Dealing "a blow but not a knockout" to Norm Coleman's (R) hopes, "the judges in the U.S. Senate election trial on Friday tossed out most of the 19 categories of rejected absentee ballots they were considering for a second look," the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "On its face, the ruling looked to be a victory for Al Franken (D), whose lawyers had urged the judges to turn down 17 of the 19 categories and said Friday that they had very nearly done it."