The Brief

With just a month to the election, new research shows Latinos are being bombarded with political misinformation from both sides of the aisle.

And Latinos are among the most affected groups when it comes to California’s digital divide. That’s the gap between people with easy access to technology — including the proper skills needed to navigate the digital world — and those without.

In Los Angeles, several community-based groups are working to close that divide by offering free digital skills training for adults.

Sonia Vargas encouraged her mom, Reina, to attend digital skills classes at the Bell Tech Center in southeast Los Angeles County.

Last year, she learned how to use a mouse and type on a keyboard. Now, Reina is learning how to browse the internet and identify spam — just in time for the upcoming presidential election.

“I feel a little more secure now,” Reina said in Spanish, adding that she plans to vote in November.

Sonia said it feels great to see her mom taking these classes because she can now defend herself online and be more independent when it comes to doing everyday personal tasks. But the 24-year-old also hopes it will protect her mom from online fraudsters and help her spot disinformation that’s all over social media.

“It's very important to be connected because without it, you're not really aware of what's going on, especially in these times of elections and new things popping up,” she said. “You really gotta stay in tune with what's happening now.”

Becoming an informed voter

The nonprofit Everyone On also regularly partners with local community based groups and schools to offer its popular “Digital Connections” program to their members or students. Cohorts of about 15 participants typically get a free laptop after completing the five-week course.

This year the election is front of mind for them.

“Part of what we teach is how to identify websites that are safe and secure,” said senior program manager Oscar Magaña. “There's ways for them to figure out if a story is true or not through independent fact checkers.”

Magaña said the group remains neutral on political issues and instead teaches people how to find reliable, accurate information in a safe way. Participants also learn about computer warranties and how to set up a device so they can become more independent when it comes to technology.

“One thing that a lot of people don't know is like, why does a website have HTTPS… literally that S means secure,” he said. “It's really more about showing them how to identify those safe websites and how to look for cues that a website might not be authentic.”

Magaña often works with groups that aren’t primarily focused on digital equity and inclusion efforts, but that “realize and understand the importance of their participants having these 21st century skills” and have already built trust in the community.

Doing your own research

A former mayor and city council member in Maywood, Magaña said he encourages people to learn how to do their own online research around the different candidates and propositions on the ballot — especially at the local level.

“The worst thing that we can have is an uninformed voter, because sometimes, people will go in and vote and just pick whatever sounds best to them,” he said. “If [you’re] not really sure, do the research, ask family, ask friends.”

The Bell Tech Center’s free digital skills training for adults also helps people become more informed voters.

“I get concerned about folks voting and not knowing how to vote based on factual information instead of just gossip,” said Emma Hernandez of the nonprofit Southeast Community Development Corporation, which operates the technology center. “So we're going to keep hitting on that and making sure folks understand how to get information and really make informed decisions,” she said.

Bell resident Sergio Salazar has been coming to the Bell Tech Center for years to use the computers and printers. The 67-year-old said he signed up for computer classes there because one day, he might not be able to get to places like the market on his own. When that time comes, he may need the skills to be able to order groceries online.

“Technology is never finished,” he said.

Gaining valuable skills

The classes cover some of the very basics, like how to log into your patient portal, join a Zoom call or start an email account.

Bell resident Sergio Salazar has been coming to the Bell Tech Center for years to use the computers and printers.

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“We teach them how to use a microphone so that they don't have to type everything out — things that are quicker,” Hernandez said. “Our goal is really, can they just become more proficient so that it's easier for them to use technology for just everyday things.”

Hernandez said she recently started incorporating artificial intelligence in her lesson plans since it’s the wave of the future. She’s been teaching older adults how to use ChatGPT to write emails and even translate them from Spanish to English.

But it can be frustrating or even embarrassing to ask for help — especially if you feel vulnerable around technology.

During the training, Hernandez also helps residents go through all the security features for their accounts and phones to try to turn on as many protections as possible.

“We often talk about scammers or phishing or the different things that can happen online,” she said. “That's usually one of the barriers for having them use technology; they don't want to use it because they're scared.”

That’s why it's important for people to be assured that they can ask questions when they’re not sure of an answer, and that “they have people that can back them up,” Hernandez said.

Two weeks from the midterm elections, Democratic Party leaders are suing in federal court to block President Donald Trump’s administration from usurping states’ authority to administer elections or trying to intimidate state and local election officials into complying with illegal demands.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Washington, seeks a court order barring the administration from purging legally registered voters from statewide voter registration lists or denying ballots to legally registered voters.

The plaintiffs, including Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, also ask for a ruling that the administration has illegally threatened state election officials with prosecution before the Nov. 3 election.

The lawsuit cites the Justice Department’s recent actions in California, where it sued to block state election officials from counting mail-in ballots cast by people whom the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.

“For over a decade now, President Donald J. Trump has bombarded the American people with lies and misinformation about American elections and voter fraud,” the suit says. “While these lies have been debunked at every turn, that has never deterred the President from employing them as a pretext to seize control over elections, even as courts overwhelmingly reject that effort.”

The Justice Department said in a statement that election integrity is a top priority for the administration and the department’s actions on that front are grounded in law and under court litigation.

The Democratic leaders’ lawsuit was assigned to Chief Judge James Boasberg, who has been vilified by the White House for rulings against the Trump administration since the start of the Republican president’s second term.

The suit’s other plaintiffs are the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Governors Association. Its named defendants are Trump, the Justice Department, Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Tom Cruise is being celebrated with a life achievement award from the American Film Institute, AFI’s board of trustees said Wednesday. The award will be handed out at a gala tribute in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre on April 24 next year.

“Tom Cruise is a global icon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, chair of AFI’s board of trustees, in a statement. She praised Cruise’s commitment as an actor and producer and his belief in movies’ ability to bring people together.

Cruise, 64, has worked in film for more than four decades, starring in movies including “Risky Business,” “A Few Good Men,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Minority Report” and the “Mission: Impossible” series. He has received three Academy Award nominations for acting: best actor in “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Jerry Maguire” and supporting actor for “Magnolia.”

As a producer, Cruise was nominated when “Top Gun: Maverick” received a best picture nomination.

Last year, he received an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards.

The AFI Life Achievement Award, established in 1973, recognizes a person whose work has advanced film and stood the test of time. Cruise will join a roster that includes John Ford, Bette Davis, Sidney Poitier, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman and Eddie Murphy, who received the honor earlier this year.

Proceeds from the tribute gala support AFI’s education and arts initiatives.

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration must continue providing gender-affirming care to transgender inmates in federal prisons.

The decision, in an emergency appeal, maintains a lower court's injunction on a federal Bureau of Prisons' policy that would terminate hormone therapy and other treatments for trans inmates.

The unsigned order offered no explanation behind the decision. It simply read, "The application for stay presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied."

It also said Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would side with the Trump administration and would grant the application for stay.

As the federal judge's injunction remains in place, the legal battle over the policy continues.

In January 2025, upon assuming office, Trump issued an executive order banning the use of federal funds that "promote" gender ideology. And prisoners brought a class action seeking reinstatement of the decades-long health policy. It contends that the Trump policy violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

A federal district judge barred the BOP from implementing its policy this summer.

A second court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, also rejected the administration's request to pause U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's order.

That's when U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

As the federal judge's injunction remains in place, the legal battle over the policy continues.

Li Nowlin-Sohl, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union and a lawyer involved in this case, said the organization believes there are more than 2,000 people in BOP custody who identify as transgender. (The BOP stopped publishing data reflecting transgender inmates after Trump took office in 2025. It only records male or female individuals incarcerated in the federal system.)

Kingdom v. Trump represents 1,000 inmates who have a gender dysphoria diagnosis, Nowlin-Sohl explained. Of those, the ACLU believes there are about 800 who have been prescribed hormone therapy and many who are also receiving social transition accommodations, Nowlin-Sohl said.

In its request for an emergency stay on the earlier rulings, the Trump administration argued that providing this care poses several risks, including for recipients of this specialized care, who it argued would become "targets for attacks." They also said that it raises "fairness concerns" as it would "breed resentment" with other inmates.

Access to gender-affirming care is considered medically necessary to treat gender dysphoria, a medical term used to describe the deep discomfort caused by a mismatch between a person's assigned sex at birth and their gender identity. Without it, individuals can struggle severely with mental health issues such as heightened anxiety and depression, with some turning to self-harm and suicide.

Gender-affirming care can include "...hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries among others," according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. (In its filings, the Trump administration questioned WPATH's standards of care, which were developed by experts in transgender health and used by organizations across the world.)

Some people who are transgender may require hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries; others may not require any of these interventions.

The BOP has treated people diagnosed with gender dysphoria since at least 1992, the ACLU said in response to the government's filings to the Supreme Court.

"Had BOP's doctors found this treatment unhelpful or harmful to patients or had the agency found that the treatment compromised security, surely BOP would have mentioned it in the administrative record," the ACLU wrote.

This is a "glaring omission" and appears to indicate that the government's arguments now are simply "contrived," the ACLU continued.

NPR previously covered the impact of the loss of hormone treatments on people who are incarcerated. One woman said she experienced severe physical and mental anguish when she lost access to hormone treatments.

The Supreme Court's decision is at odds with other rulings that support the Trump administration's anti-trans policy agenda.

Last June, the court ruled that states can ban transgender girls from participating in sports at publicly funded schools. And in 2025, the court upheld state laws that make it illegal for doctors and other health professionals to provide gender-affirming care for minors.

In one of his first executive orders of his second term, President Trump targeted the trans community with a declaration that his administration recognizes just two sexes, male and female. This order has been the basis for a host of anti-trans policies throughout the administration.

But at least for now, the emergency request on the prison policy was to no avail.

Waiting in the wings at the Supreme Court are other cases on transgender rights. Most prominently, the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-trans group, has filed an emergency petition at the court on behalf of a mother and her teenage daughter who contend that the daughter was "unknowingly" forced to face a transgender opponent in girl's high school wrestling. Later this year, the court will hear oral arguments in a case testing whether a religious preschool can receive state funding while excluding LGBTQ families. In a separate case, the justices will examine whether parents have the right to challenge a state law that allows runaway teens to receive gender-affirming care without parental consent.

NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg contributed reporting.

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