparing 548 people from execution.

Also in today's issue: Trump's arch blocked, Hegseth's impeachment test, Mississippi's ballot fight, A civil rights chief exits, Secret Iran deportation talks, LA's new mayor.

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Just after midnight Thursday, Indiana executed a man who set a fire that killed two children. Hours later, California's governor moved to make sure 548 people never face that same night.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, announced in an open letter that he will change every death sentence in the state to life in prison without parole. Those 548 people make up more than a quarter of everyone on death row in the country. The Death Penalty Information Center calls it the largest act of clemency, a leader's power to reduce a sentence, in American history.

For victims' families, this is not a debate in the abstract. Each of those sentences came from a jury of ordinary Californians. They heard the evidence and chose death. Some families say no one told them this was coming. Topo Padilla, who leads Crime Victims United, said one man's personal beliefs should not undo what a jury and a judge decided.

Critics raised one fear above all others. Newsom's letter takes it head on.

His case is moral. "State-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California's values," he wrote. He has long argued the death penalty is applied unevenly and risks killing an innocent person. He also wrote that he respects those who will strongly disagree, including families who "suffered the worst possible loss."

So does one letter settle it? Not quite. A governor can usually reduce a sentence alone. But California's constitution adds a check. For anyone convicted of more than one felony, at least four of the seven state Supreme Court justices must agree. Most people on death row fall into that group, according to CalMatters. For many cases, Thursday's letter is a request, not the final word.

It also doesn't end the death penalty. Only voters can do that, and they've refused twice, in 2012 and 2016. In 2016 they even voted to speed executions up. Prosecutors can still seek death, and they have, about two dozen times since Newsom paused executions in 2019. The state's last execution was in 2006.

Now that fear. Critics worried that people moved off death row could someday walk free. Newsom says they won't qualify for new parole or resentencing rules. Life without parole is meant to mean exactly that.

Politics hangs over all of it. Newsom leaves office in January and is openly weighing a run for president. Critics see a governor overriding a choice voters made. Supporters see the step President Biden took in 2024 for most of federal death row, only far larger. The national split is stark too. On the same day, Florida and Alabama also had executions scheduled.

What to watch is the state Supreme Court. If the justices sign off, California's death row will be empty for the first time since the late 1800s. If they balk, or if opponents win in court, hundreds of cases could land on the next governor's desk.

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Trump's arch won final approval Thursday night, then hit a wall within two hours. The National Capital Planning Commission reviews building projects in the capital area. It voted 8-4 to approve the towering arch near Arlington National Cemetery. The four no votes came from members Trump did not appoint. Just before midnight, Judge Tanya Chutkan blocked all construction for 14 days. She found D.C. and Virginia would likely be harmed, starting with traffic snarls once work begins. The veterans suing say Congress never approved the arch. The administration points to a century-old plan for columns that were never built. Earlier Thursday, Trump also declared the Oval Office and Cabinet Room a national monument.

President Trump is standing by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, even as a vote to impeach him could come next week. Trump said Thursday he has "every intention" of keeping him. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who lost his primary after Trump backed his opponent, plans to bring back his articles of impeachment unless Hegseth resigns. His main charge is that Hegseth waged the Iran war without Congress's approval. Impeachment in the House works like an indictment, and removal takes a Senate trial. Hegseth called the effort a "sham" in a video. Massie urged Trump to replace him now, while a Republican Senate can still confirm a successor.

Mississippi's Senate count turned into a legal fight Thursday. Democrat Scott Colom's lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith grew to about 1,800 votes. As many as 20,000 mail and provisional ballots were still uncounted. Mississippi calls provisional ballots "affidavit" ballots, often cast by voters missing a photo ID. Hyde-Smith's lawyers asked every county to set those ballots apart, a first step toward a court challenge. Colom's lawyers called that unlawful, warning it could let officials trace a ballot back to a voter. The NAACP is reaching voters who lacked ID so they can fix their ballots by Nov. 10. With no recount law, rulings on these ballots could decide the seat.

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Harmeet Dhillon resigned Thursday as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, the office that enforces federal laws against discrimination. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced it and praised her service, without giving a reason. Her tenure reshaped the division. More than three in four staffers left last year. The office shifted toward gun owners' rights and fighting diversity programs. It dropped oversight deals with police in Minneapolis and Louisville. It sent a record of more than 1,000 monitors to polling places this fall. Dhillon and her allies called it a needed correction. Critics, including former division lawyers, called it destructive. Any successor named next year would need a Democratic Senate's approval.

Unsealed court papers show the Trump administration held secret talks with Iran about deporting Iranians, even during the war, the Associated Press reported Thursday. As recently as mid-October, officials planned to send Iranians back through a third country. A lawsuit claims U.S. agencies shared asylum seekers' private files with Tehran, the government many say they fled. DHS denies that. Judge Ana Reyes now requires five days' written notice before any removal and has warned of contempt if the government skips it. More than 100 Iranians were flown back on three flights before the war began. At least a dozen detainees were recently told they're next.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass conceded Thursday to Councilmember Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist who led by about four points. Raman is the first challenger to unseat an LA mayor since 2005. Her campaign leaned on frustration over homelessness and Bass's handling of the Palisades fire. But California voters didn't move left on everything. A one-time tax on the state's billionaires was trailing, with about 55% voting no. A rival measure to ban future state wealth taxes was ahead. Neither has been officially called. Together, the results show voters choosing change at city hall while balking at a new kind of tax (CalMatters).

That's how many of its lawsuits for states' voter rolls the Justice Department has lost, according to CBS News. It wanted unredacted files from 30 states and D.C., including partial Social Security and driver's license numbers. Judges, including Trump appointees, keep saying no.

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