Live updates: Michigan, Virginia, Kansas elections underway; Todd Blanche’s nomination advances to the full Senate

The Supreme Court this afternoon announced the cases scheduled for oral arguments when its next term begins in October, and it kicks off with a high-profile climate change case.

The justices will hear Suncor Energy Inc. v. Commissioners of Boulder at 10 a.m on Oct. 5. The case involves Boulder County, Colorado, which is seeking millions of dollars in damages under a state law to cover local climate-driven costs like wildfires, extreme heat and floods, alleging companies like Suncor hid fossil fuel risks.

The question here in this case is twofold. Whether federal law prevents claims under state law seeking relief for injuries allegedly caused by the effects of interstate and international greenhouse-gas emissions on the global climate, and whether the Supreme Court has the authority to hear this case at all.

Voters in Ferndale, Mich., today shared with NBC News the issues that were determining factors as they cast ballots in today's closely watched Senate primary.

Mark Foster said one big reason he's backing Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed is because he's a "defender of Palestine."

“This is the first time that I’ve actually gotten to vote for a candidate that excites me,” Foster said.

Hanna O'Neill said El-Sayed's calls to abolish ICE are what got her to vote for him.

"That's top of mind for me," she said. "I think their approach is completely wrong. I think it’s anti-American. I think immigrants should be welcomed here. And how they go about enforcing policies, I don’t agree with at all."

Iran was likely behind a wave of recent cyberattacks on municipal water systems across the U.S., two people familiar with the incidents told NBC News, as officials in metro Atlanta said they were investigating “unauthorized cyber activity” that may have disrupted water operations.

The federal government publicly confirmed last week that “malicious cyber actors” had attacked water operations in at least seven states, though it did not attribute the activity to anyone. The FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency have not identified the states, though officials in Minnesota and Michigan said some of their systems were breached.

Read the full story here.

It is primary day in a handful of states and voters are heading to the polls with key races up for grabs that could signal which direction the parties are headed before the November midterms. One of the most closely watched contests is taking place in Michigan, which has become the Democrat’s most expensive Senate primary race ever. NBC’s Shaquille Brewster reports and Steve Kornacki joins the "TODAY" show with analysis.

Democrats Face Big Test in Critical Michigan Primary

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Jay Clayton was sworn in as director of national intelligence today, taking over from Bill Pulte, who held the role in an acting capacity.

The Senate confirmed him in a 51-47 vote last week along party lines.

White House aide Margo Martin shared a video clip of the swearing-in in the Oval Office by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Trump looked on.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is speaking out again as scrutiny continues over the abuse allegations his daughter, Emily Moreno, made against her former husband, Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio.

“This is truly the seventh level of hell," the Ohio senator said Tuesday. "This has been a horrific experience for my entire family."

Emily Moreno has accused Miller of throwing hot water on her, throwing her against a wall and holding a gun to her head, according to police reports. Their daughter has also suffered a broken collarbone and bruising, the cause of which was disputed but investigated by police in February 2026.

Miller has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. He called the senator’s previous comments about him “political" in a post on X earlier this week.

WASHINGTON — Embattled Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, said today that he will request the House Ethics Committee to investigate domestic abuse allegations made by his ex-wife — an unusual move to try to exonerate himself amid a messy custody battle that is playing out in public view.

“In light of all the renewed interest in my family affairs I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family. I have absolutely nothing to hide,” Miller, who has vehemently denied the allegations, said in a post on X.

Rep. Max Miller. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

Read the full story here.

New Trump administration rules banning humanoid robots made in China and other countries have also swept up a product that is already a fixture in American homes: smart vacuums.

Read the full story here.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he spoke to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, about Blanche's nomination, adding that he thinks his colleagues are "trying to process this."

After Blanche's nomination was voted out of committee this morning, Cornyn told reporters that he had a "good conversation" with Collins last night.

"She’s one of the most diligent individuals I know, certainly, here in the United States Senate, and we had a good conversation," Cornyn said. "She’ll have to speak for herself as to her ultimate conclusion, and I’ve also been exchanging messages with Senator Murkowski, and I know we’ll have further conversations about this."

Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have previously bucked their own party on important votes. Neither has publicly committed to supporting Blanche yet. Collins is in a competitive re-election race this fall.

Epstein survivor Dani Bensky called the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general "incredibly depressing" in remarks to reporters after the meeting.

Bensky, who was in the audience during the meeting, said she will try to meet with Republicans and ask them to vote against Blanche's nomination when it comes before the full Senate.

“I think it’s incredibly depressing and upsetting for American democracy,” Bensky said. "I think that survivors should be taken seriously. I think that it needs to be just as much of an issue and just as much of a topic as the slush fund.”

Bensky said she tried to meet with Sens. Thom Tills, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, before today’s vote, but they would not meet with her and other survivors.

The two senators had withheld their support for Blanche based on concerns about Trump's IRS settlement, which provided tax audit immunity and created an "anti-weaponization" fund intended to compensate alleged victims of political prosecutions. But they changed their positions to supporting Blanche after he recently put in writing that the fund would not go forward and clarified the scope of the audit immunity provision in the settlement.

“I think that that’s a real missed opportunity, and I think that it just shows our country’s priorities," Bensky said. "It’s really upsetting.”

“There’s always a glimmer of hope that somebody will do the right thing, and I was really hoping that it would be John Cornyn,” she said. “To see that this is how he’s going to end his career and his legacy, it’s it’s really depressing.”

Bensky said she will be now be prioritizing meetings with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., who have expressed concerns about Blanche's nomination.

“The fight is not over, and we are really looking to meet with other offices of senators, specifically Cassidy and Murkowski and Collins,” Bensky said. “I think there is still hope there, and we hope that they’ll do the right thing.”

There are mounting questions about whether one of Trump’s longtime allies, Jeanine Pirro, will keep her job after he lashed out on her decision to drop charges against a former Olympic canoeist indicted for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. NBC’s Gabe Gutierrez reports for the "TODAY" show.

Jeanine Pirro Faces Uncertain Future After Reflecting Pool Case

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A nomination cannot be brought to the floor the same day it is reported out of committee, so the earliest Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can start the floor process for Blanche's nomination will be tomorrow.

Here’s the general timeline:

• Tomorrow: Thune files a motion to end debate on Blanche's nomination; no vote is needed on this day.
• Thursday: Considered an ‘intervening day’ where, by the book, no votes related to the nominee are taken.
• Friday: One hour after the Senate convenes, it will vote on ending debate on the nomination. That motion needs a simple majority to move forward, starting up to 30 hours of debate on Blanche.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche's nomination in a 12-10, party-line vote.

The full Senate is expected to vote on his confirmation in the coming days.

Democratic senators delivered speeches criticizing Blanche before the vote, characterizing him as someone who would prioritize loyalty to Trump over the department's traditional independence. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas also delivered remarks explaining why they ultimately decided to support Blanche.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said at today's meeting on Blanche's nomination that he plans to introduce a resolution to reject the Trump tax immunity deal as "possible precedent, seeking to stop it from becoming a means of others seeking the same kind of illegal privilege that Donald Trump will have as a result of this deal."

Blumenthal, a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general, said the documents formalizing the end of the related "anti-weaponization" fund are "meaningless" and are "non-enforceable."

"In just a few weeks, thousands of young law school students will begin a contracts course," he said. "What they will learn is that a contract can’t be modified or changed by some outside party when there is a meeting of the minds. And there was, in effect, an agreement, a meeting of the minds, between Donald Trump and the United States of America to settle his case. Now, Todd Blanche purports to change it. This document is a sham. It is a sham and a fraud on the Congress in so far as it seeks to change our minds by representing something that is patently false."

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, argued that Blanche has indicated that his loyalty lies with the president over the Constitution.

She referred to a question she asked Blanche during his confirmation hearing last month, when she asked him if he believed it was a president's "right and duty to order the investigation or prosecution of his perceived enemies, yes or no?"

At the time, Blanche said he "can't answer that yes or no," adding that Trump is "in charge of the Department of Justice, and so my answer reflects that idea, not that he has the right to go after his political enemies."

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., framed Blanche as someone who would not stand up to Trump when necessary.

"Throughout the decades since the Watergate crisis, both parties have consistently recognized the importance of an attorney general who can and will stand up to the president and say no, and serve as an attorney general in defense of the Constitution, not just the agenda of any one president," Coons said. "Will acting Attorney General Blanche meet that standard? We have clear evidence he will not."

Coons, like other Democratic colleagues, argued that Blanche's recent agreement to rescind the so-called "anti-weaponization" fund did not go far enough.

"Nothing would stop him" from revoking his order and and moving to reinstate the fund after being confirmed, Coons said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., slammed Blanche over the DOJ's "anti-weaponization" fund and suggested that the documents formalizing the end of the effort are "decorative."

"What problems do they leave behind? Well, one is, can you trust Todd Blanche going forward? I will tell you, I do not," he said. "I think it would be unreasonable to trust him going forward. There is enough weasel room in these documents to drive a truck through."

Whitehouse, a former federal prosecutor, said the documents don't prevent another fund from being started. "You could open a drive-up window at the Department of Justice for cop beaters from Jan. 6 to come through and get friendly federal Tort Claims Act settlements from the Department of Justice," he said.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said at the start of the Judiciary Committee's meeting on Blanche's nomination that he believes the nominee sufficiently addressed his concerns.

Tillis criticized both parties for what he alleged was a "weaponization" of the Justice Department, pointing to the Biden administration as well as Trump's and saying, "we both have a problem, folks" and calling on lawmakers to address it across the board.

"The bottom line is nobody is clean here, and until we start recognizing this behavior as bad, we're just going to one up it," he said. "Maybe it's a little bit more intense in this administration than the last one, and that a little bit more intense than the prior administration, and so on and so forth. But folks, we've got to end this stuff."

Tillis said he would support Blanche's nomination and hopes the department sees "a bending of the curve of this absurdity."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, explained during the hearing why he decided to support Blanche's nomination after being hesitant because of the terms of Trump's settlement with the IRS.

Cornyn pointed to the agreement with Blanche, who committed to formally rescinding the "anti-weaponization" fund and clarified limitations on tax audit protections in the settlement.

"They've been consistent about their assertion on behalf of the United States of America that the weaponization fund is dead, and of course I expect them to live up to that in any future litigation," Cornyn said. "Given this agreement with Mr. Blanche, I expect the department to live up to this in future litigation, and I will vote to advance him out of the committee today."

Cornyn also argued that having the Justice Department led by a permanent attorney general, rather than an unconfirmed nominee, is good for its stability.

Durbin rebuked Blanche in his opening statement over his handling of the Justice Department's release of the Epstein files.

The ranking member said that FBI personnel were directed to "flag Epstein records and look for any mention of Donald Trump."

"Mr. Blanche refused to tell me who gave this order, but former Attorney General Bondi made it clear, saying Blanche was in charge of the Epstein files," he said.

Durbin then went after Blanche over the DOJ's failure to redact Epstein survivors' information in the files, saying it victimized them all over again.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that Blanche has "has no business serving as our nation's chief law enforcement officer."

Durbin, the top Democrat on the committee, argued that Blanche's release Sunday did not go far enough to kill the so-called "anti-weaponization" fund. He expressed concerns that it could be resurrected and used to benefit Jan. 6 defendants.

"To state the obvious, Mr. Blanche's statement on the slush front and the IRS immunity agreement are not signed by the parties to the settlement agreement, and are therefore unenforceable," he said. "The parties could still sue to enforce the agreement, and the cop beaters fund can easily be revived with a new order from the Department of Justice 15 minutes after Mr. Blanche is confirmed as attorney general."

Durbin accused Blanche of lying to the committee about the substance of their private conversation, in which he said Blanche told him the fund was a mistake. Durbin said Blanches contradictory testimony indicated he would try to avoid offending Trump.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, addressed Blanche critics in his opening statement who have said that the acting attorney general doesn't care about crime victims.

"Despite clear evidence that America is safer under Mr. Blanche's leadership, some have alleged that he doesn't care about victims. I can think of plenty of victims who would disagree with that," Grassley said.

The chairman pointed to a letter sent to the committee by 300 families whose relatives were killed by undocumented immigrants in which they voiced support for Blanche.

Epstein survivor Dani Bensky, one of the many critics of Blanche, is in the audience for the committee meeting.

Epstein survivor Dani Bensky in the audience today. Frank Thorp V / NBC News

The deal that Blanche struck with two holdout Republican senators to formally kill the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has a major loophole that could allow it to come back to life.

Read the full story here.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said at the start of the panel's meeting on Blanche's nomination that he agreed with the concerns of Sen. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis about Trump's settlement with the IRS, which included a so-called "anti-weaponization" fund intended to compensate alleged victims of political prosecutions.

The Iowa Republican criticized how long it took for the issue to get resolved, saying, "It's just a crime that it took so long to work out with such a common sense thing that's pretty simple."

Sen. John Cornyn greets Sen. Chuck Grassley as he arrives today. Win McNamee / Getty Images

The senator also expressed gratitude that the "anti-weaponization" fund was formally rescinded and that Blanche clarified the scope of Trump's audit protections, which were part of the settlement.

Blanche is expected to pass through committee after Cornyn and Tillis announced they would support the nominee after they struck an agreement on the IRS settlement.

The Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to consider Blanche's nomination has begun.

Senators are expected to deliver remarks on the nominee before a vote is called on whether to advance Blanche favorably out of committee.

After Republican Sens. John Cornyn, of Texas, and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, said they would now support Blanche after reaching an agreement with him on Trump's IRS settlement, he is expected to have enough support for his nomination to advance.

Several Michigan voters weighed in on the Senate Democratic primary in their state in interviews with NBC News yesterday.

The first choice candidate for one voter, Leslie, is Rep. Haley Stevens, but she said that she would support Abdul El-Sayed if he wins the Democratic nomination.

"There needs to be a balance right now, and the fact that Trump is getting away with a lot of the stuff that that, you know, half the country doesn’t agree with, we don’t have a balance," Leslie said. "We don’t have the legislature to actually say this is not OK."

Another voter, Austin Mcfarlane, said he supports El-Sayed for Senate. Asked if he would vote for Stevens in the general election if she wins the nomination, he said, "I would have to think about it," adding that his vote isn't guaranteed just because she's a Democrat.

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., downplayed concerns last night that her position on Israel could cost her the general election if she wins the Democratic nomination today for an open Senate seat.

“I’m doing this the Michigan way,” Stevens told NBC News when asked about voters who don’t support her pro-Israel stance.

“This is a tough, complicated, hard issue for a lot of people, and I have been very consistent,” she said. “I understand that people might disagree, but leadership and public service is also taking positions and communicating effectively and transparently, and that’s how I’ve won four tough elections.”

As recently as yesterday, when protesters heckled her as she walked into an event to make a closing pitch to voters in Grand Rapids, Stevens has faced scrutiny over donations from the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, also known as AIPAC. Her primary opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians.

Trump accused Iran of duplicity and insisted the two sides were discussing reopening the Strait of Hormuz as early as today, even as Tehran denied talks were even taking place.

The diplomatic confusion was underscored by an attack on a cargo vessel near the strait’s Oman coast, as reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre, an organization run by the British navy that helps protect commercial shipping in high-risk areas.

Read the full story here.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a meeting this morning to vote on Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general.

Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will gavel the meeting in, and we expect senators on the committee to give speeches about Blanche before they vote on his nomination.

While Grassley will try to move things along, he’s typically deferential to senators who want to speak before a vote, so the process could take hours. Once they get to the vote, the clerk will call all the senators by name, starting with Grassley and all the Republicans, and then with Durbin and all the Democrats.

After the senators vote, the clerk will announce the tally, and we expect Blanche's nomination to be sent to the full Senate along party lines.

Republicans have a 12-10 majority in the Senate Judiciary Committee, so if a GOP senator were to vote against Blanche’s nomination, it will effectively be stuck in committee. That is not expected to happen.

The House Ethics Committee said yesterday that it is recommending that the full House censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after it found that he “engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers.”

Read the full story here.

Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration yesterday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February.

The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on imports produced by forced labor. The new tariffs took effect just as the clock ran out on temporary tariffs Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

Read the full story here.

The Democratic Party’s deepest divisions are on display in today’s primaries across five states, particularly in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race.

Read the full story here.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to advance Blanche’s attorney general nomination today after it had been delayed over concerns from two Republican senators on the panel.

Blanche’s path to confirmation had been on hold after Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — both of whom are leaving Congress in January — raised concerns about the “anti-weaponization” fund that the Trump administration tried to establish back in May to give taxpayer-funded payments to Trump allies, potentially including Jan. 6 rioters Trump pardoned on his first day back in office.

Read the full story here.