The Justice Department dropped a lawsuit seeking to set aside thousands of California ballots after legal losses and data errors. Meanwhile, Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi remain too close to call as officials count late-arriving and provisional ballots. Pope Leo began a Latin America tour in Uruguay, urging greater religiosity in public life, while President Trump replaced Chief of Staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller. Additionally, a federal judge halted a proposed memorial arch, and archaeologists discovered the earliest evidence of humans using cannabis for psychoactive effects.