Democrats score a critical redistricting win in Virginia. A Pentagon intelligence assessment suggests Iran’s military is not as weak as Donald Trump has claimed. And Los Angeles becomes the first major school district to limit students’ screen time.
Here’s what to know today.
Virginia voters approve Democrats’ redistricting plan, giving the party a midterm boost
Virginia voters have approved a Democratic redistricting plan that could allow the party to pick up as many as four new seats in the midterm elections — a major victory as the party seeks to gain control of the House this fall.
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The constitutional amendment that was on the ballot sought to authorize the Democratic-controlled Legislature to bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission and implement a new congressional map through the end of the decade. That proposed map — made up of jagged districts radiating from Northern Virginia — would leave one solidly Republican district out of 11 in the state. Virginia is currently represented by six Democrats and five Republicans in the House.
President Donald Trump started a redistricting arms race last year by urging GOP-led states to alter their district lines. Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, Utah and California have enacted new maps in the past year, giving Republicans as many as nine new seats and Democrats up to six new seats. With the new map in Virginia, Democrats could win as many as 10 new House seats due to redistricting. Republicans still have a chance to add to their total in Florida.
However, the fight in Virginia isn’t over. Republicans have challenged the legality of Democrats’ rushed constitutional amendment, and the Virginia Supreme Court has reserved the right to rule after the special election on questions surrounding the measure.
Read more about the critical redistricting push in Virginia.
More politics news:
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to appear at a Senate hearing today, putting him on a potential collision course with Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican who cast a key vote for his confirmation but has criticized the health secretary’s vaccine policies.
- Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress moments before the House Ethics Committee was set to consider whether she should be expelled over ethics violations.
- Rep. Cory Mills said he won’t resign from Congress over an House Ethics Committee investigation and bipartisan pressure for him to leave.
- A federal grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center, with the DOJ alleging the civil rights organization has fraudulently paid informants in extremist groups.
Fast-track on psychedelics, hold on vaccines: Experts point to double standards in Kennedy’s approach
In the last week, the Trump administration has taken steps to fast-track reviews of psychedelics and widen access to some peptide injections — two types of medical interventions that scientists are still evaluating for safety and efficacy. The approach contrasts with the administration’s stance a different area of medicine backed by far more data: vaccines.
The dichotomy raises questions about what the Trump administration — and, in particular, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — considers “gold-standard science.” Five health experts told NBC News in interviews that there seems to be a double standard at play.
An intelligence agency assessment says Iran still has significant military capabilities
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said Iran’s military is largely defeated after weeks of strikes by the U.S. and Israel. But the regime maintains significant military capability, including thousands of missiles and one-way attack drones, according to a recent statement to lawmakers from the Pentagon’s internal intelligence agency. In addition, more than half of Iran’s Air Force and more than half of its specialized Navy vessels also remain intact, according to three U.S. officials familiar with a separate internal Trump administration intelligence assessment.
It’s not the first time the administration’s public statements about Iran have been at odds with internal assessments of the situation on the ground.
Here’s what Trump and other top officials have said about Iran.
The assessments of Iran’s military capabilities come as Trump announced yesterday that he would extend a two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran so peace talks between the two countries could continue. Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for another round of negotiations was also postponed, according to a White House official.
Two ships were seized in the Strait of Hormuz and escorted to Iran’s coast this morning, the Revolutionary Guard said. Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars reported that a third vessel has also been attacked. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.
The four former presidents speak to a politically divided America
Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary this summer, former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each shared a message about what they value about the country and how it can emerge from a difficult era:
“The fact that you can speak in the public square without being jailed. The fact that we have a press that’s willing to hold the powerful to account,” Bush said, referring to the First Amendment.
Obama pointedly noted that “we don’t have rulers, we don’t have kings, or monarchs, or aristocracies; we have citizens.”
While discussing the letter he received from George H.W. Bush after defeating him in 1992, Clinton said, “America is bigger than anybody’s personal hopes or dreams.”
And Biden said his path from growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to becoming the president of the United States “is just kind of a story of what America’s all about.”
Los Angeles school board votes to restrict screen time limits for students
The Los Angeles Unified School District became the first major American school system to restrict students’ screen time and encourage pen-and-paper assignments instead. While a handful of smaller school districts have enacted similar policies pushing a return to analog assignments, Los Angeles is the first of its size in a major city to take on this approach.
The sweeping resolution, approved yesterday at a board meeting, requires the nation’s second largest school district to create a screen time policy for each grade and subject, prohibit students in first grade and younger from using devices, clarify the process for parents to opt their child out for using technology at school and audit its education technology contracts. The new policy would take effect in the next school year.
The vote is a remarkable turnaround for the district — which invested in education technology for several years and was pushed by its embattled superintendent — and follows months of pressure from parents.
Read more about the grassroots push for less technology in L.A. classrooms — and nationwide.
Schools in the news:
- Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, a U.S. appeals court ruled.
- Pittsburgh Public Schools are moving to remote learning while the NFL Draft is in town this week — a sign of how big the event has become in recent years.
Read All About It
- One of the two women injured when a Louisiana man killed eight children still has a bullet lodged in her face, her cousin said.
- Tourists at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramid site described jumping off ledges and taking cover as a gunman opened fire.
- For subscribers: Nearly half of the top podcasts on YouTube have been running ads for gambling and sports betting apps that could reach kids, a watchdog report says.
Staff Pick: The world of competitive rock, paper, scissors
Everyone has played a game of rock, paper, scissors at some point of their life, whether it be for fun with a friend, or a way to hash out which sibling has to do an unwanted chore. But last Sunday, the game got more serious. I spent the afternoon with hundreds of contestants participating in a formal tournament in New Jersey, where $10,000 was on the line.
The tournament was as fun as you’d imagine it would be. We met a cast of characters from all walks of life, dressed in everything from full track suits to luchador masks, to corny rock, paper, scissors T-shirts, and watched as they squared off in consecutive best of five matches. Some players came in with a set strategy, like only throwing paper first. Most players left it up to luck, throwing whatever hand came to them at that moment.
What struck me most was how much this simple game brought people together. Yes, people were there for the money — but everyone was laughing, cheering, and celebrating each other’s wins. After all, how serious can a rock, paper, scissors tournament really be? — Maya Huter, business & economy producer
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
As shopping experts, it’s our duty to find the products actually worth your money. Recently, we rounded up our team’s best recommendations for hyaluronic acid products that give your skin all of the glow and none of the grease. We also found the best sunscreen sticks for summer and reviewed a viral workout brand to see if it’s hype is well deserved.
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