A federal judge ruled Sunday that Iowa can continue challenging the validity of hundreds of ballots from potential noncitizens even though critics said the effort threatens the voting rights of people who’ve recently become U.S. citizens.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher, an appointee of President Joe Biden, sided with the state in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union in the Iowa capital of Des Moines on behalf of the League of Latin American Citizens of Iowa and four recently naturalized citizens. The four were on the state’s list of questionable registrations to be challenged by local elections officials.

The state’s attorney general and secretary of state argued that investigating and potentially removing 2,000 names would prevent illegal voting by noncitizens. GOP officials across the U.S. have made possible voting by noncitizen immigrants a key election-year talking point even though it is rare. Their focus has come with former President Donald Trump falsely suggesting that his opponents already are committing fraud to prevent his return to the White House.

In his ruling Sunday, Locher pointed to a U.S. Supreme Court decision four days prior that allowed Virginia to resume a similar purge of its voter registration rolls even though it was impacting some U.S. citizens.

Locher also said the state’s effort does not remove anyone from the voter rolls, but rather requires some voters to use provisional ballots.

Oklahoma storms injure at least 11

Severe storms and tornadoes battered Oklahoma early Sunday, tossing cars and ripping roofs off buildings in the middle of the night and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power. Among numerous injuries, 11 people required hospitalization, authorities said.

Much of the damage was reported in and around the state capital of Oklahoma City, near the state’s center, but also scattered elsewhere around the state. The early morning storms set off tornado warnings that extended south to the Arkansas state line. Heavy rains caused flash flooding in some areas and one lightning-sparked house fire was reported.

More than 99,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses lost power during the overnight storms. By late Sunday afternoon, that number was reduced to around 24,000. No fatalities had been reported.

Richard Thompson, forecast chief for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma, said he believes six or more tornadoes hit the state overnight.

Pro-Western Sandu wins Moldova runoff

Moldova’s pro-Western President Maia Sandu has won a second term in a pivotal presidential runoff against a Russia-friendly opponent, in a race that was overshadowed by claims of Russian interference, voter fraud, and intimidation in the European Union candidate country.

With nearly 99% of votes counted in the second round of the presidential election held Sunday, Sandu had 55% of the vote, according to the Central Electoral Commission, compared to 45% for Alexandr Stoianoglo, a former prosecutor general who was backed by the pro-Russia Party of Socialists.

The result will be a major relief for the pro-Western government, which strongly backed Sandu’s candidacy, and her push for closer Western ties on Moldova’s path toward the EU.

Sandu said her country’s vote had faced an “unprecedented attack” through alleged schemes including dirty money, vote-buying, and electoral interference “by hostile forces from outside the country” and criminal groups.

Russia sends nearly 100 drones into Ukraine

Moscow sent 96 drones and a guided air missile into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.

According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 66 drones were destroyed during the overnight barrage, along with the missile. A further 27 drones were “lost” over various areas, it said, likely having been electronically jammed, while one drone flew into Belarusian airspace. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia had launched around 900 guided aerial bombs, 500 drones and 30 missiles against Ukraine over the past week.

Volcanic eruption kills at least 6 in Indonesia

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said Monday that at least six people have died as a series of volcanic eruptions widens on the remote island of Flores.

The eruption at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki just after midnight on Monday spewed thick brownish ash as high as 6,500 feet into the air and hot ashes hit a nearby village, burning down several houses including a convent of Catholic nuns, said Firman Yosef, an official at the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki monitoring post.

The Disaster Management Agency said that information was still being collected about the extent of casualties and damage.

The agency said at least 10,000 people have been affected by the eruption in Wulanggitang District, in the six nearby villages of Pululera, Nawokote, Hokeng Jaya, Klatanlo, Boru and Boru Kedang.

Spain flood survivors hurl mud at the royals

A crowd of enraged survivors hurled clots of mud left by storm-spawned flooding at the Spanish royal couple on Sunday during their first visit to the epicenter of their nation’s deadliest natural disaster in living memory.

Spain’s national broadcaster reported that the barrage included a few rocks and other objects and that two bodyguards were treated for injuries. One could be seen with a bloody wound on his forehead.

It was an unprecedented incident for a royal house that carefully crafts the image of monarchs adored by their country of more than 48 million people.

Spanish fury has been unleashed against a state that appears overwhelmed and unable to meet the needs of people used to living under an effective government.

Caribbean system expected to strengthen

A weather system in the south-central Caribbean is expected to develop and strengthen this week, prompting a tropical storm warning for Jamaica and a hurricane watch for the Cayman Islands to be issued Sunday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

The system also could bring heavy rainfall to Cuba and Florida as well as the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico later this week.

The disturbance was expected to be near Jamaica by late Monday and the Cayman Islands on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the hurricane center, which urged residents in Cuba and the Florida Keys to monitor the storm’s progress.

Taurid meteor showers peak a week apart

Two sister meteor showers are already flashing across night skies — and will peak a week apart.

The Southern Taurids will reach their zenith early Tuesday morning and the Northern Taurids on Nov. 12.

While the two showers only produce around five visible meteors per hour under ideal viewing conditions, they are often very bright fireballs, said Sally Brummel, planetarium manager at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum.

“What’s notable is that they’re likely to produce brighter and longer-lasting meteors than some other showers, even if there aren’t as many” at a time, she said.

The Southern Taurids will peak on an evening with only a slim crescent moon just 11% full. The Northern Taurids may be more obstructed by moonlight since the moon will be 79% full.

— From news services